News
St. Maximilian Kolbe wins archdiocesan boys CYO basketball title
St. Maximilian Kolbe, West Chester, finished a perfect season with a 58-53 win over parochial powerhouse St. Andrew’s, Newtown, to win its first boys archdiocesan Catholic Youth Organization basketball championship March 9 in front of a capacity crowd at Archbishop Wood High School in Warminster. (See a photo of the girls CYO basketball state champion, […]
CSS so good at supporting pregnant women, state agency gives it top award
Catholic Social Services (CSS) of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has been named Pennsylvania’s Service Provider of the Year by the Harrisburg-based Real Alternatives, a state-funded nonprofit that administers the Alternative to Abortion Services Program of the Commonwealth.
Archbishop Ryan HS, Holy Family U, agree to stronger ties in Northeast Phila.
Students and faculty at Archbishop Ryan High School will soon be able to earn college-level credits or continuing education credits and a smoother college admissions process through a new partnership with Holy Family University.
Syrian Christians turn to Turkish churches, not refugee camps, for help
ISTANBUL (CNS) -- Churches and monasteries in Turkey are struggling to shelter a rising number of Syrian Christian refugees who are reluctant to seek help at government-run relief camps because of reported Muslim extremism, said a Catholic Relief Services staffer.
Pope says religions must cooperate to remind humanity God exists
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- For the good of all people, the care of the poor and the future of the Earth, religions must cooperate in reminding modern men and women that God exists and has a plan for their lives and their behavior, Pope Francis said.
Pope uniquely positioned to foster peace, says N.J.’s Congressman Smith
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Princes and presidents, diplomats and dictators, patriarchs and pastors came together in St. Peter's Square to witness the inauguration of Pope Francis' ministry. Any signs of animosity or favor were set aside as more than 130 government representatives, as well as dozens of religious leaders, sat side by side at the March 19 ceremony.
Terri Schiavo’s memory honored with upcoming Mass, dinner
Terri Schindler Schiavo, a comatose young woman who died in Florida March 31, 2005 after being denied nutrition and hydration despite a long court battle, has not been forgotten. On Friday, April 5, Archbishop Charles Chaput will celebrate a 5 p.m. Mass in Terri’s memory at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul. This will be followed by a dinner at the Philadelphia Downtown Marriot Hotel at 12th and Market streets, sponsored by the Terri Schiavo Life and Hope Network.
St. Dominic’s 7th graders correctly picked new pope before cardinals did
The next time there is a papal election, it might be just as well to skip the white smoke/black smoke suspense and endless speculation on who will be elected pope. Just call up St. Dominic School in Northeast Philadelphia and find out what the seventh-grade kids think.
Vatican releases Pope Francis’ schedule, details of surprise visits
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican released an official schedule for Pope Francis March 17-24, but if his first two days as pope were any indication, the schedule was only an outline destined to expand at a moment's notice. The only event on the new pope's schedule March 15 was an audience with the world's cardinals. But shortly before that meeting, he shocked the receptionist at the Jesuit headquarters by telephoning the order's superior general; he made an evening visit to a Rome clinic to visit 90-year-old Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mejia who had had a heart attack; then he stopped at the replica of the grotto of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens to pray before a statue of Mary.
Argentineans paint Pope Francis as kind, outspoken, good administrator
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (CNS) -- Oscar Justo, 60, begs for bills and coins from a perch next to St. Joseph Parish in Barrio de Flores, the neighborhood where Pope Francis was born. As Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Pope Francis passed by often, walking from the bus stop or surfacing from a nearby subway station. But he always took time to greet Justo, offer a blessing and provide a few pesos.