Transporter-18 SmallSats Encapsulation – Three NASA-supported small spacecraft, shown along with many commercial payloads, before being encapsulated in a SpaceX Falcon 9. The rocket launched the payloads into low-Earth orbit at 11:32 a.m. PDT Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, as part of the company’s Transporter-18 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Read More

Transporter-18 SmallSats Encapsulation – Three NASA-supported small spacecraft, shown along with many commercial payloads, before being encapsulated in a SpaceX Falcon 9. The rocket launched the payloads into low-Earth orbit at 11:32 a.m. PDT Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, as part of the company’s Transporter-18 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

unitedyam

Three NASA-supported small spacecraft, shown along with many commercial payloads, before being encapsulated in a SpaceX Falcon 9. The rocket launched the payloads into low-Earth orbit at 11:32 a.m. PDT Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, as part of the company’s Transporter-18 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Read More
Ohio’s University of Dayton names first woman president – #Catholic – The University of Dayton announced that Darlene Weaver, the university’s provost and executive vice president, will serve as the Ohio university’s 20th president.Weaver’s appointment makes her the first woman president in the universityʼs history, according to an Oct. 12 press release. She succeeds University of Dayton President Eric Spina and is set to begin the role on July 1, 2027.“Darlene has an innate understanding of the University of Dayton, a deep belief in our Catholic, Marianist mission and a demonstrated ability to move important work forward,” Deborah Tobias, chair of the University of Dayton Board of Trustees and the presidential search advisory committee, said in the release.“UD’s mission has never been more important,” Weaver said. “In a world shaped by technological change, social division and questions about the value of higher education, the University of Dayton has a distinctive role to play in serving the common good. We educate students not only for professional success, but for lives of meaning, responsibility and service. That is the promise of a Catholic, Marianist education, and it will guide the work ahead.”Cleveland diocesan school launches ‘Pathways’ initiative for young menBenedictine High School in Cleveland announced the start of Pathways, an initiative aimed at empowering young men to explore their passions while preparing for college.“Rather than following a one-size-fits-all educational model, Pathways allows students to engage in meaningful, hands-on learning experiences aligned with their interests and future aspirations with concentrations in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), business-entrepreneurship, fine and performing arts and vocations,” the diocese said in an Oct. 6 press release.Students will have the opportunity to continue exploring courses in fields already offered by the school, including STEM, business, entrepreneurship, and fine arts. “Launching with electives in computer repair, media production, construction and manufacturing, the vocations pathway will provide students with hands-on experiences, opportunities to earn industry-recognized credentials and meaningful exposure to technical careers,” the release said.Omaha Archdiocese announces pilot program for career, technical trainingArchbishop Michael McGovern is launching a pilot program for technical vocational training at six Catholic schools across the Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska.“Archbishop Michael McGovern is proud to announce this initiative to expand opportunities in Career and Technical Education in Catholic schools across Northeast Nebraska,” according to the program’s website. “This multi-year initiative is the first such effort by a diocesan school system in the United States and will begin with a pilot at six schools in 2027-2028.”The program will feature “trade bootcamps” in fields such as auto repair, construction, and HVAC; career exploration days; and a “Lunch and Learn” series for women in technical areas.Participating schools include Norfolk Catholic Junior and High School, St. Joseph Elementary School, Christ the King Catholic School, Skutt Catholic High School, All Saints Catholic School, and Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic School.“Career & Technical Education expands the ways students in Archdiocese of Omaha schools can discover their gifts, apply their knowledge in hands-on lessons, explore meaningful careers and prepare for life beyond high school,” the website said.
Read More

Ohio’s University of Dayton names first woman president – #Catholic – The University of Dayton announced that Darlene Weaver, the university’s provost and executive vice president, will serve as the Ohio university’s 20th president.Weaver’s appointment makes her the first woman president in the universityʼs history, according to an Oct. 12 press release. She succeeds University of Dayton President Eric Spina and is set to begin the role on July 1, 2027.“Darlene has an innate understanding of the University of Dayton, a deep belief in our Catholic, Marianist mission and a demonstrated ability to move important work forward,” Deborah Tobias, chair of the University of Dayton Board of Trustees and the presidential search advisory committee, said in the release.“UD’s mission has never been more important,” Weaver said. “In a world shaped by technological change, social division and questions about the value of higher education, the University of Dayton has a distinctive role to play in serving the common good. We educate students not only for professional success, but for lives of meaning, responsibility and service. That is the promise of a Catholic, Marianist education, and it will guide the work ahead.”Cleveland diocesan school launches ‘Pathways’ initiative for young menBenedictine High School in Cleveland announced the start of Pathways, an initiative aimed at empowering young men to explore their passions while preparing for college.“Rather than following a one-size-fits-all educational model, Pathways allows students to engage in meaningful, hands-on learning experiences aligned with their interests and future aspirations with concentrations in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), business-entrepreneurship, fine and performing arts and vocations,” the diocese said in an Oct. 6 press release.Students will have the opportunity to continue exploring courses in fields already offered by the school, including STEM, business, entrepreneurship, and fine arts. “Launching with electives in computer repair, media production, construction and manufacturing, the vocations pathway will provide students with hands-on experiences, opportunities to earn industry-recognized credentials and meaningful exposure to technical careers,” the release said.Omaha Archdiocese announces pilot program for career, technical trainingArchbishop Michael McGovern is launching a pilot program for technical vocational training at six Catholic schools across the Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska.“Archbishop Michael McGovern is proud to announce this initiative to expand opportunities in Career and Technical Education in Catholic schools across Northeast Nebraska,” according to the program’s website. “This multi-year initiative is the first such effort by a diocesan school system in the United States and will begin with a pilot at six schools in 2027-2028.”The program will feature “trade bootcamps” in fields such as auto repair, construction, and HVAC; career exploration days; and a “Lunch and Learn” series for women in technical areas.Participating schools include Norfolk Catholic Junior and High School, St. Joseph Elementary School, Christ the King Catholic School, Skutt Catholic High School, All Saints Catholic School, and Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic School.“Career & Technical Education expands the ways students in Archdiocese of Omaha schools can discover their gifts, apply their knowledge in hands-on lessons, explore meaningful careers and prepare for life beyond high school,” the website said.

unitedyam

The University of Dayton announced its first woman president, while Catholic high schools in Cleveland and Omaha launched career development programs in this week’s roundup of Catholic education news.

Read More
Sen. Hawley asks FDA to address concerns over incomplete data in abortion drug safety study – #Catholic – U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, sent a letter to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Acting Commissioner Kyle Diamantas last week asking whether the agency “is reviewing all relevant data” in the mifepristone safety study it has undertaken.Hawley questioned whether the study is accurately measuring risks to women of the abortion drug, which since 2021 has been available by mail. The FDA halted in-person dispensing requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic and formally modified the policy in 2023, continuing to allow abortion pills by mail.He expressed concern that the study did not provide dates for what it called “relevant time periods” during which the drug’s effects were measured. He wrote that the study relies on Sentinel, a database of insurance claims and health records, but does not provide the time frame being analyzed. He expressed concern that data must include dates “after the Biden Administration gutted safety regulations in 2023.”Hawley noted that Louisiana is challenging the FDA in a federal suit alleging the government did not adequately ascertain the drug’s safety before removing safeguards.The senator asked Diamantas to provide answers in writing by Oct. 22.Catholics join LDS Church in Idaho in opposing ballot measure expanding abortion accessThe Diocese of Boise, Idaho, has joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) in a campaign opposing Proposition 1, an initiative that expands abortion access.Last week, the diocese donated 0,000 to the political action committee Too Extreme for Idaho, to which the LDS church had already donated million, according to the Idaho secretary of state.Boise Bishop Peter F. Christensen in July and again in September urged Catholics to vote against the measure, which he called “too extreme” for the state, saying if passed, it “would remove nearly all protections for pre-born babies and put vulnerable women at risk.”He emphasized that the measure, if passed, would undermine parental rights by no longer requiring parental consent for abortions as well as other medical procedures on minors and would remove the current legal requirement that only physicians perform abortions.“Proposition 1 concerns matters of profound moral significance, particularly abortion, human dignity, freedom and the protection owed to unborn human life,” he wrote in September. “These questions cannot be separated from our Catholic faith simply because they appear on a ballot. The voting booth does not somehow stand outside our relationship with Christ.”Fired teacher sues school in England for discriminating against her Christian faithA teacher in England is suing after she was fired in March for telling a student who asked her about her views on abortion that she was pro-life.Anita Meston, a 63-year-old who taught history at Biddick Academy in Washington, Sunderland, is suing the school for discriminating against her Christian faith, which she says is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.“If our national education system continues to claim to foster inclusion and tolerance, this must include tolerance of perspectives with which others disagree,” Meston said in a press release from Alliance Defending Freedom, the legal group representing her.“In a free and just society, teachers should not be fired for honestly expressing their deeply held beliefs in response to questions in the classroom,” she said. “What happened to me is nothing short of censorship, and this precedent cannot be allowed to stand.”Pro-abortion protesters block pro-life group at student fair in EnglandProtesters blocked the stall of the Pro-Life Society, a pro-life student group, at a student fair held at the University of Manchester in England on Sept. 25.While the protesters, some of them members of Manchester Leftist Action, did not touch the stall, they held a banner in front of it that said “Destroy Pro-Life Soc.” They also collected money for and passed out leaflets on pro-abortion groups as well as links to an Instagram account called @stopmanchesterprolife, according to The Mancunion.A Pro-Life Society spokesperson told The Mancunion the roughly four-hour blockade limited their free speech and prevented students from approaching the stall, adding that university staff’s requests for protesters to move were largely ineffective.The society has faced campus opposition since its founding according to the report, including earlier protests and an unsuccessful disbandment petition.A spokesperson for Manchester Leftist Action stated that, because the university would not act against what they described as “bigotry and dangerous pseudoscience,” they chose to counter the stall by engaging students and raising funds for abortion care. They said they would continue opposing the society’s efforts on campus.
Read More

Sen. Hawley asks FDA to address concerns over incomplete data in abortion drug safety study – #Catholic – U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, sent a letter to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Acting Commissioner Kyle Diamantas last week asking whether the agency “is reviewing all relevant data” in the mifepristone safety study it has undertaken.Hawley questioned whether the study is accurately measuring risks to women of the abortion drug, which since 2021 has been available by mail. The FDA halted in-person dispensing requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic and formally modified the policy in 2023, continuing to allow abortion pills by mail.He expressed concern that the study did not provide dates for what it called “relevant time periods” during which the drug’s effects were measured. He wrote that the study relies on Sentinel, a database of insurance claims and health records, but does not provide the time frame being analyzed. He expressed concern that data must include dates “after the Biden Administration gutted safety regulations in 2023.”Hawley noted that Louisiana is challenging the FDA in a federal suit alleging the government did not adequately ascertain the drug’s safety before removing safeguards.The senator asked Diamantas to provide answers in writing by Oct. 22.Catholics join LDS Church in Idaho in opposing ballot measure expanding abortion accessThe Diocese of Boise, Idaho, has joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) in a campaign opposing Proposition 1, an initiative that expands abortion access.Last week, the diocese donated $300,000 to the political action committee Too Extreme for Idaho, to which the LDS church had already donated $1 million, according to the Idaho secretary of state.Boise Bishop Peter F. Christensen in July and again in September urged Catholics to vote against the measure, which he called “too extreme” for the state, saying if passed, it “would remove nearly all protections for pre-born babies and put vulnerable women at risk.”He emphasized that the measure, if passed, would undermine parental rights by no longer requiring parental consent for abortions as well as other medical procedures on minors and would remove the current legal requirement that only physicians perform abortions.“Proposition 1 concerns matters of profound moral significance, particularly abortion, human dignity, freedom and the protection owed to unborn human life,” he wrote in September. “These questions cannot be separated from our Catholic faith simply because they appear on a ballot. The voting booth does not somehow stand outside our relationship with Christ.”Fired teacher sues school in England for discriminating against her Christian faithA teacher in England is suing after she was fired in March for telling a student who asked her about her views on abortion that she was pro-life.Anita Meston, a 63-year-old who taught history at Biddick Academy in Washington, Sunderland, is suing the school for discriminating against her Christian faith, which she says is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.“If our national education system continues to claim to foster inclusion and tolerance, this must include tolerance of perspectives with which others disagree,” Meston said in a press release from Alliance Defending Freedom, the legal group representing her.“In a free and just society, teachers should not be fired for honestly expressing their deeply held beliefs in response to questions in the classroom,” she said. “What happened to me is nothing short of censorship, and this precedent cannot be allowed to stand.”Pro-abortion protesters block pro-life group at student fair in EnglandProtesters blocked the stall of the Pro-Life Society, a pro-life student group, at a student fair held at the University of Manchester in England on Sept. 25.While the protesters, some of them members of Manchester Leftist Action, did not touch the stall, they held a banner in front of it that said “Destroy Pro-Life Soc.” They also collected money for and passed out leaflets on pro-abortion groups as well as links to an Instagram account called @stopmanchesterprolife, according to The Mancunion.A Pro-Life Society spokesperson told The Mancunion the roughly four-hour blockade limited their free speech and prevented students from approaching the stall, adding that university staff’s requests for protesters to move were largely ineffective.The society has faced campus opposition since its founding according to the report, including earlier protests and an unsuccessful disbandment petition.A spokesperson for Manchester Leftist Action stated that, because the university would not act against what they described as “bigotry and dangerous pseudoscience,” they chose to counter the stall by engaging students and raising funds for abortion care. They said they would continue opposing the society’s efforts on campus.

unitedyam

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.

Read More

The Sky Today on Wednesday, October 14: Io covers Callisto

unitedyam

Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  October 13: Vesta at opposition Observers in the U.S. Midwest and farther west have a great opportunity this morning to watch one Galilean moon pass in front of another. Io crosses in front of Callisto, occulting it from our point of viewContinue reading “The Sky Today on Wednesday, October 14: Io covers Callisto”

The post The Sky Today on Wednesday, October 14: Io covers Callisto appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Read More
Pew midterm poll: Catholics prefer Democratic House candidates by 3-point margin #Catholic A survey by Pew Research Center found that Catholic registered voters prefer Democratic candidates over Republicans in the upcoming U.S. House of Representative races by a narrow margin.With the midterms approaching on Nov. 3, the survey found Catholics favoring Democrats by 3 percentage points. Pew polled 5,062 adults, which included 3,917 registered voters from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4 for its American Trends Panel. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.6 percentage points.The survey found that Catholics favor Democratic House candidates by a narrow margin, 42% to 39%, though white Catholics and Hispanic Catholics differ significantly in their political preferences.Among white Catholics, 50% said they plan to vote Republican and 32% Democratic, while 59% of Hispanic Catholics said they plan to vote Democratic and 19% Republican.Catholic voter approval of Trump falls to 30%The poll shows President Donald Trump’s approval rating plummeting among Catholics since he began his second term, with 30% approving of how he has handled his job as president and 67% disapproving. In January 2025, his approval was about 47% among Catholics.About 18% of Hispanic Catholics approve of Trump’s presidency and 78% disapprove. Among white Catholics, about 39% approve and 59% disapprove. Among all voters, the survey found 44% of registered voters favoring Democratic candidates for the House and 36% favoring the Republican candidate. It found 30% of voters approve of Trump’s job as president and 68% disapprove.The poll found that white evangelical Protestants and white Catholics were more likely to support Republican House candidates in the Nov. 3 elections, while Black Protestants, Hispanic Catholics, atheists, agnostics, and people with no particular religion were more likely to support Democratic candidates.
Read More

Pew midterm poll: Catholics prefer Democratic House candidates by 3-point margin #Catholic A survey by Pew Research Center found that Catholic registered voters prefer Democratic candidates over Republicans in the upcoming U.S. House of Representative races by a narrow margin.With the midterms approaching on Nov. 3, the survey found Catholics favoring Democrats by 3 percentage points. Pew polled 5,062 adults, which included 3,917 registered voters from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4 for its American Trends Panel. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.6 percentage points.The survey found that Catholics favor Democratic House candidates by a narrow margin, 42% to 39%, though white Catholics and Hispanic Catholics differ significantly in their political preferences.Among white Catholics, 50% said they plan to vote Republican and 32% Democratic, while 59% of Hispanic Catholics said they plan to vote Democratic and 19% Republican.Catholic voter approval of Trump falls to 30%The poll shows President Donald Trump’s approval rating plummeting among Catholics since he began his second term, with 30% approving of how he has handled his job as president and 67% disapproving. In January 2025, his approval was about 47% among Catholics.About 18% of Hispanic Catholics approve of Trump’s presidency and 78% disapprove. Among white Catholics, about 39% approve and 59% disapprove. Among all voters, the survey found 44% of registered voters favoring Democratic candidates for the House and 36% favoring the Republican candidate. It found 30% of voters approve of Trump’s job as president and 68% disapprove.The poll found that white evangelical Protestants and white Catholics were more likely to support Republican House candidates in the Nov. 3 elections, while Black Protestants, Hispanic Catholics, atheists, agnostics, and people with no particular religion were more likely to support Democratic candidates.

unitedyam

The survey found that a narrow plurality of Catholics prefer Democrats in the midterm elections as Catholic approval of President Donald Trump continues to plummet.

Read More

Gospel and Word of the Day – 14 October 2026 – A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Galatians 5:18-25 Brothers and sisters: If you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit. From the Gospel according to Luke 11:42-46 The Lord said: “Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb, but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God. These you should have done, without overlooking the others. Woe to you Pharisees! You love the seat of honor in synagogues and greetings in marketplaces.   Woe to you! You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.” Then one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply, “Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too.” And he said, “Woe also to you scholars of the law! You impose on people burdens hard to carry, but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them.”These people who were “ideological” had reduced the Law, the doctrine, to an ideology: “you have to do this, and this, and this…” A religion of prescriptions, and thus they took away the Holy Spirit’s freedom. And the people who followed them were rigid people, people who did not feel comfortable, they did not know the joy of the Gospel. The way of following Jesus to perfection was through rigidity: “You have to do this, this, this, and this”. These people, these doctors, “manipulated” the consciences of the faithful, or they made them become rigid, or they would go away. (…) The Spirit of God is not where there is rigidity, because the Spirit of God is liberty. And these people wanted to force these passages, taking away liberty from the Spirit of God and the gratuitousness of the redemption: “to be justified you have to do this, this, this, and this…”. Justification is freely given. Jesus’s death and resurrection are gratuitous. You do not pay for it, it cannot be purchased: it is a gift! (Pope Francis, Santa Marta, 15 May 2020)

unitedyam

A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Galatians
5:18-25

Brothers and sisters:
If you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are obvious:
immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry,
sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy,
outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness,
dissensions, factions, occasions of envy,
drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.
I warn you, as I warned you before,
that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Against such there is no law.
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh
with its passions and desires.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit. 

