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Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY — Paolo Gabriele, the papal butler charged with stealing and leaking papal correspondence, said he was innocent of charges of aggravated theft, but “I feel guilty for having betrayed the trust the Holy Father placed in me.”
“I loved him like a son,” Gabriele said of the pope during the second day of his trial.
Staff reporter
WILMINGTON — In the ever-changing world of technology, it’s difficult for any school to keep up, but one local Catholic high school is trying to stay one step ahead.
St. Elizabeth High School has ramped up its technological offerings, and at this time next year that will include Apple iPads for every student.
Staff reporter
WILMINGTON – Apparently, Judy Jakotowicz White discovered during her childhood that she had a pretty good thing going at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Wilmington. So good, in fact, that she has never left.
She attended the parish school and has worked there as a counselor and assistant principal, and now is the new principal. The school and parish are part of her, as she received all her sacraments at St. Anthony’s Church. She graduated from Padua Academy. Even her first job, at age 13, was working for the parish.
Staff reporter
WILMINGTON — For many parents, affording a Catholic school tuition requires sacrifice. They work the cost into their budget, only to suffer a moderate concussion when they see the book bill. The Wall Street Journal reported last January that high school textbooks cost an average of $105, and students are likely to need at least four or five of them. One proposed avenue of relief is electronic textbooks, but, according to the newspaper, e-books account for just 2.8 percent of the $8 billion annual textbook market.
NEW ORLEANS — On the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina Aug. 29, Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond offered prayers for people in the Archdiocese of New Orleans impacted by slow-moving Hurricane Isaac.
The storm dumped more than 15 inches of rain on southeast Louisiana and caused widespread flooding but spared New Orleans from major damage.
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy — Marking the feast of the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, Pope Benedict XVI said Christians must not bow to the pressure of the powerful who demand a denial of Christ or of the truth he taught.
“The truth is the truth and there is no compromise,” the pope said at his weekly general audience Aug. 29, the day the church remembers St. John the Baptist’s beheading.
NEW YORK — New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan will offer closing prayers at the Democratic National Convention Sept. 6, as he will at the Republican National Convention a week earlier.
Cardinal Dolan, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, accepted an invitation from the Democratic convention organizers to deliver the benediction on the last night of the Sept. 4-6 event, after clearing it with Charlotte, N.C., Bishop Peter J. Jugis, said an Aug. 28 statement from Joe Zwilling, spokesman for the New York Archdiocese. Since the Charlotte convention is in his diocese, protocol would call for Bishop Jugis to have the say over whether a bishop from another diocese plays such a role.
NAPLES, Fla. — Catholic agencies were working Aug. 27 to assess damage in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Isaac’s pass over the Caribbean, where at least 24 people died and tens of thousands were evacuated.
The storm left widespread flooding and wind damage in Cuba and Hispaniola, the island shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti, before turning north toward the U.S. Gulf Coast, where it was expected to make landfall Aug. 28.
The Maryland Catholic Conference (MCC) said in an Aug. 20 statement that the wording for November’s state ballot initiative would redefine marriage for all Marylanders, unless it’s overturned by the voters.
“Proponents of the law claim the ballot language reflects the measure’s supposed religious freedom protections for those who believe marriage is the union of one man and one woman,” the MCC statement said. “This claim is misguided and ignores the fundamental reasons to reject this measure.”
Staff reporter
NEWARK — The nursing home unit at the Jeanne Jugan Residence in Newark recently earned a five-star rating from the federal government, the only facility for adults in Delaware to do so.
For the Little Sisters of the Poor who operate the residence, the rating validates their approach to elderly care.
