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October 24, 2012 (HLIWorldWatch.org) - In a recent video interview with Catholic News Service, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia said that the position of the Democrat Party on abortion has “gotten worse” over time because Catholics within the party haven’t taken a strong moral stand and shown a willingness to abandon the Democrat Party. “I think many of the Democrats have [taken] Democrat Catholic votes for granted because they’ll go with them no matter what the party position might be on abortion,” Archbishop Chaput said. “That’s why the position of the Democrat Party has gotten worse, and worse, and...

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 17, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - As the November general election approaches, America’s Catholic bishops have been walking a fine line as they strive to avoid appearances of partisanship while at the same time they wage a high-profile battle against the Obama administration over religious freedom. Earlier this month, one of the leading lights in the U.S. episcopate insisted he “certainly” could not vote for Obama, while not specifically endorsing his Republic opponent Mitt Romney. Asked whether a Catholic could vote for Obama in good faith, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia replied: “I can only speak in terms of my...

Charles Chaput, whose blunt speech and strong leadership style made him both a celebrated and a controversial figure for almost fifteen years in Denver, was installed as the ninth Archbishop of Philadelphia on September 8, 2011. To say the very least, he’s had a tumultuous first year on the job. The very day Chaput arrived, he was informed that the archdiocese’s chief financial officer, Anita Guzzardi, had been suspended. She would later plead guilty to embezzling almost $1 million over a decade, to support a gambling addiction. The experience hinted at two constants Chaput has faced -- scandal and red...

In a homily delivered at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception that brought the U.S. bishops' "fortnight for freedom" to a close, Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput stressed that defending religious liberty is part of the bigger struggle to "convert our own hearts" and to "live for God completely." See here. This struggle to convert our own hearts and to live for God completely encompasses a battle against Satan and his demonic forces. Satan does not want the follower of Jesus to live in peace and harmony. He wants to seduce the followers of the Lord away...

In the closing Mass for the Fortnight for Freedom today at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput reflects on the religious-liberty threats we face and urges authenticity in the fight to protect it, reminding those gathered that freedom is not a gift of Caesar, but God. Full text, as prepared, courtesy of the archdiocese of Philadelphia:(For a recent interview with the Archbishop Chaput on freedom in America, click here.)    Philadelphia is the place where both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were written.  For more than two centuries, these...

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput. Washington D.C., Jul 4, 2012 / 12:07 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Government cannot give or take away the ultimate freedom found in obedience to God, Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput said at the closing Mass of the U.S. bishops' “Fortnight for Freedom.” “True freedom knows no attachments other than Jesus Christ,” Archbishop Chaput said in his July 4 homily at Washington, D.C.'s National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. “True freedom can walk away from anything – wealth, honor, fame, pleasure … It fears neither the state, nor death itself.” “We’re free only to the extent that...

Nothing guarantees that America’s experiment in religious freedom, as we traditionally know it, will survive here in the United States, let alone serve as a model for other countries in the future,” Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia writes in the new e-book, A Heart on Fire: Catholic Witness and the Next America. “The Constitution is a great achievement in ordered liberty. But it’s just another elegant scrap of paper unless people keep it alive with their convictions and lived witness,” he continues. Archbishop Chaput talks to National Review Online’s Kathryn Jean Lopez about the threats to and future of...

...Fifty years ago this fall, in September 1960, Sen. John F. Kennedy, the Democratic candidate for president, spoke to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association. He had one purpose. He needed to convince 300 uneasy Protestant ministers, and the country at large, that a Catholic like himself could serve loyally as our nation’s chief executive. Kennedy convinced the country, if not the ministers, and went on to be elected. And his speech left a lasting mark on American politics. It was sincere, compelling, articulate – and wrong. Not wrong about the patriotism of Catholics, but wrong about American history and very...

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput has spoken out on a variety of issues, including insurance coverage for birth control. Archbishop Charles J. Chaput does not yet wear the empowering red hat of a cardinal, and he is so new to Philadelphia that he recently called it "Denver."But in the mere five months since he arrived here from the Rockies, Chaput has already emerged as a fierce warrior-bishop, unlike anyone Philadelphia has seen since the mighty Cardinal Dennis Dougherty reigned more than 60 years ago.His fighting words have refocused the national spotlight on the archdiocese, led lately by the low-profile Cardinals Justin...

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia plans to close four Catholic high schools and 44 elementary schools will be closed or partnered with other schools, officials told school administrators and priests at a close-door meeting at Neumann University this morning.

