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{mosimage}TORONTO - The 2008 ShareLife campaign is hoping to make up lost ground on the weekend of April 12-13 when the second collection takes place for the archdiocese of TorontoöÏÓãÊÓƵapp charitable appeal.

{mosimage}THORNHILL, Ont. - Fifty wax candles flickered in the semi-darkness of St. LukeöÏÓãÊÓƵapp Catholic Church in Thornhill, Ont., on March 29. Aside from the candles, which congregants used to follow along in their song books, the only other light source came from a dim spotlight shining on the sanctuaryöÏÓãÊÓƵapp large wooden cross.

{mosimage}OTTAWA - Catholic groups say CanadaöÏÓãÊÓƵapp international reputation is jeopardized because the federal government has done nothing to ensure mining and oil and gas companies operate responsibly in developing countries.

{mosimage}CAPE TOWN, South Africa - Southern African church leaders urged Zimbabweans and their leaders to exercise restraint as results of the March 29 presidential and parliamentary elections were announced.

{mosimage}Catholic voters may well decide who gets to be the next president of the United States. ItöÏÓãÊÓƵapp a role that by now should be fairly familiar for American Catholics.

Well, I've survived the first cut to get media accreditation to observe Pope Benedict XVI during his first visit to the United States, April 15-20, 2008. Come Tuesday, April 15, when Pope Benedict arrives at Andrews Airforce Base at roughly 4 p.m., I will be present in the U.S. capital city, well briefed and prepared to report.

This itself is no mean feat. Some 5,000 people applied to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for accreditation. I made it through the first cut. Now it's a bit of a waiting game to find out which of the Pope's dozen or so events I will be able to attend. The media folks at the USCCB are doing a bit of triage as they try to squeeze as many of us demanding journalists and observers into the actual space available at each venue. I pity them.

Well, I've survived the first cut to get media accreditation to observe Pope Benedict XVI during his first visit to the United States, April 15-20, 2008. Come Tuesday, April 15, when Pope Benedict arrives at Andrews Airforce Base at roughly 4 p.m., I will be present in the U.S. capital city, well briefed and prepared to report.

This itself is no mean feat. Some 5,000 people applied to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for accreditation. I made it through the first cut. Now it's a bit of a waiting game to find out which of the Pope's dozen or so events I will be able to attend. The media folks at the USCCB are doing a bit of triage as they try to squeeze as many of us demanding journalists and observers into the actual space available at each venue. I pity them.

{mosimage}CAPE TOWN, South Africa - Anxiety is growing in Zimbabwe, where the results of March 29 elections are not yet known and the opposition has claimed a resounding victory over President Robert Mugabe, church officials say.

{mosimage}VATICAN CITY - Papal visits tend to bring out special interest groups, and one already has surfaced in the United States.

Physicians and Nurses Against Tobacco, a Rhode Island-based organization, is asking Pope Benedict XVI to support its campaign for a tobacco-free society.

{mosimage}TORONTO — The people who want to hold OntarioöÏÓãÊÓƵapp Liberal government to its poverty reduction promises are plotting their strategy April 14.