The Catholic Review has a story about a pair of unusual recent events at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg.

The first was a double rainbow. The second as the archdiocesan newspaper puts it, was the pot of gold.

A worker at the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes discovered two bags containing gold and silver coins. Shrine director Bill Tronolone, who has been trying to raise money to build a pilgrim center, thought his prayers had been answered.

Alas, it was not to be. The discovery of the coins, which The Catholic Review says were valued at more than $40,000, was reported to the Frederick County’s Sherriff’s department. The owner has since come forward to claim the coins.

“The owner just wanted a safe place to keep her life savings while she left town and in her thinking, what better place than the Grotto, right next to the statue of Mary,” Tronolone told The Catholic Review.

Read the story at catholicreview.org.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Catholicism, Education
        

Could the U.S. bishops rescind the right of the University of Notre Dame to call itself Catholic?

Months after the nation's flagship Catholic university ignited a firestorm within church circles by inviting President Barack Obama to give a commencement speech and receive in honorary degree, the nation's Catholic bishops met behind closed doors today to discuss increasing oversight of the nation's Catholic colleges and universities.

Obama supports abortion rights; the church opposes abortion. The bishops are holding their fall general assembly this week at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront.

Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told the Associated Press that he had formed a task force charged with reviewing relations between the bishops and the nation's more than 200 Catholic colleges and universities.

In most cases, the bishops excercise no formal authority over the institutions, which, with few exceptions, operate independently of their local dioceses.

"Can bishops just pull the plug on us? It's not that simple," Richard Yanikoski, president of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, told the AP.

"If those relationships — which don't mean control, they mean relationship — are now weakened, then we have to think of ways to enter discussion in order to strengthen them, and to redefine perhaps what are the criteria for a university or any other organization to consider itself Catholic," George told the AP.

Read the Associated Press story.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 5:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
        

The nation's Catholic bishops had a busy day Tuesday, approving a pastoral letter on marriage, a document on reproductive technologies and a revision to an existing document on healthcare for the dying and chronically ill.

The bishops are holding their fall general assembly at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront.

"Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan" breaks no new ground, but bishops said it would provide a foundation for the church’s campaign to promote marriage as the union of one man and one woman going forward.

"Life-Giving Love in an Age of Technology" reiterates Catholic teaching against in vitro fertilization, egg, sperm and embryo donation, surrogates and cloning. For infertile couples, the church counsels hormonal treatment and other medications, surgery to repair reproductive organs, and other means.

The revision to “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services” underscores what the church says is the moral obligation to provide nutrition and hydration to patients in a persistent vegetative state.

The bishops also approved new English translations of the Roman Missal.

Read more at baltimoresun.com.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Monsignor F. Dennis Tinder, the pastor who made the controversial decision last summer to close Towson Catholic High School shortly before the start of the school year, has retired due to health concerns, The Catholic Review reports.

The 67-year-old priest, who has spent the last nine years as pastor of Immaculate Conception in Towson, his childhood parish, cites a neuromuscular disorder that affects his strength and motion.

“We get so tied to this world with its shifting that we forget that we were made to go home,” Tinder tells The Catholic Review. “The God who made us is holding us and carrying us home.”

The parish will hold a reception for him in December.

“We’ll all cry,” parishioner Jo Miller tells the Catholic Review. “It’s going to be very hard. It’s very hard to thank someone adequately for all they’ve done for you.”

The decision to close Towson Catholic in the face of declining enrollments and rising costs drew protests from students and parents and a lawsuit that was unsuccessful.

Tinder told us in July that if he had to do it over, he would have closed the school earlier, to give students and their families more time to make alternate plans for the fall.

"If there's a regret, it is that we tried too hard to keep the school open and went too long," he said. "I think we would have faced the same difficulty had we done it earlier. But it is my regret that we waited as long as we did in a failed attempt to keep it open."

Read the rest of the story at catholicreview.org.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)
        

The American Civil Liberties Union, known as a watchdog for the separation of church and state, wants to make sure that prisoners have access to religious material.

In a letter sent last week to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Information and Privacy, the ACLU demanded that the federal Bureau of Prisons release records related to alleged attempts by prison officials to purge religious material from prison chapel libraries.

The demand follows what the ACLU says was an inadequate response by prison officials to a Freedom of Information Act request by a California graduate student writing a thesis on the censorship of religious materials in federal prisons.

According to the ACLU Joshua C. Harris, a master’s degree candidate in religion at Claremont Graduate University, is writing a thesis on the 2007 implementation of the Standardized Chapel Library Project, which authorized BOP officials to purge from prison chapel libraries any material that was not on a list of “acceptable” publications that the libraries could maintain. Among those titles banned at the time, the ACLU says, was Maimonides’ “Code of Jewish Law.”

“The refusal of prison officials to provide a full accounting of their rationale for banning religious material is just the latest example of an ongoing effort to secretly and unconstitutionally censor material they consider to be unacceptable,” David Shapiro, a staff attorney with the ACLU National Prison Project, said in a statement. “To deny prisoners their constitutional right to access religious materials is bad enough. But to attempt to do so in a way that skirts transparency and prevents the public from knowing what they are doing is entirely unacceptable.”

