News
Cardinal Egan, at UN service, says communications can be tool of peace
NEW YORK (CNS) — The communications revolution of modern times has given the peoples of the world an unprecedented opportunity to come together in understanding, Cardinal Edward M. Egan said at a prayer service for the opening of the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Speaking to ambassadors and diplomats, including U.N. Secretary-General […]
German bishops defend exclusion of Catholics who stop paying tax
WARSAW, Poland (CNS) — The German bishops’ conference defended a controversial decree that said Catholics who stop paying a church membership tax cannot receive sacraments. “There must be consequences for people who distance themselves from the church by a public act,” said Archbishop Robert Zollitsch of Freiburg, conference president, in defending the Sept. 20 decree. […]
Once a thriving Kensington parish, Ascension to close Oct. 1
Ascension of Our Lord Parish was once among the largest in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It has experienced a dwindling population, with only seven infant baptisms, two marriages and average weekly Mass attendance of 188. The figures are less than half of what they were just four years ago.
St. Benedict’s well-loved Deacon Walker dies at 85
Deacon James T. Walker, 85, a retired permanent deacon formerly assigned to St. Benedict Parish in Philadelphia, died Sept. 18. Born in Detroit, Michigan Oct. 7, 1926, he served in the United States Army during World War II, and it was during this period he met his future wife, Bernice Washington. After his military service […]
Knights of Columbus organize voter registration drives in parishes
In a show of faithful citizenship and with the endorsement of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference (PCC), the Pennsylvania State Council of the Knights of Columbus has urged the various local councils throughout the state to conduct nonpartisan voter registration drives in the parishes this month. Under the agreed upon terms, the Knights may not mention specific parties, candidates or issues; they are just signing up new voters or voters changing their registration.
Villanova gets busy in 7th annual Day of Service
Villanova University partnered with local service organizations and neighborhood agencies throughout the Greater Philadelphia region on Saturday, Sept. 22 in celebration of the university’s seventh-annual St. Thomas of Villanova “Day of Service.” More than 4,000 students, faculty, staff, alumni and their families took part in projects at 140 sites ranging from serving meals and packaging food for hunger relief organizations to neighborhood clean-ups and tree plantings.
Catholics must take action to protect religious liberty, speakers urge
JAMAICA, N.Y. (CNS) — Religious liberty is facing such grave threats in the United States that Catholics must take immediate and courageous action to defend fundamental values both in the public forum and in the privacy of the voting booth, according to speakers at a Sept 20 forum. More than 400 people assembled at St. […]
St. Barbara Social Trendsetters Annual “Flea Market”
Saturday, September 22, 2012 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Parish Yard 54th Street & Lebanon Avenue. Phila., PA 19131 215-473-1044 $10.00 per space (bring your own table or set-up) vendors set-up is 8:00 AM. Call for a space. Food & Beverages sold by the Social Trendsetters only.
At 100, she goes up and away for her birthday
So there you are coming up on your 100th birthday, and someone asks, “What is the one thing you want most for your birthday?” There happens to be a very good local organization, the Twilight Wish Foundation, that tries to grant such wishes to senior citizens within reason. A few months ago they were visiting […]
Papyrus fragment with reference to Jesus’ ‘wife’ stirs debate
ROME (CNS) — Scholars are unlikely to agree anytime soon on the authenticity of a newly published text containing a reference to Jesus’ “wife.” But the tiny papyrus fragment, purportedly dating to the fourth century A.D., has already stirred interest in the early church’s attitudes toward marriage, sex and the role of women. The fragment […]