Category: Catholic

Charlton Explains Why Church Should Donate Land

Charlton Explains Why Church Should Donate Land
Alex Charlton and family

Charlton Explains Why Church Should Donate Land — Alex Charlton, of Springfield, who is the Republican candidate in the race to replace Bill Adolph in the 165th District of the Pennsylvania House, had an excellent column in the July 18 Delaware County Daily Times explaining and defending his request for the Philadelphia Archdiocese to donate the 213-acre Don Guanella tract in Marple Township as open space rather than sell it for development.

It can be found here and is worth reading.

We will take issue with Charlton, however, regarding his claim that   taxpayers have long borne the hidden cost of Don Guanella property by virtue of its tax-exempt status and suggest he stop making it.

Don Guanella Village — like Catholic schools — provided a desperately need social service that would otherwise be borne by the state at far, far higher cost to taxpayers if it hadn’t existed.

And it wasn’t as though taxpayers hadn’t been using the church property for nature hikes, jogging and such which is the status that Charlton and other opponents of development are fighting to keep.

So stop saying that Alex.

We’d further note that the Village proper is already developed and there would no objection if the Archdiocese were to separate that for sale.

We’d also note that it wouldn’t hurt for the county were to sweeten the deal, say, by agreeing to develop and maintain some athletic fields at Reed and Sproul roads giving Cardinal O’Hara first free use of them during weekdays during the school year. Or by building an access drive from Reed Road to O’Hara paralleling Sproul. Or both.

Charlton Explains Why Church Should Donate Land

 

 

Father Joseph Szupa R.I.P.

Father Joseph SzupaFather Joseph Szupa R.I.P. — The Very Reverend Joseph T. Szupa, 51, suddenly fell asleep in the Lord, Sunday, July 10. He had just concluded the 11 a.m. Divine Liturgy at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Philadelphia, where he served as rector since July 1, 2015.

Father Szupa, a native of Chester, PA, was one of five children born to the late Andrij and Eva (nee Hrebinec) Szupa on May 12, 1965.

He received his elementary education at Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic School, Chester, PA; in the fall of 1979 he entered St. Basil Preparatory School in Stamford, CT. After graduation in 1983, and sensing a call to the priesthood, he enrolled in St. Basil’s College Seminary to prepare for ordination.

He completed his undergraduate studies at The Catholic University of America where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy while a seminarian at St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Seminary, Washington, D.C. He continued his matriculation at The Catholic University of America and was awarded a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree and completed the program of priestly formation at St. Josaphats Seminary.

On Sept. 20, 1992, Father Joseph was ordained a priest in the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception by Metropolitan-Archbishop Stephen Sulyk. The newly-ordained Father Szupa celebrated his Divine Liturgy of Thanksgiving in his home parish, Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church, Chester, PA.

After ordination, Father Joseph was assigned parochial vicar of the Cathedral parish and also served at St. Andrew in Philadelphia. He also served the faithful in the following New Jersey parishes: St. Nicholas, Passaic; St. Nicholas, Rutherford; St. Vladimir, Elizabeth; and Immaculate Conception, Hillside.

He held the following archieparchial positions: chancellor, member of the college of consultors, member of the archieparchial corporation, member of the presbyteral council, member of the finance council, protopresbyter of the New Jersey deanery, advocate in the tribunal. He also was secretary of the Board of Directors of Ascension Manor, Inc.

Father Joseph is survived by brother Stephen Szupa of Woodlyn, PA, sister Joanne Balandiak and her husband, Peter of Woodlyn, PA; nieces Dawn Marie Mastella, Kaitlyn Elizabeth Szupa, Dana Marie Gaffney; and nephews Kristopher Michael Szupa, and Andrij J. Balandiak. Father Joe is also survived by four great-nieces and nephews.

Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by brothers Michael and Peter.

His body will lie in repose tomorrow (July 14) evening at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 827 N. Franklin St., Philadelphia from 5:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. . Priestly Parastas will be sung at 7 p.m..

On Friday morning, his body will lie in repose in Holy Myrrh-Bearers Eastern Catholic Church, 900 Fairview Road, Swarthmore, PA from 10 a.m. until the celebration of the Divine Liturgy at 11 a.m. by Metropolitan-Archbishop Stefan Soroka and his brother priests.

Burial will follow at Lawn Croft Cemetery in Linwood, PA.

Father Joseph Szupa R.I.P.

Charlton Open Space Suggestion Brilliant

Charlton Open Space Suggestion Brilliant — Alex Charlton is asking the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to donate the  Don Guanella property in Marple Township as public open space.

