Local News

Parishioners hear of woman’s journey from abortion to family life

Abby Johnson, former Planned Parenthood clinic director, quit after witnessing ultrasound imagery of an abortion. The now outspoken pro-life advocate, wife and mother spoke at St. Peter Parish, West Brandywine.

El Paso Diocese gets ready for rendezvous with Pope Francis

Two days before Pope Francis' main event in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, the Diocese of El Paso was coordinating the final touches to its own two main papal events.

Devil wants church resigned to violence; resist him, pope says

The pope's message was an encouragement to those priests and religious who literally risk their lives standing up to the drug lords and urging their faithful to do the same.

Bishops to support Filipino workers affected by falling oil prices

The bishops said they would intensify their pastoral programs for overseas Filipino workers, "reaching out to them through chaplains and to their families through the parishes," said Bishop Ruperto Santos of Balanga.

Phila. Boy Scout honored for rescue of drowning toddlers

Last summer Robert Ritchie, a third grader at St. Matthew School in Northeast Philadelphia, swam into the diving well of a pool to save a 3- and 4-year-old. The Boy Scouts of America awarded him the Medal of Merit.

In Mexico, pope urges smart laws, personal commitment to stronger families

Pope Francis said he preferred "a wounded family that makes daily efforts to put love into play" over a society that is "sick from isolationism" and "afraid of love." He spoke Feb. 15 to a boisterous audience of families southern Mexico and Guatemala.

At El Paso church, people pray day and night for pope in Mexico

"Every day since the pope arrived in Mexico, in the morning and evening, we pray the rosary for his intentions -- for mercy, peace and for his protection," said Raquel Garay Williams, a member of the parish council.

‘Tatic Francis’ affirms Mexico’s indigenous people in visit to Chiapas

"You have much to teach us," he told the elders, activists and simple faithful gathered at a sports complex in San Cristobal de Las Casas, a city in Chiapas, Mexico's southernmost state, and a center of advocacy and struggle for the indigenous rights.

Scalia dies at 79; was longest-serving justice on current Supreme Court

UPDATED - Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who died of apparent natural causes Feb. 13 while in Texas on a hunting trip, once said in an interview that while he took his Catholic faith seriously, he never allowed it to influence his work on the high court.

In crime-plagued Mexican periphery, pope preaches conversion

Pope Francis began his travels to Mexico by visiting an overcrowded, sprawling settlement known internationally as a hunting ground for girls to force into prostitution and for boys to enlist in the drug trade.