From the Gospel according to Luke
11:42-46

The Lord said:
“Woe to you Pharisees!
You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb,
but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God.
These you should have done, without overlooking the others.
Woe to you Pharisees!
You love the seat of honor in synagogues
and greetings in marketplaces.  
Woe to you!
You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.”

Then one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply,
“Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too.”
And he said, “Woe also to you scholars of the law!
You impose on people burdens hard to carry,
but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them.”

These people who were “ideological” had reduced the Law, the doctrine, to an ideology: “you have to do this, and this, and this…” A religion of prescriptions, and thus they took away the Holy Spirit’s freedom. And the people who followed them were rigid people, people who did not feel comfortable, they did not know the joy of the Gospel. The way of following Jesus to perfection was through rigidity: “You have to do this, this, this, and this”. These people, these doctors, “manipulated” the consciences of the faithful, or they made them become rigid, or they would go away. (…)

The Spirit of God is not where there is rigidity, because the Spirit of God is liberty. And these people wanted to force these passages, taking away liberty from the Spirit of God and the gratuitousness of the redemption: “to be justified you have to do this, this, this, and this…”. Justification is freely given. Jesus’s death and resurrection are gratuitous. You do not pay for it, it cannot be purchased: it is a gift! (Pope Francis, Santa Marta, 15 May 2020)

Read More
Who is St. Peregrine, the ‘cancer saint’ Catholics are invoking for Pope Leo XIV? #Catholic As Pope Leo XIV recovers at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital from surgery that confirmed lung cancer, Catholics around the world are praying for him, and many are turning to a 14th-century Servite priest long known as “the cancer saint”: St. Peregrine Laziosi. LIVE UPDATES: Pope Leo XIV diagnosed with lung cancer From punch to penanceAccording to an account by Father Lawrence G. Lovasik, SVD, published in EWTN’s library, Peregrine was born in 1260 in Forlì, Italy. He was the only son of a wealthy family, and as a young man he sided with the city’s anti-papal faction.When St. Philip Benizi of the Servants of Mary (the Servites) came to Forlì to preach peace on behalf of Pope Martin IV, he was met with insults, rocks, and clubs. Peregrine struck him in the face. Philip answered by offering the other cheek and praying for the young man.Moved, Peregrine ran after the departing friar. He begged forgiveness on his knees and promised to change his life. According to the traditional account, the Virgin Mary later appeared to him in Forlì’s cathedral and told him: “Go to Siena. There you will find the devout men who call themselves my servants. Join them.”Peregrine received the Servite habit in 1292. It was said that for 30 years he never sat down. In 1322, his superiors sent him to found a Servite house in his hometown of Forlì, where he became known as a preacher and a readily available confessor.The night before the amputationLater in life, Peregrine developed a painful cancerous wound on his foot. Lovasik writes that its “gangrenous stench” was so foul that others kept away. Surgeons decided to amputate.Peregrine spent the night before the operation in prayer before an image of the crucified Christ and fell asleep there. In a dream, Christ seemed to reach down from the cross and touch his diseased foot. When he awoke, he was healed. The account says the doctors could no longer find any trace of the disease.Peregrine died in 1345 at about 80 years of age. He was beatified in 1609, and Pope Benedict XIII canonized him in 1726. His feast is celebrated May 1. His body rests in the Basilica of San Pellegrino Laziosi in Forlì. Devotion to him has spread far beyond Italy, including to the National Shrine of St. Peregrine at Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica in Chicago, the city where Leo was born.Lovasik’s booklet includes several prayers, and EWTN offers a novena to St. Peregrine.
Read More

Who is St. Peregrine, the ‘cancer saint’ Catholics are invoking for Pope Leo XIV? #Catholic As Pope Leo XIV recovers at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital from surgery that confirmed lung cancer, Catholics around the world are praying for him, and many are turning to a 14th-century Servite priest long known as “the cancer saint”: St. Peregrine Laziosi. LIVE UPDATES: Pope Leo XIV diagnosed with lung cancer From punch to penanceAccording to an account by Father Lawrence G. Lovasik, SVD, published in EWTN’s library, Peregrine was born in 1260 in Forlì, Italy. He was the only son of a wealthy family, and as a young man he sided with the city’s anti-papal faction.When St. Philip Benizi of the Servants of Mary (the Servites) came to Forlì to preach peace on behalf of Pope Martin IV, he was met with insults, rocks, and clubs. Peregrine struck him in the face. Philip answered by offering the other cheek and praying for the young man.Moved, Peregrine ran after the departing friar. He begged forgiveness on his knees and promised to change his life. According to the traditional account, the Virgin Mary later appeared to him in Forlì’s cathedral and told him: “Go to Siena. There you will find the devout men who call themselves my servants. Join them.”Peregrine received the Servite habit in 1292. It was said that for 30 years he never sat down. In 1322, his superiors sent him to found a Servite house in his hometown of Forlì, where he became known as a preacher and a readily available confessor.The night before the amputationLater in life, Peregrine developed a painful cancerous wound on his foot. Lovasik writes that its “gangrenous stench” was so foul that others kept away. Surgeons decided to amputate.Peregrine spent the night before the operation in prayer before an image of the crucified Christ and fell asleep there. In a dream, Christ seemed to reach down from the cross and touch his diseased foot. When he awoke, he was healed. The account says the doctors could no longer find any trace of the disease.Peregrine died in 1345 at about 80 years of age. He was beatified in 1609, and Pope Benedict XIII canonized him in 1726. His feast is celebrated May 1. His body rests in the Basilica of San Pellegrino Laziosi in Forlì. Devotion to him has spread far beyond Italy, including to the National Shrine of St. Peregrine at Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica in Chicago, the city where Leo was born.Lovasik’s booklet includes several prayers, and EWTN offers a novena to St. Peregrine.

unitedyam

As Pope Leo XIV recovers from lung cancer surgery, meet St. Peregrine Laziosi, the Servite priest healed the night before his amputation and now patron of cancer patients.

Read More
Brazil archbishop receives presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro in ‘institutional visit’ – #Catholic – The archbishop of the Brazil’s capital, Brasilia, Cardinal Paulo Cezar Costa, received on Oct. 8 Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, candidate for president, and his running mate, Congressman Alfredo Gaspar, both of the Liberal Party, for what the archdiocese described as an “institutional visit.”According to the Archdiocese of Brasília, “the meeting took place in an atmosphere of cordiality and dialogue, providing an opportunity to reflect on issues of interest to the Church and Brazilian society.”The archdiocese also reported on its social media that among the topics discussed were “freedom of religion and conscience, respect for the legitimate secularism of the state, the protection of human life and the family, the promotion of social justice, the fight against poverty and inequality; in addition to the importance of collaboration between public authorities and religious institutions in initiatives aimed at the common good.”During the visit, the cardinal gave Bolsonaro, who is Protestant, a copy of a Bible and a small statue of Our Lady of Aparecida, the patroness of Brazil. “The senator was presented with a copy of the Jerusalem Bible and a replica of the image of Our Lady of Aparecida. Both gifts are among the items customarily presented to officials on certain occasions or during institutional visits, as part of [archdiocesan] protocol,” the Archdiocese of Brasília’s communications department told ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News.This story was first published by ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Read More

Brazil archbishop receives presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro in ‘institutional visit’ – #Catholic – The archbishop of the Brazil’s capital, Brasilia, Cardinal Paulo Cezar Costa, received on Oct. 8 Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, candidate for president, and his running mate, Congressman Alfredo Gaspar, both of the Liberal Party, for what the archdiocese described as an “institutional visit.”According to the Archdiocese of Brasília, “the meeting took place in an atmosphere of cordiality and dialogue, providing an opportunity to reflect on issues of interest to the Church and Brazilian society.”The archdiocese also reported on its social media that among the topics discussed were “freedom of religion and conscience, respect for the legitimate secularism of the state, the protection of human life and the family, the promotion of social justice, the fight against poverty and inequality; in addition to the importance of collaboration between public authorities and religious institutions in initiatives aimed at the common good.”During the visit, the cardinal gave Bolsonaro, who is Protestant, a copy of a Bible and a small statue of Our Lady of Aparecida, the patroness of Brazil. “The senator was presented with a copy of the Jerusalem Bible and a replica of the image of Our Lady of Aparecida. Both gifts are among the items customarily presented to officials on certain occasions or during institutional visits, as part of [archdiocesan] protocol,” the Archdiocese of Brasília’s communications department told ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News.This story was first published by ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam

The cardinal, senator, and congressman met on the basis of church-state relationships and discussed issues such as protecting human life, social justice, poverty, and the common good.

Read More
Advocates speak for voiceless at N.J. March for Life #Catholic – From around the Paterson Diocese and throughout New Jersey, thousands of pro-life advocates traveled to Trenton to be a voice for the voiceless in the womb and the most vulnerable at the annual N.J. March for Life on Oct. 8. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney participated in the daylong event, which began with a Mass for Life in the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in Trenton. After the Mass, a rally took place in front of the N.J. Statehouse Annex, followed by a march through downtown Trenton. At the Mass, several bishops, including Bishop Sweeney, concelebrated. Bishop David M. O’Connell of the Trenton Diocese was the main celebrant, with Bishop Pedro Bismarck Chau of the Newark Archdiocese as the homilist. The Mass drew a standing-room-only crowd, with overflow from the congregation participating in the church basement. In his homily, Bishop Chau said, “God created us in his image and likeness. We have been wonderfully made. Do not forget that. And this morning, we gather from around the state of New Jersey, and we embarked on a pilgrimage to celebrate life.” A large presence at the Mass and March was young people from Catholic high schools from across the state. Many Knights of Columbus councils also participated in the daylong event. At the Rally, many pro-life advocates serving in communities around the state spoke. Jean Marie Davis, executive director of Branches Family Resource Center, was the keynote speaker. With the theme, “Life is a gift,” this year’s March hoped to reach out to those experiencing crisis pregnancies and support mothers. Bishop Sweeney gave the closing prayer at the Rally and said, “Giving thanks to God for the gift of life, this gift of this beautiful day. For our parents who said yes to the gift of life, for any mom and dad who are struggling with a crisis pregnancy at this moment. For our elected officials, for our great country of the United States, that we would live up to our founding principles that life is sacred and life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are given to us by God.” PHOTOS | CECILE PAGLIARULO, SUBMITTED [See image gallery at beaconnj.org] Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.  
Read More

Advocates speak for voiceless at N.J. March for Life #Catholic – From around the Paterson Diocese and throughout New Jersey, thousands of pro-life advocates traveled to Trenton to be a voice for the voiceless in the womb and the most vulnerable at the annual N.J. March for Life on Oct. 8. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney participated in the daylong event, which began with a Mass for Life in the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in Trenton. After the Mass, a rally took place in front of the N.J. Statehouse Annex, followed by a march through downtown Trenton. At the Mass, several bishops, including Bishop Sweeney, concelebrated. Bishop David M. O’Connell of the Trenton Diocese was the main celebrant, with Bishop Pedro Bismarck Chau of the Newark Archdiocese as the homilist. The Mass drew a standing-room-only crowd, with overflow from the congregation participating in the church basement. In his homily, Bishop Chau said, “God created us in his image and likeness. We have been wonderfully made. Do not forget that. And this morning, we gather from around the state of New Jersey, and we embarked on a pilgrimage to celebrate life.” A large presence at the Mass and March was young people from Catholic high schools from across the state. Many Knights of Columbus councils also participated in the daylong event. At the Rally, many pro-life advocates serving in communities around the state spoke. Jean Marie Davis, executive director of Branches Family Resource Center, was the keynote speaker. With the theme, “Life is a gift,” this year’s March hoped to reach out to those experiencing crisis pregnancies and support mothers. Bishop Sweeney gave the closing prayer at the Rally and said, “Giving thanks to God for the gift of life, this gift of this beautiful day. For our parents who said yes to the gift of life, for any mom and dad who are struggling with a crisis pregnancy at this moment. For our elected officials, for our great country of the United States, that we would live up to our founding principles that life is sacred and life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are given to us by God.” PHOTOS | CECILE PAGLIARULO, SUBMITTED [See image gallery at beaconnj.org] Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.  

unitedyam

Advocates speak for voiceless at N.J. March for Life #Catholic –

From around the Paterson Diocese and throughout New Jersey, thousands of pro-life advocates traveled to Trenton to be a voice for the voiceless in the womb and the most vulnerable at the annual N.J. March for Life on Oct. 8.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney participated in the daylong event, which began with a Mass for Life in the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in Trenton. After the Mass, a rally took place in front of the N.J. Statehouse Annex, followed by a march through downtown Trenton.

At the Mass, several bishops, including Bishop Sweeney, concelebrated. Bishop David M. O’Connell of the Trenton Diocese was the main celebrant, with Bishop Pedro Bismarck Chau of the Newark Archdiocese as the homilist. The Mass drew a standing-room-only crowd, with overflow from the congregation participating in the church basement.

In his homily, Bishop Chau said, “God created us in his image and likeness. We have been wonderfully made. Do not forget that. And this morning, we gather from around the state of New Jersey, and we embarked on a pilgrimage to celebrate life.”

A large presence at the Mass and March was young people from Catholic high schools from across the state. Many Knights of Columbus councils also participated in the daylong event.

At the Rally, many pro-life advocates serving in communities around the state spoke. Jean Marie Davis, executive director of Branches Family Resource Center, was the keynote speaker. With the theme, “Life is a gift,” this year’s March hoped to reach out to those experiencing crisis pregnancies and support mothers.

Bishop Sweeney gave the closing prayer at the Rally and said, “Giving thanks to God for the gift of life, this gift of this beautiful day. For our parents who said yes to the gift of life, for any mom and dad who are struggling with a crisis pregnancy at this moment. For our elected officials, for our great country of the United States, that we would live up to our founding principles that life is sacred and life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are given to us by God.”

PHOTOS | CECILE PAGLIARULO, SUBMITTED
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

 

– From around the Paterson Diocese and throughout New Jersey, thousands of pro-life advocates traveled to Trenton to be a voice for the voiceless in the womb and the most vulnerable at the annual N.J. March for Life on Oct. 8. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney participated in the daylong event, which began with a Mass for Life in the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in Trenton. After the Mass, a rally took place in front of the N.J. Statehouse Annex, followed by a march through downtown Trenton. At the Mass, several bishops, including Bishop Sweeney, concelebrated. Bishop David M.

Read More
Netcong Knights receive Double Star Award #Catholic – The Knights of Columbus Council 3665 of Netcong, N.J., received the Double Star Award plaque during the council’s Columbus Day dinner held in Msgr. Trapasso Hall at St. Michael Church in Netcong, N.J., on Oct 10. Council chaplain Father Enrique Corona, Grand Knight Greg Keller, Deputy Grand Knight Gus Borda, and several council brothers attended. The Star Council Award is the international organization’s high honor recognizing overall excellence in local council operations, membership growth, insurance promotion, and program activities. The Knights of Columbus St. Michael’s Council 3665 is a local Catholic fraternal organization based in Netcong, N.J., and is associated with St. Michael Parish. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Read More

Netcong Knights receive Double Star Award #Catholic – The Knights of Columbus Council 3665 of Netcong, N.J., received the Double Star Award plaque during the council’s Columbus Day dinner held in Msgr. Trapasso Hall at St. Michael Church in Netcong, N.J., on Oct 10. Council chaplain Father Enrique Corona, Grand Knight Greg Keller, Deputy Grand Knight Gus Borda, and several council brothers attended. The Star Council Award is the international organization’s high honor recognizing overall excellence in local council operations, membership growth, insurance promotion, and program activities. The Knights of Columbus St. Michael’s Council 3665 is a local Catholic fraternal organization based in Netcong, N.J., and is associated with St. Michael Parish. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

unitedyam

Netcong Knights receive Double Star Award #Catholic –

The Knights of Columbus Council 3665 of Netcong, N.J., received the Double Star Award plaque during the council’s Columbus Day dinner held in Msgr. Trapasso Hall at St. Michael Church in Netcong, N.J., on Oct 10. Council chaplain Father Enrique Corona, Grand Knight Greg Keller, Deputy Grand Knight Gus Borda, and several council brothers attended. The Star Council Award is the international organization’s high honor recognizing overall excellence in local council operations, membership growth, insurance promotion, and program activities.

The Knights of Columbus St. Michael’s Council 3665 is a local Catholic fraternal organization based in Netcong, N.J., and is associated with St. Michael Parish.