Harris filed a FOIA request in April asking for “any/all documents that detail the reasoning behind, and implementation of” the Standardized Chapel Library Project, according to the ACLU. The prison bureau gave him four documents.

Continue reading "ACLU demands prison records" »

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Church and State, Education, Judaism
        

Attorney, author and professor David Neipert, a senior Fulbright scholar in law, is a former associate professor of international business at Belmont Abbey College.

It has been nearly two years since we asked EEOC to review Belmont Abbey College's policy on contraception and EEOC still has not issued a ruling on the matter. I considered responding to Rabbi Menken's last post but I would prefer to just wait and see how the matter resolves with EEOC.

I received an email critical of the Catholic church from a former student and have been reflecting on the overall picture and my decision to leave Belmont Abbey. I no longer want to be a part of that College but harbor no ill will towards the faith. There are enlightened Catholics who sponsored the voyages that discovered the world, made great breakthroughs in science (Gregor Mendel for example), and operate wonderful charities. For most of its history BAC was striving to be in that category and we were very proud to be part of it.

There is also an intolerant minority of Catholics who concentrate on rigid dogma rather than Christian behavior and smear any critic of the church. BAC seemed to be moving in that direction and so I quit.

Yet I cannot generalize. I once taught at the National University in Macedonia and lived only a few blocks from where Mother Teresa was born. Studying her life I have been inspired. Her example exists everywhere in the world where Catholics are. You can find the very best of Catholicism right across the highway from Belmont Abbey College. There the Catholic Sisters of Mercy have a hospital where they work with the horribly deformed children that almost nobody wants. They don't noisily claim to be "authentic" or conduct a nationwide publicity campaign; they just do god's work as best they can quietly every day. They have contraceptives in the health plan for their employees who want them and don't try to force their practices on anyone. They don't try to raise money by claiming to be defending religious freedom though they surely could use some funding. I suppose by Belmont Abbey College's definition of what is a proper Catholic the sisters are all bound straight for Hell because they pay for birth control pills, but I doubt that.

Continue reading "Guest post: Return to Belmont Abbey" »

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The New York Times has an interesting story this week about the apparently growing belief in creationism across the Muslim world. Kenneth Chang writes:

For many Muslims, even evolution and the notion that life flourished without the intervening hand of Allah is largely compatible with their religion. What many find unacceptable is human evolution, the idea that humans evolved from primitive primates. The Koran states that Allah created Adam, the first man, separately out of clay.

Pervez A. Hoodbhoy, a prominent atomic physicist at Quaid-e-Azam University in Pakistan, said that when he gave lectures covering the sweep of cosmological history from the Big Bang to the evolution of life on Earth, the audience listened without objection to most of it. “Everything is O.K. until the apes stand up,” Dr. Hoodbhoy said.

Mentioning human evolution led to near riots, and he had to be escorted out. “That’s the one thing that will never be possible to bridge,” he said. “Your lineage is what determines your worth.”

Participants in a conference last month at Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., said the rejection of evolution appears to be growing.

Chang quotes Truman State Univesity physicist Taner Edis as saying that he never encountered creationist undertones when he was growing up in Turkey in the 1970s: “I first noticed creationism when I came to America for graduate school,” he said.

Continue reading "Academics see rise of Muslim creationism" »

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

American Jews who have participated in a 10-year-old program that provides a free trip to Israel have a strengthened connection to the Jewish state, a greater sense of belonging to the Jewish people and an increased interest in building Jewish families, according to a study at Brandeis University.

The study released on Monday by the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis sought to document the impact on participants of the Taglit-Birthright Israel experience, which has granted a free, 10-day trip to 220,000 Jews aged 18 to 26 since 2000. It was co-sponsored by Taglit-Birthright Israel.

“In ten short years, Taglit-Birthright Israel has inspired a generation of young Jews to reconnect with Israel and the Jewish community,” said Gidi Mark, CEO of Taglit-Birthright Israel. “With tens of thousands on our waiting list, we are well on our way to establishing an educational trip to Israel as a rite of passage in the Jewish life cycle. That’s going to be the story of our second decade.”

Among key findings:

● Forty-five percent of participants felt the trip was “very much” and 28 percent "somewhat" a life-changing experience

● Participants were 23 percent more likely than non-participants to report feeling “very much” connected to Israel.

● Participants were 24 percent more likely than non-participants to “strongly agree” with the statement, “I have a strong sense of connection to the Jewish people.”

● Married, non-Orthodox participants were 57 percent more likely to be married to a Jew than non-Orthodox non-participants.

● Participants were 30 percent more likely than non-participants to view raising Jewish children as “very important.”

Read the study at brandeis.edu.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 3:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

A multi-year study hosted by the University of Maryland and including several area groups concludes that faith-based organizations can better weather an economic downturn by building stronger ties with the ministries the congregations that support them.

From a release issued on Thursday:

Particularly during an economic downturn, faith-based organizations tied only to one or two congregations, especially if those were not thriving congregations, had the most trouble raising resources and some shut down. While single-congregation support of a program might be considered more authentic, faith-based organizations supported by a wider umbrella or an interfaith base fared better.

