Galaxies are like cosmic gems, each with characteristics including size and shape that make them distinct. A gallery from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes displays a collection of galactic images that showcase this variety.
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The artwork, which bears the unmistakable hallmarks of Rupnik’s style, completes the shrine’s “Biblical Journey” project, which covers its four façades with mosaics depicting biblical scenes.
![Surrogate mother petitions Supreme Court to ensure lifesaving care for newborn #Catholic A surrogate mother filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to ensure a newborn baby will have access to lifesaving treatment for a heart condition amid her concerns that the biological parents may not continue treatment.McKenna West, an Alaska nurse and surrogate mother, gave birth to the baby boy on Aug. 12. She is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block a court order that recognized the boy’s biological parents as having full custody and being the authority in medical decisions.The unborn child was diagnosed with a treatable heart defect at about 20 weeks into pregnancy. His biological parents demanded West abort the child because of the defect and threatened her with financial penalties if she did not, according to the petition filed by West’s lawyers at Alliance Defending Freedom.West refused and fled to Texas because the state’s pro-life laws prohibit most abortions. The boy is receiving lifesaving medical treatment at this time due to a court order in Texas. However, the petition states the biological parents “refused to commit to authorizing any life-saving care” for as long as needed to treat the condition.“Since [West] is now completely excluded from the life of the medically fragile infant she brought into the world, much less from the ability to make critical health decisions that protect him, time is of the essence,” the petition states.The petition warns that without immediate Supreme Court action, “the child could be removed from the Texas hospital and taken to California for hospice — despite his treatable condition — around September 17, if not sooner.”“Relief is all the more warranted here, given that the stakes involve the child’s life,” the petition adds.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/surrogate-mother-petitions-supreme-court-to-ensure-lifesaving-care-for-newborn-catholic-a-surrogate-mother-filed-an-emergency-appeal-to-the-u-s-supreme-court-to-ensure-a-newborn-baby-will-have-acces.png "Surrogate mother petitions Supreme Court to ensure lifesaving care for newborn #Catholic A surrogate mother filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to ensure a newborn baby will have access to lifesaving treatment for a heart condition amid her concerns that the biological parents may not continue treatment.McKenna West, an Alaska nurse and surrogate mother, gave birth to the baby boy on Aug. 12. She is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block a court order that recognized the boy’s biological parents as having full custody and being the authority in medical decisions.The unborn child was diagnosed with a treatable heart defect at about 20 weeks into pregnancy. His biological parents demanded West abort the child because of the defect and threatened her with financial penalties if she did not, according to the petition filed by West’s lawyers at Alliance Defending Freedom.West refused and fled to Texas because the state’s pro-life laws prohibit most abortions. The boy is receiving lifesaving medical treatment at this time due to a court order in Texas. However, the petition states the biological parents “refused to commit to authorizing any life-saving care” for as long as needed to treat the condition.“Since [West] is now completely excluded from the life of the medically fragile infant she brought into the world, much less from the ability to make critical health decisions that protect him, time is of the essence,” the petition states.The petition warns that without immediate Supreme Court action, “the child could be removed from the Texas hospital and taken to California for hospice — despite his treatable condition — around September 17, if not sooner.”“Relief is all the more warranted here, given that the stakes involve the child’s life,” the petition adds.")
The surrogate mother says the biological parents previously pressured her to abort the child and hold full medical authority under a lower‑court order, prompting her emergency appeal.
ROANOKE, VA — A man awoke from a year-long coma this morning, then eagerly checked his phone to see how unified and virtuous the American political right became in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s death.
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GARY, IN — As Liam Miles cracked open a copy of The Beginner’s Bible to read to his son, he couldn’t help but notice that the text was noticeably vague on the backstory for Rahab the Harlot.
Read More![Bishop to Catholics: let 9/11 heroes energize your vocations #Catholic – On the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney urged Catholics to find inspiration from the “ordinary heroes” of that terrible day as they live their faith and the vocation to which Christ has called them. He said these heroes “were filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit,” courageously sacrificing their lives to save others that day.
Bishop Sweeney offered those reflections on Friday as the main celebrant and homilist of a Memorial Mass for the 9/11 anniversary for the staff of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., in the chapel of St. Paul Inside the Walls in Madison, N.J. The faithful joined their fellow Americans across the country to “never forget” a quarter-century since that horrible day that shocked and changed the United States and the world.
Today, parishes around the diocese are prayerfully holding Memorial Masses and prayer services. They will pray for the souls of the victims, God’s continued comfort for their families and friends, the safety of first responders, and for God’s peace for the world.
In his homily, Bishop Sweeney praised the 9/11 heroes: first responders who assisted at the catastrophic disaster sites, including those who perished in the line of duty, and airline passengers who tried to stop the hijackers. Almost 3,000 people perished at the World Trade Center that day, but 17,000 were saved thanks to people who laid down their lives, he said.
“These ordinary people showed extraordinary courage, generosity, and wisdom, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the most challenging moments,” said Bishop Sweeney, who mentioned the 250th birthday of the nation this year. “We saw our country at our best on that day [9/11]. We saw citizens who were grateful for the freedoms that they received, because others were willing to sacrifice for previous generations,” he said.
These heroes modeled how Catholics should live their faith and “try to be open to God’s will and respond to our vocation” in their various roles in life, Bishop Sweeney told the congregation at St. Paul’s. In our vocations, Jesus calls all Catholics to become “servant leaders,” he said.
“We remember those who were lost 25 years ago. They gave so much. We remember them with gratitude, and we pray that we might be the disciples that Jesus is calling us to be, asking that we would be filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit,” he said.
Concelebrating the Memorial Mass with Bishop Sweeney were Msgr. T. Mark Condon, diocesan vicar general and moderator of the Curia and pastor of Our Lady of the Holy Angels Parish in Little Falls, N.J.; Father Jared Brogan, director of the diocesan Worship Office and pastor of St. Brendan and St. George Parish in Clifton, N.J.; Father Pawel Tomczyk, diocesan vicar for evangelization at St. Paul’s; Father Charles Lana Jr., director of the diocesan Vocations Office; and Msgr. Joseph Anginoli, a retired diocesan priest and adjutant judicial vicar for the diocesan Tribunal.
On social media, Bishop Sweeney added, “As we remember, we pray and, as Archbishop Hicks reminded us in a powerful homily yesterday, ‘healing takes time, Hope is Eternal.’ May they rest in Peace as we continue to pray and work for Peace on Earth.”
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/bishop-to-catholics-let-9-11-heroes-energize-your-vocations-catholic-on-the-25th-anniversary-of-the-sept-11-2001-terrorist-attacks-bishop-kevin-j-sweeney-urged-catholics-to-find-inspiration-fr.jpg "Bishop to Catholics: let 9/11 heroes energize your vocations #Catholic – On the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney urged Catholics to find inspiration from the “ordinary heroes” of that terrible day as they live their faith and the vocation to which Christ has called them. He said these heroes “were filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit,” courageously sacrificing their lives to save others that day.
Bishop Sweeney offered those reflections on Friday as the main celebrant and homilist of a Memorial Mass for the 9/11 anniversary for the staff of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., in the chapel of St. Paul Inside the Walls in Madison, N.J. The faithful joined their fellow Americans across the country to “never forget” a quarter-century since that horrible day that shocked and changed the United States and the world.
Today, parishes around the diocese are prayerfully holding Memorial Masses and prayer services. They will pray for the souls of the victims, God’s continued comfort for their families and friends, the safety of first responders, and for God’s peace for the world.
In his homily, Bishop Sweeney praised the 9/11 heroes: first responders who assisted at the catastrophic disaster sites, including those who perished in the line of duty, and airline passengers who tried to stop the hijackers. Almost 3,000 people perished at the World Trade Center that day, but 17,000 were saved thanks to people who laid down their lives, he said.
“These ordinary people showed extraordinary courage, generosity, and wisdom, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the most challenging moments,” said Bishop Sweeney, who mentioned the 250th birthday of the nation this year. “We saw our country at our best on that day [9/11]. We saw citizens who were grateful for the freedoms that they received, because others were willing to sacrifice for previous generations,” he said.
These heroes modeled how Catholics should live their faith and “try to be open to God’s will and respond to our vocation” in their various roles in life, Bishop Sweeney told the congregation at St. Paul’s. In our vocations, Jesus calls all Catholics to become “servant leaders,” he said.
“We remember those who were lost 25 years ago. They gave so much. We remember them with gratitude, and we pray that we might be the disciples that Jesus is calling us to be, asking that we would be filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit,” he said.
Concelebrating the Memorial Mass with Bishop Sweeney were Msgr. T. Mark Condon, diocesan vicar general and moderator of the Curia and pastor of Our Lady of the Holy Angels Parish in Little Falls, N.J.; Father Jared Brogan, director of the diocesan Worship Office and pastor of St. Brendan and St. George Parish in Clifton, N.J.; Father Pawel Tomczyk, diocesan vicar for evangelization at St. Paul’s; Father Charles Lana Jr., director of the diocesan Vocations Office; and Msgr. Joseph Anginoli, a retired diocesan priest and adjutant judicial vicar for the diocesan Tribunal.
On social media, Bishop Sweeney added, “As we remember, we pray and, as Archbishop Hicks reminded us in a powerful homily yesterday, ‘healing takes time, Hope is Eternal.’ May they rest in Peace as we continue to pray and work for Peace on Earth.”
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.")
Bishop to Catholics: let 9/11 heroes energize your vocations #Catholic – 
On the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney urged Catholics to find inspiration from the “ordinary heroes” of that terrible day as they live their faith and the vocation to which Christ has called them. He said these heroes “were filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit,” courageously sacrificing their lives to save others that day.
Bishop Sweeney offered those reflections on Friday as the main celebrant and homilist of a Memorial Mass for the 9/11 anniversary for the staff of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., in the chapel of St. Paul Inside the Walls in Madison, N.J. The faithful joined their fellow Americans across the country to “never forget” a quarter-century since that horrible day that shocked and changed the United States and the world.
Today, parishes around the diocese are prayerfully holding Memorial Masses and prayer services. They will pray for the souls of the victims, God’s continued comfort for their families and friends, the safety of first responders, and for God’s peace for the world.
In his homily, Bishop Sweeney praised the 9/11 heroes: first responders who assisted at the catastrophic disaster sites, including those who perished in the line of duty, and airline passengers who tried to stop the hijackers. Almost 3,000 people perished at the World Trade Center that day, but 17,000 were saved thanks to people who laid down their lives, he said.
“These ordinary people showed extraordinary courage, generosity, and wisdom, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the most challenging moments,” said Bishop Sweeney, who mentioned the 250th birthday of the nation this year. “We saw our country at our best on that day [9/11]. We saw citizens who were grateful for the freedoms that they received, because others were willing to sacrifice for previous generations,” he said.
These heroes modeled how Catholics should live their faith and “try to be open to God’s will and respond to our vocation” in their various roles in life, Bishop Sweeney told the congregation at St. Paul’s. In our vocations, Jesus calls all Catholics to become “servant leaders,” he said.
“We remember those who were lost 25 years ago. They gave so much. We remember them with gratitude, and we pray that we might be the disciples that Jesus is calling us to be, asking that we would be filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit,” he said.
Concelebrating the Memorial Mass with Bishop Sweeney were Msgr. T. Mark Condon, diocesan vicar general and moderator of the Curia and pastor of Our Lady of the Holy Angels Parish in Little Falls, N.J.; Father Jared Brogan, director of the diocesan Worship Office and pastor of St. Brendan and St. George Parish in Clifton, N.J.; Father Pawel Tomczyk, diocesan vicar for evangelization at St. Paul’s; Father Charles Lana Jr., director of the diocesan Vocations Office; and Msgr. Joseph Anginoli, a retired diocesan priest and adjutant judicial vicar for the diocesan Tribunal.
On social media, Bishop Sweeney added, “As we remember, we pray and, as Archbishop Hicks reminded us in a powerful homily yesterday, ‘healing takes time, Hope is Eternal.’ May they rest in Peace as we continue to pray and work for Peace on Earth.”
– On the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney urged Catholics to find inspiration from the “ordinary heroes” of that terrible day as they live their faith and the vocation to which Christ has called them. He said these heroes “were filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit,” courageously sacrificing their lives to save others that day. Bishop Sweeney offered those reflections on Friday as the main celebrant and homilist of a Memorial Mass for the 9/11 anniversary for the staff of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., in the chapel of St. Paul Inside
![Apostolic nuncio calls for ‘moral voice’ in AI development #Catholic Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia, apostolic nuncio to the United States, discussed the need for a “moral voice” in artificial intelligence (AI) development during a panel discussion hosted by Georgetown University on Sept. 9.The panel, titled “AI, Catholic Social Teaching, and Pope Leoʼs Invitation to Dialogue with the World,” examined Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas and its call for a shared human effort to develop technology that serves the common good rather than harms it.Speakers noted that the Holy Father’s encyclical stopped short of prescribing specific policy ideas for addressing the moral and ethical concerns, but the nuncio said “there is the perception that we need a moral voice” on the subject.“A moral voice is what?” he said. “Not everything which is possible to be done should be done. Not everything that technology offers should be taken. This is a moral choice.”Caccia stressed that decisions affecting human lives should not be handed over to AI, citing distinctions between AI algorithms and the human conscience, as the Holy Father discussed in Magnifica Humanitas.Leo drew a distinction between artificial intelligence and human intelligence in the encyclical, focusing on how each approaches moral questions. The pope wrote that he rejected ideas of “artificial moral agents” and the notion that a machine can “distinguish between right and wrong with greater consistency than a human being.”“Moral judgment cannot be reduced to calculation, for it involves conscience, personal responsibility and the recognition of the other as a person,” Leo wrote. “Therefore, it is not permissible to entrust lethal or otherwise irreversible decisions to artificial systems.”Caccia said during the panel discussion that, as a society, “we have to keep the value of the human relationship.”“The problem is that [if] life and death is decided by a machine, not by the human being, who is accountable?” he said. “So these are very important, important questions. But I am confident, as I said, that together we can face this situation and find a way.”The nuncio said he has similar concerns about the use of AI in other types of decision-making that impacts humans.“I hear very troubling accounts of algorithms that can block access to healthcare, employment, and security on the basis of data tainted by prejudice and injustice,” he said. “And Iʼve heard the silence of those who have no voice. When decisions are made, decisions [are] likely to generate new forms of exclusion and suffering.”Quoting the encyclical, Caccia affirmed the pope’s call that AI “needs to be disarmed.”
Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations in New York, speaks on Aug. 29, 2025, the International Day Against Nuclear Tests. | Credit: Holy See Mission to the United Nations
“The word is strong, I know, but deliberately chosen because this moment needs words capable of attracting attention, awakening consciences, and indicating paths forward for humanity,” he said. “This is more or less a framework in which we can go on with the conversation.”Speaking to EWTN News after the panel, Caccia said the pope’s call to address moral concerns of AI is not just a call to Church leadership but to every Catholic.“There is, of course, the voice of the bishops,” he said. “But there is also the voice of Catholic people who are in the business or are engineers who are in the economy, who are in the field. So itʼs not just for those who have pastoral responsibility, but for the bigger community.”Pope’s impact on AI discussionSeveral panelists discussed the importance of Magnifica Humanitas in providing a type of moral guidance on AI development that focuses on the common good of humanity.Jasmine Sun, a journalist who writes about AI and Silicon Valley, said she “was actually surprised by how much folks I knew in Silicon Valley, in the AI industry did pay attention to Magnifica Humanitas.”“It was a lot more engagement, I think, than I expected,” she said. “And once again, I think itʼs because there is this sense that the profit motive that has driven Silicon Valley, that continues to drive Silicon Valley, is not enough.”Molly Kinder, CEO of the Breakwater Initiative, said the Church provides “wisdom and moral leadership” and believes its broad focus on humanity is why people listened.“Iʼm struck that in the opening pages of the Bible, there is a discussion of Adam and Eve being put on Earth to till the land as our fundamental reason for existing,” she said. “And it feels to me sometimes when Iʼm in Silicon Valley … they almost talk about almost a new Garden of Eden that AI is going to bring about, that maybe our purpose is not to work, or maybe itʼs leisure or a check and a hobby.”Caccia too said he was “positively surprised” by the reaction to the encyclical, saying “it seems that there was a need to do something about this.”“It didnʼt pretend to have the answers,” he said, “but he put questions, common questions that we have to tackle together to decide where we want to go.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/apostolic-nuncio-calls-for-moral-voice-in-ai-development-catholic-archbishop-gabriele-giordano-caccia-apostolic-nuncio-to-the-united-states-discussed-the-need-for-a-moral.jpg "Apostolic nuncio calls for ‘moral voice’ in AI development #Catholic Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia, apostolic nuncio to the United States, discussed the need for a “moral voice” in artificial intelligence (AI) development during a panel discussion hosted by Georgetown University on Sept. 9.The panel, titled “AI, Catholic Social Teaching, and Pope Leoʼs Invitation to Dialogue with the World,” examined Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas and its call for a shared human effort to develop technology that serves the common good rather than harms it.Speakers noted that the Holy Father’s encyclical stopped short of prescribing specific policy ideas for addressing the moral and ethical concerns, but the nuncio said “there is the perception that we need a moral voice” on the subject.“A moral voice is what?” he said. “Not everything which is possible to be done should be done. Not everything that technology offers should be taken. This is a moral choice.”Caccia stressed that decisions affecting human lives should not be handed over to AI, citing distinctions between AI algorithms and the human conscience, as the Holy Father discussed in Magnifica Humanitas.Leo drew a distinction between artificial intelligence and human intelligence in the encyclical, focusing on how each approaches moral questions. The pope wrote that he rejected ideas of “artificial moral agents” and the notion that a machine can “distinguish between right and wrong with greater consistency than a human being.”“Moral judgment cannot be reduced to calculation, for it involves conscience, personal responsibility and the recognition of the other as a person,” Leo wrote. “Therefore, it is not permissible to entrust lethal or otherwise irreversible decisions to artificial systems.”Caccia said during the panel discussion that, as a society, “we have to keep the value of the human relationship.”“The problem is that [if] life and death is decided by a machine, not by the human being, who is accountable?” he said. “So these are very important, important questions. But I am confident, as I said, that together we can face this situation and find a way.”The nuncio said he has similar concerns about the use of AI in other types of decision-making that impacts humans.“I hear very troubling accounts of algorithms that can block access to healthcare, employment, and security on the basis of data tainted by prejudice and injustice,” he said. “And Iʼve heard the silence of those who have no voice. When decisions are made, decisions [are] likely to generate new forms of exclusion and suffering.”Quoting the encyclical, Caccia affirmed the pope’s call that AI “needs to be disarmed.”
Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations in New York, speaks on Aug. 29, 2025, the International Day Against Nuclear Tests. | Credit: Holy See Mission to the United Nations
“The word is strong, I know, but deliberately chosen because this moment needs words capable of attracting attention, awakening consciences, and indicating paths forward for humanity,” he said. “This is more or less a framework in which we can go on with the conversation.”Speaking to EWTN News after the panel, Caccia said the pope’s call to address moral concerns of AI is not just a call to Church leadership but to every Catholic.“There is, of course, the voice of the bishops,” he said. “But there is also the voice of Catholic people who are in the business or are engineers who are in the economy, who are in the field. So itʼs not just for those who have pastoral responsibility, but for the bigger community.”Pope’s impact on AI discussionSeveral panelists discussed the importance of Magnifica Humanitas in providing a type of moral guidance on AI development that focuses on the common good of humanity.Jasmine Sun, a journalist who writes about AI and Silicon Valley, said she “was actually surprised by how much folks I knew in Silicon Valley, in the AI industry did pay attention to Magnifica Humanitas.”“It was a lot more engagement, I think, than I expected,” she said. “And once again, I think itʼs because there is this sense that the profit motive that has driven Silicon Valley, that continues to drive Silicon Valley, is not enough.”Molly Kinder, CEO of the Breakwater Initiative, said the Church provides “wisdom and moral leadership” and believes its broad focus on humanity is why people listened.“Iʼm struck that in the opening pages of the Bible, there is a discussion of Adam and Eve being put on Earth to till the land as our fundamental reason for existing,” she said. “And it feels to me sometimes when Iʼm in Silicon Valley … they almost talk about almost a new Garden of Eden that AI is going to bring about, that maybe our purpose is not to work, or maybe itʼs leisure or a check and a hobby.”Caccia too said he was “positively surprised” by the reaction to the encyclical, saying “it seems that there was a need to do something about this.”“It didnʼt pretend to have the answers,” he said, “but he put questions, common questions that we have to tackle together to decide where we want to go.”")
Speakers at a Georgetown University event said Magnifica Humanitas offers moral guidance without policy steps, and the nuncio noted rising concern that debates over AI need a moral voice.
| Picture of the day |
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Red Sea bannerfish (Heniochus intermedius), Red Sea, Egypt. The Red Sea bannerfish attains as maximum total length of 18 centimetres (7.1 in) and is native to the western Indian Ocean where it is found in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. It’s associated with coral reefs where it is most frequently recorded as a solitary fish or in pairs, although large schools have been recorded. The juveniles form large schools, particularly in areas of deep reef where there is a low density of corals. They feed on both zooplankton and benthic invertebrates but the extent to which they feed on live coral has still to be determined. It is an oviparous species which forms monogamous pairs for spawning. It’s collected for the aquarium trade but its collection is of a limited scale and is not believed to be a threat to the species population.
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![Bishop visits joyful Paterson parish to celebrate Spanish Mass #Catholic – St. Therese Parish in Paterson, N.J., welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney on Sept. 6, who celebrated a Spanish Mass. Deacon Luis A. Ramirez of St. Therese assisted with the liturgy.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
[See image gallery at beaconnj.org]
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/bishop-visits-joyful-paterson-parish-to-celebrate-spanish-mass-catholic-st-therese-parish-in-paterson-n-j-welcomed-bishop-kevin-j-sweeney-on-sept-6-who-celebrated-a-spanish-mass-deacon-luis.jpg "Bishop visits joyful Paterson parish to celebrate Spanish Mass #Catholic – St. Therese Parish in Paterson, N.J., welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney on Sept. 6, who celebrated a Spanish Mass. Deacon Luis A. Ramirez of St. Therese assisted with the liturgy.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
[See image gallery at beaconnj.org]
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.")
Bishop visits joyful Paterson parish to celebrate Spanish Mass #Catholic – 
St. Therese Parish in Paterson, N.J., welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney on Sept. 6, who celebrated a Spanish Mass. Deacon Luis A. Ramirez of St. Therese assisted with the liturgy.
– St. Therese Parish in Paterson, N.J., welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney on Sept. 6, who celebrated a Spanish Mass. Deacon Luis A. Ramirez of St. Therese assisted with the liturgy. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Launched as the International Sun-Earth Explorer-3 in 1978, a joint NASA-ESA mission, the ISEE-3 probe studied the solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field from the L1 Lagrange point. When its mission was complete in 1981, NASA proposed repurposing the craft by using it to intercept a comet; such reuse would save the money and timeContinue reading “Sept. 11, 1985: The ICE probe encounters Comet Giacobini-Zinner”
The post Sept. 11, 1985: The ICE probe encounters Comet Giacobini-Zinner appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
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President Trump cracked up the audience at the GOP Midterm Convention by asking them to take a pledge to vote in November.
The post Trump Cracks Up Crowd at Midterm Convention With Pledge to Vote – The Media Will Lose Their Minds Over This (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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Thursday night at the GOP Midterm Convention, JD Vance told the story of how Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed criticized his deceased grandfather, suggesting that the man could not have loved Vance’s wife because of who she is.
The post JD Vance Drops a Hard Truth at GOP Midterm Convention: ‘Democrats Are the Party of Hatred’ (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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Some left wing dope decided to show up and protest the GOP Midterm Convention with the Mexican flag during JD Vance’s speech and Vance improvised and turned it into a humorous moment.
The post JD Vance Laughs Off Midterm Convention Protester With Mexican Flag: ‘We Just Discovered the Symbol of the Far Left’ (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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Using the James Webb Space Telescope, an international team of astronomers have discovered that dust and water can form and survive surprisingly close to the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy.