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

– The Knights of Columbus Council 3665 of Netcong, N.J., received the Double Star Award plaque during the council’s Columbus Day dinner held in Msgr. Trapasso Hall at St. Michael Church in Netcong, N.J., on Oct 10. Council chaplain Father Enrique Corona, Grand Knight Greg Keller, Deputy Grand Knight Gus Borda, and several council brothers attended. The Star Council Award is the international organization’s high honor recognizing overall excellence in local council operations, membership growth, insurance promotion, and program activities. The Knights of Columbus St. Michael’s Council 3665 is a local Catholic fraternal organization based in Netcong, N.J., and is associated

Read More
Across the Middle East, children answer Pope Leo’s call to pray the rosary for peace – #Catholic – In a Middle East scarred by war, children in Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria gathered in churches and schoolyards this month to answer Pope Leo XIV’s call to pray the rosary for peace, joining more than a million young people worldwide. Children in Lebanon pray the rosary for peace. | Credit: Suzie El Hage Their prayers were part of “One Million Children Praying the Rosary,” organized by the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), and took place Oct. 1–7. This year’s campaign drew particular inspiration from Our Lady of Fátima’s promise: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.” LebanonAt least 261 children have been killed and 1,056 injured in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2, according to figures published by UNICEF. In March, the agency reported that an average of at least 19,000 children were being displaced each day.Against this backdrop, in the Maronite Diocese of Antelias, more than 1,300 students gathered around Bishop Antoine Bou Najem to pray. “We are praying today for children living in fear, for those who have no home, and for those enduring war, hunger, and sorrow,” Bou Najem said. Students from schools in the Maronite Diocese of Antelias pray the rosary for peace. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Maronite Diocese of Antelias PalestineIn Palestine, the prayer for peace took place against the backdrop of the devastation and displacement caused by the war in Gaza, whose effects continue to weigh heavily on children and families there.In Jerusalem, Our Lady of Pilar College, also known as the Spanish School, shared photographs of its students gathered in the school courtyard to pray for peace.Located in Jerusalem’s Old City and run by the Missionary Daughters of Calvary, the school serves underprivileged students belonging to the poorest families in and around East Jerusalem. Children gather before the altar in Homs, Syria. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Homs, Hama, and Nabk SyriaIn Syria, children and families gathered at Holy Spirit Cathedral in Homs, a city scarred by years of war, to join the same international initiative.“From Homs, a city that has known the pain of war and longs for peace, the children’s prayers rose with a simple yet profound hope,” the Syriac Catholic Archdiocese of Homs, Hama, and Nabk wrote in its post. “Queen of Peace, pray for us … and bring the world together in love and unity.”This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, and has been translated for and adapted by EWTN News English.
Read More

Across the Middle East, children answer Pope Leo’s call to pray the rosary for peace – #Catholic – In a Middle East scarred by war, children in Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria gathered in churches and schoolyards this month to answer Pope Leo XIV’s call to pray the rosary for peace, joining more than a million young people worldwide. Children in Lebanon pray the rosary for peace. | Credit: Suzie El Hage Their prayers were part of “One Million Children Praying the Rosary,” organized by the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), and took place Oct. 1–7. This year’s campaign drew particular inspiration from Our Lady of Fátima’s promise: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.” LebanonAt least 261 children have been killed and 1,056 injured in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2, according to figures published by UNICEF. In March, the agency reported that an average of at least 19,000 children were being displaced each day.Against this backdrop, in the Maronite Diocese of Antelias, more than 1,300 students gathered around Bishop Antoine Bou Najem to pray. “We are praying today for children living in fear, for those who have no home, and for those enduring war, hunger, and sorrow,” Bou Najem said. Students from schools in the Maronite Diocese of Antelias pray the rosary for peace. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Maronite Diocese of Antelias PalestineIn Palestine, the prayer for peace took place against the backdrop of the devastation and displacement caused by the war in Gaza, whose effects continue to weigh heavily on children and families there.In Jerusalem, Our Lady of Pilar College, also known as the Spanish School, shared photographs of its students gathered in the school courtyard to pray for peace.Located in Jerusalem’s Old City and run by the Missionary Daughters of Calvary, the school serves underprivileged students belonging to the poorest families in and around East Jerusalem. Children gather before the altar in Homs, Syria. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Homs, Hama, and Nabk SyriaIn Syria, children and families gathered at Holy Spirit Cathedral in Homs, a city scarred by years of war, to join the same international initiative.“From Homs, a city that has known the pain of war and longs for peace, the children’s prayers rose with a simple yet profound hope,” the Syriac Catholic Archdiocese of Homs, Hama, and Nabk wrote in its post. “Queen of Peace, pray for us … and bring the world together in love and unity.”This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, and has been translated for and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam

Children in Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria joined a global rosary campaign for peace this month.

Read More
Picture of the day Baciccio’s Triumph of Franciscan Order depicts the Apostles recommending Francis of Assisi, Anthony of Padua, and other Franciscans to Christ for admittance into Heaven. The fresco is on the vaulted ceiling of the Church of the Twelve Holy Apostles in Rome. This year is the 800th anniversary of Francis of Assisi’s death. Today is his feast day. #ImageOfTheDay
Read More

Picture of the day Baciccio’s Triumph of Franciscan Order depicts the Apostles recommending Francis of Assisi, Anthony of Padua, and other Franciscans to Christ for admittance into Heaven. The fresco is on the vaulted ceiling of the Church of the Twelve Holy Apostles in Rome. This year is the 800th anniversary of Francis of Assisi’s death. Today is his feast day. #ImageOfTheDay

unitedyam
Picture of the day
Baciccio’s Triumph of Franciscan Order depicts the Apostles recommending Francis of Assisi, Anthony of Padua, and other Franciscans to Christ for admittance into Heaven. The fresco is on the vaulted ceiling of the Church of the Twelve Holy Apostles in Rome. This year is the 800th anniversary of Francis of Assisi’s death. Today is his feast day.
Read More
ACI Prensa becomes EWTN News Español #Catholic There are dates that could not be better selected, even with the liturgical calendar in hand. On Monday, Oct. 12, ACI Prensa became EWTN News Español and launched its new platform at EWTNNews.com/es. This is a day when so many celebrations converge that it is impossible not to see the hand of God behind it.I would be lying if I said this was the date we had in mind from the moment we began this project, as if we had experienced a supernatural vision. That was not the case. But when you work in the service of God and the Church, you learn to view coincidences through different eyes. They are “God-incidences.”This relaunch goes far beyond simply changing a websiteʼs name. Since 1980, ACI Prensa has accompanied generations of Spanish-speaking Catholics, and since 2014 it has been part of the EWTN family. Today, that journey enters a new phase: the same mission, but with the strength and reach of a global brand like EWTN News.I confess that, while I am incredibly excited to launch EWTN News Español, I also feel a touch of nostalgia at saying goodbye to ACI Prensa — a brand I have followed and admired for decades. Yet, “we know that all things work together for good for those who love God” (Rom 8:28). St. Augustine spoke of God as a beauty “ever ancient, ever new.” The Gospel does not change; what changes are the ways we transmit and communicate it, or the technologies that help us spread it throughout history.3 feasts, 3 patronsThis Oct. 12 marks 20 years since the death of St. Carlo Acutis at the age of 15. Canonized by Pope Leo XIV in September 2025, Acutis is the first millennial saint, and his defining characteristic was his use of new technologies to share the faith.We ask him to guide us in the apostolic use of communication technologies (including the internet, social media, and artificial intelligence) and to help us bring God closer to the many young souls who live their lives online today. It cannot be a coincidence that a new platform is being born under the gaze of a teenager who turned the internet into a path to heaven.It is also the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar, patroness of the Hispanic world — a title recognized by St. John Paul II in 1984 — and the date on which Spain celebrates its National Day.There could hardly be a better day to launch EWTN News Español: a language that connects hundreds of millions of people — from the historic Catholic communities of Latin America and Spain to the ever-growing Catholic population of the United States, which now has a home of its own within the global EWTN family.On this same day of Oct. 12, Brazil celebrates its patroness, Our Lady of Aparecida, a title proclaimed by Pius XI in 1930. Since the mission of EWTN News extends beyond a single language — and with ACI Digital delivering our news in Portuguese — we place our work under her protection as well, honoring her as a patroness of our efforts across the Americas, alongside our beloved Virgin of Guadalupe. Yet today, the focus is on Spanish, and to that we now return.A platform built for usA shared brand does not imply an identical experience for everyone. Our goal is not merely to translate the English-language EWTN News site into Spanish but to build a platform tailored to the Spanish-speaking audience — reflecting their customs, their culture, and the ways they stay informed today. That is why EWTN News Español combines the technology and editorial resources of EWTN News with the expertise and capabilities of a team that deeply understands the people it serves and the evolving nature of news consumption habits.We used to expect users to come looking for us. Now, it’s the other way around: We go where the people are. The latest Reuters Institute report on journalism makes this clear: Today, most people get their news from social media and video rather than from media websites.That is why EWTN News Español is designed for mobile, where you and I spend our day. We offer content that keeps you informed wherever you are (whether via a newsletter sent to your email or your WhatsApp) while also enriching your faith with devotional material, such as the daily Mass readings or the lives of the saints. The good news alongside the dayʼs headlines.And if you prefer watching to reading, we now have “Watch” — a new tab on the EWTN News Español site where we gather all our video content, featuring the best reports, interviews, broadcasts, and viral social media clips.Plus, if something major happens in the Church or the world, we cover it with you in real time through updates on our live blog.And speaking of staying connected, your EWTN News Español account goes wherever you go. Not only can you save articles, comment on them, and follow your favorite writers and topics, but you can also personalize your experience across EWTN.com, EWTNNews.com, Roku, and EWTN+ using the same login.As always, access is free, sustained by the generous donations of so many people who believe in and support our mission, a mission that began when Mother Angelica had the “crazy” idea to launch a Catholic television channel on Aug. 15, 1981 (talk about providential dates!).Behind this platform lies an incredible team that is deeply dedicated to the mission and has decades of experience covering conclaves, World Youth Days, synods, jubilees, and International Eucharistic Congresses, as well as the daily lives of Catholic communities throughout the Spanish-speaking world. The new platform makes this work easier to discover, whether for those who live out their faith every day or for those who are just beginning to explore it.What does not changeThe name (from ACI Prensa to EWTN News Español), along with the design and the site’s tools and features, are changing.What does not change is our commitment to the truth, to our audiences, and to journalistic excellence — a path ACI Prensa charted four decades ago, bringing hundreds of thousands of people closer to God through quality content and a faithful commitment to the Church’s magisterium. That will not change, with God’s help and the guidance of Mother Angelica.St. Carlo Acutis used to say that the Eucharist was his “highway to heaven.” We simply aspire to build, by God’s grace, a few digital lanes leading to it. Our hope is that EWTN News — in all its languages — becomes the place where every Catholic turns for information and that we prove ourselves worthy, day by day, of the trust that aspiration represents. Welcome to EWTN News Español!This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Read More

ACI Prensa becomes EWTN News Español #Catholic There are dates that could not be better selected, even with the liturgical calendar in hand. On Monday, Oct. 12, ACI Prensa became EWTN News Español and launched its new platform at EWTNNews.com/es. This is a day when so many celebrations converge that it is impossible not to see the hand of God behind it.I would be lying if I said this was the date we had in mind from the moment we began this project, as if we had experienced a supernatural vision. That was not the case. But when you work in the service of God and the Church, you learn to view coincidences through different eyes. They are “God-incidences.”This relaunch goes far beyond simply changing a websiteʼs name. Since 1980, ACI Prensa has accompanied generations of Spanish-speaking Catholics, and since 2014 it has been part of the EWTN family. Today, that journey enters a new phase: the same mission, but with the strength and reach of a global brand like EWTN News.I confess that, while I am incredibly excited to launch EWTN News Español, I also feel a touch of nostalgia at saying goodbye to ACI Prensa — a brand I have followed and admired for decades. Yet, “we know that all things work together for good for those who love God” (Rom 8:28). St. Augustine spoke of God as a beauty “ever ancient, ever new.” The Gospel does not change; what changes are the ways we transmit and communicate it, or the technologies that help us spread it throughout history.3 feasts, 3 patronsThis Oct. 12 marks 20 years since the death of St. Carlo Acutis at the age of 15. Canonized by Pope Leo XIV in September 2025, Acutis is the first millennial saint, and his defining characteristic was his use of new technologies to share the faith.We ask him to guide us in the apostolic use of communication technologies (including the internet, social media, and artificial intelligence) and to help us bring God closer to the many young souls who live their lives online today. It cannot be a coincidence that a new platform is being born under the gaze of a teenager who turned the internet into a path to heaven.It is also the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar, patroness of the Hispanic world — a title recognized by St. John Paul II in 1984 — and the date on which Spain celebrates its National Day.There could hardly be a better day to launch EWTN News Español: a language that connects hundreds of millions of people — from the historic Catholic communities of Latin America and Spain to the ever-growing Catholic population of the United States, which now has a home of its own within the global EWTN family.On this same day of Oct. 12, Brazil celebrates its patroness, Our Lady of Aparecida, a title proclaimed by Pius XI in 1930. Since the mission of EWTN News extends beyond a single language — and with ACI Digital delivering our news in Portuguese — we place our work under her protection as well, honoring her as a patroness of our efforts across the Americas, alongside our beloved Virgin of Guadalupe. Yet today, the focus is on Spanish, and to that we now return.A platform built for usA shared brand does not imply an identical experience for everyone. Our goal is not merely to translate the English-language EWTN News site into Spanish but to build a platform tailored to the Spanish-speaking audience — reflecting their customs, their culture, and the ways they stay informed today. That is why EWTN News Español combines the technology and editorial resources of EWTN News with the expertise and capabilities of a team that deeply understands the people it serves and the evolving nature of news consumption habits.We used to expect users to come looking for us. Now, it’s the other way around: We go where the people are. The latest Reuters Institute report on journalism makes this clear: Today, most people get their news from social media and video rather than from media websites.That is why EWTN News Español is designed for mobile, where you and I spend our day. We offer content that keeps you informed wherever you are (whether via a newsletter sent to your email or your WhatsApp) while also enriching your faith with devotional material, such as the daily Mass readings or the lives of the saints. The good news alongside the dayʼs headlines.And if you prefer watching to reading, we now have “Watch” — a new tab on the EWTN News Español site where we gather all our video content, featuring the best reports, interviews, broadcasts, and viral social media clips.Plus, if something major happens in the Church or the world, we cover it with you in real time through updates on our live blog.And speaking of staying connected, your EWTN News Español account goes wherever you go. Not only can you save articles, comment on them, and follow your favorite writers and topics, but you can also personalize your experience across EWTN.com, EWTNNews.com, Roku, and EWTN+ using the same login.As always, access is free, sustained by the generous donations of so many people who believe in and support our mission, a mission that began when Mother Angelica had the “crazy” idea to launch a Catholic television channel on Aug. 15, 1981 (talk about providential dates!).Behind this platform lies an incredible team that is deeply dedicated to the mission and has decades of experience covering conclaves, World Youth Days, synods, jubilees, and International Eucharistic Congresses, as well as the daily lives of Catholic communities throughout the Spanish-speaking world. The new platform makes this work easier to discover, whether for those who live out their faith every day or for those who are just beginning to explore it.What does not changeThe name (from ACI Prensa to EWTN News Español), along with the design and the site’s tools and features, are changing.What does not change is our commitment to the truth, to our audiences, and to journalistic excellence — a path ACI Prensa charted four decades ago, bringing hundreds of thousands of people closer to God through quality content and a faithful commitment to the Church’s magisterium. That will not change, with God’s help and the guidance of Mother Angelica.St. Carlo Acutis used to say that the Eucharist was his “highway to heaven.” We simply aspire to build, by God’s grace, a few digital lanes leading to it. Our hope is that EWTN News — in all its languages — becomes the place where every Catholic turns for information and that we prove ourselves worthy, day by day, of the trust that aspiration represents. Welcome to EWTN News Español!This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam

The platform and name are new, but the mission is the same: report the truth and bring the faith to the Spanish-speaking world.

Read More
New White House press secretary describes ‘miracle’ when her mother chose adoption over abortion #Catholic Newly appointed White House press secretary and pro-life advocate Katie Zacharia, whose appointment President Donald Trump announced Oct. 9, has shared that her biological mother chose life over abortion in the final moments before a scheduled procedure, calling it a “miracle.”Last year Zacharia, now herself a mother of four and an attorney, described in an interview with “We The People with Gates Garcia” how the precise circumstances of her birth became the foundation of her pro-life convictions.She told Garcia that she was “approximately 20, 30 minutes away from being aborted” when her mother, Ruth, changed her mind.Ruth, whom Zacharia described as having a “tough background of sexual abuse,” was about to head to her abortion appointment when the biological father called, pushing the abortion. Ruth was about to walk out the door to head to the clinic when the phone rang again. Ruth walked back to the phone to answer it, and the Christian counselor who’d called urged her to “consider an open adoption rather than an abortion, so you have an opportunity to know who this child could be and give this child an opportunity to live.”The counselor told her she did not understand “how painful” abortion would be for her, because along with “the loss of [her] baby,” there would be “ensuing psychological, physical … trauma.”Zacharia said her mother decided not to go through with the abortion “to the anger and dismay of her family,” which allowed Zacharia to be adopted as a newborn. She later met her biological mother at age 18, who told her the story. She said that “seconds of a phone call … saved my life,” calling her story “a miracle” that explains why the issue is “so near and dear” to her.Zacharia, who while in law school at Pepperdine University served as president of the university’s Christian Legal Society chapter, has also served on the board of advisers for the White Rose Resistance, a group founded by Seth Gruber that advocates for legal protection for the unborn.Zacharia has been a frequent commentator on Fox News, Newsmax, and other outlets. She also previously worked as general counsel for Fix California, a conservative nonprofit.In February, she became deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security under then-Secretary Kristi Noem. She resigned after roughly a month, citing the strain on her family of commuting between California, her home, and Washington, D.C. In June, she joined Trump Media & Technology Group/Truth Social as a senior communications adviser.Zacharia succeeds Karoline Leavitt, who in an interview with Sean Hannity last month explained that she left the position to spend more time with her growing family. Trump said Zacharia would begin her new role on Oct. 12 and hold an introductory news conference on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 9:30 a.m. ET in the White House press briefing room.
Read More

New White House press secretary describes ‘miracle’ when her mother chose adoption over abortion #Catholic Newly appointed White House press secretary and pro-life advocate Katie Zacharia, whose appointment President Donald Trump announced Oct. 9, has shared that her biological mother chose life over abortion in the final moments before a scheduled procedure, calling it a “miracle.”Last year Zacharia, now herself a mother of four and an attorney, described in an interview with “We The People with Gates Garcia” how the precise circumstances of her birth became the foundation of her pro-life convictions.She told Garcia that she was “approximately 20, 30 minutes away from being aborted” when her mother, Ruth, changed her mind.Ruth, whom Zacharia described as having a “tough background of sexual abuse,” was about to head to her abortion appointment when the biological father called, pushing the abortion. Ruth was about to walk out the door to head to the clinic when the phone rang again. Ruth walked back to the phone to answer it, and the Christian counselor who’d called urged her to “consider an open adoption rather than an abortion, so you have an opportunity to know who this child could be and give this child an opportunity to live.”The counselor told her she did not understand “how painful” abortion would be for her, because along with “the loss of [her] baby,” there would be “ensuing psychological, physical … trauma.”Zacharia said her mother decided not to go through with the abortion “to the anger and dismay of her family,” which allowed Zacharia to be adopted as a newborn. She later met her biological mother at age 18, who told her the story. She said that “seconds of a phone call … saved my life,” calling her story “a miracle” that explains why the issue is “so near and dear” to her.Zacharia, who while in law school at Pepperdine University served as president of the university’s Christian Legal Society chapter, has also served on the board of advisers for the White Rose Resistance, a group founded by Seth Gruber that advocates for legal protection for the unborn.Zacharia has been a frequent commentator on Fox News, Newsmax, and other outlets. She also previously worked as general counsel for Fix California, a conservative nonprofit.In February, she became deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security under then-Secretary Kristi Noem. She resigned after roughly a month, citing the strain on her family of commuting between California, her home, and Washington, D.C. In June, she joined Trump Media & Technology Group/Truth Social as a senior communications adviser.Zacharia succeeds Karoline Leavitt, who in an interview with Sean Hannity last month explained that she left the position to spend more time with her growing family. Trump said Zacharia would begin her new role on Oct. 12 and hold an introductory news conference on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 9:30 a.m. ET in the White House press briefing room.

unitedyam

She said that she was “approximately 20, 30 minutes away from being aborted” when her mother changed her mind.