“We compared everything from small food pantries directly connected to a congregation to national hospital systems and their local affiliated hospitals,” said Maryland Associate Professor Jo Anne Schneider, who led the project. “Congregation-focused models work well for mainline Protestants, Quakers and African American churches, but only if several congregations provide support or the sponsoring congregation is sufficiently active with enough resources to support the nonprofit. Jewish and Catholic systems rely on their communities as a whole with the Jewish Federation, Archdiocese, or Order providing centralized support. Some thriving evangelical organizations rely on networks with no formal connections to congregations.”

Other key findings of the report, entitled “Faith and Organization Project: Maintaining Vital Between Faith Communities and their Organizations:”

* A new breed of evangelical organizations has emerged with a different understanding about how to develop an organization to do a specific mission that is firmly based in a particular set of beliefs but that focuses on personal relationships to provide services rather than sharing their faith as a means to improve the lives of those served.

Continue reading "UMD study stresses ties for faith-based ministries" »

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The Rev. John I. Jenkins, the Notre Dame president who sparked controversy last spring when he invited President Barack Obama to speak and receive an honorary degree last spring during commencement, has been re-elected to a second five-year term as president of the nation’s most prominent Catholic university.

Archbishop Edwin O’Brien of Baltimore was among the first of dozens of American bishops to criticize Jenkins’ decision to honor Obama, who supports abortion rights.

But the trustees of Notre Dame passed a resolution last week expressing their “respect and full confidence” in Jenkins, saying he has nurtured an environment in which “the Catholic faith and intellectual tradition are celebrated and lived,” the Associated Press reports.

Jenkins has announced plans to travel to Washington in January to take part in an annual anti-abortion march.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 9:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

The United Nations' refugee agency is planning to include the Holocaust in a new human-rights curriculum for pupils in its Gaza secondary schools despite strident opposition to the idea from within Hamas, The Independent reports.

The director of operations in Gaza for The U.N. Relief and Works Agency told the British newspaper that he was "confident and determined" that the Holocaust would feature for the first time in a wide-ranging curriculum now being drafted.

"No human-rights curriculum is complete without the inclusion of the facts of the Holocaust, and its lessons," said John Ging, described as a "passionate advocate" for Palestinian civilians. More from the story:

The draft, to be completed within weeks and then put out for consultation with parents and the public, is built on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was agreed by the UN General Assembly in 1948 in the shadow of what it called the "barbarous acts" committed by the Nazis during the Second World War.

The one-time Irish Army officer has long been an outspoken critic of Israeli policy towards Gaza, including the conduct of last winter's lethal military offensive and what he described more than once in his interview as the "illegal siege".

Mr Ging said the curriculum would explain the genesis, and "inculcate the values" of the Universal Declaration which stipulates that "everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person". He pointed out that the UN General Assembly in 2005 unanimously urged "all countries to teach the lessons of the Holocaust to children so that we learn from history, so that we don't repeat history".

The Independent quotes religious leader Yunis al Astal, a Hamas member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, as saying that including the Holocaust in the curriculum would be "marketing a lie" and a "war crime."

Read the rest of the story at independent.co.uk.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

More than 3 percent of women who attend religious services at least once a month have been the victims of clergy sexual misconduct since turning 18, according to a study produced by Baylor University.

Baylor’s School of Social Work announced the findings from its forthcoming nationwide study of the prevalence of clergy sexual misconduct, which it said had been accepted for publication later this year in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.

The numbers suggest that in the average U.S. congregation of 400 adult members, seven women, on average, have been victimized at some point in their adult lives. That number is greater than has been widely known.

"Because many people are familiar with some of the high-profile cases of sexual misconduct, most people assume that it is just a matter of a few charismatic leaders preying on vulnerable followers," Diana Garland, dean of the School of Social Work and lead researcher in the study, said in a statement. "What this research tells us, however, is that Clergy Sexual Misconduct with adults is a widespread problem in congregations of all sizes and occurs across denominations. Now that we have a better understanding of the problem, we can start looking at prevention strategies."

Garland expressed hope that the findings would “prompt congregations to consider adopting policies and procedures designed to protect their members from leaders who abuse their power. Many people -- including the victims themselves -- often label incidences of Clergy Sexual Misconduct with adults as 'affairs'. In reality, they are an abuse of spiritual power by the religious leader."

Continue reading "Study: 1 in 33 churchgoing women victimized" »

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

This just in: Reality show villainess Omarosa Manigault Stallworth, late of The Apprentice, Celebrity Apprentice and The Surreal Life, has entered the seminary in Dayton, Ohio. She plans to study for a doctorate in ministry.

On her first day this week, the Dayton Daily News reports, United Theological Seminary President Wendy Deichmann offered her the gift of a mustard seed – an allusion to the Biblical passage in which Jesus likens the tiny seed to the Kingdom of God.

"Very few people have faith in my transformation, so this is a wonderful gift," the newspaper quoted her as saying. The News reports that she is taking classes in the Old and New testaments and the History of Christianity, and will be required to minister to the sick and dying at hospitals.