Read More![Florida firm accused of failing to pay Catholic military catechists – #Catholic – Orlando-based military contractor Idemma has failed to meet payment obligations for some of its subcontractors who worked in Catholic ministry positions at U.S. military bases, according to three people who say they are still owed thousands of dollars by the company.Three people who spoke with EWTN News reported that Idemma was routinely late in paying them for their work and missed payments that have still not been fulfilled. In some cases, late payments are more than a year overdue, subcontractors said. Each person said Idemma initially promised to make them whole and then eventually stopped responding to emails or phone calls.Michael Aldeguer, administrative assistant for Idemma, told EWTN News “the overwhelming majority” of obligations were paid, and acknowledged “a limited number of contractor accounts that remain under review or resolution.”He said the company is “firmly committed to honoring our contractual obligations and resolving legitimate outstanding amounts.” He said Idemma plans to “make substantial progress toward resolving the remaining matters by year-end.”On Sept. 10, Aldeguer said Idemma would reach out to every subcontractor “today” to “ensure they have received our recent communications and are aware of the latest updates.”The Pentagon referred an inquiry by EWTN News to the military service departments, which oversee the contracts.Contractor describes worsening payment lagPaulette Padua began working as a Catholic religious education coordinator at Beale Air Force Base in California in 2013, initially as an independent contractor. In 2020, Padua was underbid by Idemma, which took over the contract but kept her in the role.Initially, Padua said payments came as agreed upon, but “something happened” in 2025 and “payment became later and later and every month.” Her contract ended in September, and she said there is still more than $8,000 in outstanding payments owed to her.“I kept having to beg for my pay,” she said, and was “sending constant, constant emails” to the company to receive her payments. An email chain that Padua shared with EWTN News shows an Idemma employee repeatedly promising to complete the payments, but with her responding that only partial payments were being made.Padua said Idemma promised to pay her back in increments in 2026, but she only received a $200 check. She said the company no longer responds to her emails about payments, complaining that “they just ghost [me].”“It was causing me so much stress that it was making me sick so at a certain point I had to let go and let God have his way,” Padua said. “I can’t let them give me a heart attack.”Padua, who was crying when recalling the situation, said losing payments “was very difficult physically, emotionally, and financially,” adding: “I worked for them for so long and I love that military community and I was good at my job and just to be done so dirty it feels terrible.”She said she was “counting on” those payments and was reassured “you’re going to get paid.”“Should I tell that to my mortgage company? For my car loans? For my bills?” she asked.Another subcontractor who said she faced similar issues is Dianne Hodges, who had two contracts with Idemma, one of which was paid late and the other which is still not paid off. She said most of it was paid off by June 2026, about a year after she’d completed the initial contract.Hodges said they still owe her $3,200 for the other contract she worked but that Idemma did not respond to her most recent emails in August about the remaining balance, saying “they’ve gone radio silent on me” and worrying “I guess I’ll never see it.”“It’s been a nightmare,” Hodges said. “It’s been an absolute nightmare.”Hodges said the delayed payments led to trouble with creditors and late fees on credit cards that she couldn’t pay off. She had to pull money out of her 401K to pay her bills and shop for Christmas gifts in 2024.“It was tough for me sometimes to make ends meet,” she said, adding that when she called Idemma about the financial struggles she faced that year, “I broke down in tears, I was telling them this is not how a business works.”Morgan Loftis, who worked as a director of religious education at the Marine Corps Air Station New River from September 2025 through May 2026, told EWTN News she is also still owed thousands of dollars in payments from Idemma.Loftis said she was owed $12,300 but was only paid $4,875, which leaves $7,425 unpaid.In May 2026, before she left the role, she said Idemma “offered to pay me in full … if I stayed onto the next year because they were about to lose the contract.” She said she considered the offer and requested “an actual payment plan in writing” but never received one. Now, she said “they won’t take my calls.”“I think they know our numbers and they’re just not going to respond,” she said, referring to the subcontractors who are still owed money.Loftis said she took the role even though she heard other subcontractors were not getting paid, but “I wanted there to be a faith formation program and it looked like there wasn’t going to be one.”Yet, as she and her husband are expecting their fifth child and bought a new car, she said, “it would be really nice to have had the full pay. That could really alleviate how hard that car payment hits.”Archbishop Broglio: Allegations ‘deeply troubling’Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, expressed concern about the lack of payments.“The archdiocese … has no contractual or business relationship with Idemma, which operates under direct contract with the federal government,” Broglio said in a statement to EWTN News.“Even so, the allegations of late or missed payments, if true, are deeply troubling,” he said. “Idemma has a moral responsibility to meet its payroll obligations in a timely fashion. I strongly encourage the company to do so.”In email exchanges about the missed payments, Idemma responded to the specific cases of the three subcontractors who spoke with EWTN News.For Hodges, Aldeguer noted that one contract was “recently cleared and paid in full” and said “payments have continued to be made toward the remaining balance, and we have also added interest.”For Padua, he said Idemma has “agreed to pay interest, which we also confirmed to her in writing.” He said in her situation, “we agreed to pay her more than what we received under the contract” because she was the chaplainʼs first choice. He said: “This arrangement worked until our other live music business was essentially wiped out by COVID.”For Loftis, Aldeguer said “we are still verifying the amounts owed” and “she should have received a request to upload her invoices related to the contract.”“Each situation is different, and we are making our best efforts to get everything cleared as soon as possible, with interest being applied to the final remaining balances where agreed,” Aldeguer said. “Ultimately, we are a small team that is extremely dedicated to getting these matters resolved, even in situations where we ourselves sustained significant losses on the underlying contracts.”He said Idemma has implemented a centralized invoice-submission process for contractors with unresolved accounts to collect outstanding invoices and documents in one place to compare them to their records, identify discrepancies, and resolve outstanding balances.Aldeguer requested that EWTN News delay publication while the company worked to resolve outstanding contractor accounts, saying recent progress wasnʼt being reflected.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/florida-firm-accused-of-failing-to-pay-catholic-military-catechists-catholic-orlando-based-military-contractor-idemma-has-failed-to-meet-payment-obligations-for-some-of-its-subcontractors-who-wor.jpg "Florida firm accused of failing to pay Catholic military catechists – #Catholic – Orlando-based military contractor Idemma has failed to meet payment obligations for some of its subcontractors who worked in Catholic ministry positions at U.S. military bases, according to three people who say they are still owed thousands of dollars by the company.Three people who spoke with EWTN News reported that Idemma was routinely late in paying them for their work and missed payments that have still not been fulfilled. In some cases, late payments are more than a year overdue, subcontractors said. Each person said Idemma initially promised to make them whole and then eventually stopped responding to emails or phone calls.Michael Aldeguer, administrative assistant for Idemma, told EWTN News “the overwhelming majority” of obligations were paid, and acknowledged “a limited number of contractor accounts that remain under review or resolution.”He said the company is “firmly committed to honoring our contractual obligations and resolving legitimate outstanding amounts.” He said Idemma plans to “make substantial progress toward resolving the remaining matters by year-end.”On Sept. 10, Aldeguer said Idemma would reach out to every subcontractor “today” to “ensure they have received our recent communications and are aware of the latest updates.”The Pentagon referred an inquiry by EWTN News to the military service departments, which oversee the contracts.Contractor describes worsening payment lagPaulette Padua began working as a Catholic religious education coordinator at Beale Air Force Base in California in 2013, initially as an independent contractor. In 2020, Padua was underbid by Idemma, which took over the contract but kept her in the role.Initially, Padua said payments came as agreed upon, but “something happened” in 2025 and “payment became later and later and every month.” Her contract ended in September, and she said there is still more than $8,000 in outstanding payments owed to her.“I kept having to beg for my pay,” she said, and was “sending constant, constant emails” to the company to receive her payments. An email chain that Padua shared with EWTN News shows an Idemma employee repeatedly promising to complete the payments, but with her responding that only partial payments were being made.Padua said Idemma promised to pay her back in increments in 2026, but she only received a $200 check. She said the company no longer responds to her emails about payments, complaining that “they just ghost [me].”“It was causing me so much stress that it was making me sick so at a certain point I had to let go and let God have his way,” Padua said. “I can’t let them give me a heart attack.”Padua, who was crying when recalling the situation, said losing payments “was very difficult physically, emotionally, and financially,” adding: “I worked for them for so long and I love that military community and I was good at my job and just to be done so dirty it feels terrible.”She said she was “counting on” those payments and was reassured “you’re going to get paid.”“Should I tell that to my mortgage company? For my car loans? For my bills?” she asked.Another subcontractor who said she faced similar issues is Dianne Hodges, who had two contracts with Idemma, one of which was paid late and the other which is still not paid off. She said most of it was paid off by June 2026, about a year after she’d completed the initial contract.Hodges said they still owe her $3,200 for the other contract she worked but that Idemma did not respond to her most recent emails in August about the remaining balance, saying “they’ve gone radio silent on me” and worrying “I guess I’ll never see it.”“It’s been a nightmare,” Hodges said. “It’s been an absolute nightmare.”Hodges said the delayed payments led to trouble with creditors and late fees on credit cards that she couldn’t pay off. She had to pull money out of her 401K to pay her bills and shop for Christmas gifts in 2024.“It was tough for me sometimes to make ends meet,” she said, adding that when she called Idemma about the financial struggles she faced that year, “I broke down in tears, I was telling them this is not how a business works.”Morgan Loftis, who worked as a director of religious education at the Marine Corps Air Station New River from September 2025 through May 2026, told EWTN News she is also still owed thousands of dollars in payments from Idemma.Loftis said she was owed $12,300 but was only paid $4,875, which leaves $7,425 unpaid.In May 2026, before she left the role, she said Idemma “offered to pay me in full … if I stayed onto the next year because they were about to lose the contract.” She said she considered the offer and requested “an actual payment plan in writing” but never received one. Now, she said “they won’t take my calls.”“I think they know our numbers and they’re just not going to respond,” she said, referring to the subcontractors who are still owed money.Loftis said she took the role even though she heard other subcontractors were not getting paid, but “I wanted there to be a faith formation program and it looked like there wasn’t going to be one.”Yet, as she and her husband are expecting their fifth child and bought a new car, she said, “it would be really nice to have had the full pay. That could really alleviate how hard that car payment hits.”Archbishop Broglio: Allegations ‘deeply troubling’Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, expressed concern about the lack of payments.“The archdiocese … has no contractual or business relationship with Idemma, which operates under direct contract with the federal government,” Broglio said in a statement to EWTN News.“Even so, the allegations of late or missed payments, if true, are deeply troubling,” he said. “Idemma has a moral responsibility to meet its payroll obligations in a timely fashion. I strongly encourage the company to do so.”In email exchanges about the missed payments, Idemma responded to the specific cases of the three subcontractors who spoke with EWTN News.For Hodges, Aldeguer noted that one contract was “recently cleared and paid in full” and said “payments have continued to be made toward the remaining balance, and we have also added interest.”For Padua, he said Idemma has “agreed to pay interest, which we also confirmed to her in writing.” He said in her situation, “we agreed to pay her more than what we received under the contract” because she was the chaplainʼs first choice. He said: “This arrangement worked until our other live music business was essentially wiped out by COVID.”For Loftis, Aldeguer said “we are still verifying the amounts owed” and “she should have received a request to upload her invoices related to the contract.”“Each situation is different, and we are making our best efforts to get everything cleared as soon as possible, with interest being applied to the final remaining balances where agreed,” Aldeguer said. “Ultimately, we are a small team that is extremely dedicated to getting these matters resolved, even in situations where we ourselves sustained significant losses on the underlying contracts.”He said Idemma has implemented a centralized invoice-submission process for contractors with unresolved accounts to collect outstanding invoices and documents in one place to compare them to their records, identify discrepancies, and resolve outstanding balances.Aldeguer requested that EWTN News delay publication while the company worked to resolve outstanding contractor accounts, saying recent progress wasnʼt being reflected.")
A spokesman for the company, Idemma, acknowledged “a limited number of contractor accounts that remain under review or resolution.”
A reading from the First Letter of St. Paul to Corinthians
9:16-19, 22b-27
Brothers and sisters:
If I preach the Gospel, this is no reason for me to boast,
for an obligation has been imposed on me,
and woe to me if I do not preach it!
If I do so willingly, I have a recompense,
but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship.
What then is my recompense?
That, when I preach, I offer the Gospel free of charge
so as not to make full use of my right in the Gospel.
Although I am free in regard to all,
I have made myself a slave to all
so as to win over as many as possible.
I have become all things to all, to save at least some.
All this I do for the sake of the Gospel,
so that I too may have a share in it.
Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race,
but only one wins the prize?
Run so as to win.
Every athlete exercises discipline in every way.
They do it to win a perishable crown,
but we an imperishable one.
Thus I do not run aimlessly;
I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing.
No, I drive my body and train it,
for fear that, after having preached to others,
I myself should be disqualified.
From the Gospel according to Luke
6:39-42
Jesus told his disciples a parable:
"Can a blind person guide a blind person?
Will not both fall into a pit?
No disciple is superior to the teacher;
but when fully trained,
every disciple will be like his teacher.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?
How can you say to your brother,
‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’
when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?
You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye."
The Gospel of Luke has once again put before us Jesus’ question: “Can a blind man lead a blind man?” (Lk 6:39). The Lord means to say that a guide cannot be blind; he must see clearly, if he is not to risk causing harm to those entrusted to his care. Jesus thus calls the attention of all those who have educational or leadership responsibilities (…) to feel a sense of responsibility, to ask themselves what the right path is, and to walk it themselves first. (…) In today’s passage, we find another very significant phrase, which exhorts us not to be presumptuous and hypocritical. “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Lk 6:41). How easy it is to notice the faults and sins of others whilst failing to see our own! And how can we tell whether our eye is clear or obstructed by a log? The answer lies in our actions. It is Jesus who tells us this once more: “Each tree is known by its own fruit” (Lk 6:44). The fruit consists of our actions, but also our words. (…) Indeed, a good person brings forth good things from the heart and the mouth, whilst an evil person brings forth evil things. (…) Feel a sense of responsibility and take pride in offering a Christian witness capable of renewing society both inwardly and outwardly. (John Paul II, homily of 1 March 1992)
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“I really enjoy the gift of a Black Catholicism, Black Catholic spirituality, and it certainly does have a place in the universal Church,” Bishop Robert Boxie said.
“We remember those who died and the extraordinary courage, service, sacrifice, and compassion that followed,” New York Archbishop Ronald Hicks said.
Chad Pecknold, a longtime professor at The Catholic University of America, has begun working for the government agency that oversees immigration enforcement.
TENERIFE, Canary Islands, Sept. 8, 2026 — Fifteen years after STARMUS brought together the legends who defined the first age of human space exploration, the Festival will welcome the explorers who have opened its newest chapter. Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen will attend STARMUS VIII — TheContinue reading “Artemis 2 crew lands at Starmus VII — 15 years after Armstrong, Aldrin, and Leonov launched its lengacy”
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This past Sept. 7, the “Creed of the Ecclesial Base Communities” was included as part of a Mass marking Brazil’s annual “Cry of the Excluded” event.
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The shipwreck of Cabo de Santa Maria in Boa Vista, Cape Verde as it appeared in December 2010. The Spanish cargo ship ran aground at Praia de Atalanta beach on this date in 1968.
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Obituary: Erin Guiltinan Piacenti, 32, Chester #Catholic – 
A Mass of Christian Burial was held on Sept. 9 at St. Joseph Church in Mendham, N.J., for Erin Guiltinan Piacenti of Chester, N.J., who died on Aug. 31 in New York City. She was 32.
Born in 1994 in New York City, Piacenti was raised in Chester, N.J. She attended St. Joseph School in Mendham and Villa Walsh Academy in Morristown, N.J. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Pennsylvania. While at Penn, Piacenti served as a member, soloist, and eventually music director of Dischord A Cappella.
