News
Philadelphia Mass for Bishop McFadden set for his birthday
Catholics in the Philadelphia Archdiocese will have an opportunity to pray together for Bishop Joseph P. McFadden, who died May 2. A memorial Mass will be celebrated on what would have been his 66th birthday, May 22, at 7 p.m. in the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul, Philadelphia. All are welcome to participate. […]
Immigrants at rally say legislation fight is all about the papers
GEORGETOWN, Del. (CNS) — For the residents of this small town in agriculture-focused Sussex County, the pending immigration reform legislation in Congress is first and foremost about papers. Work permits, Social Security cards, permanent residency or green cards, and driver’s licenses — that’s what the mostly Guatemalan immigrants in Georgetown say they most look forward […]
Pope, Lebanese president appeal for aid for Syrian refugees
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Meeting at the Vatican May 3, Pope Francis and Lebanese President Michel Sleiman called on the international community to offer concrete aid to Lebanon and other countries hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria. Aides to Sleiman told reporters the president was unable to come to the Vatican for Pope […]
Pope: People have guts to be ambitious; instead, be courageous for God
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — People are courageous in pursuing their careers, personal ambitions and jealousies, but they really should be using that courage to believe in the resurrected Christ, pray to him and spread the Gospel, Pope Francis said. When the church loses courage, it is enveloped by a “tepid atmosphere,” with “lukewarm Christians without […]
Bishops hail repeal of capital punishment in Maryland
WASHINGTON (CNS) — One U.S. Catholic bishop hailed the repeal of the death penalty in Maryland as “a courageous step toward a culture of life.” The comment, by Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, Calif., chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, was issued May 2, the day Maryland Gov. […]
Mexican court upholds states’ amendments that life begins at conception
MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- Mexico's Supreme Court ruled May 2 against a challenge to the amendments brought by municipalities in the states of Oaxaca and Guanajuato; the court ruled that local governments have no jurisdiction over health matters.
Four days of funeral rites for Bishop McFadden set in Harrisburg
The Diocese of Harrisburg announces the following funeral arrangements for Bishop Joseph P. McFadden. All liturgies are open to the public. The funeral Mass will be celebrated at the Holy Name of Jesus Church, 6150 Allentown Blvd., Harrisburg, Pa., on Wednesday, May 8.
Friends remember Bishop McFadden as ‘kind of priest every priest should be’
Bishop Joseph P. McFadden will be mourned in Harrisburg, the diocese he led for almost three years. He will also certainly be mourned in Philadelphia, the archdiocese where he spent the first 63 years of his life. Joe McFadden didn’t enter the seminary straight from St. Thomas More High; instead he earned his degree at […]
In his final moments, Bishop McFadden graced by sacrament, recalled people of diocese
Death came swiftly and silently for Bishop Joseph P. McFadden on the early morning of May 2, but it did not catch him spiritually unawares. "Would you please give me absolution?” the bishop asked a priest friend in his car as they drove to the hospital. “He’s a Godly man and he wants the sacraments of the Church,” Msgr. Joseph Garvin thought. He said the prayer of absolution and made the sign of the cross. Bishop McFadden blessed himself. Very shortly after, the bishop slumped over.
Bishop Joseph McFadden of Harrisburg, Philadelphia native, dies suddenly at 65
UPDATED -- Bishop Joseph P. McFadden, a Philadelphia native and the bishop of Harrisburg, Pa., died suddenly in his hometown Thursday morning, May 2. Friends and associates of Bishop McFadden reflected on the man they knew and loved.