A classmate, meanwhile, told the News that he supports Manigault Stallworth’s effort. "People need to know that she is as sincere and as authentic as anyone I've known who's taken this journey," said classmate F. Willis Johnson Jr.

 Photo: AP/Dayton Daily News

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Updated, with comment from Lenny's Owner Alan Smith

The Jewish Museum of Maryland and the Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore have finalized their purchase of the Lenny’s Delicatessen property on Corned Beef Row, but the landmark restaurant will continue on the site for at least a while yet.

Lenny's Owner Alan Smith has told Sun colleague Elizabeth Large that he has signed a five-year lease to continue at the East Lombard Street property, and when the time comes to leave, he plans to stay "on or around Corned Beef Row." (Note: In a press release on Thursday, the Jewish Museum of Maryland said it was a three-year lease.)

Ultimately, the Jewish Museum of Maryland hopes to have raised the money necessary to build a new wing on the parcel, museum spokeswoman Simone Ellin said.

Lenny’s opened in Owings Mills in 1985 and added the East Lombard Street location in 1991, according to a history posted on its Web site.

The $1.5 million purchase was funded by a grant from the Herbert Bearman Foundation. The Jewish Museum of Maryland is dedicated to the interpretation of the Jewish experience in America with special attention to the collection, preservation, and study of Jewish life in Maryland.

“The Associated is excited about our purchase of the property adjacent to the Jewish Museum,” Associated President Marc B. Terrill said. “This is an opportunity to increase The Associated and the Museum’s presence in downtown Baltimore and to expand programs and services to our constituents living in the area.”

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 4:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Organizers are looking for alumni of Father Kolbe and St. Casimir schools in advance of a reunion scheduled for next month – part of an effort to bolster the century-old program amid news of Catholic school cutbacks and closings elsewhere.

Father Kolbe School in Canton officially became St. Casimir Catholic School in July. The Archdiocese of Baltimore has returned the management of the K-8 program back to the Faith Community of St. Casimir.

From a release sent our way by the Rev. Ross Syracuse:

Plans are in full swing for the St. Casimir/Fr. Kolbe School 2nd Annual Alumni Reunion scheduled for Sunday, September 20, 2009. The celebration revolves around Catechetical Sunday which is a kind of official kick-off of the educational programs for many parishes.

The day begins with Mass at 10:00 AM at St. Casimir. This will be followed by an Open House at St. Casimir Catholic School. The attendees will then move on to Della Rose's Restaurant (Clinton Street) for an Outdoor Barbeque from 12:00 to 2:00 PM.

Plans are to make the reunion an annual event. The newly formed school board is asking alumni to contact the parish office at 410-276-1981 or the school at 410-342-2681 to update their contact information and/or pass along contact information for classmates.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

We're just back from the Baltimore County Courthouse, where a cicruit court judge has rejected an effort that would have forced the Archdiocese of Baltimore to keep Towson Catholic High School open for another year.

Judge Ruth Jakubowski Friday denied a request of parents Lois Windsor and Judy Messina for a temporary restraining order after hearing arguments behind closed doors. Windsor and Messina filed a lawsuit last week seeking an injunction that would have required the Archdiocese of Baltimore to reopen the school next month, as originally scheduled.

The sides are due back in court on Aug. 5, when Jakubowski will hear arguments on a motion by the archdiocese to have the parents' lawsuit dismissed.

The surprise closing, which was announced earlier this month, has left families scrambling to make alternate plans for their children this fall.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 4:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

A Baltimore County judge is expected to rule Friday on an injunction that would force Towson Catholic High School to open in the fall.

Students, parents and alumni continue to protest the surprise closing of the school, which has left families scrambling to make alternate plans for their children. The request for an injunction comes from two families who filed a lawsuit last week in Baltimore County Circuit Court to block the closing.

Judge Ruth Jakubowski will hear arguments behind closed doors beginning at 2 p.m. Towson Catholic supporters were planning to rally outside the courthouse beginning at 1:30 p.m.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Catholicism, Education
        

With the sudden closure of Towson Catholic High School, families are scrambling to find schools that will take their students in the fall. Over the last few days, we have collected the stories of several.

Some of the 163 students will be heading to Baltimore Lutheran School, other Catholic schools and some public high schools. Others haven't figured it out yet. Jenavieve Kohler (right), 17, and her parents are considering homeschooling.

Another 17-year-old student, Carla Baressi, is scouting out schools now:

Continue reading "Towson Catholic families scramble to find schools" »

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

In the week since the decision to close Towson Catholic High School was announced, students, parents and alumni have focused their anger on a single man.

Monsignor F. Dennis Tinder has been accused of planning to shut down the school since he came to Immaculate Conception Church nine years ago, of turning down fundraising ideas and of speaking insensitively in referring to the student body as "a whole different community."

Tinder, in his first interview since announcing the closing, described the anger directed at him as "poignant." If he had it to do over, he said Wednesday, he would have closed the financially troubled high school earlier, to give students and their families more time to make alternate plans for the fall.

