News
Archdiocesan financial report, 2011-2012
See the full Archdiocesan financial report. See the supplemental document to the report.
Archdiocesan Financial Report shows complex factors leading to huge deficits
Archbishop Charles Chaput in his column last week on CatholicPhilly.com called the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s new financial report “very serious – and that’s an understatement.” True to his word, a 37-page report of unprecedented detail released today shows an operating deficit of $39.1 million for the fiscal year spanning July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012. Grim figures of the report revealed 2011-2012 to be a very mean year, and pointed to serious long-term concerns.
Arizona fire rages as slain hotshot crew members are mourned
PHOENIX (CNS) -- As the people of central Arizona mourned the deaths June 30 of 19 firefighters from the Granite Mountain Hotshots, hundreds of other firefighters battled the still-uncontrolled blaze that threatened the small towns of Yarnell and Peeples Valley. The men from an elite firefighting crew based in Prescott, Ariz. -- where they made up a significant portion of the city's 92-employee fire department -- were trapped when winds shifted, turning the fast-moving wildfire in their direction.
U.S. bishops, religious leaders call for religious liberty protections
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A diverse group of religious leaders, including Catholics, Protestants, evangelicals and a representative from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, issued an open letter July 2 urging the U.S. government to "expand conscience protections" in its Health and Human Services contraceptive mandate.
Bishops find problems in Colombia, Peru, echo issues at home in U.S.
LAMAS, Peru (CNS) -- Conflicts over natural resources and land rights in places like Peru and Colombia echo similar problems in the United States, said U.S. bishops who visited the two countries in late June. "We came to express solidarity with the church in Peru and Colombia, that we are one family in Christ, and the concerns of one part of the family are the concerns of the other," Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz., told Catholic News Service.
Central African bishops: Insurgence has ruined nation’s social fabric
BANGUI, Central African Republic (CNS) -- Catholic bishops in the Central African Republic said their country's occupation by Islamist-led rebels has left its livelihood "looted and destroyed" and its "social fabric completely torn up." "Never has our country known a conflict so grave in its magnitude and duration -- never has any military-political disorder spread through our territory with such a violent impact," the bishops' conference said.
Saints’ congregation reportedly acts on causes of JP II, John XXIII
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The cardinals and archbishops who are members of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes met July 2 and, according to Italian news reports, took steps to advance the sainthood causes of Blesseds John Paul II and John XXIII. The Vatican press office confirmed the meeting, but said that all deliberations in sainthood […]
U.K. may allow DNA changes to abolish disease; church institute critical
MANCHESTER, England (CNS) -- A Catholic bioethics institute criticized plans by the British government to create "genetically modified children" free of hereditary disease and said the treatment could affect the child's descendants in unknown ways. The Department of Health announced June 28 that, later this year, it will publish draft regulations on two mitochondrial replacement techniques.
Director, deputy director of Vatican bank resign
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The director and the deputy director of the Vatican bank, which is being investigated by a special papal commission, resigned July 1. A statement from the Vatican press office said Director Paolo Cipriani and Massimo Tulli, deputy director, offered their resignations “in the best interest of the institute and the Holy […]
U.S. bishops want to give ‘careful analysis’ to HHS final rules
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The final rules issued June 28 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services implementing its mandate that employers provide coverage of contraceptives "will require more careful analysis," New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan said in a statement. The cardinal, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the 110-page ruling is "long and complex" and the bishops will "provide a fuller statement when that analysis is complete."

