As chairwoman of the Women’s Education Alliance, Betty Contino welcomed more than 240 people to its annual fall luncheon Oct. 28 at Cardinal Shehan School in Baltimore, advising them to “just eat your cookies and chill out,” as the event would be nothing short of spectacular.

This year, however, the annual November meeting in Baltimore has an opportunity to take a public stand on an issue that is roiling the neighborhoods and parishes of many American communities — the current administration’s aggressive campaign to seize and deport undocumented immigrants.

With Pope Leo XIV set to proclaim of St. John Henry Newman as a doctor of the church Nov. 1, let’s consider what criterion is used to make this decision, whether a layperson could be named a doctor and what sort of writings church doctors must have produced to be given this title.

Influential religious leaders reminded Catholics of their responsibility to combat antisemitism while celebrating the 60th anniversary of “Nostra Aetate,” a transformative church document in Catholic-Jewish relations, in the nation’s capital.

As the shutdown of the federal government dragged into its fourth week, Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori issued a public statement Oct. 28, calling for support for those affected and offered the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s support.