Piacenti began her career as a buyer at Bloomingdale’s, but always knew her true ambition was to be an attorney. She graduated magna cum laude and earned induction into the Order of the Coif and law review from Fordham University School of Law. Thereafter, she began her legal career at Davis Polk & Wardwell in Manhattan and later became a vice president at Bank of America.
At Fordham Law School, Piacenti met her husband, Frank, who also grew up in Chester. They quickly formed an inseparable bond, grown through shared interests, frequent travel, and deep trust. After four years together, they were married in 2024 at St. Francis of Assisi Parish on Long Beach Island, N.J.
In March of 2026, the couple welcomed their daughter, Madison. Piacenti effortlessly transitioned into her role as Madison’s devoted mother. Each morning, she sang Disney songs to Madison and danced with her. The joy they brought to one another was overwhelming.
The family notes their heartbreak that Piacenti will not be able to participate in Madison’s future milestones, holidays, and life events. Yet Madison will grow up knowing how much she loved her and how much her parents loved one another.
Piacenti was the big sister to her two sisters, Megan and Kelly, and her two brothers, Edward and William. She doted on her siblings, and they, in turn, adored and looked up to her. They were all best friends. Piacenti’s family members are heartbroken at her untimely, unfair, and tragic passing but are thankful she was and will always be in their lives and hearts.
Piacenti loved singing, running, traveling, Broadway musicals, Harry Potter, and Disney World, and she enjoyed spending time at her family home on Long Beach Island and playing with the family golden retrievers. She will be remembered for her intelligence, warmth, loyalty, generosity, and, above all, her love for her family. She was a devoted wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend.
Survivors include her husband, Frank Piacenti; her daughter, Madison Piacenti; her devoted parents, Edward and Barbara Guiltinan; her siblings, Megan Guiltinan Sneden and her husband, Riley, Edward Guiltinan, Jr., Kelly Guiltinan, and William Guiltinan; her father-in-law and mother-in-law, Frank and Kelly Piacenti; her sisters-in-law, Alexandria and Olivia; and many other family members and friends.
Please make memorial donations to Supporting Madison’s Future, a GoFundMe established to provide Piacenti’s daughter the future she dreamed of building with her.
– A Mass of Christian Burial was held on Sept. 9 at St. Joseph Church in Mendham, N.J., for Erin Guiltinan Piacenti of Chester, N.J., who died on Aug. 31 in New York City. She was 32. Born in 1994 in New York City, Piacenti was raised in Chester, N.J. She attended St. Joseph School in Mendham and Villa Walsh Academy in Morristown, N.J. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Pennsylvania. While at Penn, Piacenti served as a member, soloist, and eventually music director of Dischord A Cappella. Piacenti began her career as a buyer
Peruvian city to unveil world’s tallest statue of Pope Leo for trip to South America #Catholic – 
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (OSV News) — The Peruvian city of Callao announced an unusual tribute to Pope Leo XIV ahead of his November visit to the South American country: the largest statue of the pontiff in the world.
The 45.9-foot-tall statue of Pope Leo will grace a seafront park overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Callao, located in the northern suburbs of Lima, the national capital.
“This work will be a source of pride for all the residents of Callao and a new space for us to come together as a community,” said Mayor César Pérez, according to the newspaper El Comercio. “May the (statue) be a place that transmits faith, hope, and unity, and may this sculpture become a symbol that accompanies families.”
The mayor added that the local government donated park space, while a private firm provided funding for the statue.
The steel and marble statue of the pope with open arms is expected to be installed prior to his arrival in Peru Nov. 11. Pérez expressed hope that the statue would be inaugurated during the pope’s five-day trip to Peru. The visit — a homecoming for Pope Leo, who became a Peruvian citizen while serving as bishop of Chiclayo — will cap an 11-day journey to South America, which includes visits to Uruguay and Argentina.
Pope Leo is expected to arrive in Callao, site of Lima’s international airport, but not spend time in the city, despite serving as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Callao for 13 months, ending in May 2021.
Pérez remembered Pope Leo driving some 475 miles from Chiclayo to Callao during the COVID-19 pandemic, where, the mayor told EFE, “he oversaw food donations, helping those who have the least and need the most. That was Robert Prevost’s way of working when he was administrator of the Callao Diocese.”
The statue being built in Callao reflects the stature and popularity of Pope Leo in his adopted home country, where Catholic observers say he has emerged as the world’s most prominent Peruvian since his May 2025 election. Observers say excitement for the papal trip is especially strong in northern Peru, where Pope Leo served as an Augustinian missionary and later bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023.
“What’s being promoted,” by Peruvian church leaders “is how important it is to have a Peruvian pope and how good it is that he’s returning,” Jesuit Father José Luis Gordillo, told OSV News.
Church leaders have promoted Pope Leo’s teachings ahead of the visit, with “the result being an emphasis on (Pope) Leo’s role as someone who will be a relevant leader, a leader relevant to the world, and who will say something relevant to the country,” Father Gordillo said. “I do believe that the archdiocese (of Lima) and probably the episcopal conference are also expecting that.”
Pope Leo is expected to visit Lima, Chiclayo, Pucallpa and Cusco between Nov. 11 and Nov. 17. Observers say the trip incorporates the three regions of Peru: the coast, mountains and jungle — each representing different cultures and socioeconomic realities.
The official agenda of the pope’s trip to Peru is to be published shortly after Vatican confirmation is received around Sept. 15, Bishop Carlos García Camader of Lurín, president of the Peruvian bishops’ conference, told Agencia Andina.
Pope Francis visited Peru in 2018. The late pope never visited his native Argentina after being elected in 2013. He never voiced his reasons for not visiting his homeland, but Church observers cite deep political divisions in Argentina as a possible motive. Church officials hope Pope Leo’s visit can encourage unity among Argentines.
“It’s a very polarized country,” Bishop Dante Braida of La Rioja, Argentina, told OSV News. “There are two opposing political sectors, which are vying for power. … They’ve had great difficulty finding common ground to build a country together.
“On the other hand, there’s a Church that tries to accompany a process of dialogue, of openness, and that tries to be close to the grassroots,” he continued. “It’s a country with a certain degree of complexity, but the pope will always be welcome, and we trust that his presence will be a presence of unity. And of dialogue. That’s what’s needed.”
Pope Leo arrives in Buenos Aires Nov. 8. Archbishop Jorge García Cuerva of Buenos Aires has provided details of the pope’s proposed itinerary, which, in the Argentine capital, includes celebrating Mass at the Monumento a los Españoles; an encounter with labor leaders, workers and public and private officials at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina; and a visit to the Pequeño Cottolengo Don Orione, which serves people with developmental disabilities. Pope Leo is also expected to visit a prison in Buenos Aires.
The pope will spend Nov. 10 in the city of Cordoba, roughly 425 miles northwest of Argentina, where he will celebrate Mass and later meet with priests, religious and seminarians at the local cathedral. He will celebrate Mass the next day at the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján near Buenos Aires — a shrine to the namesake patroness of Argentina — before flying onward to Peru. No pope has visited Argentina since St. John Paul II in 1987.
Pope Leo’s first trip to South America begins Nov. 6 in Uruguay, the least religious country in Latin America. The pope is scheduled to visit the cities of Montevideo, the capital, along with Paysandú on the border with Argentina and Florida. His visit to Florida on Nov. 8 coincides with celebrations of Our Lady of the 33, the national patroness.
Official details of the pope’s itinerary in Uruguay are expected to be released sometime after Sept. 21, said Gabriela Gómez, press director for the Archdiocese of Montevideo.
David Agren writes for OSV News from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
– BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (OSV News) — The Peruvian city of Callao announced an unusual tribute to Pope Leo XIV ahead of his November visit to the South American country: the largest statue of the pontiff in the world. The 45.9-foot-tall statue of Pope Leo will grace a seafront park overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Callao, located in the northern suburbs of Lima, the national capital. “This work will be a source of pride for all the residents of Callao and a new space for us to come together as a community,” said Mayor César Pérez, according to the newspaper El
A reading from the First Letter of St. Paul to Corinthians
8:1b-7, 11-13
Brothers and sisters:
Knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up.
If anyone supposes he knows something,
he does not yet know as he ought to know.
But if one loves God, one is known by him.
So about the eating of meat sacrificed to idols:
we know that there is no idol in the world,
and that there is no God but one.
Indeed, even though there are so-called gods in heaven and on earth
(there are, to be sure, many “gods” and many “lords”),
yet for us there is one God, the Father,
from whom all things are and for whom we exist,
and one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom all things are and through whom we exist.
But not all have this knowledge.
There are some who have been so used to idolatry up until now
that, when they eat meat sacrificed to idols,
their conscience, which is weak, is defiled.
Thus, through your knowledge, the weak person is brought to destruction,
the brother for whom Christ died.
When you sin in this way against your brothers
and wound their consciences, weak as they are,
you are sinning against Christ.
Therefore, if food causes my brother to sin,
I will never eat meat again,
so that I may not cause my brother to sin.
From the Gospel according to Luke
6:27-38
Jesus said to his disciples:
“To you who hear I say, love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who mistreat you.
To the person who strikes you on one cheek,
offer the other one as well,
and from the person who takes your cloak,
do not withhold even your tunic.
Give to everyone who asks of you,
and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
For if you love those who love you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who do good to you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners do the same.
If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners lend to sinners,
and get back the same amount.
But rather, love your enemies and do good to them,
and lend expecting nothing back;
then your reward will be great
and you will be children of the Most High,
for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.
“Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.”
Is it possible for a person to come to love his or her enemies? If it depended only on us, it would be impossible. But let us recall that, when the Lord asks for something, he wishes to give it. The Lord never asks for something he has not already given us first. When he tells me to love my enemies, he wants to give me the capacity to do so. Without that ability, we would not be able, but he tells you to “love your enemy” and gives you the capacity to love. Saint Augustine prayed in this way — listen to this beautiful prayer: Lord, “give what You command, and command what You will” (Confessions , X, 29.40), because you have already given it to me. What should we ask of him? What is God happy to give us? The strength to love, which is not a thing, but rather the Holy Spirit. The strength to love is the Holy Spirit, and with the Spirit of Jesus, we can respond to evil with good, we can love those who do us harm. (…) And we, do we try to live following Jesus’ invitations? Let us think about someone who has wronged us. (…) And then let us ask the Holy Spirit to act in our heart. Finally, let us pray for that person: praying for those who have done us harm (cf. Lk 6:28). When someone has wronged us, we immediately go and tell others and we feel we are victims. Let us stop, and pray to the Lord for that person, that he might help him or her, and so this feeling of resentment will be dispelled. Praying for those who have wronged us is the first step to transforming evil into good. (Pope Francis, Angelus, 20 February 2022)
Read More![Catholic mother denied vaccine exemption in New York – #Catholic – The U.S. Supreme Court this week denied an emergency request that would have allowed a Catholic mother in New York to send her 5-year-old son to kindergarten without the vaccinations required by state law.The mother, identified in court papers as Jane Doe, wanted her son, C.F., to start at Waverly School in Eastchester this month and is seeking a religious exemption to required vaccines. New York dropped religious exemptions from school vaccine rules in 2019 after a measles outbreak, however, though medical exemptions remain.Doe had asked the Supreme Court for a temporary injunction so C.F. could start school as the fight continues in court.Two other courts had already denied her request for a temporary injunction. A federal judge in New York and then a three-judge U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit panel turned her down. The application was then presented to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the circuit justice for the 2nd Circuit, who referred it to the full Supreme Court, which denied it. Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch said they would have granted it.The unsigned order does not address the case’s merits, and Doe’s underlying appeal remains pending in the 2nd Circuit.State officials have said a religious carve-out would undercut efforts to keep disease from spreading among children, pointing to an earlier appeals court ruling that left the vaccine law in place.Doe, who is Catholic, says the state policy puts her faith and her child’s schooling at odds. In an April statement she gave the school, she wrote that her beliefs now “require me to categorically refuse vaccination for myself and for my children.”Referring to the abortions from which fetal cells were taken to produce the original vaccines, she said: “The taking of an innocent human life is a grave sin. My Catholic beliefs have always held this.” She said that for her and her son, vaccination would be “a genuine, serious sin.”“I will not do it,” she stated.She also expressed serious reservations about other aspects of vaccine development: “Defiling the blood by mixing it with the blood of animals, with the remains of aborted human beings, or with foreign biological material, violates God’s Word,” she said, according to her statement of religious beliefs filed in the case. “Vaccination injects biological material derived from unclean sources directly into the bloodstream. My faith forbids this.”Church teaching on conscience and vaccinationWhile the Church does not teach that the use of biological materials from nonhuman animals is categorically wrong, it absolutely condemns abortion and the use of tissue from aborted fetuses used to create the original cell lines. It teaches that a parent may receive or give a child a vaccine developed with those cell lines when there is no alternative and there is a serious health reason. The vaccine recipient’s participation in the evil act of abortion, the Church teaches, is “remote,” and therefore permitted.However, in the 2008 instruction Dignitas Personae, the Church said that Catholics utilizing vaccines have “a duty” to let drugmakers and their healthcare providers know they oppose the way the vaccines were developed and demand vaccines created without the use of aborted fetal cells.A 2020 note from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith says vaccination “is not, as a rule, a moral obligation and that, therefore, it must be voluntary.” Those who refuse for reasons of conscience, it adds, should take other steps so they do not spread disease.New York law has a provision that children unvaccinated for medical reasons must stay at home during outbreaks, and Doe agreed to abide by that if granted an exemption.According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a person must not be forced to act against a conscience formed well through Scripture, reason, and Church teaching, even when others would make a different choice. Forcing one to act against his or her conscience could be a sin against charity, which calls for others to respect the consciences of others.The catechism also teaches that “[m]an has the right to act in conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral decisions. ‘He must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience.’”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/catholic-mother-denied-vaccine-exemption-in-new-york-catholic-the-u-s-supreme-court-this-week-denied-an-emergency-request-that-would-have-allowed-a-catholic-mother-in-new-york-to-send-her-5-year.jpg "Catholic mother denied vaccine exemption in New York – #Catholic – The U.S. Supreme Court this week denied an emergency request that would have allowed a Catholic mother in New York to send her 5-year-old son to kindergarten without the vaccinations required by state law.The mother, identified in court papers as Jane Doe, wanted her son, C.F., to start at Waverly School in Eastchester this month and is seeking a religious exemption to required vaccines. New York dropped religious exemptions from school vaccine rules in 2019 after a measles outbreak, however, though medical exemptions remain.Doe had asked the Supreme Court for a temporary injunction so C.F. could start school as the fight continues in court.Two other courts had already denied her request for a temporary injunction. A federal judge in New York and then a three-judge U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit panel turned her down. The application was then presented to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the circuit justice for the 2nd Circuit, who referred it to the full Supreme Court, which denied it. Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch said they would have granted it.The unsigned order does not address the case’s merits, and Doe’s underlying appeal remains pending in the 2nd Circuit.State officials have said a religious carve-out would undercut efforts to keep disease from spreading among children, pointing to an earlier appeals court ruling that left the vaccine law in place.Doe, who is Catholic, says the state policy puts her faith and her child’s schooling at odds. In an April statement she gave the school, she wrote that her beliefs now “require me to categorically refuse vaccination for myself and for my children.”Referring to the abortions from which fetal cells were taken to produce the original vaccines, she said: “The taking of an innocent human life is a grave sin. My Catholic beliefs have always held this.” She said that for her and her son, vaccination would be “a genuine, serious sin.”“I will not do it,” she stated.She also expressed serious reservations about other aspects of vaccine development: “Defiling the blood by mixing it with the blood of animals, with the remains of aborted human beings, or with foreign biological material, violates God’s Word,” she said, according to her statement of religious beliefs filed in the case. “Vaccination injects biological material derived from unclean sources directly into the bloodstream. My faith forbids this.”Church teaching on conscience and vaccinationWhile the Church does not teach that the use of biological materials from nonhuman animals is categorically wrong, it absolutely condemns abortion and the use of tissue from aborted fetuses used to create the original cell lines. It teaches that a parent may receive or give a child a vaccine developed with those cell lines when there is no alternative and there is a serious health reason. The vaccine recipient’s participation in the evil act of abortion, the Church teaches, is “remote,” and therefore permitted.However, in the 2008 instruction Dignitas Personae, the Church said that Catholics utilizing vaccines have “a duty” to let drugmakers and their healthcare providers know they oppose the way the vaccines were developed and demand vaccines created without the use of aborted fetal cells.A 2020 note from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith says vaccination “is not, as a rule, a moral obligation and that, therefore, it must be voluntary.” Those who refuse for reasons of conscience, it adds, should take other steps so they do not spread disease.New York law has a provision that children unvaccinated for medical reasons must stay at home during outbreaks, and Doe agreed to abide by that if granted an exemption.According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a person must not be forced to act against a conscience formed well through Scripture, reason, and Church teaching, even when others would make a different choice. Forcing one to act against his or her conscience could be a sin against charity, which calls for others to respect the consciences of others.The catechism also teaches that “[m]an has the right to act in conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral decisions. ‘He must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience.’”")
