CASPER, Wyo. (CNS) — Students enrolled in the Wyoming School of Catholic Thought in Casper heard lectures on how the soul is naturally Christian, how Socrates was the harbinger of Christ and how art reflects human beings’ evolving understanding of themselves. The weeklong school, held for the second year in a row, is sponsored by the Cheyenne Diocese. It drew 60 students, and several diocesan priests and men religious also attended. "Truth gives oxygen, it is nourishing to the whole being," Cheyenne Bishop David L. Ricken told the school’s participants. "Knowing the truth is critically important to the entire world," the bishop said. He predicted that, once again, the Catholic Church would be the bearer of civilization as Western civilization continues on what he believes is a road to collapse.

HOUSTON (CNS) — Memorable songs of praise and worship, messages of perseverance, and moving testimonies left lasting impressions on attendees during the second National Gathering of Black Catholic Women, held in Houston. But for Genevieve Rousseve, it was simply the bonding — the sisterhood — shared during the experience that she will ultimately cherish most. "It was just so wonderful to talk to women with the same ideas I have," said Rousseve, a member of the Sisters in the Spirit. The group, based in the Diocese of Galveston-Houston, hosted the conference. "The spirit of this makes me feel good about everything," she told The Texas Catholic Herald, the diocesan newspaper. "Listening to all of these wonderful women give sermons, hearing friends sing — all of the camaraderie has made me feel uplifted," she added. The event brought together more than 800 women of faith from all corners of the United States.

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Try typing the word "poverty" into the search functions of the Web sites for the presidential campaigns of President George W. Bush and Sen. John F. Kerry and it might seem as though it’s only a problem in other, distant parts of the world. While both candidates talk all the time about how they intend to improve the economic situations of middle-class voters, neither so far has devoted much campaign effort to the problems of the 35 million Americans living below the poverty line. When Kerry or Bush mentions the word poverty in stump speeches, it’s usually in references to fighting poverty to prevent terrorism, or as a strategy in combating HIV/AIDS internationally. "I’m not thrilled with either party’s take on addressing poverty," said Jesuit Father Thomas Massaro, a moral theology professor at Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Mass., and author of the1998 book, "Catholic Social Teaching and U.S. Welfare Reform." Although both candidates emphasize their plans to improve the financial lot of the middle class, he said, "nobody’s talking about upward mobility for the poorest people, about people at the bottom of the job market." Father Massaro said both campaigns are responding to the political reality that "the poor don’t vote," or at least, not in significant enough numbers to make their concerns a priority.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (CNS) — In a landmark decision, Synod 2004 of the Christian Reformed Church in North America declared June 18 that the Church’s confessional statement calling the Catholic Mass "idolatry" is not accurate. At issue was the 80th question and answer of the church’s Heidelberg Catechism, written in 1563, which says the Mass "is basically nothing but a denial of the one sacrifice and suffering of Jesus Christ and (basically nothing but) a condemnable idolatry." Six hours of debate June 16 on a proposal to alter that text left synod delegates with a variety of proposed alternative solutions to choose from, so they referred the question back to their advisory committee, asking it to revise its original proposal in light of the debate. Two days later, the synod’s online news service said, "Delegates voted to declare that the Heidelberg Catechism’s statement that the Roman Catholic Mass is ‘condemnable idolatry’ cannot remain in its current form as part of the official confessions of the Christian Reformed Church."

BURLINGTON, Vt. (CNS) — Backers of an ultimately successful move to legalize medical marijuana in Vermont found a supporter in Burlington Bishop Kenneth A. Angell. During debate in the Vermont Legislature about the bill to legalize the use of marijuana by those with chronic and severe suffering, Bishop Angell told a Vermont magazine that he supported "controlled substance prescriptions for medical marijuana." "The movement has substantial and respectable support from physicians, social workers and legislators of thought," he said in an April statement to Burlington-based Seven Days magazine. "Certainly the dangers of misuse can be no greater than the existing legal availability of many controlled substances," the bishop added. "I believe that such low-risk drugs are an important and humane contribution to pain control and quality end-of-life care." In a second statement, Bishop Angell emphasized that he did not support any move toward the legalization of marijuana in other circumstances and "would not want to send an inappropriate message to our youth, that marijuana is acceptable for non-medicinal purposes."

BALTIMORE (CNS) — Despite some last-minute legal moves and a high-profile plea for mercy from two Catholic cardinals, a bishop and the papal representative in the United States, the state of Maryland executed convicted rapist and murderer Steven H. Oken. Eight days earlier, Cardinals Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington and William H. Keeler of Baltimore and Bishop Michael A. Saltarelli of Wilmington, Del., released a joint letter in which they asked Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich to commute Oken’s sentence to life imprisonment. They noted that "life without parole has been a sentencing option in Maryland death penalty proceedings since 1989" and they asked Ehrlich "to be merciful" and use his powers to change the sentence.