Charlton Open Space Suggestion Brilliant
Alex Charlton, thinking outside the box for the families of Delaware County — including his own.

It is about time someone brought this up and the Archdiocese should act on his suggestion.

Charlton, of Springfield, is the Republican candidate in the race to replace Bill Adolph in the 165th District of the Pennsylvania House. Adolph, who has held the seat since 1988, is not seeking re-election.

A plan to develop the 213-acre tract bordered by Route 320, Reed Road and the Blue Route into “Cardinal Crossing”  fell through. Cardinal Crossing would have been packed with homes and shopping centers. It would have ruined the quality of life for thousands of people in Marple and Springfield townships which make up the bulk of the 165th district. It would have snarled traffic and extended commute times for people in two counties.

Charlton, in his open letter to Archbishop Charles Chaput, notes that Pope Francis has baldly declared that we have an essential duty to protect the environment and that “it is not an optional or secondary aspect of our Christian experience.”

He didn’t note, although he could have, Francis’ condemnations of greed and corrupt corporate culture. Development that objectively makes life worse rather than better would certainly fall under these rubrics.

By the way, greed applies to corrupt public culture too. There are those who want to raise taxes to buy open space without considering how the existing tax burden is already crushing the poor and needy. It is the already rich with more than enough income to dispose who are suggesting this, naturally.

If the Archdiocese donates the land it would a remarkable Christian witness, a profound act of faith and, if honestly sacrificial, would significantly help its reputation.

Kudos to Charlton for thinking outside the box and making the suggestion.

Here is his letter:

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput Archdiocese of Philadelphia 222 North 17th Street Philadelphia, PA 19103

Dear Archbishop Chaput,

An Open Letter to Archbishop Charles J. Chaput

July 2, 2016

I write with concern for the future of the Archdiocese’s Don Guanella property, located along Route 320 in Marple Township, Delaware County. The Archdiocese recently terminated an agreement for sale of the property to a commercial developer. Its future, and its impact on the quality of life of the residents of our area, now rests entirely in your hands.

The Marple Township Planning Board and its commissioners were right to deny the Cardinal Crossing plans. The Archdiocese should have been paying attention.

This property is among the last large, open areas of natural beauty in eastern Delaware County. It’s imperative to preserve the land for future generations and prevent the environmental damage and massive traffic delays that would result from large­scale commercial development. I am calling on the Archdiocese to donate this entire parcel of property to the Natural Lands Trust so that it can be preserved permanently.

Taxpayers have long borne the hidden cost of the Don Guanella property by virtue of its tax­exempt status. The tax exemption has cost millions of dollars in lost revenue for the township and the county. Already­overburdened taxpayers should not have to take on more debt to obtain and preserve property they’ve been subsidizing for years

As you know, the protection and preservation of our natural world is a tenant of our faith. Our Holy Father Pope Francis, in his recent environmental encyclical “Laudato Si”, speaks of the duty to protect our environment. His writings indicate the Church has a duty to conserve the natural beauty of the land it owns. Pope Francis writes:

“…the ecological crisis is also a summons to profound interior conversion. It must be said that some committed and prayerful Christians, with the excuse of realism and pragmatism, tend to ridicule expressions of concern for the environment. Others are passive; they choose not to change their habits and thus become inconsistent. So what they all need is an ‘ecological conversion’, whereby the effects of their encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in their relationship with the world around them. Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience. ”

I respectfully request that as the leader of the Philadelphia Archdiocese that you consider the words of our Holy Father and be a protector of God’s handiwork by donating this land for preservation in perpetuity.

CharltonForPA.com

Paid for by Friends of Alex Charlton

I am well aware your obligation to be a good financial steward of the Archdiocese. The Archdiocese has indicated that this property needed to be sold in order to assist parishes because of the financial crisis that has arisen from the sex abuse scandal. A recent victory in the State Legislature will save the Archdiocese tens of millions of dollars in compensation to victims. The need to generate additional revenue by the sale of this property in contravention of Pope Francis’ teachings is offset by these savings.

I close with the following prayer from Pope Francis in “A Christian Prayer in Union with Creation”: “Enlighten those who possess power and money that they may avoid the sun of indifference, that they may love the common good, advance the weak, and care for this world in which we live. The poor and the earth are crying out.”

CC: Delaware County Parishes
Governor Tom Wolf
Senator Robert Casey
Senator Pat Toomey
Congressman Patrick Meehan Pennsylvania Senator Tom McGarrigle Representative Bill Adolph

Delaware County Council
Marple Township Board of Commissioners Radnor Township Board of Commissioners Springfield Township Board of Commissioners Save Marple Greenspace

Charlton Open Space Suggestion Brilliant

 

 

 

 

 

 

Potato Pancake Sale At HMB

Potato Pancake Sale At HMBPotato Pancake Sale At HMB — Holy Myrrh-Bearers Church in Swarthmore is selling  delicious, fresh, homemade potato pancakes this week.