She had asked the U.S. Supreme Court for a temporary injunction so her son could start kindergarten as the fight continues in court.
The crew of NASA’s Artemis II mission visited NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama on Sept. 1, 2026.
Read More![U.S. bishops urge Supreme Court to rule against indefinite detention of noncitizens – #Catholic – The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in favor of stronger due process rights for noncitizens who are facing deportation proceedings and against indefinite detention without judicial review.In a legal filing to the Supreme Court, the USCCB and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC) argued that stronger due process protections would help uphold the human dignity of noncitizens and safeguard the common good, based on Catholic teaching.The bishops sent the petition in relation to the ongoing case Genalo v. Keisy G.M., in which a U.S. permanent resident from the Dominican Republic argues that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) violated his Fifth Amendment right to due process.Keisy G.M., whose full name is not public, was detained for 21 months. Although he did appear before a judge, he did not receive a bond hearing to determine whether he could be released on bond.In spite of his permanent residency status, he faced deportation proceedings after he was convicted of felonious assault. He was later pardoned by the State of New York, ending the threat of deportation.Dignity of the human personIn their legal brief, the bishops argued that due process protections are consistent with the law, American tradition, and Catholic teaching, saying “executive detention has never been wholly insulated from judicial scrutiny,” adding that “this accords with Catholic social teaching, which recognizes both the legitimate authority of the state and the dignity of the individual.”“Indefinite confinement without individualized review by a neutral tribunal is anathema to our constitutional system and the ordered liberty it enshrines,” the bishops said. “The consequences of abandoning that system are severe and concrete.”“Prolonged detention can cost people their jobs, homes, health, and the ability to participate meaningfully in their own legal proceedings,” they said. “It can separate parents from children, destabilize entire families, and inflict harms that cannot be undone by eventual release. Although such detention may at times be necessary to further important state interests, such as ensuring public safety, it must be subject to justification before a neutral tribunal.”In the court filing, they cited Pope John XXIII’s 1963 encyclical Pacem in Terris, which teaches that “the common good is best safeguarded when personal rights and duties are guaranteed.”Quoting from the document, they said authorities must “ensure that these rights are recognized, respected, co-ordinated, defended and promoted, and that each individual is enabled to perform his duties more easily” because “safeguard[ing] the inviolable rights of the human person” and “facilitat[ing] the performance of his duties” is “the principal duty of every public authority.”The bishops also quoted Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Holy See’s secretary for relations with states, from his statement during the general debate at the opening of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly’s high‑level week.In his statement, Gallagher said the “principles of equality before the law, accountability, the equitable application of the law, the separation of [four] powers, legal certainty, due process, the prevention of arbitrariness, as well as transparency in both procedural and legal matters, must always be observed.”“Those principles,” the bishops continued, “are effectuated by procedures that require the government to justify significant deprivations of liberty based on individualized circumstances rather than categorical assumptions.”Oral arguments for the case are scheduled for Oct. 13. Keisy G.M. is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other civil liberties organizations.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/u-s-bishops-urge-supreme-court-to-rule-against-indefinite-detention-of-noncitizens-catholic-the-u-s-conference-of-catholic-bishops-usccb-is-asking-the-u-s-supreme-court-to-rule-in-favor-of-s.jpg "U.S. bishops urge Supreme Court to rule against indefinite detention of noncitizens – #Catholic – The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in favor of stronger due process rights for noncitizens who are facing deportation proceedings and against indefinite detention without judicial review.In a legal filing to the Supreme Court, the USCCB and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC) argued that stronger due process protections would help uphold the human dignity of noncitizens and safeguard the common good, based on Catholic teaching.The bishops sent the petition in relation to the ongoing case Genalo v. Keisy G.M., in which a U.S. permanent resident from the Dominican Republic argues that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) violated his Fifth Amendment right to due process.Keisy G.M., whose full name is not public, was detained for 21 months. Although he did appear before a judge, he did not receive a bond hearing to determine whether he could be released on bond.In spite of his permanent residency status, he faced deportation proceedings after he was convicted of felonious assault. He was later pardoned by the State of New York, ending the threat of deportation.Dignity of the human personIn their legal brief, the bishops argued that due process protections are consistent with the law, American tradition, and Catholic teaching, saying “executive detention has never been wholly insulated from judicial scrutiny,” adding that “this accords with Catholic social teaching, which recognizes both the legitimate authority of the state and the dignity of the individual.”“Indefinite confinement without individualized review by a neutral tribunal is anathema to our constitutional system and the ordered liberty it enshrines,” the bishops said. “The consequences of abandoning that system are severe and concrete.”“Prolonged detention can cost people their jobs, homes, health, and the ability to participate meaningfully in their own legal proceedings,” they said. “It can separate parents from children, destabilize entire families, and inflict harms that cannot be undone by eventual release. Although such detention may at times be necessary to further important state interests, such as ensuring public safety, it must be subject to justification before a neutral tribunal.”In the court filing, they cited Pope John XXIII’s 1963 encyclical Pacem in Terris, which teaches that “the common good is best safeguarded when personal rights and duties are guaranteed.”Quoting from the document, they said authorities must “ensure that these rights are recognized, respected, co-ordinated, defended and promoted, and that each individual is enabled to perform his duties more easily” because “safeguard[ing] the inviolable rights of the human person” and “facilitat[ing] the performance of his duties” is “the principal duty of every public authority.”The bishops also quoted Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Holy See’s secretary for relations with states, from his statement during the general debate at the opening of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly’s high‑level week.In his statement, Gallagher said the “principles of equality before the law, accountability, the equitable application of the law, the separation of [four] powers, legal certainty, due process, the prevention of arbitrariness, as well as transparency in both procedural and legal matters, must always be observed.”“Those principles,” the bishops continued, “are effectuated by procedures that require the government to justify significant deprivations of liberty based on individualized circumstances rather than categorical assumptions.”Oral arguments for the case are scheduled for Oct. 13. Keisy G.M. is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other civil liberties organizations.")
The bishops argue that strong due process protections are consistent with American principles and good governance in accordance with Catholic teaching.
In the foreword to a new edition of the youth catechism YouCat, on the subject of love and marriage, Pope Leo XIV goes to the heart of the vocation to love: serving through a generous gift of self.
![U.S. bishops urge Supreme Court to allow communities to regulate firearms under Second Amendment #Catholic The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to allow local communities to regulate firearm ownership, weighing in on a high-profile federal case that could significantly reshape the nation’s gun laws. The case before the high court, Viramontes v. Cook County, concerns a regulation enacted by Cook County, Illinois, banning more than 100 types of semiautomatic weapons, including the popular AR-15 platform.Two plaintiffs, Cutberto Viramontes and Christopher Khaya, sued to dispute the regulations under the Second and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit argues that the Supreme Court should rule on the case “to guarantee fundamental Second Amendment rights and to address the confusion in the lower courts” regarding Supreme Court precedent.In their amicus brief regarding the legal dispute, the U.S. bishops urge the court to “[preserve] the traditional authority of political communities to regulate weapons.” The “autonomy of local authority” is a significant part of “America’s historical tradition of federalism,” the bishops write, comparing it to the long-standing Catholic principle of subsidiarity, which holds that the authority closest to a local need is best suited to tackle the issue. The principle of federalism does not allow for the wholesale redefinition of the Second Amendment, the bishops write. But, they argue, a “uniform constitutional standard need not require uniform firearm policy.” Guns have historically been regulated differently throughout the U.S. depending on the locality, the bishops say, and the U.S. Constitution “does not require every community to exercise … its authority to regulate weapons identically.” The prelates further argue that modern advances in weaponry mean firearms like AR-15s are “fundamentally dissimilar” from the standards of the 18th century; such weapons are “dangerous and unusual,” the bishops suggest, and are thus open to reasonable regulation. Though the issue was brought to trial due to the local regulation, the ultimate question before the Supreme Court is whether the Second Amendment “guarantee[s] the right to possess [the] AR-15 platform and similar semiautomatic rifles.” In the past 20 years the Supreme Court has significantly affirmed Second Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution, including in the landmark 2008 case District of Columbia v. Heller, which upheld the right to own a firearm unconnected with service in a state militia. Those rights were broadly expanded in subsequent Supreme Court rulings such as 2010’s McDonald v. Chicago and the 2022 decision NYSRPA v. Bruen. The latter decision upheld a constitutional right to carry firearms for self-defense. In the 2024 decision United States v. Rahimi, on the other hand, the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment does allow for individuals to be disarmed if they have been found to pose a credible threat to the physical safety of someone else.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/u-s-bishops-urge-supreme-court-to-allow-communities-to-regulate-firearms-under-second-amendment-catholic-the-u-s-conference-of-catholic-bishops-is-urging-the-u-s-supreme-court-to-allow-local-commu.jpg "U.S. bishops urge Supreme Court to allow communities to regulate firearms under Second Amendment #Catholic The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to allow local communities to regulate firearm ownership, weighing in on a high-profile federal case that could significantly reshape the nation’s gun laws. The case before the high court, Viramontes v. Cook County, concerns a regulation enacted by Cook County, Illinois, banning more than 100 types of semiautomatic weapons, including the popular AR-15 platform.Two plaintiffs, Cutberto Viramontes and Christopher Khaya, sued to dispute the regulations under the Second and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit argues that the Supreme Court should rule on the case “to guarantee fundamental Second Amendment rights and to address the confusion in the lower courts” regarding Supreme Court precedent.In their amicus brief regarding the legal dispute, the U.S. bishops urge the court to “[preserve] the traditional authority of political communities to regulate weapons.” The “autonomy of local authority” is a significant part of “America’s historical tradition of federalism,” the bishops write, comparing it to the long-standing Catholic principle of subsidiarity, which holds that the authority closest to a local need is best suited to tackle the issue. The principle of federalism does not allow for the wholesale redefinition of the Second Amendment, the bishops write. But, they argue, a “uniform constitutional standard need not require uniform firearm policy.” Guns have historically been regulated differently throughout the U.S. depending on the locality, the bishops say, and the U.S. Constitution “does not require every community to exercise … its authority to regulate weapons identically.” The prelates further argue that modern advances in weaponry mean firearms like AR-15s are “fundamentally dissimilar” from the standards of the 18th century; such weapons are “dangerous and unusual,” the bishops suggest, and are thus open to reasonable regulation. Though the issue was brought to trial due to the local regulation, the ultimate question before the Supreme Court is whether the Second Amendment “guarantee[s] the right to possess [the] AR-15 platform and similar semiautomatic rifles.” In the past 20 years the Supreme Court has significantly affirmed Second Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution, including in the landmark 2008 case District of Columbia v. Heller, which upheld the right to own a firearm unconnected with service in a state militia. Those rights were broadly expanded in subsequent Supreme Court rulings such as 2010’s McDonald v. Chicago and the 2022 decision NYSRPA v. Bruen. The latter decision upheld a constitutional right to carry firearms for self-defense. In the 2024 decision United States v. Rahimi, on the other hand, the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment does allow for individuals to be disarmed if they have been found to pose a credible threat to the physical safety of someone else.")
