News Release

Because of years of financial distress and significantly declining attendance, the Diocese of Allentown will close St. Stephen Church in Port Carbon and merge the parish into St. Clare of Assisi Parish, Saint Clair.

Following today’s guilty plea by Father Kevin Lonergan, the Diocese of Allentown issued the following statement:

At their annual fall Assembly in Baltimore, members of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops elected Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez as the new USCCB President. He is the first Hispanic American to be elected to this position Diocese of Allentown Bishop Alfred Schlert issued the following statement:

Rob Nicolella, a seasoned administrator at Catholic Charities, Diocese of Allentown, has been named the agency’s executive director.

Victims of a devastating row house fire in Allentown can now receive free counseling for post-traumatic stress and anxiety from Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Allentown.

The Diocese of Allentown will hold its 8th annual Men’s Conference on Saturday, November 23rd at De Sales University from 9 AM to 5 PM. There are six keynote speakers at the conference entitled “Standing firm in Our Faith.”

Father Robert Potts, pastor of St. Ursula Church in Fountain Hill has been removed from ministry pending investigation that he sexually abused a minor in the late 1980s and early 1990s

For the 17th time since the inception of national diocesan audits seventeen years ago, the Diocese of Allentown has been found “in compliance” with the Charter for Protection of Children and Young People, adopted by the Bishops of the United States in 2002.

Architectural remnants from stained glass from closed diocesan churches and convents will be available for sale at St. Elizabeth's Church in Whitehall on Saturday, October 5.

Father Stephen J. Halabura, 87, who has been retired for 11 years, has been found unsuitable for ministry after an investigation of an incident that Father Halabura self-reported to the Diocese of Allentown.