News
New CEO to lead foundation operating Catholic schools
Faith in the Future Foundation, the group that assumed operational control of the 17 high schools and four schools of special education owned by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, announced it has hired a new chief executive officer Oct. 8. Samuel Casey Carter, 46, becomes the first CEO of the foundation that was formed early this year to raise funds for the archdiocesan Catholic school system, and which took over control of school management Aug. 21.
Cardinal Wuerl: Synod strives to turn back ‘tsunami of secularism’
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- At the Synod of Bishops, which opens Oct. 7 with a papal Mass in St. Peter's Square, some 250 prelates from around the world will meet for three weeks to talk and pray about the new evangelization. Long after the bishops have expressed their diverse views, Pope Benedict XVI will have the last word in an authoritative document of reflections called a post-synodal apostolic exhortation. In the meantime, none of the participants has a better overview of the Vatican gathering, or of the questions it will examine, than Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington.
Papal blessings: Not as easy as it looks
Some blessings go well… Some, not so much…
Pope, at Marian shrine, entrusts Year of Faith, synod to Mary
LORETO, Italy (CNS) — During a visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Loreto, Pope Benedict XVI formally entrusted to Mary the world Synod of Bishops and the Year of Faith. The pope was marking the 50th anniversary of Blessed John XXIII’s visit to the Marian shrine, about 175 miles northwest of Rome, when […]
Shanghai’s priests, nuns forced to attend government classes
SHANGHAI (CNS) — Priests and nuns in the Shanghai Diocese were forced to attend compulsory “study classes,” which observers believe were imposed by Chinese authorities in response to the new Shanghai auxiliary’s renunciation of the Catholic Patriotic Association. In September, approximately 80 diocesan priests and 80 nuns of the Our Lady of Presentation Congregation were […]
Religious orders say social media use spurs more interest in vocations
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Several religious congregations and organizations are taking advantage of social media to “introduce” individuals discerning a call to a vocation and the seminary, convent or monastery that fits them. With more than 1,400 likes on Facebook, the National Religious Vocation Conference takes full advantage of social networking, through its Vision Vocation Guide […]
Digital dilemma: Church needs to show how Gospel is best search result
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Having a Catholic presence online isn’t enough for effective evangelization, the Vatican said. The church must develop “a new way of thinking” in order to find ways that engage and help people meet Christ, it said. The Pontifical Council for Social Communications announced Sept. 29 that Pope Benedict XVI had chosen […]
Catholic media urged to help church find best way to use new media
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (CNS) — The new culture of communication requires that Catholic media rethink their approach, the president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications told a Fort Wayne audience gathered to celebrate the centennial of Our Sunday Visitor. Archbishop Claudio Celli spoke about the Catholic Church’s focus on new evangelization and addressed new […]
Father Romano, pastor of Coatesville parish, dies at 84
Father Harry A. Romano, 84, pastor emeritus of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Coatesville, died Oct. 1. Born in Philadelphia, the son of the late Ignazio and the late Rose (DiTollo) Romano, he attended Thomas J. Powers School, Jones Junior High School and Northeast Public High School before entering St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. […]
North Wales parish marks 25 years, and still growing
Parish names always have a reason. Maybe it is for the patron saint of the founding pastor’s mother, or of a bishop or the Pope, or any one of the titles of the Blessed Virgin. Mary, Mother of the Redeemer in North Wales belongs to the latter category, but in a unique way. Founded in […]