St. Padre Pio was committed to the Sacraments, especially the Tridentine Mass

In a letter to officials at the center, Bishop Cullen "explained that central to this decision is the Centre's failure to conform to canonical mandates," according to a release issued by the diocesan press office. Effective this month, the bishop has directed that enrollment in the Padre Pio Association of Poor Souls at the center also be discontinued.

The removal of faculties -- a heavy blow to the Pennsylvania shrine, located 37 miles from Philadelphia -- comes after a complex legal dispute over "juridic status" for the center. Its president, Vera M. Calandra, has issued a letter rebutting the bishop's actions. "While Bishop has not accused the Centre of any specific or delineated wrongdoing, and while the Centre [which uses the European spelling] does not engage in any wrongful activity to the best of the corporation's knowledge, it appears that Bishop Cullen takes issue with the existence of the Centre."

Calandra claims her center sought canonical counsel and has been advised that the "norms of Canon Law have not been followed in the issuance of this directive." She has asked supporters to write the bishop. While the center cites similar judgments against Padre Pio himself (including, at one point, removal of his faculties), it is a situation made difficult by Pio's admonitions to accept such diocesan decisions in silent obedience.

The dispute apparently reached critical mass when the bishop and center disagreed over procedures for diocesan involvement in the center, including the bishop's requirement that new by-laws be instated, creating a five-member board with three members that he would appoint -- an action the center asserts can not be taken due to mortgages that have provision disallowing change in the structure of the organization.

The center sits on the high point of 106 acres. A replica of Pio's church -- Our Lady of Grace Church -- has been constructed in Barto, along with the "Chiesa Antica," an exact reproduction of the original Friary Church of the same name, where Padre Pio received his stigmata while praying in the choir loft in front of the image of Our Lord Crucified. Also constructed is the adjoining Spirituality Centre, a multi-purpose facility built to accommodate the demands of the tens of thousands of pilgrims received yearly at the Centre, according to shrine literature.