Church

The historic Church of the Assumption at 12th and Spring Garden Streets lived to see another day Friday after the city's Licenses and Inspections Review Board issued a stay of the demolition permit for the property. The board upheld the permit but put a stay on it until owner Jonathan Wei, who says he has to knock it down because it is unsafe, and neighbors, who want to preserve the building and its twin spires, get a court ruling on their dispute. Samuel Stretton, a lawyer for the neighbors, said he was hopeful a buyer for the church, which was the site of St. Katharine Drexel's baptism, would emerge.

THE CASES of two historic buildings facing demolition went before the city's Board of License and Inspections Review Friday with different outcomes. The board upheld a stay blocking demolition of the Church of the Assumption, at 11th and Spring Garden streets, which has ties to two Catholic saints: John Neumann and Katharine Drexel. The board said it continued the stay because of a pending earlier appeal in Commonwealth Court. But residents near a former mansion at 40th and Pine streets lost a round Friday, when the board split in a 2-2 tie to stop the mansion's demolition.

WHENEVER the Catholic Church grabs her periodic moment in the spotlight, you can be assured to read a story about (a) the sex-abuse scandal, (b) the evils of mandatory celibacy, (c) the refusal to ordain women as priests, (d) homophobia or (e) all of the above. Given the media's track record we shouldn't really be surprised. When ratings are your true god, the real one doesn't stand a chance at fair and balanced coverage. It doesn't even bother me that "Saturday Night Live" in a recent episode did its occasional "we're more sophisticated than you are" attack on the church by portraying Jesus wielding an assault weapon.

Christians throughout the region observed the beginning of Lent on Wednesday with observances in churches -- and on street corners. Some got their ashes to go. While many adhered to tradition and attended services, receiving the sign of the cross on their foreheads to mark Ash Wednesday, others tried something new. Believers stood in line at train stations and in front of coffeeshops to receive their ashes outside the church walls. It is part of a nationwide initiative called Ashes to Go, an effort to take Ash Wednesday to the streets.

Consensus among any group as large and diverse as the nearly two million Roman Catholics in the Philadelphia region would be nearly miraculous. Yet the news Monday that Pope Benedict XVI would resign at the end of February hit one consistent note among the faithful. Shock, and variations thereof. "I was surprised," said Jack Betzal, a lifelong Philadelphia Catholic who gives tours of the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul. "Stunning," said Trenton Bishop David M. O'Connell.

THERE'S a very good chance that the next pope will hail from Africa. But there's an even better chance that he'll be the first pope to use an iPhone. The stunning news Monday that 85-year-old Pope Benedict XVI will be the first pontiff in nearly six centuries to resign gives the 1.2 billion-member Roman Catholic Church another crack at what it passed up on in 2005: The opportunity to elect a pope who truly reflects the complexities of the 21st century. "For the first time, the pope will be used to having a computer on his desk and a smartphone in his pocket," enthused Rocco Palmo, the Philadelphian who chronicles Vatican affairs on his popular blog Whispers in the Loggia.

Msgr. Henry B. Degnan, 91, retired pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Aston, who delivered wise counsel and one-liners along with the homily, died Monday, Jan. 28, of a heart attack at Mercy Suburban Hospital. "It's heaven's gain," said the Rev. Joseph C. Dieckhaus of Exton, a friend and colleague. Msgr. Degnan, known as "Harry," was born on Aug. 20, 1921, the Feast of St. Bernard, from which his middle name was derived. Raised in Norristown, Msgr. Degnan attended St. Patrick School, but was expected to take public transportation to West Catholic High School for Boys.

CARLTON BRISCOE sat in the mahogany pews at the venerable Mother Bethel AME Church in Society Hill on Sunday, as he normally does. But on this particular Sunday, the Rev. Mark Tyler's sermon really hit home. The message was not about miraculous healing or overcoming improbable odds. It was about breaking the cycle of violence in the black community, a topic ignored in many churches despite what has become an epidemic. Tyler's message was part of "Gun Violence Prevention Sunday," being marked by more than 100 congregations nationwide.