News
Ash Wednesday begins Lenten season
Lent is a time when Christians are called to begin an inner journey of conversion of heart through prayer, fasting and charitable works. See CatholicPhilly.com's Lent 2016 section for tools to help you pray and live deeply these 40 days.
Giving to the poor is part of Year of Mercy, pope says
"I'll tell you something," Pope Francis said, "if this jubilee doesn't reach our pockets, it's not a real jubilee. Do you understand? This is in the Bible, eh, this pope isn't inventing that. It's in the Bible."
New Catholic-Muslim dialogue formed; Chicago archbishop named co-chair
"As the national conversation around Islam grows increasingly fraught, coarse and driven by fear and often willful misinformation, the Catholic Church must help to model real dialogue and goodwill," said Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski of Springfield, Massachusetts, who is chairman of the committee.
Woman to lead theological-pastoral aspect of Vatican communications
The director of the new theological-pastoral department of the Vatican Secretariat for Communications is Natasa Govekar, a theologian who specializes in the communication of faith through images.
Archbishop Gomez calls Latinos to build pro-life culture, not political coalition
Archbishop Gomez said that the practice of abortion and euthanasia raises concerns about "what kind of society we are and what kind of people we want to be."
Pope sends condolences after earthquake in Taiwan
"The Holy Father was saddened to learn of the suffering caused by the deadly earthquake which struck Tainan, leaving many people dead or seriously injured," read a message sent by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, on behalf of the pope.
Communist official to religious leaders: Promote Chinese culture
Yu Zhengsheng said religious leaders must form a bridge between the Communist Party and hundreds of millions of Chinese that follow the country's five officially recognized religions -- Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, Buddhism and Taoism, reported ucanews.com.
Papal commission on sex abuse votes that member take leave of absence
Peter Saunders, founder and chief executive officer of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood, told reporters, however, that he would not leave his position on the commission.
Special visitors see the good work happening in Catholic school
The invited guests for Grandparents Day at Good Shepherd School in Ardsley got an inside look at the polite and helpful students, plus the educational program and faculty, during Catholic Schools Week.
Financial details released for seminary, cemeteries and fundraising
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia released audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015, including for Heritage of Faith-Vision of Hope, the Catholic Charities Appeal, and other entities.