News
Needy of St. Agnes, West Chester, get a hand from St. Patrick students
On a recent overcast and gloomy day inWest Chester, the sun seemed to find its way inside St. Agnes Day Room. The cause of some of this brightness and warmth? “Operation Kids Care,” a community service program ofSt.PatrickSchoolin Malvern. On this special day, some fifth-grade students paid a visit to spread goodwill and contribute to […]
St. Edmond’s marks 100 years in South Philadelphia
Every parish is unique. Take St. Edmond Parish in South Philadelphia which celebrates 100 years on June 10. It’s probably the only Catholic Church in America built on the site of a former Chinese cemetery. It is believed to have supplied more young men to the Norbertine religious order than any parish anywhere.
Little Flowers Club to hold charity bake sale
The Little Flowers Girls Club of Parkesburg will hold a charity bake sale Saturday, Aug. 4 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the 10 & 41 Parkesburg Lions Consignment, 3177 N. Limestone Road, Cochranville. A variety of baked goods and sweet treats will be available for purchase. All proceeds will be split equally between two charities: the Chester County Food Bank and Simply Equal Education, a nonprofit organization that sends school supplies to impoverished children in Equatorial Guinea, West Africa. The Little Flowers Girls Club is an organization that gives Catholic girls the opportunity to learn more about virtues and female role models while growing in faith and friendship. The bake sale is part of the girls’ efforts to earn the Mercy badge. For more information, contact club leader Erin Cupp at 215-760-5583 or emccolecupp@gmail.com.
St. Joachim Parish uses Internet tool to raise funds
In tough economic times, parishes are constantly looking for new ways to raise funds. As the Internet plays an increasingly large role in people’s lives, parishes are looking to it as a means of generating revenue. St. Joachim Parish in the Frankford section of Northeast Philadelphia is using a service called GoodSearch to fund its parish web site.
Archbishop Chaput announces clerical changes
Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Philadelphia, announces the following appointments
Former Philadelphia pastor found unsuitable for ministry
Father Geraldo Piñero, formerly pastor of Incarnation of Our Lord Parish in the Olney section of Philadelphia, has been found unsuitable for ministry by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput after a substantiated violation of the Standards of Ministerial Behavior and Boundaries. The Standards are conduct guidelines for clergy and church workers and volunteers implemented by the Philadlephia Archdiocese in 2003. Father Piñero had stepped down as pastor of Incarnation in November 2010 when federal authorities searched the parish rectory. No charges were subsequently filed against him.
Prayers for rain, or no more of it: U.S. grapples with drought while Ireland, India suffer from flooding
In the Midwest United States, high temperatures and the worst drought in decades are stunting crops and moving Catholics to pray for rain. But Catholic communities in Ireland and India are praying for just the opposite. In those countries heavy rains are flooding farm fields and homes. The desperation of drought-stricken farmers in the Midwest […]
Some military chaplains feel religious freedom challenged, says bishop
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (CNS) — While they work to defend the U.S. Constitution, some Catholic military chaplains feel that their First Amendment right to the “free exercise” of religion has been called into question. “Many have sacrificed their lives for our freedoms, and of course among the first and the founding freedoms of our country was […]
Congressional plan to cut $16B in food aid called ‘unjustified and wrong’
WASHINGTON (CNS) — A proposed $16 billion cut in the nation’s Supplemental Nutritional and Assistance Program is “unjustified and wrong,” said a joint letter from the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ domestic and international justice committees, leaders of Catholic Relief Services and the National Catholic Rural Life Conference. The cuts in SNAP, once known as […]
Trouble for Church in China: One Chinese bishop ordained without Pope’s approval is excommunicated, while a validly ordained bishop faces government restrictions
The ordination in China of a bishop without papal mandate follows that of a bishop ordained with Vatican approval who rejected the Chinese government-sanctioned Catholic association. That bishop is facing Chinese restrictions on his ministry and is on retreat due to “exhaustion” after his ordination. “His witness is an encouragement for our Catholics, so we can only pray for him," a priest in Shanghai said. Catholics called for prayers and fasting for the bishop on July 9, feast of the Chinese Martyrs.