News
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.
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. […]