The Supreme Court is set to consider whether or not Americans are permitted to possess AR-15 rifles and similar firearms.
For St. Nicholas of Tolentino, the Catholic imperative to pray for the dead was made very real to him when a deceased friend appeared to him asking for prayers.
Limited to 60 passengers, this scenic train delights with pop-up menus and local culinary flair.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/TAL-header-exterior-taiwan-dessert-train-sea-breeze-TAIWANDESSERTTRAIN0425-62220d87acc54c0597fc5f1ae2a868f7.jpg)
The phenomenon of a Full Moon arises when our planet, Earth, is precisely sandwiched between the Sun and the Moon. This alignment ensures the entire side of the Moon that faces us gleams under sunlight. Thanks to the Moon’s orbit around Earth, the angle of sunlight hitting the lunar surface and being reflected back toContinue reading “2026 Full Moon calendar: When to see the Full Moon and phases”
The post 2026 Full Moon calendar: When to see the Full Moon and phases appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
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Devonshire Lodge (Low-Martin House), Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Commissioned by the rum-runner Harry Low in 1927, the building was designed in the style of a Cotswold cottage and completed in 1928. It served as the home of Member of Parliament Paul Martin Sr. for almost three decades. It was designated under the Ontario Heritage Act in 2008.
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Dozens of organizations urged the court to protect parental rights and religious freedom as the state law remains blocked.
Rocket launches this week On Thursday, Sept. 10 at 5:00 a.m. EST, a Long March 2D rocket is set to lift off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northern China’s Gobi Desert carrying an undisclosed payload, according to tracking from Next Spaceflight. The rocket is operated by the state-owned space contractor China Aerospace Science andContinue reading “SpaceX closes out SES’s O3b mPower constellation”
The post SpaceX closes out SES’s O3b mPower constellation appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
Read MoreA reading from the First Letter of St. Paul to Corinthians
7:25-31
Brothers and sisters:
In regard to virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord,
but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.
So this is what I think best because of the present distress:
that it is a good thing for a person to remain as he is.
Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek a separation.
Are you free of a wife? Then do not look for a wife.
If you marry, however, you do not sin,
nor does an unmarried woman sin if she marries;
but such people will experience affliction in their earthly life,
and I would like to spare you that.
I tell you, brothers, the time is running out.
From now on, let those having wives act as not having them,
those weeping as not weeping,
those rejoicing as not rejoicing,
those buying as not owning,
those using the world as not using it fully.
For the world in its present form is passing away.
From the Gospel according to Luke
6:20-26
Raising his eyes toward his disciples Jesus said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours.
Blessed are you who are now hungry,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who are now weeping,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude and insult you,
and denounce your name as evil
on account of the Son of Man.
Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.
For their ancestors treated the prophets
in the same way.
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
But woe to you who are filled now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will grieve and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for their ancestors treated the false
prophets in this way.”
On the mountain, Christ gives his disciples the new law, no longer written on stone. It is a law that renews our lives and makes them good, even when the world seems to have failed us and is full of misery. Only God can truly call the poor and afflicted blessed (cf. vv. 3-4), because he is the highest good who gives himself to all with infinite love. Only God can satisfy those who seek peace and justice (cf. vv. 6.9), because he is the just judge of the world and the author of eternal peace. Only in God do the meek, the merciful and the pure of heart find joy (vv. 5.7-8), because he is the fulfilment of their expectations. In persecution, God is the source of redemption; in falsehood, he is the anchor of truth. Therefore, Jesus proclaims: “Rejoice and be glad!” (…) In this way, Jesus illuminates the meaning of history. It is no longer written by conquerors, but rather by God, who is able to accomplish it by saving the oppressed. (…) The Beatitudes become for us a measure of happiness, leading us to ask whether we consider it an achievement to be bought or a gift to be shared; whether we place it in objects that are consumed or in relationships that accompany us. It is in fact because of Christ (cf. Mt 5:11) and thanks to him that the bitterness of trials is transformed into the joy of the redeemed. Jesus does not speak of a distant consolation, but of a constant grace that always sustains us, especially in times of affliction. (Pope Leo XIV, Angelus, 1st February 2026)
Read More![Colombian government to help finance restoration of earthquake-damaged basilica – #Catholic – Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella announced an initial disbursement of 1.2 billion pesos (0,000) to restore the Minor Basilica of the Lord of Miracles, which was damaged by the Aug. 10 earthquake.The basilica, located in the city of Buga in the Valle del Cauca department (administrative district), sustained damage to its dome. As a safety precaution, Masses inside the church have been suspended and are currently being held in the town’s central square.In addition, as the basilica has the legal designation of an asset of cultural interest, any restoration work must be supervised by the Ministry of Culture.During his Sept. 5 visit to Valle del Cauca, De la Espriella expressed the governmentʼs commitment to “protecting the spiritual symbols of the Colombian people.”
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella announces the government’s plan to partially fund the repair of the Minor Basilica of the Lord of Miracles, which was damaged in the Aug. 10, 2026, earthquake. | Credit: Screenshot/Presidency of the Republic, Colombia
“We already have 1.2 billion pesos [approximately 0,000] to repair our Basilica of the Lord of Miracles, and we are working with the private sector to secure another 5 billion [.6 million] to rebuild and repair the basilica so that Masses can be held there,” he announced Sept. 5.Referring to the image of Christ crucified in the church, which depicts the Savior with dark-colored skin, the president stated the state-funded repairs are intended to “honor our beloved [Black Christ],” as the Lord of Miracles of Buga is also known, “and to defend that symbol of faith and spirituality that means so much to us Colombians.”The announcement comes just days before the feast of the Lord of Miracles in Buga, celebrated on Sept. 14, which draws thousands of pilgrims.In a Facebook video, Father Alcides de Jesús Orozco, rector of the basilica, explained that although the basilica is closed, the part of the church where the image of Christ is enthroned suffered no damage and the faithful may enter there.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/colombian-government-to-help-finance-restoration-of-earthquake-damaged-basilica-catholic-colombian-president-abelardo-de-la-espriella-announced-an-initial-disbursement-of-1-2-billion-pesos-320.jpg "Colombian government to help finance restoration of earthquake-damaged basilica – #Catholic – Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella announced an initial disbursement of 1.2 billion pesos (0,000) to restore the Minor Basilica of the Lord of Miracles, which was damaged by the Aug. 10 earthquake.The basilica, located in the city of Buga in the Valle del Cauca department (administrative district), sustained damage to its dome. As a safety precaution, Masses inside the church have been suspended and are currently being held in the town’s central square.In addition, as the basilica has the legal designation of an asset of cultural interest, any restoration work must be supervised by the Ministry of Culture.During his Sept. 5 visit to Valle del Cauca, De la Espriella expressed the governmentʼs commitment to “protecting the spiritual symbols of the Colombian people.”
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella announces the government’s plan to partially fund the repair of the Minor Basilica of the Lord of Miracles, which was damaged in the Aug. 10, 2026, earthquake. | Credit: Screenshot/Presidency of the Republic, Colombia
“We already have 1.2 billion pesos [approximately 0,000] to repair our Basilica of the Lord of Miracles, and we are working with the private sector to secure another 5 billion [.6 million] to rebuild and repair the basilica so that Masses can be held there,” he announced Sept. 5.Referring to the image of Christ crucified in the church, which depicts the Savior with dark-colored skin, the president stated the state-funded repairs are intended to “honor our beloved [Black Christ],” as the Lord of Miracles of Buga is also known, “and to defend that symbol of faith and spirituality that means so much to us Colombians.”The announcement comes just days before the feast of the Lord of Miracles in Buga, celebrated on Sept. 14, which draws thousands of pilgrims.In a Facebook video, Father Alcides de Jesús Orozco, rector of the basilica, explained that although the basilica is closed, the part of the church where the image of Christ is enthroned suffered no damage and the faithful may enter there.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.")
The government has pledged to help finance repairs to the church, a part of Colombia’s cultural heritage and a popular pilgrimage site.
Seton Hall University welcomes academically strong Class of 2023 #Catholic – 
Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J. recently welcomed about 1,560 first-year students to campus, representing 42 states and 17 countries. The Class of 2030 was selected from a pool of 28,070 applicants, roughly 2,300 more than the year prior — one of many signs of growing interest in a Seton Hall education.
That growth has come with increased selectivity. Seton Hall’s admission rate has fallen from 79 percent in 2023 to 67.5 percent in 2026, a decline of nearly 12 percent in three years. At the same time, the academic profile of incoming students remains strong, continuing a broader trend of gains over the past decade.
“Seton Hall is proud to welcome the Class of 2030, an accomplished and diverse group of students who bring tremendous talent, ambition and greater purpose to our community,” said Kathleen (Katie) McCarthy, MBA, ’17, Seton Hall’s vice president for enrollment management. “We look forward to seeing all they will accomplish in the years ahead.”
Among the 33 percent of incoming students who submitted standardized test scores, the average SAT score was 1323, and the average ACT score was 29. The average high school GPA for the incoming class is 3.68, up from 3.55 in 2016.
The Class of 2030 also reflects Seton Hall’s longstanding role as a university of opportunity, bringing together students from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences. More than 40 percent of incoming first-year students are the first in their families to attend college, and 41 percent are Pell Grant-eligible.
The class reflects the communities Seton Hall serves, with 62 percent of incoming students identifying as students of color and 61 percent identifying as female. These varied perspectives and experiences strengthen classroom discussions, campus life, and the university community.
Founded in 1856, Seton Hall, which is located in the Newark Archdiocese, N.J., remains grounded in its Catholic mission and its commitment to being a home for the mind, heart, and spirit. Guided by the Catholic Intellectual Tradition and our patroness and intercessor, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the university welcomes students of all faiths and backgrounds into a community that encourages intellectual growth, service to others, and the pursuit of greater purpose.
– Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J. recently welcomed about 1,560 first-year students to campus, representing 42 states and 17 countries. The Class of 2030 was selected from a pool of 28,070 applicants, roughly 2,300 more than the year prior — one of many signs of growing interest in a Seton Hall education. That growth has come with increased selectivity. Seton Hall’s admission rate has fallen from 79 percent in 2023 to 67.5 percent in 2026, a decline of nearly 12 percent in three years. At the same time, the academic profile of incoming students remains strong, continuing a broader
Holy Spirit’s 70-year legacy of academic and spiritual growth #Catholic – 
Holy Spirit School in Pequannock, N.J., is filled with anticipation as it begins its 70th school year! The school is thrilled to welcome its new staff, families, and students into the Holy Spirit family for the 2026–2027 school year.
Each new school year brings opportunities for academic and spiritual growth, service to others, and living out the faith within the school community and beyond. Holy Spirit’s administration is proud to lead the school community as it continues to live by the school motto, “Inspiring Minds, Igniting Faith and Shaping the Future.”
Virtue formation will remain an important focus throughout the year. Each month, Holy Spirit students will explore a different virtue and discover how they can grow closer to Jesus. Through the school community’s words, actions, and service to others, it strives to put its faith into practice and model Christ’s love.
In Holy Spirit’s classrooms, students are engaged in meaningful learning experiences across the curriculum. Whether experimenting in our Science Lab, tackling challenges in STREAM, completing novel studies in language arts, solving problems in math, creating projects in social studies, or producing masterpieces in art, students work collaboratively, ask thoughtful questions, and think critically. Instilling a lifelong love of learning remains a priority in every classroom.
Beyond the classroom, Holy Spirit’s students have many opportunities to explore their interests, develop leadership skills, build friendships, and serve others. Students can participate in Student Government, National Junior Honor Society, CYO basketball, cheerleading, performing arts, TREP$, and many other activities throughout the year. Holy Spirit looks forward to seeing its students take on leadership roles and plan meaningful service projects that bring the entire school community together.
As Holy Spirit celebrates this special year, it looks forward to its annual Legacy Gala, honoring Rod Donnelly of Donnelly Construction and Father Peter VB Wells, pastor of Our Lady of the Valley Parish in Wayne, N.J. The event will be held at The Brownstone in Paterson, N.J., on Friday, Nov. 20 and will celebrate and support Catholic education. The school invites alums from the past 70 years to join in celebrating this remarkable milestone, along with all who have helped shape Holy Spirit School’s history.
Most importantly, Holy Spirit remains devoted to faith formation, which is woven throughout every aspect of the school day. Led by Father Cesar Jaramillo, pastor of Holy Spirit Parish, and Filippini Sister Marie Antonelli, the school’s principal, students witness firsthand their dedication to their vocations.
