News
Archbishop Chaput: High schools will stay open, new foundation will aid Catholic schools
Archbishop Charles Chaput announced in dramatic fashion today at a press conference that all four archdiocesan Catholic high schools that had been recommended for closure would remain open. As the archbishop made the announcement at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center in Philadelphia, where he was joined with some of the top state legislative leaders and local […]
Archdiocese of Philadelphia welcomes new chief financial officer
Timothy O’Shaughnessy, 48, has been named chief financial officer of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia effective April 16, according to a statement today by the archdiocesan Communications Office. O’Shaughnessy most recently served as CFO for St. Joseph’s Preparatory School in Philadelphia since 2008. In that role he was responsible for overseeing all finance-related matters including the […]
Re-orienting our lives to the things that matter
One of the defining moments of Jesus’ public ministry takes place before his work even begins. In the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, God’s Spirit leads Jesus into the desert for fasting and prayer. While there, Satan attacks him with temptations to vanity, worldly power and glory. In effect, Christ’s knowledge of who he really is and the nature of his messiahship are put to the test. Pressed by the devil to turn stones into bread, a hungry and weakened Jesus nonetheless answers: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’” (Mt 4:4).
For Cuban-Americans, generational shift parallels changes on island
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CNS) — As Armando Gil departed Havana in 1965, his father’s last words to him, whispered in his ear, were: “Under no circumstances are you to return as long as there is communism in Cuba.” Bound for Mexico, then the United States, Gil was not in the United States a full […]
Devon Prep student recalls recent visit to Haiti
Just over two years ago a devastating earthquake hit the small country of Haiti destroying the capital city of Port au Prince, killing thousands of people and leaving even more homeless.The country received aid from around the world in the months after the earthquake, but two years later the needs of the Haitian people continue […]
Arms treaty need to protect poor, Vatican’s UN observer says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The unregulated sale and transfer of weapons and weapons’ technology harm the poor and threaten peace and security around the world, a Vatican official told a U.N. meeting. Archbishop Francis A. Chullikatt, the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations, addressed a committee preparing for the U.N. Conference on the […]
Father Cantalamessa speaks at St. Mary Magdalen in Media
As the Church in America continues to shoulder the cross brought about by clergy sexual abuse, and as the local Church of Philadelphia faces the possible merging and closure of parishes and schools due to the declining number of active priests to staff them, the role of the laity is becoming more and more prevalent. […]
Gov. Christie vetoes same-sex marriage bill, wants issue put to voters
TRENTON, N.J. (CNS) — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie Feb. 17 made good on his pledge to veto a bill legalizing same-sex marriage passed by the state Legislature but at the same time said he might name an ombudsman to make sure the state’s current law recognizing civil unions is respected. The state Assembly passed […]
Affected schools in Blue Ribbon Commission appeals process
BUCKS COUNTY SCHOOLS St. John the Baptist, Ottsville: Remains a parish school St. Philip Neri, Pennsburg (Montco): Regional school form with St. Isidore, building closes St. Isidore, Quakertown: Regional school to form with St. Philip at this location St. Michael the Archangel, Levittown: Remains a parish school Our Lady of Grace School, Penndel: Remains a […]
Archdiocese announces final decisions on appeals for Catholic grade schools
The final decision on closings or consolidations of archdiocesan elementary schools as recommended by the Blue Ribbon Commission on Jan. 6 and as modified through an appeals process ordered by Archbishop Charles Chaput was released Feb. 17 in conjunction with a morning press briefing led by Bishop Michael J. Fitzgerald, who oversees the Catholic education in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The commission's original recommendations called for 81 schools to form 37 regional schools. As amended, 49 schools will form 23 regional schools and 10 will close outright. The panel originally recommended only one school for closure. (See full list of schools that appealed.) A decision on the future of four archdiocesan high schools recommended for closure was postponed for approximately one week, because of the emergence of potential donors working to keep them open.