Diocese of Scranton

As St. Clare/St. Paul advanced through the playoffs and to the state championship game, three fathers watched with a different perspective.

With the tying of a purple ribbon on the front door, St. Mary's Immaculate Conception Church, known as the oldest Catholic church in the Wyoming Valley, closed on Sunday after a final celebration of Mass.

Mother Teresa's Haven, a shelter that once rotated between churches in the Diocese of Scranton, now has a permanent home in Wilkes-Barre. The space has room for 20 men experiencing homelessness to sleep, shower, eat and do laundry.

The Diocese of Scranton removed another priest from ministry. The Rev. John Ruth is accused of inappropriate sexual contact with a minor in the late 1970s to the mid-1980s, the diocese said in a statement. The diocese was made aware of claims on Aug. 22 and the claim appears credible.