At Norristown’s St. Paul Parish: Year of St. Paul had many blessings

By Lou BaldwinSpecial to The CS&T NORRISTOWN – The Apostle to the Gentiles would have been delighted. Norristown’s St. Paul Parish closed out the Year of St. Paul with a June 28 liturgy celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Joseph P. McFadden before a congregation of women, men and children in a filled church festooned with banners […]

New regional vicar for Phila.-South named

By Christie L. ChicoineCS&T Staff Writer PHILADELPHIA – Cardinal Justin Rigali has appointed Father Kevin C. Lawrence, 51, regional vicar for Philadelphia-South. Father Lawrence is pastor of St. Malachy Parish in North Philadelphia. The appointment became effective Monday, July 6. Father Lawrence will continue his duties as pastor. He said he was surprised and humbled […]

A home for the homeless

By Lou BaldwinSpecial to the CS&T PHILADELPHIA – It all began five years ago when Capuchin Franciscan Father Frank Yacobi, the then-new pastor of Center City’s venerable St. John the Evangelist, realized his parish campus included a relatively large unused building simply going to waste. Now three powerhouses in Philadelphia’s war on poverty – Project […]

Pastor of St. John the Evangelist: Parish has history of outreach to the poor

By Lou BaldwinSpecial to The CS&T PHILADELPHIA – When Capuchin Franciscan Father Frank Yacobi arrived at St. John the Evangelist Parish on south 13th street five years ago, he found himself pastor of one of Philadelphia’s most dynamic faith communities. As he quotes one of his confreres, Brother James, “You can find many things here. […]

McDevitt grad, football player, dies tragically

By John KnebelsSpecial to The CS&T Every day for as long as she can remember, Justin Schley would give his mother a hug and a kiss and tell her that he loved her. But on June 21, Schley’s ability to show his mom such loving affection came to a tragic end. As he prepared to […]

Papal encyclical released

Msgr. James Meehan dies at 83

By Christie L. ChicoineCS&T Staff Writer The eldest of the three Meehan priest brothers, Msgr. James H. Meehan, pastor emeritus of St. John Neumann Parish in Bryn Mawr, died Friday, June 26, 2009. He was 83 years old. Before serving at St. John Neumann Parish, Msgr. Meehan was vicar for religious for the Archdiocese and […]

Cardinal Rigali protests move to fund abortion in District of Columbia

WASHINGTON-Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, chair of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, wrote to members of the House Appropriations Committee today urging them not to fund abortions in the District of Columbia. Last week the House subcommittee considering the Financial Services appropriations bill for 2010 voted to permit […]

Church social teaching confronts world problems with Gospel power

By Carol GlatzCatholic News Service VATICAN CITY – For more than 100 years, Catholic social teaching has tried to help people face the world’s social, political and economic challenges with the power of the Gospel. Pope Benedict XVI announced June 29 that he had signed his first formal contribution to the list of papal encyclical […]