Read More
‘Lead, Kindly Light’: New documentary on St. John Henry Newman premieres in Rome – #Catholic – A new documentary about the life of St. John Henry Newman has premiered in Rome.The film “Lead Kindly Light: The Story of Saint John Henry Newman” premiered at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome on Oct. 9, marking the first celebration of his feast day since Pope Leo XIV declared him the 38th doctor of the Church in 2025.The movie, produced by Lumine Studios in Brazil, features places significant to Newman’s life, including his childhood home in London, the University of Oxford, and Rome, where he studied for the Catholic priesthood after converting from Anglicanism.The movie is available in English on the Catholic media website Formed.‘A story of conversion and great personal sacrifice’Father Hermann Geissler, FSO, director of the International Centre of Newman Friends in Rome, described the movie as a demonstration of faith and the significant personal sacrifices that would mark Newman’s life. Father Hermann Geissler delivers remarks at the premiere of the film “Lead Kindly Light: The Story of Saint John Henry Newman,” at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome on Oct. 9, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Sister Christiane Fritsch, FSO “It is a documentary film where we visit all of the places where Newman lived, doing interviews,” Geissler told EWTN News, “and where we are telling the story of Newman and reading parts of Newmanʼs letters. It is a wonderful film that shows the great faith of Newman, the sacrifice that his conversion cost, and the coherence of his life and thought.”A doctor and patron for Catholic educationPope Francis canonized Newman along with four others in 2019, after Pope Benedict XVI beatified him in Birmingham, England, in 2010. On All Saints Day 2025, St. John Henry Newman was proclaimed a doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIV. | Credit: Vatican Media In 2025, Pope Leo XIV declared Newman a doctor of the Church and a co-patron of Catholic education alongside St. Thomas Aquinas. In his homily, the pontiff cited Newman’s famous hymn “Lead, Kindly Light” to highlight the need for education to inspire hope.“The task of education is precisely to offer this Kindly Light to those who might otherwise remain imprisoned by the particularly insidious shadows of pessimism and fear,” Leo said. “For this reason, I would like to say to you: Let us disarm the false reasons for resignation and powerlessness, and let us share the great reasons for hope in today’s world.”In February, the Vatican established Newman’s feast day as Oct. 9 in the General Roman Calendar.
Read More

‘Lead, Kindly Light’: New documentary on St. John Henry Newman premieres in Rome – #Catholic – A new documentary about the life of St. John Henry Newman has premiered in Rome.The film “Lead Kindly Light: The Story of Saint John Henry Newman” premiered at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome on Oct. 9, marking the first celebration of his feast day since Pope Leo XIV declared him the 38th doctor of the Church in 2025.The movie, produced by Lumine Studios in Brazil, features places significant to Newman’s life, including his childhood home in London, the University of Oxford, and Rome, where he studied for the Catholic priesthood after converting from Anglicanism.The movie is available in English on the Catholic media website Formed.‘A story of conversion and great personal sacrifice’Father Hermann Geissler, FSO, director of the International Centre of Newman Friends in Rome, described the movie as a demonstration of faith and the significant personal sacrifices that would mark Newman’s life. Father Hermann Geissler delivers remarks at the premiere of the film “Lead Kindly Light: The Story of Saint John Henry Newman,” at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome on Oct. 9, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Sister Christiane Fritsch, FSO “It is a documentary film where we visit all of the places where Newman lived, doing interviews,” Geissler told EWTN News, “and where we are telling the story of Newman and reading parts of Newmanʼs letters. It is a wonderful film that shows the great faith of Newman, the sacrifice that his conversion cost, and the coherence of his life and thought.”A doctor and patron for Catholic educationPope Francis canonized Newman along with four others in 2019, after Pope Benedict XVI beatified him in Birmingham, England, in 2010. On All Saints Day 2025, St. John Henry Newman was proclaimed a doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIV. | Credit: Vatican Media In 2025, Pope Leo XIV declared Newman a doctor of the Church and a co-patron of Catholic education alongside St. Thomas Aquinas. In his homily, the pontiff cited Newman’s famous hymn “Lead, Kindly Light” to highlight the need for education to inspire hope.“The task of education is precisely to offer this Kindly Light to those who might otherwise remain imprisoned by the particularly insidious shadows of pessimism and fear,” Leo said. “For this reason, I would like to say to you: Let us disarm the false reasons for resignation and powerlessness, and let us share the great reasons for hope in today’s world.”In February, the Vatican established Newman’s feast day as Oct. 9 in the General Roman Calendar.

unitedyam

“Lead Kindly Light: The Story of St. John Henry Newman” has premiered in Rome.

Read More
Archbishop Hicks recounts pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela – #Catholic – Upon completing the final 62 miles of the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) in northwestern Spain, New York Archbishop Ronald Hicks celebrated on Monday the pilgrimʼs Mass at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.During his homily, delivered in both Spanish and English, the prelate shared aspects of his experience as a pilgrim and encouraged those present to reflect on what — and with whom — they had journeyed along the Camino de Santiago, the route that leads from various points across Europe to the site where tradition places the tomb of the apostle St. James the Greater.Regarding the first question — “What were you walking with?” — the archbishop revealed that, beyond his backpack, walking sticks, and physical gear, he completed the route with something more: “With my prayers, with my problems, with my thoughts.”He also took the opportunity to share that he made the pilgrimage wearing a baseball cap “featuring a photo of our Holy Father, Pope Leo,” to show that “I am Catholic and am walking with him and the Church.”TweetAs for the company he kept during the pilgrimage, the prelate expressed his joy at having walked the Camino de Santiago not only with a group of his own companions but also alongside other pilgrims from all over the world. He particularly noted crossing paths with an 89-year-old woman and a family with a 7-month-old baby.“To say that we were walking with everything is another way of saying that we were walking with the Church, together as brothers and sisters. Pope Francis said that the Catholic Church is ‘everyone, everyone, everyone.’ When we are gathered together, Jesus is with us,” he added.He also noted that the apostle James was very much present throughout the journey. In this regard, he affirmed that James is “not merely part of our past history” but is present today, for “he walked with us at every step.”Referring to the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar — patroness of the Hispanic world, celebrated on Oct. 12 — Hicks recalled how she appeared to the apostle James in Zaragoza before her assumption into heaven at a time when he was feeling “a bit discouraged” at seeing no fruit from his preaching.“Our Lady of the Pillar wants only one thing from us. She wants us to know her Son and to find salvation through, in, and with her Son Jesus Christ — in his life, suffering, death, and resurrection,” he added.Hicks emphasized that the journey of faith is not limited to the Camino de Santiago; rather, “our journey is with Jesus toward heaven, toward eternal life.” In this regard, he added that the pilgrim’s Mass does not mark the end of the Camino de Santiago: “Our journey continues on to eternal life.”A journey encouraged by Cardinal DolanHicks arrived in Spain on Sunday, Oct. 4, embarking on what he described — in posts shared on his social media — as a “spiritual journey” he had long wished to undertake.“I have been planning this journey for three years. Ever since I arrived, I kept asking myself, ‘Will I have time to do it? Am I too busy? Should I put it off?’” he explained shortly before traveling to Spain.While weighing this decision, he received a call from Cardinal Timothy Dolan — his predecessor as archbishop of New York — who told him: “I hear you want to do the Camino. Here is some advice: Do it, do it, do it. I always wanted to do the Camino but never could, and I regret it.”Taking that recommendation to heart, he decided to make the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, “following the voice of the Lord.” To that end, he announced that he would disconnect from social media for the duration of the trip.And that is exactly what he did; upon arriving Sunday in Compostela — standing in the imposing Plaza del Obradoiro beside the cathedral — he picked up his phone again to share that he had felt the Lord’s companionship every step of the way: “Jesus was walking with me the whole time.”Santiago de Compostela is one of five cities in the world that enjoy the privilege of celebrating jubilee years in perpetuity, alongside Jerusalem and Rome as well as Santo Toribio de Liébana and Caravaca de la Cruz, both in Spain.This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Read More

Archbishop Hicks recounts pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela – #Catholic – Upon completing the final 62 miles of the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) in northwestern Spain, New York Archbishop Ronald Hicks celebrated on Monday the pilgrimʼs Mass at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.During his homily, delivered in both Spanish and English, the prelate shared aspects of his experience as a pilgrim and encouraged those present to reflect on what — and with whom — they had journeyed along the Camino de Santiago, the route that leads from various points across Europe to the site where tradition places the tomb of the apostle St. James the Greater.Regarding the first question — “What were you walking with?” — the archbishop revealed that, beyond his backpack, walking sticks, and physical gear, he completed the route with something more: “With my prayers, with my problems, with my thoughts.”He also took the opportunity to share that he made the pilgrimage wearing a baseball cap “featuring a photo of our Holy Father, Pope Leo,” to show that “I am Catholic and am walking with him and the Church.”TweetAs for the company he kept during the pilgrimage, the prelate expressed his joy at having walked the Camino de Santiago not only with a group of his own companions but also alongside other pilgrims from all over the world. He particularly noted crossing paths with an 89-year-old woman and a family with a 7-month-old baby.“To say that we were walking with everything is another way of saying that we were walking with the Church, together as brothers and sisters. Pope Francis said that the Catholic Church is ‘everyone, everyone, everyone.’ When we are gathered together, Jesus is with us,” he added.He also noted that the apostle James was very much present throughout the journey. In this regard, he affirmed that James is “not merely part of our past history” but is present today, for “he walked with us at every step.”Referring to the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar — patroness of the Hispanic world, celebrated on Oct. 12 — Hicks recalled how she appeared to the apostle James in Zaragoza before her assumption into heaven at a time when he was feeling “a bit discouraged” at seeing no fruit from his preaching.“Our Lady of the Pillar wants only one thing from us. She wants us to know her Son and to find salvation through, in, and with her Son Jesus Christ — in his life, suffering, death, and resurrection,” he added.Hicks emphasized that the journey of faith is not limited to the Camino de Santiago; rather, “our journey is with Jesus toward heaven, toward eternal life.” In this regard, he added that the pilgrim’s Mass does not mark the end of the Camino de Santiago: “Our journey continues on to eternal life.”A journey encouraged by Cardinal DolanHicks arrived in Spain on Sunday, Oct. 4, embarking on what he described — in posts shared on his social media — as a “spiritual journey” he had long wished to undertake.“I have been planning this journey for three years. Ever since I arrived, I kept asking myself, ‘Will I have time to do it? Am I too busy? Should I put it off?’” he explained shortly before traveling to Spain.While weighing this decision, he received a call from Cardinal Timothy Dolan — his predecessor as archbishop of New York — who told him: “I hear you want to do the Camino. Here is some advice: Do it, do it, do it. I always wanted to do the Camino but never could, and I regret it.”Taking that recommendation to heart, he decided to make the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, “following the voice of the Lord.” To that end, he announced that he would disconnect from social media for the duration of the trip.And that is exactly what he did; upon arriving Sunday in Compostela — standing in the imposing Plaza del Obradoiro beside the cathedral — he picked up his phone again to share that he had felt the Lord’s companionship every step of the way: “Jesus was walking with me the whole time.”Santiago de Compostela is one of five cities in the world that enjoy the privilege of celebrating jubilee years in perpetuity, alongside Jerusalem and Rome as well as Santo Toribio de Liébana and Caravaca de la Cruz, both in Spain.This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam

In his pilgrim’s Mass homily, Hicks recalled that “Our Lady of the Pillar wants only one thing from us. She wants us to know her Son and to find salvation through, in, and with her Son Jesus Christ.”

Read More

What can we learn from gravitational lensing?

unitedyam

What information is obtainable through gravitational lensing and how? Patrick A. CloughWichita, Kansas Gravitational lensing is the effect by which comparatively nearby objects, such as clusters of galaxies, can bend and focus the light of other objects that are more distant. Lensing is only possible because highly massive, and therefore gravitationally powerful, objects distort the space-time continuum around them. Continue reading “What can we learn from gravitational lensing?”

The post What can we learn from gravitational lensing? appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Read More
Morris Township academy celebrates life of Blessed Miriam Teresa #Catholic – On the morning of Oct. 6, the Academy of St. Elizabeth in the Convent Station neighborhood of Morris Township, N.J., welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who celebrated the academy’s annual Bishop’s Mass, commemorating the 12th anniversary of the beatification of Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich. Blessed Demjanovich was a prayerful woman and gifted writer who had an enormous impact before her untimely death at age 26. She was a member of the Sisters of Charity of Convent Station, the religious community that founded and continues to operate the Academy of St. Elizabeth. During Mass, Bishop Sweeney spoke about the importance of servant leadership, reflected not only in the life of Blessed Miriam Teresa, but also in the lives of the academy’s newly commissioned extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion. He blessed our six newest extraordinary Eucharistic ministers and challenged them to live as servant leaders, both within the Church and beyond. Father Krzysztof Tyszko, parochial vicar of Assumption Parish in Morristown, served as master of ceremonies for the Mass, which included participation from members of the academy community. “The Academy warmly thanks Bishop Sweeney for his kind, pastoral care for our Academy community and looks forward to his next visit to Convent Station,” the Academy of St. Elizabeth posted on social media. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org] Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Read More

Morris Township academy celebrates life of Blessed Miriam Teresa #Catholic – On the morning of Oct. 6, the Academy of St. Elizabeth in the Convent Station neighborhood of Morris Township, N.J., welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who celebrated the academy’s annual Bishop’s Mass, commemorating the 12th anniversary of the beatification of Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich. Blessed Demjanovich was a prayerful woman and gifted writer who had an enormous impact before her untimely death at age 26. She was a member of the Sisters of Charity of Convent Station, the religious community that founded and continues to operate the Academy of St. Elizabeth. During Mass, Bishop Sweeney spoke about the importance of servant leadership, reflected not only in the life of Blessed Miriam Teresa, but also in the lives of the academy’s newly commissioned extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion. He blessed our six newest extraordinary Eucharistic ministers and challenged them to live as servant leaders, both within the Church and beyond. Father Krzysztof Tyszko, parochial vicar of Assumption Parish in Morristown, served as master of ceremonies for the Mass, which included participation from members of the academy community. “The Academy warmly thanks Bishop Sweeney for his kind, pastoral care for our Academy community and looks forward to his next visit to Convent Station,” the Academy of St. Elizabeth posted on social media. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org] Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

unitedyam

Morris Township academy celebrates life of Blessed Miriam Teresa #Catholic –

On the morning of Oct. 6, the Academy of St. Elizabeth in the Convent Station neighborhood of Morris Township, N.J., welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who celebrated the academy’s annual Bishop’s Mass, commemorating the 12th anniversary of the beatification of Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich.

Blessed Demjanovich was a prayerful woman and gifted writer who had an enormous impact before her untimely death at age 26. She was a member of the Sisters of Charity of Convent Station, the religious community that founded and continues to operate the Academy of St. Elizabeth.

During Mass, Bishop Sweeney spoke about the importance of servant leadership, reflected not only in the life of Blessed Miriam Teresa, but also in the lives of the academy’s newly commissioned extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion. He blessed our six newest extraordinary Eucharistic ministers and challenged them to live as servant leaders, both within the Church and beyond.

Father Krzysztof Tyszko, parochial vicar of Assumption Parish in Morristown, served as master of ceremonies for the Mass, which included participation from members of the academy community.

“The Academy warmly thanks Bishop Sweeney for his kind, pastoral care for our Academy community and looks forward to his next visit to Convent Station,” the Academy of St. Elizabeth posted on social media.

BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

– On the morning of Oct. 6, the Academy of St. Elizabeth in the Convent Station neighborhood of Morris Township, N.J., welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who celebrated the academy’s annual Bishop’s Mass, commemorating the 12th anniversary of the beatification of Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich. Blessed Demjanovich was a prayerful woman and gifted writer who had an enormous impact before her untimely death at age 26. She was a member of the Sisters of Charity of Convent Station, the religious community that founded and continues to operate the Academy of St. Elizabeth. During Mass, Bishop Sweeney spoke about the importance of

Read More
St. Carlo Acutis’ doctors recall his last days in the hospital – #Catholic – Fifteen-year-old Carlo Acutis died within a week of being diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia, offering his suffering for the pope and for the Church. Following his beatification on Oct. 10, 2020, his doctors and hospital chaplain recalled their memories of his final days.Father Sandro Villa was the hospital chaplain of St. Gerald Hospital outside of Milan, Italy, who gave Carlo the anointing of the sick and holy Communion on Oct. 10, 2006, the day before Carlo went into a coma due to a brain hemorrhage caused by the M3 subtype of acute myeloid leukemia.Villa shared at an event in Assisi, Italy, on Oct. 13, 2020, that he was touched by Carlo’s “composure and devotion” in receiving the sacraments in the hospital room.“In a small room, at the end of the corridor, I found myself in front of a boy. His pale but serene face surprised me — unthinkable in a seriously ill person, especially an adolescent,” he said.“I was also amazed by the composure and devotion with which, albeit with difficulty, he received the two sacraments. He seemed to have been waiting for them and felt the need for them.”Before his cancer diagnosis, Carlo had a great devotion to the Eucharist. From a young age, he expressed a special love for God, even though his Catholic parents had stopped attending Mass.As he grew older, he started going to daily Mass, often dragging his family members along with him. He made Holy Hours before or after Mass and went to confession weekly.With his aptitude for computer programming, Carlo built websites to inform others about Eucharistic miracles and Marian apparitions around the world. On his site, he told people: “The more often we receive the Eucharist, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on this earth we will have a foretaste of heaven.”For Villa, this administration of the sacraments would be his only encounter with Carlo, but he said the look of serenity on Carlo’s face was something that stayed with him.“After a few years … I learned that he was declared ‘venerable.’ I was amazed that the Lord had allowed me to meet him, if only for a few moments,” he said.Villa continued: “I decided to learn about his life. I discovered that he was in love with the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, and I therefore began to better understand some of his words.”Dr. Andrea Biondi and Dr. Mòmcilo Jankovic, who treated Carlo in the pediatric clinic of St. Gerald Hospital, recorded their memories together in a paper that was read aloud at the event.They said: “Carlo was like a meteor with a quick passage through our ward; leukemia took him away before we could get to know him even a little. However, his sweet eyes remain engrained [in our memories]. His gaze was full of attention … of courage, of love, of strong empathy.”“His faith in God, which he had wanted and still wanted to pass on to others, to his neighbor, shone through him … His gentle eyes … taught us a lot: life, whether short or long must be lived intensely for oneself, but also and above all for others.”Carlo’s heart stopped beating on Oct. 12 — a date that is now celebrated as a local feast in the Diocese of Assisi and Archdiocese of Milan. His parents had desired to donate his organs, but they were too compromised by leukemia to be donated.Today St. Carlo’s heart is a relic and is contained in a reliquary in Assisi that is inscribed with his words: “The Eucharist is my highway to heaven.” He was canonized on Sept. 7, 2025, by Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.This story was first published on Oct. 16, 2020, and has been updated.
Read More

St. Carlo Acutis’ doctors recall his last days in the hospital – #Catholic – Fifteen-year-old Carlo Acutis died within a week of being diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia, offering his suffering for the pope and for the Church. Following his beatification on Oct. 10, 2020, his doctors and hospital chaplain recalled their memories of his final days.Father Sandro Villa was the hospital chaplain of St. Gerald Hospital outside of Milan, Italy, who gave Carlo the anointing of the sick and holy Communion on Oct. 10, 2006, the day before Carlo went into a coma due to a brain hemorrhage caused by the M3 subtype of acute myeloid leukemia.Villa shared at an event in Assisi, Italy, on Oct. 13, 2020, that he was touched by Carlo’s “composure and devotion” in receiving the sacraments in the hospital room.“In a small room, at the end of the corridor, I found myself in front of a boy. His pale but serene face surprised me — unthinkable in a seriously ill person, especially an adolescent,” he said.“I was also amazed by the composure and devotion with which, albeit with difficulty, he received the two sacraments. He seemed to have been waiting for them and felt the need for them.”Before his cancer diagnosis, Carlo had a great devotion to the Eucharist. From a young age, he expressed a special love for God, even though his Catholic parents had stopped attending Mass.As he grew older, he started going to daily Mass, often dragging his family members along with him. He made Holy Hours before or after Mass and went to confession weekly.With his aptitude for computer programming, Carlo built websites to inform others about Eucharistic miracles and Marian apparitions around the world. On his site, he told people: “The more often we receive the Eucharist, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on this earth we will have a foretaste of heaven.”For Villa, this administration of the sacraments would be his only encounter with Carlo, but he said the look of serenity on Carlo’s face was something that stayed with him.“After a few years … I learned that he was declared ‘venerable.’ I was amazed that the Lord had allowed me to meet him, if only for a few moments,” he said.Villa continued: “I decided to learn about his life. I discovered that he was in love with the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, and I therefore began to better understand some of his words.”Dr. Andrea Biondi and Dr. Mòmcilo Jankovic, who treated Carlo in the pediatric clinic of St. Gerald Hospital, recorded their memories together in a paper that was read aloud at the event.They said: “Carlo was like a meteor with a quick passage through our ward; leukemia took him away before we could get to know him even a little. However, his sweet eyes remain engrained [in our memories]. His gaze was full of attention … of courage, of love, of strong empathy.”“His faith in God, which he had wanted and still wanted to pass on to others, to his neighbor, shone through him … His gentle eyes … taught us a lot: life, whether short or long must be lived intensely for oneself, but also and above all for others.”Carlo’s heart stopped beating on Oct. 12 — a date that is now celebrated as a local feast in the Diocese of Assisi and Archdiocese of Milan. His parents had desired to donate his organs, but they were too compromised by leukemia to be donated.Today St. Carlo’s heart is a relic and is contained in a reliquary in Assisi that is inscribed with his words: “The Eucharist is my highway to heaven.” He was canonized on Sept. 7, 2025, by Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.This story was first published on Oct. 16, 2020, and has been updated.

unitedyam

Fifteen-year-old Carlo Acutis died within a week of being diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia. Following his beatification, his doctors and hospital chaplain recalled their memories of his final days.

Read More

Gospel and Word of the Day – 12 October 2026 – A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Galatians 4:22-24, 26-27, 31–5:1 Brothers and sisters: It is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the freeborn woman. The son of the slave woman was born naturally, the son of the freeborn through a promise. Now this is an allegory. These women represent two covenants. One was from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; this is Hagar. But the Jerusalem above is freeborn, and she is our mother. For it is written: Rejoice, you barren one who bore no children; break forth and shout, you who were not in labor; for more numerous are the children of the deserted one than of her who has a husband. Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are children not of the slave woman but of the freeborn woman. For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.From the Gospel according to Luke 11:29-32 While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. At the judgment  the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here. At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation  and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.”The “Jonah syndrome” does not have zeal for the conversion of people; it seeks a holiness – if I may use the term – a “laundered” holiness, all beautiful, all well-presented, but without that zeal to go out and preach the Lord. Yet the Lord, faced with this generation afflicted by the ‘Jonah syndrome’, promises the sign of Jonah. (…) Jonah was inside the whale for three nights and three days, a reference to Jesus in the tomb – to His death and Resurrection – and that is the sign that Jesus promises, against hypocrisy, against this attitude of perfect religiosity, against this attitude of a group of Pharisees. The true sign of Jonah is the one that gives us the confidence of being saved by the blood of Christ. How many Christians think that they will be saved only for what they do, for their works. Works are necessary, but they are a consequence, a response to that merciful love that saves us. But works alone, without this merciful love, are of no use. (…) The sign of Jonah is God’s mercy in Jesus Christ, who died and rose again for us, for our salvation. The sign of Jonah calls us: to follow the Lord, sinners as we all are, with humility, with meekness. There is a call, even a choice. (Pope Francis, Santa Marta, 14 October 2013)

unitedyam

A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Galatians
4:22-24, 26-27, 31–5:1

Brothers and sisters:
It is written that Abraham had two sons,
one by the slave woman and the other by the freeborn woman.
The son of the slave woman was born naturally,
the son of the freeborn through a promise.
Now this is an allegory.
These women represent two covenants.
One was from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery;
this is Hagar.
But the Jerusalem above is freeborn, and she is our mother.
For it is written:
Rejoice, you barren one who bore no children;
break forth and shout, you who were not in labor;
for more numerous are the children of the deserted one
than of her who has a husband.
Therefore, brothers and sisters,
we are children not of the slave woman
but of the freeborn woman.

For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm
and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.

From the Gospel according to Luke
11:29-32

While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them,
“This generation is an evil generation;
it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,
except the sign of Jonah.
Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,
so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
At the judgment 
the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation
and she will condemn them,
because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon,
and there is something greater than Solomon here.
At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation 
and condemn it,
because at the preaching of Jonah they repented,
and there is something greater than Jonah here.”

The “Jonah syndrome” does not have zeal for the conversion of people; it seeks a holiness – if I may use the term – a “laundered” holiness, all beautiful, all well-presented, but without that zeal to go out and preach the Lord. Yet the Lord, faced with this generation afflicted by the ‘Jonah syndrome’, promises the sign of Jonah. (…) Jonah was inside the whale for three nights and three days, a reference to Jesus in the tomb – to His death and Resurrection – and that is the sign that Jesus promises, against hypocrisy, against this attitude of perfect religiosity, against this attitude of a group of Pharisees. The true sign of Jonah is the one that gives us the confidence of being saved by the blood of Christ. How many Christians think that they will be saved only for what they do, for their works. Works are necessary, but they are a consequence, a response to that merciful love that saves us. But works alone, without this merciful love, are of no use. (…) The sign of Jonah is God’s mercy in Jesus Christ, who died and rose again for us, for our salvation. The sign of Jonah calls us: to follow the Lord, sinners as we all are, with humility, with meekness. There is a call, even a choice. (Pope Francis, Santa Marta, 14 October 2013)

Read More
Bishops around the world ask for prayers for Pope Leo XIV’s health #Catholic Bishops from around the world asked for prayers for Pope Leo XIV after he announced on Sunday, Oct. 11, that he will undergo surgery to remove a nodule on one of his lungs in the coming days.In the United States, Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, said the prelates would join “the faithful and all people of good will in praying for his good health.” He also prayed for those who will perform the operation: “May the hand of Pope Leo’s surgeons be guided by the divine physician, Jesus Christ.”Archbishop Ronald Hicks of New York joined the prayers as he finished a week-long pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. “I join with the bishops, priests, faithful, and all people of good will of the Archdiocese of New York in praying for our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, as he prepares for his surgery later this week,” he wrote. He also asked Jesus, “the divine physician,” to care for the pope and guide “the hands of his surgeons, nurses, and other health professionals.”Prayers from Uruguay, Argentina, and PeruCardinal Daniel Sturla, archbishop of Montevideo, also wrote about the news. Uruguay is one of the countries expecting Pope Leo XIV on his upcoming visit to Latin America. “Let us pray for his speedy recovery and continue with greater spirit the preparation for his visit to our land,” he wrote.In Peru, which also expects the pope later this year, the Archdiocese of Lima entrusted his health to the Lord of Miracles, a devotion that draws millions of Peruvians each year. “We ask the Lord of Miracles for his speedy recovery,” the archdiocese said on social media.The Peruvian bishops’ conference issued a message titled “United in prayer for the health of the Holy Father Leo XIV.” It noted the :serenity and humility” with which the pope shared the news and asked that his health be entrusted to the Lord of Miracles.“Lifting to God, Lord of life and source of all health, our supplications that he strengthen him and grant him the health that the fulfillment of his mission requires,” the Peruvian bishops said. They also urged communities, families, and the faithful to place the Holy Father under the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so that in the fullness of his strength he may continue his mission in service of the Church and all humanity, as a messenger of peace and hope and a witness of unity, fraternity, and encounter among all peoples.The Argentinian bishops said in a statement: “We ask the Lord to grant him strength and peace at this time, that the operation may go well, and that he may make a swift and full recovery.” Prayers from Spain The Spanish bishops’ conference also invited prayer for the pope. Its president, Archbishop Luis Argüello, asked “the whole Spanish Church — dioceses, institutes of consecrated life, communities and lay associations, all members of the People of God, and our fellow citizens — to pray for the health of our beloved Pope Leo XIV.”The conference’s secretary general, Bishop Francisco César García Magán, recalled the welcome Leo XIV received on his recent visit to Spain and said the faithful can now show him their closeness in another way: “Now we show it by uniting in prayer.”Instagram postThe conference’s secretary general, Bishop Francisco César García Magán, recalled the welcome Leo XIV received on his recent visit to Spain and said the faithful can now show him their closeness in another way: “Now we show it by uniting in prayer.”Prayers from Poland, Great Britain, MaltaArchbishop Tadeusz Wojda, the president of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, issued an appeal to the Polish people, asking them to “pray for the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, asking God for a successful operation and a speedy recovery.”Bishop John Keenan, on behalf of the Scottish bishops’ conference, said: “We invite Catholics across Scotland, and all people of goodwill, to join us in praying for Pope Leo, for the medical team caring for him, and for a successful operation and a full and speedy recovery.”Archbishop Richard Moth of Westminster and the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, assured Leo of the prayers of the faithful.“We pray that following the procedure and a period of recovery, he will soon be restored to health,” Moth wrote.Archbishop Charles Scicluna, Archbishop of Malta and Adjunct Secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote on X: “The Church in Malta is united in prayer for the Holy Father, wishing him well for the surgery he will be undergoing.” Leo XIV asks for prayerThe pope announced the operation after Sunday’s Angelus. Doctors found a nodule on one of his lungs and recommended removing it. In sharing the news, Leo asked the faithful to accompany him spiritually in the coming days: “I entrust myself to your prayer.”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.
Read More

Bishops around the world ask for prayers for Pope Leo XIV’s health #Catholic Bishops from around the world asked for prayers for Pope Leo XIV after he announced on Sunday, Oct. 11, that he will undergo surgery to remove a nodule on one of his lungs in the coming days.In the United States, Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, said the prelates would join “the faithful and all people of good will in praying for his good health.” He also prayed for those who will perform the operation: “May the hand of Pope Leo’s surgeons be guided by the divine physician, Jesus Christ.”Archbishop Ronald Hicks of New York joined the prayers as he finished a week-long pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. “I join with the bishops, priests, faithful, and all people of good will of the Archdiocese of New York in praying for our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, as he prepares for his surgery later this week,” he wrote. He also asked Jesus, “the divine physician,” to care for the pope and guide “the hands of his surgeons, nurses, and other health professionals.”Prayers from Uruguay, Argentina, and PeruCardinal Daniel Sturla, archbishop of Montevideo, also wrote about the news. Uruguay is one of the countries expecting Pope Leo XIV on his upcoming visit to Latin America. “Let us pray for his speedy recovery and continue with greater spirit the preparation for his visit to our land,” he wrote.In Peru, which also expects the pope later this year, the Archdiocese of Lima entrusted his health to the Lord of Miracles, a devotion that draws millions of Peruvians each year. “We ask the Lord of Miracles for his speedy recovery,” the archdiocese said on social media.The Peruvian bishops’ conference issued a message titled “United in prayer for the health of the Holy Father Leo XIV.” It noted the :serenity and humility” with which the pope shared the news and asked that his health be entrusted to the Lord of Miracles.“Lifting to God, Lord of life and source of all health, our supplications that he strengthen him and grant him the health that the fulfillment of his mission requires,” the Peruvian bishops said. They also urged communities, families, and the faithful to place the Holy Father under the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so that in the fullness of his strength he may continue his mission in service of the Church and all humanity, as a messenger of peace and hope and a witness of unity, fraternity, and encounter among all peoples.The Argentinian bishops said in a statement: “We ask the Lord to grant him strength and peace at this time, that the operation may go well, and that he may make a swift and full recovery.” Prayers from Spain The Spanish bishops’ conference also invited prayer for the pope. Its president, Archbishop Luis Argüello, asked “the whole Spanish Church — dioceses, institutes of consecrated life, communities and lay associations, all members of the People of God, and our fellow citizens — to pray for the health of our beloved Pope Leo XIV.”The conference’s secretary general, Bishop Francisco César García Magán, recalled the welcome Leo XIV received on his recent visit to Spain and said the faithful can now show him their closeness in another way: “Now we show it by uniting in prayer.”Instagram postThe conference’s secretary general, Bishop Francisco César García Magán, recalled the welcome Leo XIV received on his recent visit to Spain and said the faithful can now show him their closeness in another way: “Now we show it by uniting in prayer.”Prayers from Poland, Great Britain, MaltaArchbishop Tadeusz Wojda, the president of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, issued an appeal to the Polish people, asking them to “pray for the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, asking God for a successful operation and a speedy recovery.”Bishop John Keenan, on behalf of the Scottish bishops’ conference, said: “We invite Catholics across Scotland, and all people of goodwill, to join us in praying for Pope Leo, for the medical team caring for him, and for a successful operation and a full and speedy recovery.”Archbishop Richard Moth of Westminster and the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, assured Leo of the prayers of the faithful.“We pray that following the procedure and a period of recovery, he will soon be restored to health,” Moth wrote.Archbishop Charles Scicluna, Archbishop of Malta and Adjunct Secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote on X: “The Church in Malta is united in prayer for the Holy Father, wishing him well for the surgery he will be undergoing.” Leo XIV asks for prayerThe pope announced the operation after Sunday’s Angelus. Doctors found a nodule on one of his lungs and recommended removing it. In sharing the news, Leo asked the faithful to accompany him spiritually in the coming days: “I entrust myself to your prayer.”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.

unitedyam

Prayers for the pope’s health have been pouring in from all over the world.

