Why Catholic Schools Are Worth Saving

This Sunday, May 20, is “Voucher Sunday.” You won’t find it on the Catholic liturgical calendar, but this year in Pennsylvania, it’s a vital day nonetheless.
Over the past few months, people across the Archdiocese have been working with renewed urgency and zeal to rebuild the health of our Catholic schools. Alumni and alumnae have rallied [...]

Thoughts on an invitation to grace

Later this month, on May 19, I’ll ordain new priests for our local Church. This is a special moment of joy for me, since these new brothers will be the first I welcome into the priesthood as Archbishop of Philadelphia. But every new priest is a source of joy and hope for all our people. In the wake of so many difficulties for our Church over the past 15 months, we need to pause and reflect.

Every genuine love story is a great love story; and every great love story creates new life. Real love is always fruitful. The love of husbands and wives bears fruit most obviously in the lives of their children, but also in many forms of Christian service … and also in the witness which their love provides to other people.

It’s not enough to know Jesus; we need to love Him

Scripture tells us that after the crushing sadness of the crucifixion, the joy felt by the disciples in recognizing Jesus at Emmaus was intense. But as deep and personal as their joy was, it also compelled them to act. Their joy was alive; it was restless; it made them run back to Jerusalem through the [...]

May 2012

Thursday, May 3
2:30 p.m. — Attend Conference for Priests given by Cardinal Paul Cordes
St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Wynnewood
4 p.m. — Celebrate Jubilarian Mass
St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Wynnewood
6 p.m. — Attend BLOCS 16th Annual Scholarship Dinner
The National Constitution Center
Saturday, May 5
8:30 a.m. — Archdiocesan Pastoral Council
Archdiocesan Pastoral Center
5:15 p.m. — Wedding Anniversary Mass
Cathedral Basilica of SS. [...]

April 2012

Sunday, April 1
10:45 a.m. — Mass
Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul, Philadelphia
6:30 p.m. — Mass
Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul, Philadelphia
Thursday, April 5
10 a.m. — Chrism Mass
Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul, Philadelphia
5 p.m. — Mass of the Lord’s Supper
Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul, Philadelphia
Friday, April 6
3 p.m. — The [...]

Some thoughts on ‘Our First, Most Cherished Liberty’

On Thursday, April 12, America’s bishops issued one of their most important statements in years. Our First, Most Cherished Liberty is not just a compelling defense of religious freedom. It’s also a call to action no committed Catholic can afford to ignore.

First, a little history and some background:

In the vision of America’s Founders, God exists, and his sovereignty matters. God endows each person with freedom and rights so that we can fulfill our duties toward him and each other. Our rights come from God, not from the state. Government is justified only insofar as it secures, promotes and defends those natural rights.

Holy week, Easter and the beginning of new life

The late and much loved Cardinal Augustin Mayer, O.S.B., once wrote that, “Nothing great is ever achieved without suffering.”

His words come back to me every year during Holy Week.

They remind us that discipleship always has a cost. No Christian ever lives the Gospel without eventually encountering the cross.

The nature of the Church and the importance of lay action

In the next few months, at my request, The Catholic Standard and Times will publish a report on the financial condition of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, including its offices, ministry programs and many of its related agencies and non-profit corporations.

Too often we think of the Church as an institution, and institutions are hard to love. The structures of Catholic life are required by canon and civil law, and they’re important. But they’re also secondary. At her heart, the Church is a family, a community of believers.

Like any family, her members have mutual obligations of respect and accountability. This has practical consequences. We ask our people to be generous. As a result, they have a right to know that their resources, which the Church holds in trust for them, are used properly.

Where we are as a Church, six months later

Six months ago this week (March 8), I began my service as Archbishop of Philadelphia. One of the reasons I write this weekly column is to speak directly and freely to our clergy and people.

Today is a good time to reflect on the work that’s been done so far to resolve the challenges facing the Archdiocese, and the work – a great deal of work – that still remains.

As I’ve noted in the past, when I arrived in Philadelphia I began a comprehensive financial and legal review of our archdiocesan operations. That process has been thorough and sobering. It will continue for several more months. But today we do have a far better sense of our limited resources and the scope of our problems.

What’s next for Catholic Schools — The work isn’t over

One of the best moments in the recent life of our Church happened on Friday, February 23, as students at West Catholic, Conwell-Egan, Bonner-Prendie and St. Hubert’s learned that their high schools, originally slated to close, would remain open.
I made the judgment to keep these financially challenged high schools open just a few hours before [...]