The cost is $5 for three and will be available for pickup 10 a.m., through noon, May 8.

Please pre-order by May 6 by calling Bob Long at 610-517-3711.

Holy Myrrh-Bearers is an Eastern-Rite Catholic Church at 900 Fairview Road, Swarthmore Pa. 19081 (Ridley Township)  that celebrates liturgy at 5 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. Sundays.

Potato Pancake Sale At HMB

 

Christos Voskrese 2016

Christos Voskrese 2016
Father John Ciurpita performs the first Easter basket blessing at Holy Myrrh-Bearers Church in Ridley after this morning’s (March 27) services.

Christos Voskrese 2016 — Christos voskrese, which means Christ has Risen, is the Easter greeting in Church Slavonic which brings the response Voistinu voskrese or Indeed, He has risen.

Easter, of course, celebrates the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus and the salvation of Man.  The date for Easter is the Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox, which is always reckoned, regardless of astronomical observations, to be March 21 as per the Western churches that use the Gregorian calendar, so Easter always falls between March 22 and April 25.

The dating for Easter correlates with the means the Jews once used to set the date for Passover, which correlates with Scripture since Scripture indicates that the Crucifixion of the Lord occurred as the lambs were being slaughtered for the celebration of that holiday. In fact, in most Western languages the name for the day is a cognate of the Pesach which is the Hebrew name for Passover. In Latin it would be Pascha so Paschal lamb would be Passover lamb.

In English and German, the word comes from Eostre month, which was basically April, and which the pagans who spoke Germanic languages had named for the goddess Eostre much as our own March and April are named for the Greek god and goddess Mars and Aphrodite, respectively. In Slavic, the holiday is called “Great Night” (Velikonoce in Slovak) or “Great Day” (Velikden in Ukrainian). There are some caveats regarding the date. The Eastern churches that use the Julian calendar set the equinox  at April 3, and, of course, the spring equinox is based on that of the Northern Hemisphere.

So, Christos Voskrese 2016.

Christos Voskrese 2016

Easter Blessing Baskets Prepared At HMB

Easter Blessing Baskets Prepared At HMB
The blessing of the baskets at the former Saints Peter and Paul Church in Clifton Heights by Father John Ciurpita.

Easter Blessing Baskets Prepared At HMB — Holy Myrrh-Bearers Easter Rite Catholic Church in Ridley Township is offering prepared baskets of traditional Ukrainian Easter foods  that are ready for blessing.

The basket comes with a pound-and-a-half ring of smoked kielbasi; small smoked Ham Butt; homemade paska (Easter bread); Hrin (beets with horseradish); butter lamb; homemade Easter cheese; three eggs; salt;  and a beeswax candle. Cost is $45.

To  order, call the church at 610-544-1215 or email HMBChurch@ Verizon.net.

Place your order by Sunday, March 20  for pickup that week at the parish center located at 900 Fairview Road in Swarthmore, Pa. 19081.

Easter Blessing Baskets Prepared At HMB

Holy Myrrh-Bearers Easter Food Sale 2016

Holy Myrrh-Bearers Easter Food Sale 2016Holy Myrrh-Bearers Easter Food Sale 2016 –Orders are now being taken Easter kielbasa and Paska bread at Holy Myrrh-Bearers Eastern-Rite Catholic Church, 900 Fairview Road, Swarthmore, Pa. 19o81.

The high-quality kielbasa can be purchased  $12 per ring or four links for $10.

Also home-made traditional Paska Easter Bread can be purchased for $10 per loaf.

To order email HMBChurch@verizon.net or call Kathy at 610-328-4731.

Pickup will be  noon, Saturday, March 19 at the church.

Holy Myrrh-Bearers Easter Food Sale 2016

Penncora Decorated Parkway For Pope

Penncora Decorated Parkway For PopePenncora Decorated Parkway For Pope –Penncora, the excellent Phoenixville design firm run by Barbara Bater, provided the flowers for the Papal stages on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway for Pope Francis’ visit last September.

A behind the scenes look can be found here.

Penncora Decorated Parkway For Pope

Holy Icons Restoration Commemorated In Ridley

IconHoly Icons Restoration Commemorated In Ridley — Lenten Vespers of the first Sunday of the Great Fast (that’s Lent) will be celebrated  4 p.m., Feb. 14 with a procession at Holy Myrrh-Bearers Eastern Catholic Church commemorating the restoration of the Holy Icons.