Read More
What we know about Pope Leo XIV’s health – #Catholic – The news that Pope Leo XIV will have surgery next week left many asking what a lung nodule is.He confirmed at the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday that the lesion was caught early and is well localized. “The doctors consider it advisable to intervene. I have decided to have the operation to remove it, following their advice,” he said.Many are asking how nodules are found, how they are evaluated, and what leads doctors to recommend removing them.The condition, commonly called a “spot on the lung,” shows up on imaging as a white opacity against normal lung tissue and is generally up to 30 millimeters in diameter.Dr. Bruno Vincenzi, head of the oncology service at the Campus Bio-Medico University Hospital in Rome, told ACI Prensa, the sister service of EWTN News, that a nodule can be found because a patient has symptoms that lead to tests.“A persistent cough that has just appeared, expectoration — that is, producing phlegm with traces of blood — or chest pain can be reasons the patient undergoes studies,” he said.He added that these findings are now increasingly accidental. Patients may be scanned before an operation or a hospital stay, or as part of a screening program, especially if they are older or have been smokers.Asked why a doctor would recommend surgery, as in the pope’s case, Vincenzi said certain features on the images can raise concern. Spiculated margins — irregular or jagged — can suggest a more worrying lesion and make removal advisable. Well-defined margins, perhaps with calcifications inside, more often suggest a benign nodule.Dr. Elmer Huerta, a Peruvian oncologist based in the United States and the first Latin American president of the American Cancer Society, said the operation the pope is expected to have is usually done with minimally invasive techniques. “The old thoracotomies, which meant opening the chest, are no longer done. What is done now is minimally invasive robotic surgery, in which a half-centimeter opening is made between the ribs, the robot is introduced, and the operation is done with that,” he said.Huerta said it is not yet possible to say how long the pope will need to recover fully, because the specific features of the nodule, and therefore the exact extent of the surgery, are not public. Depending on what is found, doctors may remove a wedge of lung that includes the nodule, a segment, or a whole lobe. That will determine the recovery.On how soon the pope can resume his usual commitments, Huerta said it depends on the extent of the operation. A wedge removal is simpler, and he could fly in two or three weeks and make his planned trip to Latin America. Removing a lobe would be more complicated. The key is the nature of the nodule, which has not been made public.Huerta also stressed that most lung nodules are not cancerous. A 2022 study found that 95 percent are benign and only 5 percent are cancer. Cancerous nodules have certain features on X-rays, CT scans, and PET exams.Vincenzi said a histological analysis is needed to determine what a nodule is. When a nodule is removed because its features suggest a suspicious lesion, the pathologist’s final examination of the cells can give a clear indication of whether it is benign or malignant.Both experts declined to speculate on the pope’s case without precise clinical details. Vincenzi said it is better to stop at the diagnostic stage, because saying more risks creating needless reassurance or needless worry. Huerta said the same thing he tells his patients: go step by step.The hospitalization planned for next week will force the pope to cancel all commitments on those days, Vatican press office director Matteo Bruni told ACI Prensa. Among them is the closing Mass of an international meeting on the family, held for the tenth anniversary of Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, which Leo XIV was to preside over on Wednesday with the presidents of episcopal conferences gathered at the Vatican.In principle, the surgery would not affect the trip to South America planned for November 6–17, judging by the pope’s own words at the Angelus. Greeting members of the Brotherhood of the Lord of Miracles in St. Peter’s Square, he said, “Thank you for your prayer for the pastoral visit I will make to Peru.”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.
Read More

What we know about Pope Leo XIV’s health – #Catholic – The news that Pope Leo XIV will have surgery next week left many asking what a lung nodule is.He confirmed at the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday that the lesion was caught early and is well localized. “The doctors consider it advisable to intervene. I have decided to have the operation to remove it, following their advice,” he said.Many are asking how nodules are found, how they are evaluated, and what leads doctors to recommend removing them.The condition, commonly called a “spot on the lung,” shows up on imaging as a white opacity against normal lung tissue and is generally up to 30 millimeters in diameter.Dr. Bruno Vincenzi, head of the oncology service at the Campus Bio-Medico University Hospital in Rome, told ACI Prensa, the sister service of EWTN News, that a nodule can be found because a patient has symptoms that lead to tests.“A persistent cough that has just appeared, expectoration — that is, producing phlegm with traces of blood — or chest pain can be reasons the patient undergoes studies,” he said.He added that these findings are now increasingly accidental. Patients may be scanned before an operation or a hospital stay, or as part of a screening program, especially if they are older or have been smokers.Asked why a doctor would recommend surgery, as in the pope’s case, Vincenzi said certain features on the images can raise concern. Spiculated margins — irregular or jagged — can suggest a more worrying lesion and make removal advisable. Well-defined margins, perhaps with calcifications inside, more often suggest a benign nodule.Dr. Elmer Huerta, a Peruvian oncologist based in the United States and the first Latin American president of the American Cancer Society, said the operation the pope is expected to have is usually done with minimally invasive techniques. “The old thoracotomies, which meant opening the chest, are no longer done. What is done now is minimally invasive robotic surgery, in which a half-centimeter opening is made between the ribs, the robot is introduced, and the operation is done with that,” he said.Huerta said it is not yet possible to say how long the pope will need to recover fully, because the specific features of the nodule, and therefore the exact extent of the surgery, are not public. Depending on what is found, doctors may remove a wedge of lung that includes the nodule, a segment, or a whole lobe. That will determine the recovery.On how soon the pope can resume his usual commitments, Huerta said it depends on the extent of the operation. A wedge removal is simpler, and he could fly in two or three weeks and make his planned trip to Latin America. Removing a lobe would be more complicated. The key is the nature of the nodule, which has not been made public.Huerta also stressed that most lung nodules are not cancerous. A 2022 study found that 95 percent are benign and only 5 percent are cancer. Cancerous nodules have certain features on X-rays, CT scans, and PET exams.Vincenzi said a histological analysis is needed to determine what a nodule is. When a nodule is removed because its features suggest a suspicious lesion, the pathologist’s final examination of the cells can give a clear indication of whether it is benign or malignant.Both experts declined to speculate on the pope’s case without precise clinical details. Vincenzi said it is better to stop at the diagnostic stage, because saying more risks creating needless reassurance or needless worry. Huerta said the same thing he tells his patients: go step by step.The hospitalization planned for next week will force the pope to cancel all commitments on those days, Vatican press office director Matteo Bruni told ACI Prensa. Among them is the closing Mass of an international meeting on the family, held for the tenth anniversary of Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, which Leo XIV was to preside over on Wednesday with the presidents of episcopal conferences gathered at the Vatican.In principle, the surgery would not affect the trip to South America planned for November 6–17, judging by the pope’s own words at the Angelus. Greeting members of the Brotherhood of the Lord of Miracles in St. Peter’s Square, he said, “Thank you for your prayer for the pastoral visit I will make to Peru.”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.

unitedyam

Doctors comment on the pontiff’s news about his upcoming lung surgery.

Read More
Stephen King Asks Why Billy Bob Thornton Series ‘Landman’ Was Snubbed by Emmys, and X Schools Him – Oblivious Hollywood dullard Stephen King had the audacity on Thursday to ask folks on social media why a blatantly conservative TV series didn’t get nominated for an Emmy Award this year. The post Stephen King Asks Why Billy Bob Thornton Series ‘Landman’ Was Snubbed by Emmys, and X Schools Him appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More

Stephen King Asks Why Billy Bob Thornton Series ‘Landman’ Was Snubbed by Emmys, and X Schools Him – Oblivious Hollywood dullard Stephen King had the audacity on Thursday to ask folks on social media why a blatantly conservative TV series didn’t get nominated for an Emmy Award this year. The post Stephen King Asks Why Billy Bob Thornton Series ‘Landman’ Was Snubbed by Emmys, and X Schools Him appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

unitedyam

Oblivious Hollywood dullard Stephen King had the audacity on Thursday to ask folks on social media why a blatantly conservative TV series didn’t get nominated for an Emmy Award this year.

The post Stephen King Asks Why Billy Bob Thornton Series ‘Landman’ Was Snubbed by Emmys, and X Schools Him appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Read More
On Columbus Day: Remembering Little Anthony Who Rushed Home for Prince Spaghetti Day –   In the summer of 1969, a woman leaned out of a tenement window in Boston’s Italian North End and called, “Anthony! The post On Columbus Day: Remembering Little Anthony Who Rushed Home for Prince Spaghetti Day appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More

On Columbus Day: Remembering Little Anthony Who Rushed Home for Prince Spaghetti Day –   In the summer of 1969, a woman leaned out of a tenement window in Boston’s Italian North End and called, “Anthony! The post On Columbus Day: Remembering Little Anthony Who Rushed Home for Prince Spaghetti Day appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

unitedyam

  In the summer of 1969, a woman leaned out of a tenement window in Boston’s Italian North End and called, “Anthony!

The post On Columbus Day: Remembering Little Anthony Who Rushed Home for Prince Spaghetti Day appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Read More
(VIDEO) Trump Blasts Zelensky Again, Says Russia Wants to Make a Deal but “Zelensky Does Not” – Calls for Elections in Ukraine – President Trump on Saturday told reporters that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “does not want to make a deal” with Russia, blasting him again for allowing the war to continue and calling for an election to be held.  “He could have settled this thing many times,” Trump said, again calling for a new leader in Ukraine. The post (VIDEO) Trump Blasts Zelensky Again, Says Russia Wants to Make a Deal but “Zelensky Does Not” – Calls for Elections in Ukraine appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More

(VIDEO) Trump Blasts Zelensky Again, Says Russia Wants to Make a Deal but “Zelensky Does Not” – Calls for Elections in Ukraine – President Trump on Saturday told reporters that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “does not want to make a deal” with Russia, blasting him again for allowing the war to continue and calling for an election to be held.  “He could have settled this thing many times,” Trump said, again calling for a new leader in Ukraine. The post (VIDEO) Trump Blasts Zelensky Again, Says Russia Wants to Make a Deal but “Zelensky Does Not” – Calls for Elections in Ukraine appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

unitedyam

President Trump on Saturday told reporters that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “does not want to make a deal” with Russia, blasting him again for allowing the war to continue and calling for an election to be held.  “He could have settled this thing many times,” Trump said, again calling for a new leader in Ukraine.

The post (VIDEO) Trump Blasts Zelensky Again, Says Russia Wants to Make a Deal but “Zelensky Does Not” – Calls for Elections in Ukraine appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Read More
St. Therese parish rejoices honoring its ‘Little Flower’ patroness #Catholic – Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney visited St. Therese Parish in the Succasunna neighborhood of Roxbury Township, N.J., on Oct. 3 to celebrate Mass for the feast day of its patroness, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, which the universal Church traditionally observes on Oct. 1. Father Richard D. Kilcomons, pastor of St. Therese, and Father Dulibber G. Gonzalez, and Father Vic Leviste, the parish’s parochial vicars, concelebrated the Mass with Bishop Sweeney. Deacon Joe Padron and Deacon Gregory F. Marchesi assisted with the liturgy. Worshippers included St. Therese’s parishioners, students of the parish school and religious education program and their families. St. Thérèse of Lisieux was a Carmelite nun called the “Little Flower,” who lived a cloistered life of obscurity in the convent of Lisieux, France. Her preference for hidden sacrifice converted souls. Her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, is read and loved worldwide. According to Franciscan Media, Thérèse Martin entered the convent at age 15 and died in 1897 at age 24. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org] Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Read More

St. Therese parish rejoices honoring its ‘Little Flower’ patroness #Catholic – Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney visited St. Therese Parish in the Succasunna neighborhood of Roxbury Township, N.J., on Oct. 3 to celebrate Mass for the feast day of its patroness, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, which the universal Church traditionally observes on Oct. 1. Father Richard D. Kilcomons, pastor of St. Therese, and Father Dulibber G. Gonzalez, and Father Vic Leviste, the parish’s parochial vicars, concelebrated the Mass with Bishop Sweeney. Deacon Joe Padron and Deacon Gregory F. Marchesi assisted with the liturgy. Worshippers included St. Therese’s parishioners, students of the parish school and religious education program and their families. St. Thérèse of Lisieux was a Carmelite nun called the “Little Flower,” who lived a cloistered life of obscurity in the convent of Lisieux, France. Her preference for hidden sacrifice converted souls. Her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, is read and loved worldwide. According to Franciscan Media, Thérèse Martin entered the convent at age 15 and died in 1897 at age 24. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org] Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

unitedyam

St. Therese parish rejoices honoring its ‘Little Flower’ patroness #Catholic –

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney visited St. Therese Parish in the Succasunna neighborhood of Roxbury Township, N.J., on Oct. 3 to celebrate Mass for the feast day of its patroness, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, which the universal Church traditionally observes on Oct. 1.

Father Richard D. Kilcomons, pastor of St. Therese, and Father Dulibber G. Gonzalez, and Father Vic Leviste, the parish’s parochial vicars, concelebrated the Mass with Bishop Sweeney. Deacon Joe Padron and Deacon Gregory F. Marchesi assisted with the liturgy.

Worshippers included St. Therese’s parishioners, students of the parish school and religious education program and their families.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux was a Carmelite nun called the “Little Flower,” who lived a cloistered life of obscurity in the convent of Lisieux, France. Her preference for hidden sacrifice converted souls. Her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, is read and loved worldwide. According to Franciscan Media, Thérèse Martin entered the convent at age 15 and died in 1897 at age 24.

BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

– Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney visited St. Therese Parish in the Succasunna neighborhood of Roxbury Township, N.J., on Oct. 3 to celebrate Mass for the feast day of its patroness, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, which the universal Church traditionally observes on Oct. 1. Father Richard D. Kilcomons, pastor of St. Therese, and Father Dulibber G. Gonzalez, and Father Vic Leviste, the parish’s parochial vicars, concelebrated the Mass with Bishop Sweeney. Deacon Joe Padron and Deacon Gregory F. Marchesi assisted with the liturgy. Worshippers included St. Therese’s parishioners, students of the parish school and religious education program and their families. St. Thérèse

Read More

Oct. 11, 1968: Apollo 7 launches

unitedyam

Twenty-one months after the deaths of the Apollo 1 crew in a fire during a test on the launchpad, the three men who had originally served as their backup crew — Walter Schirra Jr., Donn Eisele, and Walter Cunningham — flew on Apollo 7. The first manned American spaceflight since the accident, their mission wasContinue reading “Oct. 11, 1968: Apollo 7 launches”

The post Oct. 11, 1968: Apollo 7 launches appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Read More
Many Australian Catholics who skip Mass still keep the faith, bishops’ study finds – #Catholic – Many Catholics in Australia who do not regularly go to Sunday Mass still pray, believe Jesus is the Son of God, and say their faith matters, according to a study released Oct. 7 by the countryʼs bishops.The report, "Absent from the Table: Catholics in Australia Who Do Not Regularly Attend Sunday Mass," was commissioned by the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference and carried out by its National Centre for Pastoral Research. Researchers surveyed 1,973 self-selected adult Catholics online in 2024 and interviewed 67 of them from March to July 2025.“Despite their irregular attendance, most participants remained deeply connected to their faith,” the executive summary states.Around two-thirds of respondents said faith was very important to them, 77% said Jesus is the Son of God, and 64% said they pray regularly. Just over half (55%) affirmed the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, while 24% saw the elements as symbolic and 21% were unsure.In all, 74% of respondents attended Mass less than weekly: 19% monthly, 36% occasionally, and 19% not at all. The full report notes that the findings, based on a self-selected sample, “are not fully generalisable to all Catholics in Australia.”Why they stay awayThe researchers identified 14 reasons for missing Mass. The main ones were Mass not being a priority, a crisis of faith, family or household issues, liturgical issues, challenges with the parish priest or other clergy, and the misuse of power and authority in the Church. Respondents also cited abuse, particularly clergy sexual abuse, as a significant factor affecting trust.According to the bishops' most recent national count, in 2021, about 8.2% of Australiaʼs Catholics, or 417,000 people, went to church on a typical weekend.Bishop Greg Bennet of Sale, the conferenceʼs vice president and bishop-delegate for pastoral research, said the research is being entrusted to bishops to act on locally.“The hope is that each diocese will listen carefully to what people have shared and respond with pastoral initiatives shaped by their own communities and contexts,” he said in a statement. “We know there are many people who are open to re-engagement with the Church and we need to work harder to find ways of making those re-connections.”Bishop Michael Kennedy of Maitland-Newcastle, in a reflection published by his diocese, urged a different question: “Rather than simply asking why people are no longer coming to Mass, we should be asking what they are looking for, what their experiences of the Church have been and what we can do to help them feel they belong.”
Read More

Many Australian Catholics who skip Mass still keep the faith, bishops’ study finds – #Catholic – Many Catholics in Australia who do not regularly go to Sunday Mass still pray, believe Jesus is the Son of God, and say their faith matters, according to a study released Oct. 7 by the countryʼs bishops.The report, "Absent from the Table: Catholics in Australia Who Do Not Regularly Attend Sunday Mass," was commissioned by the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference and carried out by its National Centre for Pastoral Research. Researchers surveyed 1,973 self-selected adult Catholics online in 2024 and interviewed 67 of them from March to July 2025.“Despite their irregular attendance, most participants remained deeply connected to their faith,” the executive summary states.Around two-thirds of respondents said faith was very important to them, 77% said Jesus is the Son of God, and 64% said they pray regularly. Just over half (55%) affirmed the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, while 24% saw the elements as symbolic and 21% were unsure.In all, 74% of respondents attended Mass less than weekly: 19% monthly, 36% occasionally, and 19% not at all. The full report notes that the findings, based on a self-selected sample, “are not fully generalisable to all Catholics in Australia.”Why they stay awayThe researchers identified 14 reasons for missing Mass. The main ones were Mass not being a priority, a crisis of faith, family or household issues, liturgical issues, challenges with the parish priest or other clergy, and the misuse of power and authority in the Church. Respondents also cited abuse, particularly clergy sexual abuse, as a significant factor affecting trust.According to the bishops' most recent national count, in 2021, about 8.2% of Australiaʼs Catholics, or 417,000 people, went to church on a typical weekend.Bishop Greg Bennet of Sale, the conferenceʼs vice president and bishop-delegate for pastoral research, said the research is being entrusted to bishops to act on locally.“The hope is that each diocese will listen carefully to what people have shared and respond with pastoral initiatives shaped by their own communities and contexts,” he said in a statement. “We know there are many people who are open to re-engagement with the Church and we need to work harder to find ways of making those re-connections.”Bishop Michael Kennedy of Maitland-Newcastle, in a reflection published by his diocese, urged a different question: “Rather than simply asking why people are no longer coming to Mass, we should be asking what they are looking for, what their experiences of the Church have been and what we can do to help them feel they belong.”

unitedyam

A survey of nearly 2,000 Australian Catholics found many still pray and value their faith, while priorities, faith crises, and problems with clergy keep them from Mass.

Read More

A Prayer for the Way to Peace: Prayer of the Day for Sunday, October 11, 2026 – #Prayer – Father of love, hear my prayer. Help me to know Your Will and to do it with courage and faith. Accept my offering of myself, all my thoughts, words, deeds, and sufferings. May my life be spent giving You glory. Give me the strength to follow Your call, so that Your Truth may live in my heart and bring peace to me and to those I meet, for I believe in Your Love.

unitedyam

Father of love, hear my prayer.
Help me to know Your Will
and to do it with courage and faith.
Accept my offering of myself,
all my thoughts, words, deeds, and sufferings.
May my life be spent giving You glory.
Give me the strength to follow Your call,
so that Your Truth may live in my heart
and bring peace to me and to those I meet,
for I believe in Your Love.

