NEWS
By Jacques Kelly | October 24, 2008
Calling for a "sanctuary in a suffering city," Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien dedicated the Pope John Paul II Prayer Garden in downtown Baltimore yesterday before unveiling a bronze statue of the late pontiff. Speaking at Charles and Franklin streets, the archbishop said he hoped the new green space - the site of the demolished 100-year-old Rochambeau apartments - would become a symbol of the rebirth of "many, many more Baltimore street corners." He described Baltimore as a city "where too many street corners are just places where drug deals take place and where gunfire inevitably follows."
NEWS
By Matthew Hay Brown | April 17, 2008
WASHINGTON -- With his visits to a synagogue and a mosque, his acknowledgment of the sins of Christians against Muslims and Jews, and his decision to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, Pope John Paul II won the appreciation and trust of believers of other faiths the world over. His successor, meeting today with leaders of other faiths during his first American visit, is developing a very different kind of reputation. In his three years as spiritual leader of the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics, Pope Benedict XVI has alienated other Christians with his repeated assertion that his is the one true church.
NEWS
By Glenn McNatt | April 13, 2008
It may seem an unlikely story, but Joe Sheppard's career as portraitist to popes and cardinals had its genesis in a boxing ring. "Years ago, I used to box every Saturday at Mack Lewis' gym on Broadway," recalls the 77-year-old Maryland artist, who now lives part of each year in Pietrasanta, Italy. "One day, this guy who had been playing basketball comes over and says, `Can I box with you?' So I said OK. I never knew his name or anything." Years later, Sheppard ran into the fellow at a party.
NEWS
By Edward Gunts | March 31, 2008
Baltimore native Joseph Sheppard has painted public figures including former President George H.W. Bush and filmmaker John Waters, and his portraits can be found in government buildings, churches and galleries. But his latest work of art will be in the open for all to see: a 7-foot- tall bronze statue of the late Pope John Paul II. Sheppard's statue will be the focal point of the Pope John Paul II Prayer Garden, a $1.5 million monument and contemplative space planned for the southwest corner of Charles and Franklin streets.
NEWS
By Liz F. Kay | November 13, 2007
Pope Benedict XVI unveiled yesterday an itinerary for his first trip to the United States that will take him to the White House, the United Nations and Ground Zero in April, giving many Americans an up-close glimpse of the pope. Pope Benedict, who became pontiff in 2005, has not traveled as much as his globe-trotting predecessor, Pope John Paul II, who drew tens of thousands of the faithful at stops around the world. The six-day trip is limited to Washington and New York, and does not include a Baltimore stop that had been sought by Cardinal William H. Keeler, the city's former archbishop.
NEWS
By Christine Spolar | March 25, 2007
ROME -- In life, Pope John Paul II moved crowds like a rock star. Now a cadre of theologians, cardinals and medical doctors from the Vatican will determine if the late pontiff should soar to the level of sainthood. A third-floor office that overlooks St. Peter's Square, which echoed in April 2005 with funeral prayers for the former Karol Wojtyla, is where the decision will be weighed. By April 2, all documents on the spiritual life and times of the Polish pope will be carted into the rarefied sanctum of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
NEWS
By Liz F. Kay | September 20, 2006
When Pope Benedict XVI was elected almost 18 months ago, some people within and outside the Roman Catholic Church predicted that his background would shift the papacy away from the interfaith outreach that was the legacy of his predecessor, Pope John Paul II. They say the flap over Pope Benedict's comments regarding Islam and the Prophet Muhammad support their predictions and illustrate the need for him to recognize that he has grown from high-ranking Vatican...
NEWS
By Liz F. Kay | September 16, 2006
Local and national Muslim leaders denounced yesterday a recent speech by Pope Benedict XVI that included a 14th-century reference describing the Prophet Muhammad's teachings as "evil and inhuman" and urged the pope to carry on the outreach of his predecessor. The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations called for Muslim-Catholic dialogue and said it is seeking a meeting with the Vatican's Washington representative. "Let us all continue the interfaith efforts promoted by the late Pope John Paul II, who made great strides in bringing Muslims and Catholics together for the common good," the council said in a statement released yesterday.
NEWS
By TRACY WILKINSON | May 26, 2006
WARSAW, POLAND -- Pope Benedict XVI began a four-day pilgrimage to the Polish homeland of his predecessor yesterday, honoring the legacy of the late Pope John Paul II while praising this overwhelmingly Catholic country as a model of faith. Thousands of Poles, curious to see a pope who wasn't Polish, lined many miles of roadway along the German-born Benedict's route into Warsaw. They cheered his motorcade and waved banners with his picture and the slogan of the visit: "Stand firm in your faith."
NEWS
By SID SMITH... | December 1, 2005
Two major networks are about to unveil their competing biographical treatments of Pope John Paul II, arriving as sober-minded preludes to later, lighter holiday fare. First, there's ABC's TV movie Have No Fear: The Life of John Paul II (8 p.m. tonight), then CBS' two-part miniseries, Pope John Paul II (beginning 9 p.m. Sunday). The verdict is fairly straightforward. The more star-studded CBS effort (which concludes at 8 p.m. Wednesday) is twice as long and twice as effective. ABC's Have No Fear is dignified and respectful, and it covers an even wider span of the late pope's life than the CBS venture.