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Joanne McLoughlin, a member of St. Stephen Parish in Hamden, poses with Archbishop Henry J. Mansell while holding the St. Joseph Medal of Appreciation that he presented to her and 206 other men and women on March 7 in the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford. Father Robert Heffernan, pastor, said that Mrs. McLoughlin has been active at St. Stephen for more than 35 years. The medal recognizes parishioners' volunteer efforts for their faith communities. More photos are available by clicking here.  (Photo by Lenora Sumsky)

ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) – About 100 traditionalist Anglican parishes in the United States have decided to join the Catholic Church as a group.

Meeting in Orlando, the House of Bishops of the Anglican Church in America voted to seek entry into the Catholic Church under the guidelines established in Pope Benedict XVI's apostolic constitution "Anglicanorum Coetibus" ("Groups of Anglicans"), said a March 3 statement.

BLOOMFIELD – Three slices of the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal pie will be highlighted during the 2010 campaign, according to appeal director Stephen T. Kimmons.

"The appeal will focus on the Emergency Assistance Fund, the Vocation Office and the Tuition Assistance Fund," he said.

PLAINVILLE – It’s basketball season, and Connecticut’s Hall of Fame basketball coach Jim Calhoun continues to lead the University of Connecticut men’s program to national prominence. For more than two decades, Coach Calhoun’s image has been recognizable everywhere through televised games, newspaper accounts, billboards, television ads and public appearances.

But success and celebrity aside, when it comes to personal time off the court, he counts family, friends and faith as the important foundations for his life.

WATERBURY – It stands to reason that the oldest surviving Lithuanian-American parish in New England would want to keep and strengthen its ties to the now-free state of Lithuania in the European Union. The recent dedications of new Stations of the Cross and a new crucifix – both crafted by a renowned Lithuanian artist – have made members of St. Joseph Parish in Waterbury prouder than ever of both their parish and their heritage.

ST. LOUIS (CNS) – Members of religious orders who will visit selected religious congregations of women as part of an apostolic visitation are "well prepared and eager to hear the stories of the sisters they will visit," said the sister who is overseeing the Vatican-mandated study.

The visitors will experience "the rich living heritage and promise of religious life in the United States" through those they see, said Mother Mary Clare Millea, who is apostolic visitator for the study of 341 U.S. communities of women religious.

Washington D.C. (CNA) – An official with the U.S. bishops’ pro-life activities office has countered House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s claims that proposed health care legislation does not fund abortion, saying that the abortion funding problems in the bill are so serious the bishops will have to oppose the legislation.

At a press conference on Feb. 26, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was asked whether Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) was wrong in stating that the legislation would allow tax dollars to fund abortion and whether this would be an obstacle to the progress of the bill.