Read More

Gospel and Word of the Day – 11 October 2026 – A reading from the Book of Isaiah 25:6-10a On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines. On this mountain he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples, the web that is woven over all nations; he will destroy death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face; the reproach of his people he will remove from the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken. On that day it will be said: "Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us! This is the LORD for whom we looked; let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!" For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain.   A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20 Brothers and sisters: I know how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live with abundance. In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need.  I can do all things in him who strengthens me.  Still, it was kind of you to share in my distress. My God will fully supply whatever you need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father, glory forever and ever. Amen.From the Gospel according to Matthew 22:1-14 Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and elders of the people  in parables, saying,  "The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.  He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. A second time he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those invited: "Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast."’ Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business.  The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them.  The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.  Then he said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come.  Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.’ The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests.  But when the king came in to meet the guests, he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.  The king said to him, ‘My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?’ But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’ Many are invited, but few are chosen."Today’s Gospel passage tells us about a king who prepares a wedding banquet for his son (cf. Mt 22:1-14). He is a powerful man, but he is above all a generous father, who invites others to share in his joy. In particular, he reveals the goodness of his heart in the fact that he does not compel anyone, but invites everyone, even though this way exposes him to the possibility of rejection. We notice that he prepares a banquet, freely offering an opportunity for encounter, an opportunity for a feast. This is what God prepares for us: a banquet, to be in communion with him and among ourselves. And we, all of us, are therefore God’s invited guests. But a wedding banquet requires time and commitment on our part: it requires a “yes”: to go, to go to the Lord’s invitation. He invites, but he leaves us free. This is the type of relationship that the Father offers us: he calls us to stay with him, leaving us the possibility to accept or not accept [the invitation]. He does not propose to us a relationship of subjection, but rather of fatherhood and sonship, which is necessarily conditioned by our free assent. God is very respectful regarding freedom; very respectful. Saint Augustine uses a very beautiful expression in this regard, saying: “He who created us without our help will not save us without our consent” (Sermonclxix, 13). And certainly not because he does not have the capacity to do so — God is omnipotent! — but because, being love, he respects our freedom fully. God proposes: he does not impose. Never. (Pope Francis, Angelus, 15 October 2023)

unitedyam

A reading from the Book of Isaiah
25:6-10a

On this mountain the LORD of hosts
will provide for all peoples
a feast of rich food and choice wines,
juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.
On this mountain he will destroy
the veil that veils all peoples,
the web that is woven over all nations;
he will destroy death forever.
The Lord GOD will wipe away
the tears from every face;
the reproach of his people he will remove
from the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken.
On that day it will be said:
"Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!
This is the LORD for whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!"
For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain.

 

A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians
4:12-14, 19-20

Brothers and sisters:
I know how to live in humble circumstances;
I know also how to live with abundance.
In every circumstance and in all things
I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry,
of living in abundance and of being in need. 
I can do all things in him who strengthens me. 
Still, it was kind of you to share in my distress.

My God will fully supply whatever you need,
in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
To our God and Father, glory forever and ever. Amen.

From the Gospel according to Matthew
22:1-14

Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and elders of the people 
in parables, saying, 
"The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who gave a wedding feast for his son. 
He dispatched his servants
to summon the invited guests to the feast,
but they refused to come.
A second time he sent other servants, saying,
‘Tell those invited: "Behold, I have prepared my banquet,
my calves and fattened cattle are killed,
and everything is ready; come to the feast."’
Some ignored the invitation and went away,
one to his farm, another to his business. 
The rest laid hold of his servants,
mistreated them, and killed them. 
The king was enraged and sent his troops,
destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. 
Then he said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready,
but those who were invited were not worthy to come. 
Go out, therefore, into the main roads
and invite to the feast whomever you find.’
The servants went out into the streets
and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,
and the hall was filled with guests. 
But when the king came in to meet the guests,
he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. 
The king said to him, ‘My friend, how is it
that you came in here without a wedding garment?’
But he was reduced to silence.
Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet,
and cast him into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’
Many are invited, but few are chosen."

Today’s Gospel passage tells us about a king who prepares a wedding banquet for his son (cf. Mt 22:1-14). He is a powerful man, but he is above all a generous father, who invites others to share in his joy. In particular, he reveals the goodness of his heart in the fact that he does not compel anyone, but invites everyone, even though this way exposes him to the possibility of rejection. We notice that he prepares a banquet, freely offering an opportunity for encounter, an opportunity for a feast. This is what God prepares for us: a banquet, to be in communion with him and among ourselves. And we, all of us, are therefore God’s invited guests. But a wedding banquet requires time and commitment on our part: it requires a “yes”: to go, to go to the Lord’s invitation. He invites, but he leaves us free.

This is the type of relationship that the Father offers us: he calls us to stay with him, leaving us the possibility to accept or not accept [the invitation]. He does not propose to us a relationship of subjection, but rather of fatherhood and sonship, which is necessarily conditioned by our free assent. God is very respectful regarding freedom; very respectful. Saint Augustine uses a very beautiful expression in this regard, saying: “He who created us without our help will not save us without our consent” (Sermonclxix, 13). And certainly not because he does not have the capacity to do so — God is omnipotent! — but because, being love, he respects our freedom fully. God proposes: he does not impose. Never. (Pope Francis, Angelus, 15 October 2023)

Read More
UK government blocks Northern Ireland unionist march through Catholic neighborhood #Catholic The British government on Oct. 9 intervened in a simmering dispute in Northern Ireland, ruling that a planned unionist march through a Catholic enclave in the province would not take place due to a “risk of serious injury.” Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Sir Chris Bryant said in a statement that Portadown District Loyal Orange Lodge — part of the national Protestant Orange Order fraternity — would not be permitted to hold its parade down Garvaghy Road through a historically Catholic section of Portadown in County Armagh. The procession “cannot go ahead,” Bryant said, citing local law enforcement opinion that it would lead to violence, disorder and “a wider contagion effect across Northern Ireland.” Bryant called for “all protests, rallies and demonstrations to be stood down,” arguing that there is “no excuse for a continued ratcheting up of tensions.”The weeks-long tensions have stemmed from historical conflicts in the region between unionists in Northern Ireland who advocate continued rule of the province by the United Kingdom and Catholic-affiliated republicans who largely favor reunification with Ireland itself. Garvaghy Road itself was the site of numerous conflicts amid the Troubles, the decades-long conflict that saw unionists and republicans engage in regular violent and often deadly clashes. The CAIN Archive at Ulster University estimates that more than 3,700 people were killed in the protracted fighting. Police have largely banned loyalist marches from taking place on Garvaghy Road since the late 1990s due to regular instances of violence that broke out on that stretch of the unionist parade route. The High Court of Northern Ireland, however, ruled in August against a ban on the march that had been instituted by the Parades Commission, offering unionists the potential opportunity to march down the street for the first time in years. In his statement announcing the re-instituted ban on the march, Bryant urged residents to “work together to help repair the damage that has been done” over the past several weeks. “The community in Portadown has been on the sharp end of intense attention for a number of weeks,” he said. “It will take time to rebuild relations. The least we can all do now is give them breathing space.”
Read More

UK government blocks Northern Ireland unionist march through Catholic neighborhood #Catholic The British government on Oct. 9 intervened in a simmering dispute in Northern Ireland, ruling that a planned unionist march through a Catholic enclave in the province would not take place due to a “risk of serious injury.” Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Sir Chris Bryant said in a statement that Portadown District Loyal Orange Lodge — part of the national Protestant Orange Order fraternity — would not be permitted to hold its parade down Garvaghy Road through a historically Catholic section of Portadown in County Armagh. The procession “cannot go ahead,” Bryant said, citing local law enforcement opinion that it would lead to violence, disorder and “a wider contagion effect across Northern Ireland.” Bryant called for “all protests, rallies and demonstrations to be stood down,” arguing that there is “no excuse for a continued ratcheting up of tensions.”The weeks-long tensions have stemmed from historical conflicts in the region between unionists in Northern Ireland who advocate continued rule of the province by the United Kingdom and Catholic-affiliated republicans who largely favor reunification with Ireland itself. Garvaghy Road itself was the site of numerous conflicts amid the Troubles, the decades-long conflict that saw unionists and republicans engage in regular violent and often deadly clashes. The CAIN Archive at Ulster University estimates that more than 3,700 people were killed in the protracted fighting. Police have largely banned loyalist marches from taking place on Garvaghy Road since the late 1990s due to regular instances of violence that broke out on that stretch of the unionist parade route. The High Court of Northern Ireland, however, ruled in August against a ban on the march that had been instituted by the Parades Commission, offering unionists the potential opportunity to march down the street for the first time in years. In his statement announcing the re-instituted ban on the march, Bryant urged residents to “work together to help repair the damage that has been done” over the past several weeks. “The community in Portadown has been on the sharp end of intense attention for a number of weeks,” he said. “It will take time to rebuild relations. The least we can all do now is give them breathing space.”

unitedyam

“Nobody wants a return to the past,” MP Chris Bryant said in ruling against the planned march down Garvaghy Road.

Read More
Study: FDA allowed mail-order abortion pills without ‘sufficient evidence’ of safety #Catholic A study by scholars at the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute found that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “lacked sufficient evidence” to remove the in-person abortion pill dispensing rule.Published in Issues in Law and Medicine, a journal of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, on Oct. 6, the report found that the FDA’s studies on the abortion pill didn’t reflect real-world conditions of abortion pill use.According to the article, the FDA relied on analysis from groups with political incentives. Additionally, the FDA used “inadequate” adverse event reporting, authors Zachery Sluzala and Ingrid Skop found. “When federal agencies remove regulations designed to safeguard patient health, those decisions should be grounded in evidence that reflects real-world practice,” Skop, an OB-GYN who works for the Lozier Institute, said in a statement. “Our analysis found that the FDA’s review fell well short of that standard. Safety decisions should reflect the conditions in which women are using the drugs, not tightly controlled study conditions that fail to mimic real-world use.”Pro-life groups criticize FDA abortion pill updateIn a court-ordered update of the agency’s highly anticipated report on the safety of the abortion pill, the FDA said that it will complete the safety review in March 2027, an announcement that led to backlash from pro-life groups.A federal judge in Louisiana ordered the status report on the safety review. According to its update, the FDA expects to have results by mid-December, with a final report in March 2027 — more than a year and a half after the group first promised the review.Pro-life leader Marjorie Dannenfelser, who heads Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, called the FDA’s update “alarming.”“The administration must correct course — and, more importantly, it must not wait for the study to conclude before acting,” said Dannenfelser. “Peer-reviewed evidence shows that the Biden administration relied on insufficient evidence and flawed assumptions when it removed the in-person dispensing requirement.“Action is long overdue,” Dannenfelser said.Students for Life of America leader Kristan Hawkins also criticized the timeline.“It shouldn’t take a judge to pry some answers from the FDA on the dangers of chemical abortion pills, nor should it take this long to get them,” said Hawkins. “While we are glad to see the FDA giving attention to deadly drugs, this is not enough to address the harms that recklessly approving mifepristone in 2000 did to public health and fertility.”Alliance Defending Freedom spokeswoman Erin Hawley observed that “every month of additional delay puts nearly 15,000 additional babies at risk in states where mail-order abortion drugs are unlawful.”Mail-order abortions “don’t empower women — they facilitate the abuse, coercion, and poisoning of women by making high-risk drugs accessible to bad actors at the click of a button,” said Hawley.Study: Colleges ‘fail’ pregnant and parenting studentsA recent study found that hundreds of state colleges and universities are failing to provide resources to help pregnant and parenting students stay in school.The study by Students for Life of America’s Demetree Institute found that the average state college campus in the survey offered “barely half the recommended support” for student parents.The study looked at more than 500 state colleges and universities, examining the housing policies, on-campus resources, financial assistance, medical attention, and accommodations and policy transparency they offer to student-parents.The three lowest-ranked schools were Dalton State College in Georgia, Dakota State University in South Dakota, and Concord University in West Virginia.About 98% of schools in the study were missing at least two recommended accommodations for pregnant and parenting students. On-campus housing for families was unavailable at more than 70% of schools. About 85% of schools did not offer scholarships targeted for pregnant or parenting students.Men’s march for life to be held in BostonMen will gather in Boston on Nov. 1 for a national men’s march for life.The National Men’s March to Abolish Abortion and Rally for Personhood first began in 2021. In the event, men march about three miles to a rally point where they meet up with their families, pray, and listen to speakers.In an interview on EWTN’s “At Home With Jim and Joy,” the march’s president, Jim Havens, said the march is focused on “getting men off the sidelines in the fight for equal protection of the preborn — of all human life.”“We’re going to do it in authentic love; we’re going to do it in a peaceful manner, the right way, standing up in public,” he continued. “It really is powerful when we gather together and do this with Christ at the center.”Scottish bishops warn against proposal to expand abortionThe Scottish bishops are warning against a proposal that they say would allow abortion up to birth for any reason.The proposal would decriminalize abortion in Scotland and remove existing legal safeguards protecting unborn children. The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland expressed opposition to the proposal in a statement by Bishop John Keenan, who heads the bishops’ Marriage, Family and Life Commission.“There is a better way than abortion,” Keenan said in the statement.“Every human life possesses inherent dignity and worth; a dignity that does not depend upon age, size, ability, dependency or stage of development,” Keenan said. “It begins at conception and continues until natural death. A just and compassionate society should recognize and protect the lives of both mother and child, especially when either is vulnerable.”Las Vegas archbishop urges vote against abortion measureLas Vegas Archbishop George Leo Thomas called on Catholics in Nevada to vote “no” on a ballot measure that would roll back protections for unborn children, minors, and women and expand abortion up to birth.The Nevada measure would expand the right to abortion, which is already legal in the state up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. The letter opposing the Nevada abortion ballot measure was read at Masses across the archdiocese Oct. 3-4.“This question is not whether abortion is legal in Nevada; it already is under a law approved by Nevada voters in 1990,” said Thomas. “The Legislature cannot amend or repeal that law; only a direct vote of the people can do so. This question is whether Nevada voters should expand the right to abortion in ways that can harm the health, safety, and welfare of women and minors. Moreover, this measure will have grave and lasting consequences for vulnerable unborn lives.”“Unborn children have no voice and cannot defend themselves,” Thomas said. “As Catholics, our faith requires us to protect the inherent dignity of every human life and to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.”
Read More

Study: FDA allowed mail-order abortion pills without ‘sufficient evidence’ of safety #Catholic A study by scholars at the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute found that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “lacked sufficient evidence” to remove the in-person abortion pill dispensing rule.Published in Issues in Law and Medicine, a journal of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, on Oct. 6, the report found that the FDA’s studies on the abortion pill didn’t reflect real-world conditions of abortion pill use.According to the article, the FDA relied on analysis from groups with political incentives. Additionally, the FDA used “inadequate” adverse event reporting, authors Zachery Sluzala and Ingrid Skop found. “When federal agencies remove regulations designed to safeguard patient health, those decisions should be grounded in evidence that reflects real-world practice,” Skop, an OB-GYN who works for the Lozier Institute, said in a statement. “Our analysis found that the FDA’s review fell well short of that standard. Safety decisions should reflect the conditions in which women are using the drugs, not tightly controlled study conditions that fail to mimic real-world use.”Pro-life groups criticize FDA abortion pill updateIn a court-ordered update of the agency’s highly anticipated report on the safety of the abortion pill, the FDA said that it will complete the safety review in March 2027, an announcement that led to backlash from pro-life groups.A federal judge in Louisiana ordered the status report on the safety review. According to its update, the FDA expects to have results by mid-December, with a final report in March 2027 — more than a year and a half after the group first promised the review.Pro-life leader Marjorie Dannenfelser, who heads Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, called the FDA’s update “alarming.”“The administration must correct course — and, more importantly, it must not wait for the study to conclude before acting,” said Dannenfelser. “Peer-reviewed evidence shows that the Biden administration relied on insufficient evidence and flawed assumptions when it removed the in-person dispensing requirement.“Action is long overdue,” Dannenfelser said.Students for Life of America leader Kristan Hawkins also criticized the timeline.“It shouldn’t take a judge to pry some answers from the FDA on the dangers of chemical abortion pills, nor should it take this long to get them,” said Hawkins. “While we are glad to see the FDA giving attention to deadly drugs, this is not enough to address the harms that recklessly approving mifepristone in 2000 did to public health and fertility.”Alliance Defending Freedom spokeswoman Erin Hawley observed that “every month of additional delay puts nearly 15,000 additional babies at risk in states where mail-order abortion drugs are unlawful.”Mail-order abortions “don’t empower women — they facilitate the abuse, coercion, and poisoning of women by making high-risk drugs accessible to bad actors at the click of a button,” said Hawley.Study: Colleges ‘fail’ pregnant and parenting studentsA recent study found that hundreds of state colleges and universities are failing to provide resources to help pregnant and parenting students stay in school.The study by Students for Life of America’s Demetree Institute found that the average state college campus in the survey offered “barely half the recommended support” for student parents.The study looked at more than 500 state colleges and universities, examining the housing policies, on-campus resources, financial assistance, medical attention, and accommodations and policy transparency they offer to student-parents.The three lowest-ranked schools were Dalton State College in Georgia, Dakota State University in South Dakota, and Concord University in West Virginia.About 98% of schools in the study were missing at least two recommended accommodations for pregnant and parenting students. On-campus housing for families was unavailable at more than 70% of schools. About 85% of schools did not offer scholarships targeted for pregnant or parenting students.Men’s march for life to be held in BostonMen will gather in Boston on Nov. 1 for a national men’s march for life.The National Men’s March to Abolish Abortion and Rally for Personhood first began in 2021. In the event, men march about three miles to a rally point where they meet up with their families, pray, and listen to speakers.In an interview on EWTN’s “At Home With Jim and Joy,” the march’s president, Jim Havens, said the march is focused on “getting men off the sidelines in the fight for equal protection of the preborn — of all human life.”“We’re going to do it in authentic love; we’re going to do it in a peaceful manner, the right way, standing up in public,” he continued. “It really is powerful when we gather together and do this with Christ at the center.”Scottish bishops warn against proposal to expand abortionThe Scottish bishops are warning against a proposal that they say would allow abortion up to birth for any reason.The proposal would decriminalize abortion in Scotland and remove existing legal safeguards protecting unborn children. The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland expressed opposition to the proposal in a statement by Bishop John Keenan, who heads the bishops’ Marriage, Family and Life Commission.“There is a better way than abortion,” Keenan said in the statement.“Every human life possesses inherent dignity and worth; a dignity that does not depend upon age, size, ability, dependency or stage of development,” Keenan said. “It begins at conception and continues until natural death. A just and compassionate society should recognize and protect the lives of both mother and child, especially when either is vulnerable.”Las Vegas archbishop urges vote against abortion measureLas Vegas Archbishop George Leo Thomas called on Catholics in Nevada to vote “no” on a ballot measure that would roll back protections for unborn children, minors, and women and expand abortion up to birth.The Nevada measure would expand the right to abortion, which is already legal in the state up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. The letter opposing the Nevada abortion ballot measure was read at Masses across the archdiocese Oct. 3-4.“This question is not whether abortion is legal in Nevada; it already is under a law approved by Nevada voters in 1990,” said Thomas. “The Legislature cannot amend or repeal that law; only a direct vote of the people can do so. This question is whether Nevada voters should expand the right to abortion in ways that can harm the health, safety, and welfare of women and minors. Moreover, this measure will have grave and lasting consequences for vulnerable unborn lives.”“Unborn children have no voice and cannot defend themselves,” Thomas said. “As Catholics, our faith requires us to protect the inherent dignity of every human life and to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.”

unitedyam

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.

