Two southern Illinois parishes in Hamilton County have been suppressed as part of the ongoing diocesan Pastoral Plan for Parish Renewal and Restructuring. St. Clement of Rome Parish in McLeansboro, and St. John Nepomucene Parish in Dahlgren will now be designated as chapels of the “Mother church,” St. John the Baptist Parish in Piopolis. The three rural communities are located about 80 to 90 miles southeast of Belleville.

For years, St. Vincent de Paul has worked tirelessly to help people living on the margins by offering food, clothing and access to services from the society’s outreach center in East St. Louis. Now, the group has its sights set on one of the area’s thorniest problems – caring for those who don’t have a place to sleep at night.

The Catholic Church in the United States stands at a critical crossroad. On the one hand, the Church is facing the greatest crisis in its history with the unspeakable sin, scandal and crime of members of the clergy abusing children and concealing that abuse.

By SUZANNE KOZIATEK Staff writer The southern Illinois students and chaperones who make the yearly trek to the March for Life in Washington, D.C. are a hardy bunch. A day and a night spent on a bus from Belleville, marching for hours in all kinds of weather and the same long journey home can take …

By SUZANNE KOZIATEK Staff writer Dave Fahrner has come full circle. He’s back teaching anatomy, physiology and biology in Room 304 at Althoff Catholic High School – the same classroom he taught in as a young teacher in 1977. And back in the school he attended himself as a high school student. In between, he’s …