Holy Spirit’s school community is touched by the spirit of St. Lucy Filippini, foundress of the Religious Teachers Filippini, who lead the school. The school celebrates Masses weekly, with class Masses and adoration held each Tuesday.
As the school begins its 70th year, it is excited to embark on a year together filled with learning, love, faith, and fun.
Holy Spirit is grateful for the generations of families, educators, students, alums, and supporters who have made the school what it is today, and it looks forward to continuing this legacy.
– Holy Spirit School in Pequannock, N.J., is filled with anticipation as it begins its 70th school year! The school is thrilled to welcome its new staff, families, and students into the Holy Spirit family for the 2026–2027 school year. Each new school year brings opportunities for academic and spiritual growth, service to others, and living out the faith within the school community and beyond. Holy Spirit’s administration is proud to lead the school community as it continues to live by the school motto, “Inspiring Minds, Igniting Faith and Shaping the Future.” Virtue formation will remain an important focus throughout the
Dioceses issuing dispensation decrees cover a combined Catholic population of about 3.5 million people.
![Faith on the Hill: Catholic members of Congress share how faith shapes their lives and work #Catholic For many of the 150 Catholics serving in the 119th Congress, faith plays an important role in their lives and work.The current number of Catholic lawmakers on Capitol Hill is slightly higher than the previous Congress, with Catholics accounting for more than 28% of the members of the United States House of Representatives and Senate. Of the Catholic members, 126 serve in the House and 24 in the Senate, according to a report from the Pew Research Center.In this special report, EWTN News Capitol Hill correspondent Erik Rosales spoke with various Catholic members of Congress about their faith and how they live it in their work.Sen. Eric SchmittSen. Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri, grew up a cradle Catholic and said his parents instilled in him the importance of having a personal relationship with Christ at a young age.“I grew up in St. Louis, which is a very Catholic town and has been referred to as the Rome of the West because per capita, very Catholic,” Schmitt told Rosales.A “conversation back home, it might very easily start … ‘What parish are you at? or ‘What parish did you grow up in?’” Schmitt said.At 17, Schmitt went to a Jesuit retreat house that had a profound impact on him. Later, when his son was born with a rare genetic condition, Schmitt would often return to the Jesuits for prayer.It “was a seed that was planted … when I was confronted with this really kind of difficult situation. I went back there, and it was a profound experience,” he said. “I go back every year. Itʼs a … weekend silent retreat. And that keeps me very rooted.”When working busy days on the Hill, Schmitt said he looks to prayer.“Iʼll listen to a podcast by Bishop [Robert] Barron or Father Michael Schmitz,” he said. “I think technology now too has allowed a different avenue for people to … maintain their faith and grow their faith.”Even “if itʼs five or 10 minutes, it really does help me kind of start the day right,” Schmitt said.Rep. John RutherfordRep. John Rutherford, R-Florida, also spoke about leaning on his faith when working in a hectic position, often by attending Mass and saying the rosary.“In Ephesians 2:10, it says, ‘for we are all Godʼs workmanship, created in the image of Christ Jesus to do good work,’ which he prepared … in advance for us to do,’” Rutherford said. “So heʼs got work out there that heʼs prepared for me to do,” he continued.While Rutherford’s Catholic faith is incorporated into his day-to-day life, he shared that was not always the case. He grew up in the United Methodist Church, but at about 14 years old, “fell away from the church,” he said.After becoming a police officer in Jacksonville, Florida, Rutherford’s perspective on faith changed. Witnessing crimes made him question his own mortality.“So I went back to the Bible, and I read the Bible literally cover to cover, not once but twice,” he said.Rutherford returned to the Methodist Church, while his wife and kids attended Catholic Mass. After reading about the Methodist Churchʼs seven principles, he realized he didnʼt agree with them.“It was a long process, but I finally read a book by Pope John Paul II, ‘Crossing the Threshold of Hope,’ and that explained where the authority of the Church is,” Rutherford said. “And how itʼs passed down through the papacy.”After his research, and inspired by the true Church and presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, Rutherford entered the Catholic Church.Rep. Mark MessmerRep. Mark Messmer, R-Indiana, said he has spent his life putting God, family, and community first.It was during his time as a state legislator that a colleague invited Messmer and his wife to attend a Cursillo, a retreat focused on showing Christian laity how to become effective leaders and how to use the Gospel in daily life.“It ignited a passion and a love for Christ, and a love for the Eucharist that I always said I wanted. And then it gives you the tools [for] your prayer life, study life, and evangelization, how to live that out on a daily basis,” he said.Messmer said he stays grounded with daily Mass and his Friday morning prayer group. He and his family also all join together for a weekly group call to catch up and join for “spiritual reinforcement.”Rep. Stephanie BiceRep. Stephanie Bice, R-Oklahoma, converted to Catholicism in college after she started going to Mass with her now husband.Bice served six years in the Oklahoma Senate and later ran for U.S. Congress. She joined a number of women who have been elected over the past two cycles.“Not every woman believes that … you should be able to terminate pregnancies up to birth,” Bice said. “So you had a groundswell of women consider running for congressional seats and Senate seats,” she said.While serving on Capitol Hill, Bice said she turns to prayer and the comfort of the Blessed Mother.“I stumbled across a group of staffers that actually pray the rosary on fly-in days in the morning,” she explained. “I said, ‘Hey, can a member come?’ And they were delighted that I would even ask.”One highlight of her congressional career was meeting Pope Francis at the Vatican. The invitation came from Rep. James Langevin, a fellow Catholic and Democrat from Rhode Island.Pope Francis “looked at my husband and I after blessing us both, and he said: ‘Will you pray for me?’ And that was pretty profound,” Bice said.Rep. Robert Onder“Really, my Catholic faith has motivated me my whole life, my whole career, and really motivated in many ways the direction my life has taken,” Rep. Robert Onder, R-Missouri, said.Onder said his faith was present in his work trying to pass a religious liberty bill in the Missouri Senate and through his fight to protect the conscience rights of physicians who are forced to perform abortions.As a medical doctor, Onder detailed the present problem in some states and hospitals, which “want to force physicians to participate in abortions, participate in vitro fertilization or artificial contraception, and, of course, more recently, participate in euthanasia.”Onder said his political service has been motivated by love of God, family, and country. He said he stays rooted in faith by attending daily Mass. He said he also enjoys talking with other lawmakers about their love for Christ.“Speaker [Mike] Johnson is absolutely a brother in the Christian faith and a very, very strong believer,” Onder said. “It does give me a lot hope and a lot of encouragement to serve with other people who really take their faith seriously.”Rep. Riley MooreRep. Riley Moore, R-West Virginia, said his Catholic faith is “is the most important thing” in his life.“It forms me — every decision I make, everything that I do here on the Hill, it is central to my life. Iʼm always praying to be able to deepen my faith, be a strong family man, and then also my service.”“So itʼs my faith, my family, my service to my state, my country. But faith comes first.”“Canʼt always be easy to discern Godʼs will, particularly in a place that is more about individual will and not Godʼs will,” Moore said. “Iʼm trying to re-center myself towards that. Thatʼs that gravitational pull for me that Iʼm always trying to get back to.”Moore started as a Hill staffer on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, working under the late Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Illinois. One of his priorities is drawing attention to the persecution of Christians around the world, especially in Nigeria.While in Nigeria, “I met a woman who had had all five of her children murdered, murdered by Islamic terrorists,” Moore said. “I met another woman who had her two daughters and husband killed right in front of her, and then they killed her unborn child.”“As we know and weʼve heard many times, and itʼs so true that there is salvation through suffering. I think that … their suffering offers us salvation as well by doing something here,” he said.House Majority Whip Tom EmmerMajority Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives Tom Emmer discussed how his faith was largely inspired by his family, including his father, who attended daily Mass.“The example that they set is, I believe, why I am who I am,” said Emmer, R-Minnesota.Emmer also detailed the trials of his faith, including the loss of his sister Bridget, who died of breast cancer at 38 years old.Emmer said he was angry at the Lord and had doubts about Godʼs will because of his sisterʼs suffering. A conversation with Bridget during her chemotherapy treatment was a pivotal moment for him and his faith.“She looked at me and she said, ‘Tom, would I love to live forever? Absolutely. But Iʼm not going to,’” he explained. His sister added: “I have lived a good life. If God comes and calls me today, so be it.”Emmer said her words brought him away from his own anger with the Lord. Now his message to others is to put God first while living each moment to the fullest.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/faith-on-the-hill-catholic-members-of-congress-share-how-faith-shapes-their-lives-and-work-catholic-for-many-of-the-150-catholics-serving-in-the-119th-congress-faith-plays-an-important-role-in-thei-scaled.jpg "Faith on the Hill: Catholic members of Congress share how faith shapes their lives and work #Catholic For many of the 150 Catholics serving in the 119th Congress, faith plays an important role in their lives and work.The current number of Catholic lawmakers on Capitol Hill is slightly higher than the previous Congress, with Catholics accounting for more than 28% of the members of the United States House of Representatives and Senate. Of the Catholic members, 126 serve in the House and 24 in the Senate, according to a report from the Pew Research Center.In this special report, EWTN News Capitol Hill correspondent Erik Rosales spoke with various Catholic members of Congress about their faith and how they live it in their work.Sen. Eric SchmittSen. Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri, grew up a cradle Catholic and said his parents instilled in him the importance of having a personal relationship with Christ at a young age.“I grew up in St. Louis, which is a very Catholic town and has been referred to as the Rome of the West because per capita, very Catholic,” Schmitt told Rosales.A “conversation back home, it might very easily start … ‘What parish are you at? or ‘What parish did you grow up in?’” Schmitt said.At 17, Schmitt went to a Jesuit retreat house that had a profound impact on him. Later, when his son was born with a rare genetic condition, Schmitt would often return to the Jesuits for prayer.It “was a seed that was planted … when I was confronted with this really kind of difficult situation. I went back there, and it was a profound experience,” he said. “I go back every year. Itʼs a … weekend silent retreat. And that keeps me very rooted.”When working busy days on the Hill, Schmitt said he looks to prayer.“Iʼll listen to a podcast by Bishop [Robert] Barron or Father Michael Schmitz,” he said. “I think technology now too has allowed a different avenue for people to … maintain their faith and grow their faith.”Even “if itʼs five or 10 minutes, it really does help me kind of start the day right,” Schmitt said.Rep. John RutherfordRep. John Rutherford, R-Florida, also spoke about leaning on his faith when working in a hectic position, often by attending Mass and saying the rosary.“In Ephesians 2:10, it says, ‘for we are all Godʼs workmanship, created in the image of Christ Jesus to do good work,’ which he prepared … in advance for us to do,’” Rutherford said. “So heʼs got work out there that heʼs prepared for me to do,” he continued.While Rutherford’s Catholic faith is incorporated into his day-to-day life, he shared that was not always the case. He grew up in the United Methodist Church, but at about 14 years old, “fell away from the church,” he said.After becoming a police officer in Jacksonville, Florida, Rutherford’s perspective on faith changed. Witnessing crimes made him question his own mortality.“So I went back to the Bible, and I read the Bible literally cover to cover, not once but twice,” he said.Rutherford returned to the Methodist Church, while his wife and kids attended Catholic Mass. After reading about the Methodist Churchʼs seven principles, he realized he didnʼt agree with them.“It was a long process, but I finally read a book by Pope John Paul II, ‘Crossing the Threshold of Hope,’ and that explained where the authority of the Church is,” Rutherford said. “And how itʼs passed down through the papacy.”After his research, and inspired by the true Church and presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, Rutherford entered the Catholic Church.Rep. Mark MessmerRep. Mark Messmer, R-Indiana, said he has spent his life putting God, family, and community first.It was during his time as a state legislator that a colleague invited Messmer and his wife to attend a Cursillo, a retreat focused on showing Christian laity how to become effective leaders and how to use the Gospel in daily life.“It ignited a passion and a love for Christ, and a love for the Eucharist that I always said I wanted. And then it gives you the tools [for] your prayer life, study life, and evangelization, how to live that out on a daily basis,” he said.Messmer said he stays grounded with daily Mass and his Friday morning prayer group. He and his family also all join together for a weekly group call to catch up and join for “spiritual reinforcement.”Rep. Stephanie BiceRep. Stephanie Bice, R-Oklahoma, converted to Catholicism in college after she started going to Mass with her now husband.Bice served six years in the Oklahoma Senate and later ran for U.S. Congress. She joined a number of women who have been elected over the past two cycles.“Not every woman believes that … you should be able to terminate pregnancies up to birth,” Bice said. “So you had a groundswell of women consider running for congressional seats and Senate seats,” she said.While serving on Capitol Hill, Bice said she turns to prayer and the comfort of the Blessed Mother.“I stumbled across a group of staffers that actually pray the rosary on fly-in days in the morning,” she explained. “I said, ‘Hey, can a member come?’ And they were delighted that I would even ask.”One highlight of her congressional career was meeting Pope Francis at the Vatican. The invitation came from Rep. James Langevin, a fellow Catholic and Democrat from Rhode Island.Pope Francis “looked at my husband and I after blessing us both, and he said: ‘Will you pray for me?’ And that was pretty profound,” Bice said.Rep. Robert Onder“Really, my Catholic faith has motivated me my whole life, my whole career, and really motivated in many ways the direction my life has taken,” Rep. Robert Onder, R-Missouri, said.Onder said his faith was present in his work trying to pass a religious liberty bill in the Missouri Senate and through his fight to protect the conscience rights of physicians who are forced to perform abortions.As a medical doctor, Onder detailed the present problem in some states and hospitals, which “want to force physicians to participate in abortions, participate in vitro fertilization or artificial contraception, and, of course, more recently, participate in euthanasia.”Onder said his political service has been motivated by love of God, family, and country. He said he stays rooted in faith by attending daily Mass. He said he also enjoys talking with other lawmakers about their love for Christ.“Speaker [Mike] Johnson is absolutely a brother in the Christian faith and a very, very strong believer,” Onder said. “It does give me a lot hope and a lot of encouragement to serve with other people who really take their faith seriously.”Rep. Riley MooreRep. Riley Moore, R-West Virginia, said his Catholic faith is “is the most important thing” in his life.“It forms me — every decision I make, everything that I do here on the Hill, it is central to my life. Iʼm always praying to be able to deepen my faith, be a strong family man, and then also my service.”“So itʼs my faith, my family, my service to my state, my country. But faith comes first.”“Canʼt always be easy to discern Godʼs will, particularly in a place that is more about individual will and not Godʼs will,” Moore said. “Iʼm trying to re-center myself towards that. Thatʼs that gravitational pull for me that Iʼm always trying to get back to.”Moore started as a Hill staffer on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, working under the late Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Illinois. One of his priorities is drawing attention to the persecution of Christians around the world, especially in Nigeria.While in Nigeria, “I met a woman who had had all five of her children murdered, murdered by Islamic terrorists,” Moore said. “I met another woman who had her two daughters and husband killed right in front of her, and then they killed her unborn child.”“As we know and weʼve heard many times, and itʼs so true that there is salvation through suffering. I think that … their suffering offers us salvation as well by doing something here,” he said.House Majority Whip Tom EmmerMajority Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives Tom Emmer discussed how his faith was largely inspired by his family, including his father, who attended daily Mass.“The example that they set is, I believe, why I am who I am,” said Emmer, R-Minnesota.Emmer also detailed the trials of his faith, including the loss of his sister Bridget, who died of breast cancer at 38 years old.Emmer said he was angry at the Lord and had doubts about Godʼs will because of his sisterʼs suffering. A conversation with Bridget during her chemotherapy treatment was a pivotal moment for him and his faith.“She looked at me and she said, ‘Tom, would I love to live forever? Absolutely. But Iʼm not going to,’” he explained. His sister added: “I have lived a good life. If God comes and calls me today, so be it.”Emmer said her words brought him away from his own anger with the Lord. Now his message to others is to put God first while living each moment to the fullest.")