The church is at 900 Fairview Road, Swarthmore Pa, 19081 which is in Ridley Township.

The procession commemorates the end of second Iconoclast Controversy in the Byzantine empire in 843.

Holy Myrrh-Bearers is part of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia.

Celebrants of the commemoration will be priests of the Philadelphia Deanery with Rev. Paul Makar, pastor of Saint Michaels Church, Cherry Hill, N.J.

Confessions will be heard starting at 3:30 p.m. by Monsignor Peter Waslo and Rev. Edward Higgins.

Eastern Rite churches are in full communion with the Holy See and Latin Catholics are welcome to participate in the sacraments.

Holy Icons Restoration Commemorated In Ridley

 

Funeral Bill Called Conflict For Tomlinson

Funeral Bill Called Conflict For TomlinsonFuneral Bill Called Conflict For Tomlinson

By Leo Knepper

In Harrisburg, most people know Robert “Tommy” Tomlinson as a state senator from Bucks County, serving his fifth four-year term representing the 6th District. A career politician, he also represented the people of the 18th House District from 1991-94.

But most people back home in his district know him primarily for his other career – as a full-time funeral director and owner of Tomlinson Funeral Home in Bensalem, which was opened by his father in 1945.

These two careers shouldn’t interfere with each other, but Sen. Tomlinson’s role as chairman of the Senate of Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee is putting his two jobs in conflict, raising profound ethical questions that should concern Pennsylvania taxpayers.

Despite no documented consumer complaints, his committee and the Senate have approved SB 874, pushed by Sen. Tomlinson and his fellow funeral directors to stop legitimate competition with cemeteries in the area of pre-need sales. The name of the committee is ironic since the legislation would create less competition and higher prices for families burying loved ones.

While he isn’t the prime sponsor of SB 874, Capitol insiders refer to it as “Tommy’s bill.” Many are rightly calling this bill a product of a “turf war” between southeastern Pennsylvania funeral homes and a company called StoneMor.

Here’s a brief primer on pre-need sales and the incarnation of SB 874: In May 2014, StoneMor entered into a lease to operate eight of the diocesan cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and a management agreement for the remaining five diocesan cemeteries in the Philadelphia area. Before StoneMor assuming operational responsibility of the cemeteries, the archdiocese didn’t offer customers the option of purchasing vaults and caskets directly from the cemetery. As a result, those products were purchased only from funeral directors, with no competition from cemeteries. When StoneMor entered the market, it started selling cemetery merchandise in competition with the funeral directors.

Senate Bill 874 would force cemeteries to adhere to the 1982 Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule, even though the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has refused to include cemeteries due to a lack of consumer complaints. The FTC reviewed this legislation and concluded Senate Bill 874 could result in potentially higher prices and less consumer choice, without producing any benefits for consumers.

Last legislative session, a similar House bill received a hearing by the House Consumer Affairs Committee.  Shockingly, Sen. Tomlinson, a funeral home owner whose business would benefit greatly by the legislation’s passage, was permitted to participate in the panel during the hearing and ask questions. The transcript of the hearing reads like an attack on StoneMor by Sen. Tomlinson and Rep. Micozzie.
At one point, former Pennsylvania Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association President Guy Saxton testified: “I know you don’t like StoneMor, but I’m not StoneMor. And this bill puts me out of business. And everything I’ve heard today tells me that this bill is not in good faith. It’s not trying to help the consumer, it’s attempting to put StoneMor out of business, and we’re collateral damage.”

Why should Pennsylvania taxpayers care?

Taxpayers from Bensalem to Bethlehem to Butler should worry when a powerful, five-term senator is using the legislative process to protect his family business by eliminating the competition.
The state Senate must answer serious ethical questions on how Sen. Tomlinson is allowed to chair a committee that directly impacts his industry. Further scrutiny is required to understand how Sen. Tomlinson was permitted to vote on the Senate floor for this legislation.

If Sen. Tomlinson were interested in what’s best for consumers, he would reduce the regulatory burden for funeral homes. There is a disparity between how funeral homes and cemeteries are treated under the law. Cemeteries have few restrictions on who can sell preneed products and how the funds from preneed sales are allocated. Pennsylvania government has created an environment that increases costs for consumers. Instead of working to make it easier for funeral home operators and thereby reduce the cost for consumers, Thomlinson is advocating for policies that will increase funeral costs for consumers and hurt his competition.

SB 874 is an excellent example of crony capitalism and a perfect illustration of how government increases the cost of living, or in this case dying, in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Knepper is executive director of Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania.

Funeral Bill Called Conflict For Tomlinson