Yearly Archives: 2021

Diocesan Schools Continue Successful In-Person Instruction; Administrators Credit Resolve, Sacrifice of Staff and Families

It’s the halfway point of the academic year, and the midterm report on Diocesan schools illustrates a largely successful continuation of in-person education since classes began in the fall.
The doors of the 36 Catholic schools across the Diocese remain open for in-class instruction. Administrators credit the monumental achievement to the resolve and sacrifice displayed by the teachers, staff, students and families of the school communities.

St. Joseph’s in Mechanicsburg Recognized with 8 of 16 Parish Excellence Awards for Innovative Efforts during Pandemic

Ten months ago, St. Joseph Parish in Mechanicsburg was humming along like most – with a regular schedule of Masses, on-site meetings and events for its various ministries, and some social media presence on Facebook and Instagram pages, among a host of spiritual activities and evangelization efforts.

Knights Council 6353 in York Donates $11,000 to Misericordia

Knights of Columbus Council 6353 of St. Joseph Parish in York, worked to make a difference in the community, donating $11,000 to Misericordia Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The donation was…

PCC Condemns Planned Parenthood Campaign to Encourage Abortions at Home

The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference is condemning a campaign by Planned Parenthood to encourage and facilitate abortion procedures in the home. The pro-abortion group is looking to use telehealth visits to prescribe pills for pregnant women so they can get abortion pills through the mail.

PCC Executive Director Eric Failing said this is more than a life issue for the child; it’s a life issue for the mother as well. He says it’s a move that will endanger people’s lives, all in the pursuit of what has been labeled as “reproductive rights.”

“We obviously object to any move to make abortions easier and to remove channels which encourage a woman to think about the move she is making,” Failing said. “But we also are alarmed at the health risks that this is presenting. These pills have been known to result in death and severe hemorrhaging. What happens when a mother has an adverse reaction at home and can’t get medical help in time?”

Slideshow of Parish Christmas Photos Concludes Season

“We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”
Taken from Matthew 2:1-12, these are the words of the magi as they arrived in Jerusalem, looking for the infant Jesus to offer their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
As the Church marks the end of the Christmas season with the Feast of the Epiphany, we share photos from Diocesan parishes as they celebrated the Nativity. These pictures of stunning crèches, decorated sanctuaries and adorned altars were shared by parishes throughout the Christmas season.

Bishop McDevitt Students Ramp Up Efforts to Present 200 Gift Bags to Hospital Staff

The front-line staff at Penn State Health Holy Spirit Medical Center in Camp Hill received a well-deserved morale boost in time for Christmas, thanks to the generous efforts of students and staff at Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg.

Christian Charity Sisters Mary Joseph Albright, Vice President of Mission Integration at the hospital, and Carol Schuyler, social studies teacher at the high school, live in the convent at the medical center. They recognized that the staff could benefit from a pre-holiday pick-me-up.

Pope Francis calls for a commitment to ‘take care of each other’ in 2021

Pope Francis warned against the temptation to ignore the suffering of others during the coronavirus pandemic and said that things will get better in the new year to the extent to which the needs of the weakest and most disadvantaged are prioritized.

“We don’t know what 2021 has in store for us, but what each of us and all of us together can do is to commit ourselves a little more to take care of each other and of creation, our common home,” the pope said in his Angelus address Jan. 3.

In the live video broadcast from the Apostolic Palace, the pope said that “things will get better to the extent that, with God’s help, we work together for the common good, putting the weakest and most disadvantaged at the center.”