"I think we probably erred on the side of trying to keep the school going," said Tinder, who is responsible for the church, the high school and Immaculate Conception School, which serves children from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.

"If there's a regret, it is that we tried too hard to keep the school open and went too long," he said. "I think we would have faced the same difficulty had we done it earlier. But it is my regret that we waited as long as we did in a failed attempt to keep it open."

Facing the loss of several dozen students and a deficit of hundreds of thousands of dollars, Tinder announced plans last week to close the 87-year-old high school immediately. The decision had been recommended by the school's board and was supported by Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien, but it was Tinder's to make.

Tinder said he had no choice. School officials had seen enrollment decline from 240 to 163 for September, as deficit projections rose to $650,000.

"We realized that if we continued on and were not able to rectify these two elements, we would be opening a school where we couldn't pay the teachers and couldn't educate the children," he said. "At that juncture, we faced a real moral question. The determination to keep the school open has to be trumped by being concerned about teachers and students."

Algerina Perna / Baltimore Sun photo

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 7:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The fight over the fate of Towson Catholic High School escalated Tuesday when the alumni association filed suit against the school's parish and its pastor over the abrupt closing of the school, Baltimore Sun colleague Mary Gail Hare reports. The group is seeking an injunction to keep the school open at least another year.

"This closing is a slap in the face to the alumni and to anyone who ever loved this school. We were ready to remedy this through various options, but we could not get the archdiocese to the table," said alumni association president Paul Mecinski, who announced the lawsuit at a rally last night.

He added, "If students want to come here, we want to keep this place open."

The suit was filed Tuesday in Baltimore County Circuit Court by the alumni association's lawyer, Richard Grason VI of the law offices of T. Bruce Hanley. Attempts to reach Grason were unsuccessful last night.

Mecinski said the parish broke its contract with the students because parents had already paid tuition for the coming school year.

Sean Caine, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, said he had not seen the suit and only learned of it at the rally.

"Keeping this school open is not an option at all," he said. "Even if money is raised, that would not address the question of decreasing enrollment."

Mark Graber, professor of law and government at the University of Maryland School of Law, has said an injunction might be difficult but is possible, given that many parents had paid their deposits and begun making tuition payments for the new school year.

"If they have put down money, the parents have fulfilled their part of the contract with the school, in the understanding that there is going to be a school," Graber said.

Read the rest of the story at baltimoresun.com.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 6:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Students, parents and alumni at Towson Catholic have taken their campaign to save the school online.

Their new Web site went live at noon on Tuesday. The introduction:

The "Save Towson Catholic" campaign is gaining momentum!

With the intentions of addressing the $650,000 budget shortfall that the Church of the Immaculate Conception is claiming as the key issue in the decision to close Towson Catholic High School, a grass roots pledge drive began over the weekend to help close the gap. This drive was pulled together on Saturday night by a single TC alum, and was pushed forward in its first day as a simple pen and clipboard campaign.

Despite the campaign's early lack of resources, publicity, or manpower, more than $15,000 was pledged within the first 24 hours.

As this pledge drive gains momentum and publicity through media outlets and the internet, as well as with help collecting pledged donations by Towson Catholic students, parents, and alumni, we expect those pledge totals to increase at an accelerated pace.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The decision to close Towson Catholic High School and the resulting outcry from students, parents and alumni has revealed a long-brewing disconnect between the school and the parish that has been its home since 1922.

Only 17 of the 163 students who were enrolled for the fall are parishioners at Immaculate Conception Church; 86 percent live outside Towson. With the school facing a $650,000 deficit that included $160,000 in unpaid tuition from last year, parish officials announced last week that they would close what some described as a money-losing ministry that they could no longer afford to subsidize.

"It was an outreach ministry into the city that brought many kids ... from the northern part of Baltimore City, and they came out to Towson and got a great education by all accounts," said Dan Cahill, a member of the parish council who reviews Immaculate's finances quarterly. "But we didn't see long-term those kids coming out of the school and then becoming active alumni and giving back."

Vocal parents and alumni are continuing their opposition to the closing with a 7 p.m. rally at the school Tuesday, the third such event in less than a week. The protest will occur as parents attend a school fair inside the building with representatives from 15 area parochial schools in hopes of finding a place for their children in September.

Read the rest of the story at baltimoresun.com.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Towson Catholic High School alumni are vowing to fight the abrupt closing of their alma mater with rallies, an awareness campaign and even a possible lawsuit, Baltimore Sun colleague Mary Gail Hare reports in Friday's newspaper.

Organizers are planning a peaceful demonstration at 8:30 a.m. Sunday at Immaculate Conception Church. Alumni, parents and students are also being urged to gather at the school at 7 p.m. Tuesday for the third demonstration since the closing was announced this week.

"At first, we called it a vigil to say goodbye and show our lasting love for the school, but it has become a rally to show support," said Mike Boehm, a 1997 graduate. "We are not letting this school close without trying to do something."

Wendy Gelhaus, Class of 2007, has started a "Revive TC" blog campaign that seeks signatures for a petition to stop the closing of the school and is also meeting with area businesses to ask for their support. She and her grandmother, Joan Slater, who recently celebrated her 50th TC reunion, plan to attend the vigil Tuesday.

