philadelphiapriests

Michael Kandravi, CEO of the 401K Rollover Store, will be offering a Financial Planning Workshop for Priests on October 30th from 1pm to 2:30pm at Sacred Heart Parish Center, Manoa.  The workshop will help men assess where they are in their finances, where they would like to be and explore how to create your own pension plan.  There is no cost.  All priest are welcome.  Please call Michael at 610-721-6921 to reserve your place.  You may also email michaelkandravi@gmail.com

The 401 K Rollover Store

The Economist recently published something on the finances of the Catholic Church, especially in the United States.  Among the insights was this: Some dioceses have, in effect, raided priests’ pension funds to cover settlements and other losses. The church regularly collects money in the name of priests’ retirement. But in the dioceses that have gone bust lawyers and judges confirm that those funds are commingled with other investments, which makes them easily diverted to other uses. Read the entire article…   CARA offers some helpful clarification on some of the info in the artcile HERE

Archbishop Chaput recently shared insights he gained from a visit to Yeshiva University in New York.  At Yeshiva the young men engage in the study of the Sacred Scriptures with great passion.  +Chaput encourages all Christians, especially priests, the follow their example and embrace the Word of God with great zeal.  Read more…

Every priest is asked “Father, what do you do all day?”  Each priest must answer the question in a different way, but Fr. Tom Heron, a Philadelphia Priest serving in Conshohocken, seems to answer it well.  The Metropolis spent a day with him.  Read more…

The discussion of the sex abuse scandal at Penn State has widened the conversation about reform and the insights can prove helpful for the Catholic Church.  In this Patriot News article the challenges of making institutional change are presented and the author highlights the need for accountability across the organization.  Great insights indeed… read more

On this Feast of Saint James and Saint John, who at the urging of the other apostles overcame ambition through humble service and prayer, we pray….

• For our brother Nelson Perez as he is ordained a Bishop for the Diocese of Rockville Center.  May he serve people with the heart of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.
• For all our brother priests as we continue our work in the vineyard.  May we imitate James and John in seeking only the Kingdom of God and its righteousness.
• For all of the lay faithful of the Church.  May you courageously and lovingly continue to call your priests and bishops to holiness of life for the good of us all, especially our young people.

The Feast of James and John reminds us that God is never finished with us.  We remain works in progress.  May God bring to completion the work He has begun in us.

As the Church in Philadelphia and throughout the world continues to discuss the horror of the the sexual abuse of minors, the cover-up by diocesan leaders and the recent jail sentence of Msgr. Lynn, author Phil Jenkins offers another voice in the conversation.  In a July 24th article Mr. Jenkins asks “What could have been” if the Church had acted more swiftly and deliberately in protecting children and bring abusers to justice.  Would the voice of the Catholic Church be a more relevent voice in our nation today?  The article further underscores the gravity of sexual abuse and its impact on the Church and her God given mission in the world; a mission that has been greatly wounded.  Read more…

An Australian Priest, ordained just twelve years, offers powerful insights on where our Catholic (Universal) Church needs to go in the next few years if we are are to remain the prophetic voice the world needs (and our Lord Jesus desires).  Among his suggestions are a “Truth and Reconciliation” Commission, an Ecumenical Council to address the “hired man” thinking in the Church and a Lent 2013 action in all parishes.  Read more…

NY Time columnist Maureen Dowd offers a provocative insight on the state of morality in our culture as large institutions (like the Catholic Church and Penn State) struggle with the sexual abuse of minors of its coverup.  Dowd quotes Newark Mayor Coey Booker: We have to fight the dangerous streams in culture, the consumerism and narcissism and me-ism that erode the borders of our moral culture.  We can’t put shallow celebrity before core decency. We have to have a deeper faith in the human spirit. As they say, he who has the heart to help has the right to complain.  Perhaps as priests, we can learn something from His Honor.  Read More… 

Political Commentator Michael Novak wrote recently expressing concern about priests who have been unjustly deprived of due process in dealing with accusations of sexual misconduct.  While those found guilty of misconduct must be removed from ministry, is our nation at all concerned for those who are denied justice?  Novak writes:  But I also know that thousands of the accused have never been given due process. They have been discarded as non-persons. They can hardly comprehend the sudden injustice they have suffered in the Church they love and the country they love. Since birth they have thought themselves safe from that – the kinds of injustices usually thought of as only occurring elsewhere, not in our America. They have been horribly betrayed.  Read more…