EWTN News Capitol Hill correspondent Erik Rosales spoke with various Catholic lawmakers about how their faith intersects with their public service.
N44 is a complex nebula filled with glowing hydrogen gas, dark lanes of dust, massive stars, and many populations of stars of different ages. One of its most distinctive features, however, is the dark, starry gap called a “superbubble,” visible in this Hubble Space Telescope image in the upper central region.
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DePaul celebrates 70 years of excellence with new principal #Catholic – 
For 70 years, DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne, N.J. has been a place where faith, family, community, tradition, and excellence come together to shape generations of young people. Since 1956, our school has remained committed to developing students who strive for excellence in the classroom, on the stage, on the athletic fields, and through service to others.
For this historic 2026-7 academic year, DePaul Catholic welcomes Stephen D. Trivino as its new principal and looks forward to the leadership, experience, and vision he brings to our Spartan community.
For seven decades, DePaul Catholic has carried forward a proud legacy built on faith, perseverance, community, and achievement. The school’s traditions unite generations of students, families, faculty, staff, and alums, creating a Spartan community that extends far beyond graduation.
As DePaul Catholic celebrates this milestone, the school invites its alums, families, and friends to return to campus throughout the school year. Together, DePaul Catholic will honor the accomplishments, traditions, and cherished memories that have shaped the school while looking confidently toward the future.
The spirit of DePaul Catholic lives in every Spartan who carries our mission and values into the world.
With a distinguished background in Catholic education, Trivino has served as a science teacher, coach, and school administrator. He has dedicated his career to helping students and educators reach their full potential.
Most recently, Trivino served as vice principal of teacher development and dean of student affairs at St. Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, N.J. There, he helped cultivate a culture centered on faith, academic excellence, respect, and continuous growth.
As principal of DePaul, Trivino is committed to strengthening the DePaul Catholic community, investing in faculty development, encouraging innovative approaches to teaching and learning, and ensuring that our Catholic identity remains at the heart of the student experience.
Inspired by the examples of St. Vincent de Paul and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Trivino’s vision reflects a commitment to faith, service, character, and excellence.
– For 70 years, DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne, N.J. has been a place where faith, family, community, tradition, and excellence come together to shape generations of young people. Since 1956, our school has remained committed to developing students who strive for excellence in the classroom, on the stage, on the athletic fields, and through service to others. For this historic 2026-7 academic year, DePaul Catholic welcomes Stephen D. Trivino as its new principal and looks forward to the leadership, experience, and vision he brings to our Spartan community. For seven decades, DePaul Catholic has carried forward a proud legacy
Assumption College for Sisters students unite for orientation, Mass #Catholic – 
Students of Assumption College for Sisters (ACS), Denville, N.J., gathered on Aug. 24 for orientation and the Mass of the Holy Spirit.
Below, ASC welcomes three sisters participating in the college’s sponsorship program for international sisters to their first year of studies. From left: Sister Mercy Mwangi, SMIC (Kenya); Sister Maria Tatiana, SMIC (Brazil); and Sister Maria Rita Tran, SMIC (Vietnam); with Sister of Charity Marie Pauline Demek, ACS president.
Guided by the motto, “Teach a sister, touch the world,” ACS, an accredited college sponsored by the Sisters of Christian Charity, educates religious sisters called to consecrated life from the Diocese of Paterson, N.J., and around the world.
– Students of Assumption College for Sisters (ACS), Denville, N.J., gathered on Aug. 24 for orientation and the Mass of the Holy Spirit. Below, ASC welcomes three sisters participating in the college’s sponsorship program for international sisters to their first year of studies. From left: Sister Mercy Mwangi, SMIC (Kenya); Sister Maria Tatiana, SMIC (Brazil); and Sister Maria Rita Tran, SMIC (Vietnam); with Sister of Charity Marie Pauline Demek, ACS president. Guided by the motto, “Teach a sister, touch the world,” ACS, an accredited college sponsored by the Sisters of Christian Charity, educates religious sisters called to consecrated life from the
![Catholic tech leaders urge ethical boundaries for AI – #Catholic – Catholic leaders discussed rising benefits and concerns of technology and how faith and ethics apply when using artificial intelligence.Bringing together leading technological officers from around the globe, Montse Alvarado, president and chief operating officer of EWTN News, spoke with industry professionals about the growing use of AI in a Sept. 9 special, “Beyond Fear: A Catholic Vision for Artificial Intelligence.”Pope Leo XIV framed the intensifying debate over AI with the May 25 launch of his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas. Tech leaders said AI is rapidly reshaping society and the Church, offering powerful tools for ministry while also requiring firm ethical boundaries, human‑centered leadership, and faith‑guided discernment to ensure the technology strengthens human dignity.“There’s a good side to that exponential innovation because it helps us get to the most vulnerable people faster,” said Joel Chakra, president of Tim Tebow Foundation and venture capitalist in AI technology companies.“It can it can really rob us of our true humanity, or it can enhance our lives. And the choice is ours,” said Arthur C. Brooks, American author and academic who wrote the foreword to Magnifica Humanitas.Brooks said the technology can either diminish or deepen human dignity, depending on how it is used. He added that despite real concerns about job loss and disruption, he remains optimistic because humans are “unbelievably ingenious” and made to solve problems.
Arthur Brooks speaks on “EWTN News in Depth” on Friday, April 10, 2026. | Credit: “EWTN News in Depth”/Screenshot
“Iʼm not a pessimist. Iʼm an optimist. I do realize that thereʼs displacement. I do realize that thereʼs a lot to be concerned about. But I also know that humans are unbelievably ingenious that the Lord made us to solve problems,” Brooks said.Vic Gundotra, former senior vice president at Google and a Catholic convert, said: “AI helped in my conversion to becoming Catholic. I was raised as a Jehovahʼs Witness and I had never read the early Church Fathers, but AI showed me what the Catholic Church taught was mirrored in the early Church Fathers.” While AI shaped his own path to Catholicism, Gundotra also cautioned that the same technology can magnify human failings, noting that “any tool can be used to amplify the worst in human capability” and “augment and worsen the worst human characteristics as well.”Gundotra warned that AI carries real risks for young people and said parents still need to guide how it’s used, noting that the technology is powerful but comes with clear downsides.Sara Anderson of Pushpay, a digital‑giving and church‑management platform, said her team uses AI to streamline parish administration so staff can spend more time on ministry. The goal is not to replace human connection but to free priests, volunteers, and parish workers from tedious data entry and outdated systems, she said.“There’s a moment in our Catholic Church where there’s so many people wanting to to join the Church to learn about the Church and … the tools are outdated,” Anderson said. “Technology is making their lives better.”Chakra and Anderson are encouraging faith-filled individuals to hold more technological leadership positions as artificial intelligence becomes more apparent in our daily lives.“I think for too long, we have taken a back seat to some of the highest leadership positions and taken a back seat to innovation, when in reality, our faith and our heritage is driven by some of the smartest people to ever exist in the world,” Chakra said.“That is one of the things I try to help the parish admins and the office staff learn to be brave. We need them to explore; we need them to meet the moment of technology and faith. We need them to be leaders,” Anderson said.As AI spreads, speakers said the Church needs more leaders engaged in technology while also setting clear limits to ensure digital tools support, not replace, human ministry.“Boundaries are needed to help create the best use [of] technology. And the other way is through AI policies, ethics, and framework,” Anderson said.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/catholic-tech-leaders-urge-ethical-boundaries-for-ai-catholic-catholic-leaders-discussed-rising-benefits-and-concerns-of-technology-and-how-faith-and-ethics-apply-when-using-artificial-intelligen.jpg "Catholic tech leaders urge ethical boundaries for AI – #Catholic – Catholic leaders discussed rising benefits and concerns of technology and how faith and ethics apply when using artificial intelligence.Bringing together leading technological officers from around the globe, Montse Alvarado, president and chief operating officer of EWTN News, spoke with industry professionals about the growing use of AI in a Sept. 9 special, “Beyond Fear: A Catholic Vision for Artificial Intelligence.”Pope Leo XIV framed the intensifying debate over AI with the May 25 launch of his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas. Tech leaders said AI is rapidly reshaping society and the Church, offering powerful tools for ministry while also requiring firm ethical boundaries, human‑centered leadership, and faith‑guided discernment to ensure the technology strengthens human dignity.“There’s a good side to that exponential innovation because it helps us get to the most vulnerable people faster,” said Joel Chakra, president of Tim Tebow Foundation and venture capitalist in AI technology companies.“It can it can really rob us of our true humanity, or it can enhance our lives. And the choice is ours,” said Arthur C. Brooks, American author and academic who wrote the foreword to Magnifica Humanitas.Brooks said the technology can either diminish or deepen human dignity, depending on how it is used. He added that despite real concerns about job loss and disruption, he remains optimistic because humans are “unbelievably ingenious” and made to solve problems.
Arthur Brooks speaks on “EWTN News in Depth” on Friday, April 10, 2026. | Credit: “EWTN News in Depth”/Screenshot
“Iʼm not a pessimist. Iʼm an optimist. I do realize that thereʼs displacement. I do realize that thereʼs a lot to be concerned about. But I also know that humans are unbelievably ingenious that the Lord made us to solve problems,” Brooks said.Vic Gundotra, former senior vice president at Google and a Catholic convert, said: “AI helped in my conversion to becoming Catholic. I was raised as a Jehovahʼs Witness and I had never read the early Church Fathers, but AI showed me what the Catholic Church taught was mirrored in the early Church Fathers.” While AI shaped his own path to Catholicism, Gundotra also cautioned that the same technology can magnify human failings, noting that “any tool can be used to amplify the worst in human capability” and “augment and worsen the worst human characteristics as well.”Gundotra warned that AI carries real risks for young people and said parents still need to guide how it’s used, noting that the technology is powerful but comes with clear downsides.Sara Anderson of Pushpay, a digital‑giving and church‑management platform, said her team uses AI to streamline parish administration so staff can spend more time on ministry. The goal is not to replace human connection but to free priests, volunteers, and parish workers from tedious data entry and outdated systems, she said.“There’s a moment in our Catholic Church where there’s so many people wanting to to join the Church to learn about the Church and … the tools are outdated,” Anderson said. “Technology is making their lives better.”Chakra and Anderson are encouraging faith-filled individuals to hold more technological leadership positions as artificial intelligence becomes more apparent in our daily lives.“I think for too long, we have taken a back seat to some of the highest leadership positions and taken a back seat to innovation, when in reality, our faith and our heritage is driven by some of the smartest people to ever exist in the world,” Chakra said.“That is one of the things I try to help the parish admins and the office staff learn to be brave. We need them to explore; we need them to meet the moment of technology and faith. We need them to be leaders,” Anderson said.As AI spreads, speakers said the Church needs more leaders engaged in technology while also setting clear limits to ensure digital tools support, not replace, human ministry.“Boundaries are needed to help create the best use [of] technology. And the other way is through AI policies, ethics, and framework,” Anderson said.")
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