Gelhaus said she has found an attorney willing to file an injunction blocking the closing.

"It is an uphill battle, but he sees the passion we have," she said.

Read the rest of the story at baltimoresun.com.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien has issued a statement on the decision to close Towson Catholic High School. At least 100 students and parents rallied at the school Wednesday, a day after they were notified of the closure.

O'Brien's statement:

I am deeply saddened by the closure of Towson Catholic and troubled by the circumstances that seemed to have left the parish and school board with no other choice. The closing of this beloved institution is a source of pain for students, teachers, alumni and the parish. Every effort is being made to ensure the smoothest transition possible for our students and faculty and several representatives of the Archdiocese are working day and night with the parish and school toward that end. My heart goes out especially to those seniors who were preparing to begin their final year at TC and we are exploring every available option to provide for their unique and special circumstance.

Equally deserving of our support is the pastor, [Monsignor F. Dennis] Tinder, as well as the board and administration of the school. They expended great energy and countless hours to save the school from this fate. I am grateful for their commitment to Towson Catholic and to the students and faculty.

Unfortunately, their best efforts, among them the hiring of a strategic consultant earlier this year to help reposition the school in an effort to increase enrollment, were not enough to avoid the impact of the financial crisis which forced so many of our families to make the painful decision not to enroll their children for the coming school year.

My prayers are with the Towson Catholic family today and will be for the days ahead, and I offer my assurance that everything possible will be done to meet the needs of every student, teacher and staff member impacted by this painful but necessary decision.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 5:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

At least 100 parents and students of Towson Catholic High School attended a rally Wednesday morning protesting the closure of the 86-year-old school in the fall.

Mary Gail Hare has the story for The Baltimore Sun.

Faced with rapidly declining enrollment and mounting debt, the co-educational school notified parents and its 20-member faculty by letter and e-mail on Tuesday that it will not open for classes in September. It becomes the archdiocese's first high school to close in many years.

Judy Messina, vice president of the PTA and the mother of a rising senior who attended the rally, said, "We're still in shock. If they knew this was coming, why did they wait until six weeks before the new school year [to announce the closure]?"

Many families have already given their deposits and started making their tuition payments.

Messina said she is very disappointed in the pastor, Monsignor F. Dennis Tinder. "He has never been available to any of us. Not the faculty, not the children. We just never see him."

The rally was attended by students who were wearing their uniforms and carrying signs. Alumni returned to their alma mater wearing their senior year T-shirts.

(Photograph by The Baltimore Sun)

Read the rest of the story at baltimoresun.com.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 1:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Claiming inspiration from President Barack Obama’s address earlier this month in Cairo, the nation’s largest Muslim advocacy group announced plans on Tuesday to give the Quran to 100,000 local, state and national leaders.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations is asking American Muslims to sponsor the distribution of the Qurans to members of Congress, governors and state lawmakers, state attorneys general, local elected and public officials, teachers, law enforcement officials, media professionals, and others “who shape public opinion or determine policy,” according to a release.

“By quoting from the Quran in his Cairo address, President Obama generated renewed interest in what Islam’s revealed text has to say on topics such as the sanctity of human life, justice and diversity,” Nihad Awad, CAIR’s executive director, said in a statement. “This is not an effort to proselytize, but is instead intended to provide an educational resource for those who will shape the future direction of our nation.”

CAIR says its surveys show that only two percent of Americans say they are “very knowledgeable” about Islam, and nearly 60 percent say they are “not very knowledgeable” or “not at all knowledgeable” about the faith.

The organization describes the giveaway as phase two of its “Explore the Quran” campaign, in which tens of thousands of Americans requested and received Qurans. Awad said the campaign’s ultimate goal is “to put one million Qurans in the hands of ordinary Americans of all faiths” over the next decade.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 6:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The Maryland Board of Regents agreed unanimously Friday to allow Baltimore Hebrew University to become part of Towson University, closing one chapter in the life of the 90-year-old institution of Jewish learning and opening another.

Read the story by Baltimore Sun religion writer Arthur Hirsch at baltimoresun.com.

The vote taken at the board meeting at Frostburg State University means that BHU -- with 55 graduate students, seven instructors and a library of some 70,000 volumes -- will move a few miles northeast from its single building in Park Heights to the suburban campus of more than 21,000 students.

The BHU graduate programs and the Joseph Meyerhoff Library collection will be in place at Towson for the fall. For now officials of both institutions are celebrating the partnership.

"I think it's very, very exciting," said Robert L. Caret, president of Towson University, after the vote was taken. "It's an opportunity that just presented itself."

BHU's interim president, Erika Pardes Schon, said "we are delighted by this decision. The faculty of BHU look forward to introducing a new tier of graduate courses at Towson University in the fall."

Baltimore Hebrew University will close, but its work will live on in three master's degree programs and in the new Baltimore Hebrew Institute to open on the Baltimore County campus. With Schon as director, the institute will carry on BHU's community activities in offering adult continuing education, public lectures and scholarly symposia.

