News
Sister Regina Clare Donahue, I.H.M.
Sister Regina Clare Donahue, I.H.M., formerly Mary C. Donahue, died in Camilla Hall Sept. 16 less than a month after celebrating her 103rd birthday. She was the oldest living member of the congregation and in the 76th year of her religious life. Born in Bethlehem, Sister Regina Clare entered the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate […]
Middle Eastern Catholic leaders, diplomats denounce Western interference, neglect
ROME (CNS) — Western nations need to respect the people of the Middle East and trust them to solve their own problems, said an Iraqi diplomat, an Iraqi archbishop and a Syrian-born representative of the Melkite Catholic Church. The two religious leaders also called for an end to foreign military intervention and other interference in […]
Pope says God’s word comes first in worship
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In everyday life, people are told that it’s best to think before they speak, but in worship, speaking God’s word should come before reflection, said Pope Benedict XVI. “The first requirement for a good liturgical celebration is that there be prayer and a conversation with God, first and foremost listening and […]
Cardinal encourages Catholics to help transform world with their faith
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In a new pastoral letter, Washington Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl offers an overview of what the Catholic Church is, so Catholics can better understand their role in it, and he encourages them to help transform the world with their faith. "The family of God is called his church. Its members, those baptized into the church, you and I, form a body with Christ as its head. In order to truly know Christ, one must know him in his body, the church," Cardinal Wuerl wrote.
Pope names record number of women to Synod on Evangelization
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Choosing men and women from every part of the world and from a wide variety of professions, Pope Benedict XVI nominated 45 experts and 49 observers for the upcoming world Synod of Bishops. The Oct. 7-28 gathering will include the largest bloc of women — 10 experts and 19 observers — […]
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.