Two items are worth noting this week. Together, they’re a lesson in priorities. Here’s the first item. A doctor friend quipped recently that America is becoming a country where it’s easier to opt out of the Pledge of Allegiance than to avoid the HHS mandate. Expressions of national loyalty may be optional, she said. Paying for everybody’s birth control is not.

Today, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. is pleased to share that Pope Francis has named Most Reverend Daniel E. Thomas, currently an Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia, as the Eighth Bishop of the Diocese of Toledo (www.toledodiocese.org). Founded in 1910, the Diocese of Toledo is home to over 320,000 Catholics from19 counties in northwestern Ohio.

With summer drawing to a close and a new school year just around the corner, it’s a good time to resume this column. And this week, three important matters deserve our attention and our action.

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. has invited all 219 parishes in the five-county Archdiocese of Philadelphia to participate in a Day of Prayer for Iraq on Sunday, August 17th.

CELEBRANT: ARCHBISHOP CHARLES J. CHAPUT, O.F.M. CAP. Sunday, November 30 at 10:30 a.m., Saint Andrew, Philadelphia Tuesday, December 9 at 6 p.m., Saint Aloysius, Pottstown Sunday, December 14 at 11:30 a.m., Immaculate Heart of Mary, Philadelphia Saturday, December 20 at 10 a.m., Saint Francis de Sales, Lenni CELEBRANT: MOST REVEREND DANIEL E. THOMAS Auxiliary Bishop […]

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Secretariat for Catholic Human Services recently released the 2013 Annual Report for its three divisions. Together they showcase the positive impact on a quarter of a million men, women and children throughout Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties.

In January 2013, Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Parish merged with Saint Cyprian Parish, both located in West Philadelphia’s Haddington-Carroll Park neighborhood, as part of the Parish Area Pastoral Planning Initiative that has been ongoing in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Both parishes merged at the location and retained the name of Saint Cyprian Parish.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia is pleased to announce the election of Deacon Paul McBlain to the office of President-Elect of the National Diaconate Institute for Continuing Education, a national center for continuing education and spiritual formation of deacons and their spouses.

The Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary will host their second annual gala fundraiser featuring an elegant reception followed by a concert featuring the La Diva Tenors. All proceeds will directly benefit the Seminary in forming priests as servant leaders for the Catholic Church.

The Office of Catholic Education (OCE) and Faith in the Future are pleased to announce the appointment of Father Joseph Bongard as President and Rector of Roman Catholic High School For Boys, effective August 1st.