News
New England dioceses launch system for reporting misconduct by bishops
In advance of a mandated national third-party reporting system for allegations or complaints regarding bishops, the Catholic dioceses of four New England states have launched a third-party, independent system to report abuse by Catholic bishops.
Assumption feast invites people to look to heaven with hope, pope says
Mary's assumption into heaven calls people to put aside all those insignificant, mundane and petty concerns competing for their attention and instead be drawn to God and his greatness, Pope Francis said.
Yearlong ‘window’ in New York statute of limitations on abuse suits opens
UPDATED - New York state's yearlong "window" in the statute of limitations opened Aug. 14, allowing suits to be filed by victims alleging abuse by priests, church workers and employees of public schools, hospitals and other institutions no matter how long ago the alleged abuse occurred.
Fearing threat, Pittsburgh church cancels summertime parish festival
A church in the Diocese of Pittsburgh announced Aug. 13 it was canceling a popular summer event, its parish festival, after receiving what it called "a disturbing message."
Miraculous Medal Shrine to host Our Lady of Knock Mass
The Aug. 21 Mass will include music by Irish-American singer Andy Cooney, followed by a reception. The gathering is part of a tristate effort to build a local shrine in honor of Ireland's beloved patroness.
Archbishop urges prayer, ‘sensible solutions’ in wake of North Phila. shootings
The terror that filled the streets of Nicetown-Tioga and left six police officers injured Aug. 14 reminds us "of the fragility of life" and the danger that "illegal drugs and illegally obtained firearms pose," Archbishop Charles Chaput said in a statement.
Marian scholar says pilgrimages offer ‘spiritual formation on foot’
Father Marek Chmielewski of the John Paul II Catholic University in Lublin, Poland says that the ancient practice of traveling to shrines deepens both faith and community.
Honoring Mary, local pilgrims walk from Philadelphia to Doylestown shrine
Some 200 men, women, youth and children trekked from St. Adalbert Church in the city's Port Richmond section to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, joining more than 3,000 fellow pilgrims from New Jersey. The three-day journey was a "spiritual formation by foot" that featured stops at several area parishes.
Bishops reflect on abuse crisis on anniversary of Pa. grand jury report
The grand jury report, released Aug. 14, 2018, was based on a monthslong investigation into alleged abuse in the dioceses of Pittsburgh, Allentown, Scranton, Erie, Harrisburg and Greensburg, Pennsylvania. It covered a 70-year period starting in 1947.
Disrespect for life, lack of moral center seen as factors in gun violence
In this American age of violence, where 165 shootings happened this year alone, religious leaders, scholars and TV personalities alike notice a more insidious problem with American culture. The problem behind the problem, they suggest, is a pervasive disregard for the sanctity of life.