Continue reading "It's official: BHU, Towson to merge" »

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 2:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Shaukat Malik is a Muslim-American Certified Public Accountant from Potomac. A native of Pakistan, he arrived in the United States in 1980.

In Pakistan, the religious schools called madrassas were created during the Afghan war as factories for producing future mujahedeen to fight the Soviet infidels. It was a win for all parties involved. They were financed by Middle East money and America’s acquiescence.

Today there are thousands of madrassas scattered all over Pakistan providing lodging and shelter to poor children, who have nowhere else to turn. Each madrassa is like an orphanage run by fascist clerics.

Madrassas today teach hatred of non-Muslims using an orthodox interpretation of the Quran taught by self-serving mullahs lacking formal education. Brainwashed children graduating as clerics are taught to believe that salvation is only possibly by establishing an Islamic kingdom governed under their interpretation of Sharia law.

All actions -- training suicide bombers, storing weapons, harassing local citizens, beheading, whipping and stoning -- are justifiable in this struggle. madrassas share the Taliban’s ideology and are their natural partners and allies.

Continue reading "Guest Post: How to defeat the Taliban" »

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The University of Maryland System Board of Regents is expected to approve the integration of Baltimore Hebrew University with Towson University on Friday, allowing the 90-year-old institution of Jewish learning to move from Park Heights to the campus of the larger public university in time for the start of the fall semester.

Under an agreement negotiation by the two institutions, BHU’s programs, faculty and courses are to be dispersed among different schools and departments at Towson. One floor of Towson's Albert S. Cook Library will be cleared to accommodate BHU's 70,000-volume Joseph Meyerhoff Library, which school officials describe as the largest collection of Judaica in the Mid-Atlantic region, and a new Baltimore Hebrew Institute will offer continuing education and other programs for the community.

The board of regents are expected to approve the merger during its regular meeting Friday at Frostburg State University.

BHU, which was founded in 1919 to train teachers for local Jewish schools, has grown with the community to offer master's degrees and doctorates. A high school that operated from the 1930s through the 1980s graduated thousands of students.

But declining enrollments and rising costs have made it increasingly difficult for the institution to remain independent, school officials say, leading its sole donor, the Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Greater Baltimore, to direct administrators to find a new model.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The Maryland Higher Education Commission has signed off on the integration of Baltimore Hebrew University into Towson University, bringing the merger within a vote of becoming reality.

The commission issued letters to Towson President Robert L. Caret and BHU President Erika Pardes Schon on Wednesday saying it had approved a merger agreement signed by the two institutions. Approval by the University of Maryland System Board of Regents on Friday would allow the 90-year-old center of Jewish learning to complete the move from Park Heights to the campus of the larger public university in time for the start of the fall semester.

The two schools agreed to the merger earlier this year. With the approval of the regents, BHU programs, faculty and courses will be dispersed among different schools and departments at Towson. One floor of Towson’s Albert S. Cook Library will be cleared to accommodate BHU’s 70,000-volume Joseph Meyerhoff Library, which school officials describe as the largest collection of Judaica in the Mid-Atlantic.

Founded in 1919 to train teachers for local Jewish schools, BHU grew with the community to offer master’s degrees and doctorates. A high school that operated from the 1930s through the 1980s graduated thousands of students.

But declining enrollments and rising costs have made it increasingly difficult for the institution to remain independent, leading its sole donor, the Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Greater Baltimore, to direct administrators to find a new model.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 4:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Christopher de Leon was an engineer with a degree from Johns Hopkins and a sports car from Europe. Hamilton Okeke came to the United States after losing his parents in Nigeria. Gregory Rapisarda was an attorney practicing in Bel Air.

All three are now at St. Mary’s Seminary and University, studying for the priesthood. With the Year of the Priest declared by Pope Benedict XVI set to begin next week, the Catholic Review is profiling the three during their formation. The first of a three-part series appears in the current issue.

Particularly interesting is the story of Rapisarda, a former president of the Harford County Chamber of Commerce. A parishioner at St. Margaret Roman Catholic Church in Bel Air, in 2003 he was ordained a permanent deacon, a ministry that enables married men to preach and celebrate the sacraments of the church.

Raipsarda’s son, meanwhile, was studying for the priesthood. Ordained last year, the Rev. John Rapisarda now serves Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Essex.

Following the death of his wife Rapisarda now is following his son into the priesthood. The Catholic Review reports that Carol Rapisarda supported his decision.

Continue reading "A look at three Catholic seminarians" »

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Marriage, raising children and homeschooling will be on the agenda at the Catholic Family Expo, set for Friday and Saturday at the Church of the Resurrection in Ellicott City. Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien will open a youth rally on Friday evening.

Philosopher Peter Kreeft of Boston College will discuss St. Paul’s answer to the question: “How can we know contentment and happiness in the midst of global turmoil, creeping socialism and the apparent decline of a faith filled society, and personal lives filled with urgent demands on all sides?”