On December 8th, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Archbishop Charles Chaput, the newly-installed archbishop of Philadelphia, released a pastoral letter to the faithful of his archdiocese. It will be read this weekend at Masses, even as Archbishop Chaput is returning home from his ad limina visit to Rome. A copy of the letter was obtained by Whispers in the Loggia and has now been published online.Pastoral letters from bishops can range from being “ho-hum” letters to being “Wham!” letters. Archbishop Chaput’s is definitely at the “Wham!” end of the spectrum.Let’s read it together.The letter begins with the kind of gentle,...

In getting ready for tonight, Charles Gray asked me to keep two things in mind.  First, he asked me to remember that we have a mixed audience here in Houston Hall, both Catholic and non-Catholic.  Second, he asked me to explain what Catholics mean when we talk about the “sanctity” of human life, and why the Church deals with issues like abortion so vigorously in the public square.  As it turns out, most of my sources tonight are not Catholic.  That shouldn’t be surprising.  Catholics have no monopoly on respect for human dignity.  Catholics do have a very long tradition...

Today, Catholics in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia are celebrating the installation of Archbishop Charles J. Chaput O.F.M. The question thus arises why Nicholas P. Cafardi, Dean Emeritus of the Duquesne Law School, would publish an op-ed in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer both maligning and accusing Archbishop Chaput of propagating a “one-issue” Catholic Church. That issue, of course, is abortion, a practice that Archbishop Chaput has consistently reminded all Catholics, including Catholic politicians, should be opposed rather than supported. To imply that Archbishop Chaput does not care about the “broad spectrum of values,” such as caring for the poor and immigrants, is...

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput delivers his homily at Philadelphia's Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul. Credit EWTN Philadelphia, Pa., Sep 8, 2011 / 02:23 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Archbishop Charles J. Chaput promised to lay down his life to restore faith and trust among Catholics in Philadelphia, during his Sept. 8 installation at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.“Whatever my weaknesses and whatever my lacks, no bishop will give more of himself than I will to renewing this great Church,” the new archbishop promised in his installation homily. “Everything I’ve learned, everything I know, and everything I have,...

Charles Chaput is being installed today as the head of the Philadelphia diocese.

Christians (and presumably non-Christians, too!) “make a very serious mistake” if they turn to news outlets like The New York Times, Newsweek, CNN and MSNBC for “reliable news about religion,” the incoming bishop of Philadelphia told a crowd of young people in Spain last week. LifeSiteNews reports: “Being uninformed about the world and its problems and issues is a sin against our vocation as disciple[s],” Archbishop Charles Chaput told his audience during a special World Youth Day session in Madrid. And yet, he went on to note, the Christian believer is faced with a unique challenge in finding accurate sources...

The news outlets CNN, MSNBC, the New York Times, and Newsweek have come under fire by Philadelphia’s incoming Archbishop, for a lack of “trustworthiness” where matters of religious faith are concerned. According to Archbishop Charles Chaput, the media do not “provide trustworthy information about religious faith. ” His comments were made Wednesday during an address on religious freedom before some 10,000 pilgrims at the Catholic World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain. Archbishop Chaput told the group of young faith-goers, “in the United States, our battles over abortion, family life, same-sex ‘marriage,’ and other sensitive issues have led to ferocious public...

MADRID, SPAIN, August 23, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – When it comes to finding information on vital issues like abortion, same-sex “marriage,” and faith, the mainstream media simply can’t be trusted, the incoming archbishop of Philadelphia told a group of youth in Spain last week. “Being uninformed about the world and its problems and issues is a sin against our vocation as disciple,” Archbishop Charles Chaput told his audience during a special World Youth Day session in Madrid. And yet, he went on to note, the Christian believer is faced with a unique challenge in finding accurate sources of information on key...

I want to start by sharing a story. Once upon a time, a student at one of the world’s oldest universities took a break from her studies to visit the Catholic chapel on campus. As she sat there in silence—praying for a sick relative or trying to settle her nerves before a test—the chapel suddenly filled with noise. A mob of about seventy fellow students charged in chanting anti-Christian slogans. They shouted obscenities against the Church and insults about the Pope. Two females in the mob climbed on top of the altar. Then, according to the student who was trying...

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput speaks at a WYD catechesis session in Madrid Madrid, Spain, Aug 18, 2011 / 12:56 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Archbishop-designate of Philadelphia Charles J. Chaput told thousands of young people gathered in Madrid for World Youth Day that an authentic relationship with Christ isn't based purely on emotions. “Ultimately, it will not be how you feel that will determine how genuine and profound your encounter with Jesus is,” he told pilgrims. “Instead, it will be determined by how much you are transformed into Him and how much you burn in the desire to bring Him to...