Friday, February 22, 2013
A panel appointed by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has recommended upholding a ban against girls in grades 5 through 8 from playing contact football, Forbes reports.
A panel of 20 people appointed by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has voted 16-3, with one abstention, to uphold a ban on females in grades 5-8 playing Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) contact football, Forbes reports. The panel's decision, reportedly reached on Feb. 14, would seemingly end the youth football aspirations of 11-year-old Caroline Pla of Buckingham Township. Caroline was in her second season of CYO contact football last fall when a complaint registered by an opposing team led the Archdiocese to enforce a pre-existing ban against female players. The Archdiocese permitted Pla to finish the season. Citing two panel members who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity, Forbes reports that the panel, described by the Archdiocese…
Friday, January 11, 2013
A local girl and tens of thousands of supporters want the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to change a rule that says only boys can play football in its youth sports league.
An 11-year-old Central Bucks girl is asking the local Catholic youth sports organization to let her continue playing football - and she is not alone. The story of Caroline Pla is gaining national attention, as the girl and her family challenge the Archdiocese of Philadelphia over a rule that says football is for boys only. Caroline has been playing football for Catholic Youth Organization for two years, her mother Marycecelia Pla writes in a petition at change.org. A student at Cold Spring Elementary School, Caroline fell in love with the sport as a toddler and started playing when she was 5 years old. At 11, she is physically able to compete and has been a contributor and equal part of the team all along, her mother said. But the …
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Faith in the Future Foundation will manage new Philadelphia Catholic school system.
Continuing a year of restructuring, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced Tuesday it would create a new independently managed Catholic school system for area high schools and special education schools. In a press conference at St. Hubert's High School in Northeast Philadelphia, Archbishop Charles Chaput said the Faith in the Future Foundation—which oversaw the mergings and closings of elementary schools earlier this year—would manage 17 high schools and four special education schools beginning Sept. 1. Chaput said the independent system would focus on major fundraising, enrollment management, marketing and cultivating best practices in leadership and education. "The willingness of lay leaders with a love for Catholic education to step …
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Tim Udinski, the former head lacrosse coach at Lansdale Catholic, allegedly made false accusations of sexual misconduct against officials associated with the school
Former Lansdale Catholic High School head lacrosse coach Tim Udinski has been arrested and charged with stalking and harassment stemming from his alleged false accusations of sexual misconduct against officials associated with the school. Udinski, 43, of Doylestown, was video arraigned before District Judge Harold Borek Tuesday and bail was set at $25,000 unsecured, according to court documents. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 27 at 10:30 a.m. before District Judge Harry Nesbitt III in Horsham. Udinksi, a real estate agent with Prudential Fox and Roach, faces six misdemeanor charges: Four counts of stalking - repeatedly committing acts to cause fear; and two counts of harassment through communication of lewd and threatening …
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Teachers were back in the classrooms Tuesday after a strike was resolved.
Catholic high school teachers returned to their classrooms Tuesday after reaching an agreement on Monday with the Archdiocese over stalled contract negotiations. That meant it was back to business as usual for the high schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia that had been closed since last week due to the teacher's strike. "Our teachers could not be happier to head back into the classrooms," Rita Schwartz, president of Local 1776, the teacher's union, said in a statement. "We've been waiting a long time for this day and we are relieved that it is finally here." Monday's membership meeting lasted two hours and outlined the agreement in detail, according to the press release. The tentative agreement, which the teachers then voted on, …
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Archbishop Wood will remain open Wednesday but also will close starting Thursday if a contract agreement is not reached by then.
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Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Most high schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will be closed starting Wednesday due to the ongoing teachers strike. Teachers have been walking the picket lines at area Catholic high schools, including Archbishop Wood in Warminster, for a week as negotiations for a contract continue. Students have been reporting to school despite the faculty absence. Tuesday, the Archdiocese said students have accomplished all the back-to-school tasks that they can without teachers. KYW reports only Archbishop Wood High School will remain open Wednesday because flooding closed the school for one day last week. If the strike is not resolved by Thursday, Wood students also will not report to school. "There has been some progress in the negotiations …
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
The teacher's union and Archdiocese of Philadelphia disagree on a new contract, leaving students teacher-less on the first day of school.
On Wednesday morning, Archbishop Wood’s faculty arrived outside the Warminster high school with pickets and signs instead of textbooks and chalk for the first day of school. The Association of Catholic Teachers, which represents the faculty of 17 Archdiocesan schools, decided to strike Tuesday after a new contract proposed by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia was shot down in a 589-60 vote. Although the two sides have been negotiating for five months, the decision to strike came less than 24 hours before the start of the new school year. About 20 teachers camped out at both front entrances to Archbishop Wood on Wednesday. Many of the members of the Association of Catholic Teachers declined the opportunity to comment on the contract situation…
Monday, June 13, 2011
The ancient ritual was captured in photographs by parishioner Chet Heinz.
Members of Our Lady of Guadalupe Roman Catholic Church celebrated Mass Sunday in their new home – it’s first official Sabbath following the church’s dedication ceremony the day before. The process of building the 1,200-seat church in Buckingham has taken 11 years – ever since the Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced it would form a new parish for the area. Chet Heinz, a church parishioner who has been chronicling the building process in photographs for Guadalupe’s website, graciously submitted some additional photos of Saturday’s Rite of Dedication – a religious ritual as ancient as the Roman Catholic Church is itself and filled with symbolism. It begins with the new building being presented to Justin Cardinal Rigali, archbishop of …
Jane
7:57 pm on Sunday, February 24, 2013
Ahhhh, the old "everyone else is doing it" line. My parents didn't accept that excuse for bad behavior when I was a kid, and it should not fly now either. Especially with the church's hypocrisy on this issue. more ›