Andrew Pudewa, director of the Institute for Excellence in Writing, will discuss the “war for the heart of our Christian society, now corrupted by a continuous onslaught of relativism in thought, art, and morality, resulting in a culture of death, debt and despair,” and the “urgent responsibility to raise up an army of ‘culture warriors’ ” who “will be empowered to communicate the truth in a world of liars and lead their clueless peers through the coming crises.”

More information, including a form for registration, is available here.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Rabbi Amy R. Scheinerman, the spiritual leader of Beth Shalom Congregation in Westminister, has received an honorary doctorate from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, her alma mater.

Rabbi David Ellenson, president of HUC-JIR, described Scheinerman’s life as "one of dedication.”

“Her devotion to Jewish learning has led to her broad-based involvement in Jewish education,” Ellenson said. “As chaplain, she counsels those incarcerated and gives comfort to the terminally ill; as a columnist, she uses the power of the written word to share Jewish insights with the community at large. Her extensive involvement in the Baltimore Board of Rabbis has brought rabbis of all persuasions together to learn from each other.”

A graduate of Brown University and HUC-JIR, Scheinerman is vice president of the Baltimore Board of Rabbis, a columnist for the Baltimore Jewish Times and the Carroll County Times and a chaplain for the Howard County Police, Carroll County Hospice and Jewish Hospice Network.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

What is the nature of God? Is it possible to force a postponement of death? How is true piety manifested? What is the power of sin and repentance? What happens to souls in the afterlife?

Rabbi David Greenspoon of Beth El Congregation concludes his five-month exploration of the Zohar, called “the most important literary work” of Jewish mysticism, with a "Lunch & Learn" session at noon Tuesday at Baltimore’s Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies.

“Come and join us as we delve into the mystical world of the Kabbalists,” invites the institute, located at 956 Dulaney Valley Road. Those interested are asked to bring a brown-bag dairy lunch; all texts are to be provided in translation. RSVP to info@icjs.org; more information is available here.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 1:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Colleague Liz Bowie had a story this week that touched on the challenge the Archdiocese of Baltimore is facing in funding some of its schools.

St. Mary of the Assumption School in Govans, with declining enrollments and $1 million in debt, will be the second school in Baltimore and the third in Maryland to shut down at the end of the school year. The Catholic Community School in Federal Hill and St. Michael School in Frostburg also are closing their doors.

"To us, it speaks to a much larger issue," archdiocese spokesman Sean Caine told Bowie. "No matter what, we have to find additional revenue to support these schools."

There appear to be no easy answers for schools that often provide a low-tuition alternative to the public system for low-income families. The schools currently receive $3.6 million in public money, Bowie writes; the archdiocese has asked the General Assembly for additional tax dollars to keep the schools operating but has not persuaded legislators to support the idea.

Read the rest of the story at baltimoresun.com.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Megan Goldsmith is approaching her graduation from Baltimore Hebrew University with mixed emotions.

The 25-year-old Pikesville woman talks about the joy of completing her master's degree in Jewish communal service, the honor of having been selected by her classmates to deliver the student commencement address, and the anticipation of her new career.

But she speaks also of nostalgia. With state officials expected to approve the integration of Baltimore Hebrew into Towson University next month, she and 14 fellow degree recipients Thursday night are likely to be the final class to graduate from an institution long at the center of local Jewish cultural and intellectual life.

"There's been so many different people that have gone through that building," says Goldsmith, who was inspired to apply to the school in part by a series of mentors who held BHU degrees. "It's really sad that it's ending. I mean, it's been around for 90 years."

Read the rest of the story at baltimoresun.com.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

It’s looking as if the 15 men and women set to receive degrees at Baltimore Hebrew University this week will be the last graduates of the 90-year-old institution.

After months of negotiations, BHU administrators have signed a memorandum of understanding to integrate the school into Towson University. The Maryland Higher Education Commission and the University System of Maryland Board of Regents are expected to approve the merger next month, with the new Baltimore Hebrew Institute opening this fall on the Towson campus.

BHU's imminent demise has lent a valedictory air to commencement week. The school is planning a dinner Wednesday to honor the memory of Louis L. Kaplan, its president from 1930 to 1970; to give its distinguished leadership award to board member Lowell R. Glazer, who helped to shepherd the merger negotiations; and to grant an honorary doctorate to Marc Terrill, president of the Associated, the city’s most prominent Jewish organization.

Commencement is Thursday.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

While church fathers continue to come out against the University of Notre Dame for inviting President Barack Obama to commencement, ordinary Catholics support the university’s decision by a margin of nearly 2-1, according to a survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

Obama’s support for abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research put him at odds with Catholic teaching. Nonetheless, Notre Dame has invited the president to speak and receive an honorary degree during commencement exercises Sunday.

The web site LifeSiteNews.com has counted 76 American bishops who have spoken out against Notre Dame since the invitation was announced. Baltimore Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien was among the first, writing to Notre Dame President John Jenkins in March that he was “disappointed and bewildered” by the invitation.

Locally, the controversy recalls the outcry that greeted the decision of Loyola College of Maryland to invite former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, another abortion rights supporter, to participate in commencement there in 2005.

Continue reading "Lay Catholics support Notre Dame honor for Obama" »

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)