News
Synod should consider allowing female deacons, says archbishop
Canadian Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher said where possible, qualified women should be given decision-making authority within church structures and new opportunities in ministry.
Pope says ministry to divorced, remarried is not only topic for synod
Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told reporters Oct. 6 that the pope took the microphone that morning to affirm again that "Catholic doctrine on marriage has not been touched or put into question."
California bishops disappointed by Catholic governor’s OK of suicide law
California’s bishops expressed disappointment with Gov. Jerry Brown’s Oct. 5 signing of a measure legalizing physician-assisted suicide in the state, saying the law “stands in direct contradiction to providing compassionate, quality care for those facing a terminal illness.”
Oregon archbishop calls for prayers for the grieving, others push for gun control
St. Joseph Parish in Roseburg hosted an emotional Mass the evening of Oct. 1 for 10 people who died in a shooting that morning at Umpqua Community College. Auxiliary Bishop Peter Smith traveled from Portland for the liturgy.
3 Catholic schools among only 17 statewide named for Blue Ribbon award
Our Mother of Consolation in Philadelphia, St. Agnes in West Chester and St. Norbert in Paoli have been named by the U.S. Education Department as model schools, out of only five in the region. The schools excel despite various challenges.
Bishop calls Catholic men to get off sidelines, step ‘into the breach’
Addressed to Catholic men in the diocese -- "my spiritual sons" as the bishop calls them -- it charges them to be prepared for spiritual battle for their souls and the souls of their families is aimed.
Catholic schools locked down near Phila. college while cops hunt gunman
Police arrested a man Tuesday morning, Oct. 6, believed to have produced a gun during an earlier argument on the campus of Philadelphia Community College. It was locked down as a precaution, along with Catholic schools in the neighborhood.
In Missouri, critics call report on Planned Parenthood ‘incomplete’
Attorney General Chris Koster said the organization is complying with Missouri law in how it disposes of human tissue from abortions.
Time for cautious diplomacy is over, says Ukrainian Catholic leader
The head of the Ukrainian Catholic church has urged the Vatican to show greater support for his country, as a senior Vatican diplomat warned the country risked becoming "a kind of Somalia."
For Belgau, it’s time to talk about being gay and a faithful Catholic
A speaker at the recent World Meeting of Families talks in a CatholicPhilly.com interview about how the church can address the needs of homosexual persons using Catholic teaching on marriage and family as a guide.