"Official" Label Removed From Chadds Ford Couple's Papal Shirt Website
By Mike DeNardo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A suburban couple is raising money for charity by selling Pope Francis T-shirts in advance of his Philadelphia visit this fall. But they don't exactly have the blessing of the Archdiocese.
Michael and Ally Tandarich, newlyweds from Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, registered popefrancisphiladelphia.com as soon as the pope's visit was announced. They're selling $25 T-shirts with a Papal silhouette, planning to give ten-percent of the proceeds to Catholic charities.
The shirts were labeled "Official Pope Francis Philadelphia" on the website on Wednesday. But Michael Tandarich says the word "official" was only included to optimize web searches.
"We don't want to step on any toes. And most of it is just simply to grow awareness of the pope coming and to give back to the Catholic organizations in the Philadelphia area," he says. "We have been in discussions, me and my wife, when I say 'we' -- of removing that 'official' title so that the lawyers don't come after us. So that will probably be changed pretty soon."
And, late Wednesday, the word "official" was gone from the site.
A spokesman for the Archdiocese says the only official merchandise is sold through www.WorldMeeting2015.org.