Archdiocese Of Philadelphia: Reviewing 14 More Parishes For Possible Merger, Closure

Weeks after completing its last round of parish mergers and closures, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced Sunday that 14 more parishes in Philadelphia, Montgomery, and Delaware Counties could be combined with nearby churches or shuttered.

This time, the archdiocese is targeting three clusters of churches for cutbacks:

In Delaware County’s Springfield Township, the parishes of St. Francis of Assisi, Holy Cross, and St. Kevin.

In Montgomery County, the parishes of St. Alphonsus in Maple Glen, St. Anthony of Padua and St. Joseph in Ambler, St. Catherine of Siena in Horsham, St. Genevieve in Flourtown, and Holy Martyrs in Oreland.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20141013_Archdiocese_of_Philadelphia__reviewing_14_more_parishes_for_possible_merger__closure.html#u17H63eOuBCeur6k.99

Philadelphia Archdiocese Sells Delco Property, 2 Others For $56.2M

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia on Thursday announced the sale of three suburban properties for $56.2 million and said it will use the proceeds to help plug gaps in its balance sheet.

In addition to the previously reported sale of a 200-plus-acre property in Delaware County to Jenkintown-based Goodman Properties for $47 million, the Archdiocese said that it had an agreement to sell a 454-acre property in Northampton County for $5.5 million, and that it had sold 55 acres in Chester County for $3.7 million.

The $3.7 million from the sale of excess land at the St. John Vianney Center in Downingtown, a behavioral-health center for clergy and woman religious, was deposited into the archdiocesan priests’ pension fund, which previously had a $76.3 million deficit. The buyer was Woodbine Partners L.P.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20141003_Archdiocese_sells_Delco_property__2_others_for__56_2M.html#85J5QPF07OFiZsCw.99

How Does LDS Church Finance A $70M Temple?

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Philadelphia County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Along the two blocks of North 17th Street on either side of the Vine Street Expressway in Center City, remarkably different financial trajectories of two religious groups are playing out.

At the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, south of Vine, church leaders are turning property accumulated over generations – such as cemeteries – into cash in a bid to fill huge financial gaps.

About a block north, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced plans this week to build a meetinghouse and a 32-story residential tower next door to its $70 million temple, already under construction. The apartment tower alone could cost $75 million to $90 million, a real estate expert said.

Where do the Mormons get the money?

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20140214_Two_churches__different_financial_trajectories.html#rE4QE48B2I9s6zuS.99

Under The Gun: Norristown Raises Awareness — And Hope — Through Art

Location of Norristown in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NORRISTOWN –  The mission statement of the ACPPA Community Art Center has not changed since 2004, when the doors first opened, but over the years, Executive Director Amy Grebe has changed the way she interprets it.

In an interview at her office, located in the basement of Grace Lutheran Church on Haws Avenue, Grebe rattled off the words by heart, as though she were reciting the Pledge of Allegiance: “We provide opportunities that use art as a vehicle for creative self-discovery and community revitalization.”

After taking a breath, she explained with a smile that while her goal remains the same, exposing children to the arts.  She prefers now to focus on the creative process, rather than the final product.

“I am less inclined to make good artists than I am to create good citizens,” Grebe said.  “We use the creative process to help them envision a possible future for themselves.”

She also provides after school snacks, donated by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Read more:  http://www.timesherald.com/article/20130622/NEWS01/130629862/under-the-gun-norristown-raises-awareness–and-hope–through-art#full_story

St. Joseph’s University Buying Philadelphia Cardinal’s Mansion For $10 Million

St. Joseph’s University announced Friday that it would acquire the cardinal’s residence on City Avenue from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for $10 million.

The stone mansion, on 8.9 acres, has served as the home of the archbishops of Philadelphia since 1935, when the church bought it for Cardinal Dennis Dougherty for $115,000.

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, who assumed leadership of the archdiocese one year ago, put the 16-room residence on the market in January. In June, he reported that the archdiocese faced a $17.5 million operating debt.

Sources said Chaput, a Franciscan Capuchin friar, was not comfortable living in a baronial-style mansion as he was preparing his flock for school and parish closings to trim the deficit.  He has also put the retired priests’ summer home in Ventnor, N.J., up for sale, with an estimated value of $6 million.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20120908_St__Joseph_s_buying_cardinal_s_mansion_for__10M.html

Philly Monsignor Gets 3-6 Years Prison In Church Cover-Up

PHILADELPHIA, PA — The first U.S. church official convicted of covering up sex-abuse claims against Roman Catholic priests was sentenced Tuesday to three to six years in prison by a judge who said he “enabled monsters in clerical garb … to destroy the souls of children.”

Monsignor William Lynn, the former secretary for clergy at the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, “helped many but also failed many” in his 36-year church career, Common Pleas Judge M. Teresa Sarmina said.

Lynn, who handled priest assignments and child sexual assault complaints from 1992 to 2004, was convicted last month of felony child endangerment for his oversight of now-defrocked priest Edward Avery.  Avery is serving a 2 1/2 – to five-year sentence for sexually assaulting an altar boy in church in 1999.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-philly-priest-abuse-trial-sentencing-20120724,0,934152.story

Coroner: Cardinal Bevilacqua Died Of Natural Causes

Image via Wikipedia

NORRISTOWN — A suburban Philadelphia coroner said Thursday that 88-year-old Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua died of natural causes a day after he had been ruled competent to testify at the child-endangerment trial of a longtime aide.

Officials had said Bevilacqua, who served as archbishop from 1988 to 2003, was suffering from dementia and cancer. But last month, prosecutors asked the coroner to investigate because of the timing of his death.

Bevilacqua, spiritual leader of the archdiocese’s 1.5 million Roman Catholics from 1988 to 2003, died Jan. 31 at a seminary and was laid to rest without an autopsy. He was suffering from dementia and cancer, according to church officials and his lawyers, and his death was widely assumed to be from natural causes.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-cause-philadelphia-cardinal-death-20120308,0,7254939.story

Retired Philadelphia Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua Dies Amid Abuse Testimony Controversy

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, the retired Catholic archbishop of Philadelphia whose competence to testify in an upcoming church sex abuse trial was hotly debated in court, died in his sleep on Tuesday, the church said.

The cardinal, 88, led the Philadelphia archdiocese, the nation’s sixth largest, from 1988 to 2003. Church spokeswoman Donna Farrell said Bevilacqua died at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, the traditional home for the leaders of the Philadelphia archdiocese, where he had lived since retirement.

Whether Bevilacqua was well enough to testify had become a pivotal issue in the sex abuse trial of three priests, one now defrocked, and a former archdiocese school teacher. Another church official, Monsignor William Lynn, faces charges of child endangerment but is not accused of abuse.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/allentown/sns-rt-us-catholics-philadelphia-cardinaltre8100mt-20120201,0,5208721.story

Archdiocese Of Philadelphia In National Spotlight

Image via Wikipedia

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia is making the national news as of late but unfortunately it is not for something wonderful.  Instead the archdiocese has been in the spotlight for its handling of sexual abuse cases involving its priests.  It is believed that Pope Benedict will now accept Cardinal Rigali’s resignation (he turned 75 last year) in light of the scandal rocking the archdiocese in which Rigali’s leadership has come under heavy fire.  Rigali has been the head of the Philadelphia archdiocese since 2003.

The leading contender to replace Cardinal Rigali is Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput, the first Native American to serve as the bishop (Ordinary) of a diocese in the Roman Catholic Church.  Chaput is considered to be a conservative who follows church teachings and at one time was a Capuchin monk.  This leadership change will be officially announced in the very near future.