I like Mike Giambelluca’s spunk and determination. As he has done throughout the years of recovery during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Jesuit principal will again solicit support from his public and non-public school cohorts to allow schools to play above their classifications.

Usted se reunió recientemente con James Carter, el Comisionado de Justicia Criminal de la ciudad de Nueva Orleáns, para discutir los muchos elementos que han alimentado la cultura de la violencia en la región.

Pope Benedict XVI offered prayers for victims of recent flooding in Central America, Southeast Asia and other parts of the world and urged people to be generous in helping those suffering the effects of natural disasters.

He is not Methuselah or even Melchizedek, but at 95 and with a mind so nimble it could run rings around a fifth grader, Salesian Father Emil Fardellone, former high school English and history teacher, pastor and Scripture scholar, is anything but retiring.

You served for six years, including three years as chairman, of the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection, so you undoubtedly are more aware than most about how pedophiles stalk children.

Most Catholic parents eagerly teach their very young children their ABCs and numbers, but when it comes to teaching them the fundamentals of their faith, too many parents punt the ball to religion teachers.

By SHARON HENO Guest Columnist While it has been in the media and on the minds of many over the past few years, bullying – or aggression – is not a new concept. In the past this “peer aggression” was dismissed as a rite of passage, or “kids just being kids.” We now know, however, the devastating and long-term affects bullying can have on our youth.

In the United States, the pornography industry annually grosses more money than the combined revenue of the “Big 3” professional sports of football, baseball and basketball. Long painted as a problem that begins in the teenage years, pornography can begin to permeate the lives of children as early as the primary grades, and access to it is being made easier than ever through the Internet and other media.

Every school year at St. Andrew the Apostle, students celebrate three “Diversity Masses” exposing them to elements of Asian, Hispanic and African modes of worship. “Our theme today revolves around different titles of the Blessed Mother used in Asia,” noted teacher Mollie Hedlund, before the Oct. 28 Mass in which students processed into church carrying images of Vietnam’s Our Lady of La Vang and the Madonnas of Korea, China, Japan and the Philippines.

Already looked up to as school leaders because of their talents on the court or playing field, student-athletes are in a powerful position to become role models – for better or for worse – among their peers.

By Bronwyn Myer Guest Columnist Imagine being an energetic ball player in the third grade. Imagine how life can be for an 8-year old boy who loves to run and play on the field at Mike Miley Playground and on the grounds of St. Mary Magdalen School.

In 2002, Blessed John Paul proposed a new set of rosary meditations called the Luminous Mysteries. These “Mysteries of Light” were the focus of a Living Rosary presented by seventh graders at St. Pius X Oct. 26.

St. Catherine of Siena prevailed against St. Ann to claim this year’s varsity volleyball title. The junior varsity volleyball title went to St. Angela Merici after the final against St. Clement of Rome.

On Oct. 14, fourth graders from St. Benedict the Moor School in New Orleans spent the afternoon playing games with students from Chartwell Center, which serves children with autism. The field trip was part of the grade’s 2011-12 service-learning program that will include planting marsh grasses in the spring.

Children in third through eighth grade gathered at St. Cletus Oct. 22 for the 20th annual “Children’s Mission Day Mass and Celebration” sponsored by the archdiocesan office of the Holy Childhood Association (HCA).

On Oct. 14, fourth graders from St. Benedict the Moor School in New Orleans spent the afternoon playing games with students from Chartwell Center, which serves children with autism. The field trip was part of the grade’s 2011-12 service-learning program that will include planting marsh grasses in the spring.

The way Frank Kelly tells it, he was a blue-collar worker just like the apostles when God decided to tap him to help others. Today, the 63-year-old from Massachusetts travels nationwide giving testimony of surviving being hit by a drunk driver at 16, being electrocuted as an adult and living with rheumatoid arthritis.

On Dec. 15, 2001, Deacon Garland Roussel Jr. received the Sacrament of Holy Orders. For the last ten years, Deacon Garland has proclaimed the Gospel, performed baptisms, witnessed marriages, and held funeral liturgies and graveside services.

Four years ago, Jeanne Truxillo was caught off guard when her husband left her and their four children. A stay-at-home mom who home-schooled her children, she didn’t know what she was going to do. Today, with the help of her Catholic parish family at St. Peter Church in Covington, a faith-filled and loving homeschooling group affiliated with St. Peter and her family, the 33-year-old Truxillo has emerged from despair and found hope.

The Eucharist – dramatically superimposed against the chest of a priest – is at the center of the six other sacraments in a dazzling new banner heralding the Archdiocese of New Orleans’ efforts to increase vocations to the priesthood.