07:10 am  |  NEW ORLEANS, LA., Feb 9, 2010 (CNA).- Danny Abramowicz, Catholic speaker and former New Orleans Saints player, has said the Saints’ Super Bowl victory on Sunday showed they were a “team with destiny.” The family quality of Sunday’s game made it more enjoyable and showed the benefit Christian values can bring to sports, he thought.

Abramowicz, a star wide receiver for the Saints from 1967 to 1973 and an offensive coordinator for the team in the late 1990s, discussed the American football championship game in a Monday interview with CNA.

Though the saints “should have lost” the NFC Championship game against the Minnesota Vikings and yesterday faced a 10-0 deficit just “being dominated” by the Indianapolis Colts, they came back under the leadership of Drew Brees.

06:01 am  |  WASHINGTON D.C., Feb 9, 2010 (CNA).- A two-man Washington, D.C. panel has preferred to advance same-sex “marriage” at the cost of religious liberty, the Archdiocese of Washington has charged. The panel ruled that a referendum on a city council bill recognizing same-sex marriage would violate the District’s human rights law.

Opponents of the D.C. City Council’s decision, including the archdiocese, have sought a referendum to try to overturn the action.

However, two members of the Board of Elections and Ethics ruled the referendum would thwart the Council’s efforts to “eradicate unlawful discrimination” and would violate the District’s Human Rights Act (HRA).

10:58 pm  |  MADRID, SPAIN, Feb 8, 2010 (CNA).- The president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela of Madrid, blessed the highest Catholic chapel in the world, located on the 33rd floor of Spain's new skyscraper, “Space Tower.”

The cardinal celebrated Mass in the chapel along with officials from the Villa Mir construction company and employees of the building.

The chapel was built upon the request of several workers in the skyscraper who gathered to pray the Rosary during its construction.

05:44 pm  |  NEW ORLEANS, LA., Feb 8, 2010 (CNA).- Following the Saints' Super Bowl victory on Sunday, Archbishop Phillip Hannan, the retired Archbishop of New Orleans, lauded the team's win and told CNA that “it was a tremendous effort.”

“Everybody involved, in a marvelous way supported each other,” said the archbishop on Monday,  adding that he was “tremendously grateful” the Saints “won the fight.”

Kent Bossier, the personal assistant and care taker of the 96-year-old prelate, told CNA that their lively Super Bowl experience began when they were flown to Miami from New Orleans on Saint's owner Tom Benson's private jet.