Read More
Catholics take Morristown streets, pray for end to abortion #Catholic – On Oct. 3, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney joined with a broad assembly of Catholics from around the Paterson Diocese, N.J., and beyond for his monthly Mass and Rosary Procession for Life at St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Morristown, N.J. Bishop Sweeney celebrated the Mass, which was concelebrated by Father Duberney Villamizar, St. Margaret’s pastor and diocesan vicar for Hispanic affairs, and Father Isaac Spinharney of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal at St. Michael’s Friary in Paterson, N.J. Deacon Tim Holden of St. Margaret’s assisted with the liturgy. After the Mass, Bishop Sweeney led the faithful, including clergy, religious, and laity, in a rosary procession to the Planned Parenthood on Speedwell Avenue. They prayed for an end to abortion. Several people held pro-life signs in English and Spanish. The group returned to St. Margaret’s for Eucharistic adoration. To continue this mission, a Mass and procession for life is held on the first Saturday of the month at 8 a.m. at St. Margaret’s. Priests and faithful from around the diocese are invited to join. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org] Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Read More

Catholics take Morristown streets, pray for end to abortion #Catholic – On Oct. 3, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney joined with a broad assembly of Catholics from around the Paterson Diocese, N.J., and beyond for his monthly Mass and Rosary Procession for Life at St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Morristown, N.J. Bishop Sweeney celebrated the Mass, which was concelebrated by Father Duberney Villamizar, St. Margaret’s pastor and diocesan vicar for Hispanic affairs, and Father Isaac Spinharney of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal at St. Michael’s Friary in Paterson, N.J. Deacon Tim Holden of St. Margaret’s assisted with the liturgy. After the Mass, Bishop Sweeney led the faithful, including clergy, religious, and laity, in a rosary procession to the Planned Parenthood on Speedwell Avenue. They prayed for an end to abortion. Several people held pro-life signs in English and Spanish. The group returned to St. Margaret’s for Eucharistic adoration. To continue this mission, a Mass and procession for life is held on the first Saturday of the month at 8 a.m. at St. Margaret’s. Priests and faithful from around the diocese are invited to join. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org] Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

unitedyam

Catholics take Morristown streets, pray for end to abortion #Catholic –

On Oct. 3, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney joined with a broad assembly of Catholics from around the Paterson Diocese, N.J., and beyond for his monthly Mass and Rosary Procession for Life at St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Morristown, N.J.

Bishop Sweeney celebrated the Mass, which was concelebrated by Father Duberney Villamizar, St. Margaret’s pastor and diocesan vicar for Hispanic affairs, and Father Isaac Spinharney of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal at St. Michael’s Friary in Paterson, N.J. Deacon Tim Holden of St. Margaret’s assisted with the liturgy.

After the Mass, Bishop Sweeney led the faithful, including clergy, religious, and laity, in a rosary procession to the Planned Parenthood on Speedwell Avenue. They prayed for an end to abortion. Several people held pro-life signs in English and Spanish. The group returned to St. Margaret’s for Eucharistic adoration.

To continue this mission, a Mass and procession for life is held on the first Saturday of the month at 8 a.m. at St. Margaret’s. Priests and faithful from around the diocese are invited to join.

BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

– On Oct. 3, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney joined with a broad assembly of Catholics from around the Paterson Diocese, N.J., and beyond for his monthly Mass and Rosary Procession for Life at St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Morristown, N.J. Bishop Sweeney celebrated the Mass, which was concelebrated by Father Duberney Villamizar, St. Margaret’s pastor and diocesan vicar for Hispanic affairs, and Father Isaac Spinharney of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal at St. Michael’s Friary in Paterson, N.J. Deacon Tim Holden of St. Margaret’s assisted with the liturgy. After the Mass, Bishop Sweeney led the faithful, including clergy, religious,

Read More

After near-fatal crash, cyclist rides across America for homeless – #Catholic – Tom Schwein was mere feet from the finish line of Ride the Rockies in 2015 when everything changed for him.Earlier that day, he was told that Samaritan Cycling USA, a ministry he helped start in 2011 to support Catholic Charities’ Samaritan House, had raised a cumulative $250,000 in just over four years. He was rightfully excited. He couldn’t wait to high-five an injured teammate at the finish line.Then came a dip in the pavement.“The wheel went 90 degrees, and I went face-first into the pavement,” he recalled. “I was out cold. I don’t know for how long.”When he woke up, saved, he believes, by his helmet and divine providence, he remembers, clear as day, hearing the Holy Spirit tell him, “Peace be with you. You will recover.”He was rushed to the hospital. Two days later, after specialists reviewed the tests, he was told he was a walking miracle.“You’re a very lucky man,” Schwein remembers one specialist telling him, shaking his head, incredulous. “You missed a brain bleed by a quarter of a millimeter.”That’s roughly the size of a fine grain of table salt. To say it was a close call might be underselling things.“I was never going to ride a bike again. I was done,” Schwein said. “We raised a quarter million, and that’s it. There’s no way I’m riding again.”He prepared to sell his bikes and move on. But the Holy Spirit had other ideas, Schwein said.“I’m not yet done with you here on Earth. Continue your ministry,” he recalled hearing.He prayed about it. He called his wife. He took a long bike ride, and hasn’t stopped riding since.“I said, ‘God, I’m all in,’” he said. “That was 38,000 miles ago and a few million dollars ago.”Since then, Samaritan House Cycling has grown considerably, welcoming new teammates and raising more than $2.2 million for Northern Colorado’s Samaritan House shelters.This fall, the ministry is taking that mission farther than ever before: a 45-day, nearly 3,000-mile ride across the United States.“God has called me to do this, which is why we’re riding across America,” Schwein said, choked up with emotion. “We’re raising national awareness for the crisis of homelessness. God said, ‘Go big or go home.’ We’re going big.”The 12-member team began their ride on Sunday, Oct. 4, two days after arriving in San Diego. Their 45-day trek will take them through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, where they will finish the ride in St. Augustine, Florida, where the first Catholic Mass of Thanksgiving in what is now the United States was celebrated in 1565.The mission? Raising awareness and funds to provide shelter, stability, and hope to the homeless in Denver, in Colorado, and across the country.“There are nearly 1 million people who are homeless every night in the United States, and no one pays attention to them. People walk by them,” Schwein said. “So we’re raising awareness to increase the attention of the United States to this national crisis. We have to do something about it, more than just raising money. It’s about raising awareness so people understand what to do when they get to the corner of an intersection and they see a homeless person.”And it’s already bearing fruit. Feet haven’t hit pedals yet, and the team has already raised $350,000 to support Catholic Charities’ five Samaritan House locations in Denver, Fort Collins, and Greeley, which provide emergency shelter, support services, and pathways toward stability for individuals and families.Additionally, the Samaritan Cycling team is partnering with local Catholic Charities along their route to fundraise for ministries serving the homeless nationwide. As they ride across America, the team will also volunteer at Catholic Charities locations, helping shine a spotlight on local efforts to lovingly serve neighbors nationwide.The timing is all the more meaningful: the ride comes as the United States marks 250 years, Catholic Charities of Denver approaches its 100th anniversary, Samaritan House in downtown Denver celebrates 40 years, and Samaritan Cycling USA marks 15 years.“What began in 2011 as a small step of faith through Samaritan Cycling has become a lifelong commitment to serve,” Schwein said. “Through cycling, we put faith into action — transforming physical endurance into meaningful impact and heartfelt passion into real provision. We ride because we are called to be bearers of hope, and every mile is a testament to that calling.”First and foremost, Schwein said, the team needs prayer. Knowing firsthand just how dangerous a ride like this can be, Schwein specifically asked people of goodwill nationwide to pray for riders’ safety and perseverance.Then, those who feel called to give can donate per mile, with options beginning at 1 cent per mile, or offer a one-time gift. Supporters can give to a particular rider or to the general fund.For Schwein, though, the most meaningful gift came from a father and his 12-year-old son.After hearing Schwein speak about the effort after Mass at a local parish, the father approached him and pulled out his wallet, saying he wished he could make a donation but did not think he had anything to give. Surprised to find two dollars, he handed them to his son, who gave them to Schwein.“This is for you, sir,” the boy said. “Good luck on your ride!”“We had been getting lots of donations, but the most meaningful one was this man,” Schwein said, pointing to the widow in the Gospels who gave all she had.This story was first published in Denver Catholic and is reprinted here and adapted by EWTN News with permission.

unitedyam

Tom Schwein is part of a 12-person team making a 3,000-mile trek with Samaritan Cycling USA to help raise money for the unhoused.

Read More
EWTN News explains: What is the Religious Freedom Restoration Act? – #Catholic – The Archdiocese of St. Louis this month sued the federal government and several other defendants for what it said are policies that prevent Catholic immigrant detainees from obtaining the sacraments, including the Eucharist. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. district court, alleged among other claims that the government is violating the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) by barring clergy access to those detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. One prison official reportedly suggested that priests could “pass communion in a plastic bag to a prison guard who could then deliver it to the detainee.” The Religious Freedom Restoration Act is invoked regularly in federal lawsuits by those who argue that the government is excessively burdening their religion. But how does this more-than-30-year-old law work, and how exactly does it protect religious liberty in the U.S.? Government may not ‘substantially burden’ religion A rare example of bipartisan unity, the federal law was proposed in 1993, passed unanimously in the U.S. House and near-unanimously in the U.S. Senate, and signed into law by then-President Bill Clinton.The impetus for the law arose in large part due to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Employment Division v. Smith. That 1990 decision held that Oregon was permitted to deny unemployment benefits to two Native American residents who had been fired after using peyote in a religious ritual. Outrage from a large cross-section of civil liberties groups and religious rights organizations led Congress to draft and pass the law. Clinton upon signing the measure said the law “reestablishes a standard that better protects all Americans of all faiths in the exercise of their religion.”The law directs that the government generally “shall not substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion” even if the burden stems from a “rule of general applicability.” The rule does allow for such burdens if the government demonstrates that a restriction is “in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest” and is “the least restrictive means” of accomplishing that goal. Matt Sharp, who serves as senior counsel and vice president of public policy at Alliance Defending Freedom, told EWTN News the rule “puts the responsibility on the government” to demonstrate that its policies do not violate the law. “The government has to show that it has a compelling reason to do something” that burdens someone’s religious liberty, Sharp said. “It can’t just say, ‘We like this law.’ It has to be a government interest of the highest order, such as national security or public safety.”Alliance Defending Freedom has handled numerous RFRA lawsuits over the years. Among them was the case Conestoga Wood Specialties v. Burwell, brought by a Mennonite Christian family who argued that the Obama administration’s contraceptive mandate violated the federal religious freedom law.The family ultimately prevailed, with the U.S. Supreme Court holding that the federal government had violated RFRA in requiring the family to cover contraceptives via its company’s insurance policies.Sharp, however, acknowledged that the rule has never been a “religion automatically wins” law. “It definitely makes [U.S. law] more favorable and protective of religion,” he said. But in some cases religious objectors aren’t successful in their challenges, such as the Native American coalition that sued under RFRA to protect one of its sacred sites but which lost at the Supreme Court in 2025. The Little Sisters of the Poor, meanwhile, have cited in part the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in their 15-year battle over contraceptive mandates. Yet although the law can sometimes yield a mixed bag, protections for religious freedom have grown steadily in the U.S. in recent years. A total of 30 states so far have adopted a version of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act or a similar form of legislation. Sharp said RFRA requires the government to ensure that in cases where it is imposing on religious practice it is doing so in a “narrowly tailored” way with “the bare minimum possible” imposition. “It’s a high burden,” he said. “In practice it has been hugely important and beneficial to people of faith.”
Read More

EWTN News explains: What is the Religious Freedom Restoration Act? – #Catholic – The Archdiocese of St. Louis this month sued the federal government and several other defendants for what it said are policies that prevent Catholic immigrant detainees from obtaining the sacraments, including the Eucharist. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. district court, alleged among other claims that the government is violating the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) by barring clergy access to those detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. One prison official reportedly suggested that priests could “pass communion in a plastic bag to a prison guard who could then deliver it to the detainee.” The Religious Freedom Restoration Act is invoked regularly in federal lawsuits by those who argue that the government is excessively burdening their religion. But how does this more-than-30-year-old law work, and how exactly does it protect religious liberty in the U.S.? Government may not ‘substantially burden’ religion A rare example of bipartisan unity, the federal law was proposed in 1993, passed unanimously in the U.S. House and near-unanimously in the U.S. Senate, and signed into law by then-President Bill Clinton.The impetus for the law arose in large part due to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Employment Division v. Smith. That 1990 decision held that Oregon was permitted to deny unemployment benefits to two Native American residents who had been fired after using peyote in a religious ritual. Outrage from a large cross-section of civil liberties groups and religious rights organizations led Congress to draft and pass the law. Clinton upon signing the measure said the law “reestablishes a standard that better protects all Americans of all faiths in the exercise of their religion.”The law directs that the government generally “shall not substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion” even if the burden stems from a “rule of general applicability.” The rule does allow for such burdens if the government demonstrates that a restriction is “in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest” and is “the least restrictive means” of accomplishing that goal. Matt Sharp, who serves as senior counsel and vice president of public policy at Alliance Defending Freedom, told EWTN News the rule “puts the responsibility on the government” to demonstrate that its policies do not violate the law. “The government has to show that it has a compelling reason to do something” that burdens someone’s religious liberty, Sharp said. “It can’t just say, ‘We like this law.’ It has to be a government interest of the highest order, such as national security or public safety.”Alliance Defending Freedom has handled numerous RFRA lawsuits over the years. Among them was the case Conestoga Wood Specialties v. Burwell, brought by a Mennonite Christian family who argued that the Obama administration’s contraceptive mandate violated the federal religious freedom law.The family ultimately prevailed, with the U.S. Supreme Court holding that the federal government had violated RFRA in requiring the family to cover contraceptives via its company’s insurance policies.Sharp, however, acknowledged that the rule has never been a “religion automatically wins” law. “It definitely makes [U.S. law] more favorable and protective of religion,” he said. But in some cases religious objectors aren’t successful in their challenges, such as the Native American coalition that sued under RFRA to protect one of its sacred sites but which lost at the Supreme Court in 2025. The Little Sisters of the Poor, meanwhile, have cited in part the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in their 15-year battle over contraceptive mandates. Yet although the law can sometimes yield a mixed bag, protections for religious freedom have grown steadily in the U.S. in recent years. A total of 30 states so far have adopted a version of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act or a similar form of legislation. Sharp said RFRA requires the government to ensure that in cases where it is imposing on religious practice it is doing so in a “narrowly tailored” way with “the bare minimum possible” imposition. “It’s a high burden,” he said. “In practice it has been hugely important and beneficial to people of faith.”

unitedyam

The 1993 law allows religious objectors to sue the government for “substantially burdening” their religious liberty.

Read More
Canadian youth retreat seeks to strengthen faith of young Catholics entering adulthood – #Catholic – A youth retreat taking place in Ontario, Canada, aims to help young Catholics graduating from high school and entering college, as well as students graduating from college and entering the workforce, stay committed to their faith during these critical transitions in their lives.Dead Man Walking is being hosted by Jesus Youth Ontario and will take place Oct. 16–18 at the Mother of God Retreat Center in Orangeville, Ontario. The retreat will include talks from Catholic author and speaker Jason Evert, international missionary George Devassy, and local young adults sharing their personal testimonies.Jim Isaac, a member of the retreat’s planning team, told EWTN News that the inspiration for the retreat came from conversations with parents where it was evident that there was “an overwhelming need.”“They felt that while children were in high school there were so many guardrails about who they can interact with, who can reach out to them, and all these things to ensure that they have a proper and safe childhood,” he explained. “But, right when they leave high school, all those guardrails are sort of lifted and almost at the same time they also leave home.”He added that young people also feel “thrown into adulthood” and that this transition “was something that they were struggling with.”With this in mind, the Dead Man Walking youth retreat was created to give them a space where they can encounter Christ, help them understand the big questions they’re grappling with, and instill in them a strong foundation to maintain their faith during this transition in their lives.The theme of the retreat comes from John 11, specifically the raising of Lazarus. Isaac explained that many times “we feel that we are going through the motions [and] we are almost like dead people.”Each day focuses on a specific part of the raising of Lazarus. The theme for Day 1 is “Dead for Four Days,” focusing on the idea that there is always hope even when we’re at our lowest point. Day 2 is called “come out,” encouraging the participants to take part in the Church and in their faith and ends with the opportunity for attendees to go to confession and attend Mass. The last day is called “untie and unbind,” which will call the young people gathered to go out on mission and spread the Gospel message.Isaac emphasized that their “primary objective is that they [the attendees] have an encounter with Christ at this crucial juncture of their lives.”“We want these youngsters, who probably are, within their own realities, bombarded with a lot of contemporary and secular media, to understand the richness of the Church,” he added.“We are hoping that something might resonate with them and that might help them build their interior life and thereby reach out to the people within the community. At the end of the day, it is about reaching out to people and giving them a call for mission. Thatʼs what we are hoping for by the end of it.”
Read More

Canadian youth retreat seeks to strengthen faith of young Catholics entering adulthood – #Catholic – A youth retreat taking place in Ontario, Canada, aims to help young Catholics graduating from high school and entering college, as well as students graduating from college and entering the workforce, stay committed to their faith during these critical transitions in their lives.Dead Man Walking is being hosted by Jesus Youth Ontario and will take place Oct. 16–18 at the Mother of God Retreat Center in Orangeville, Ontario. The retreat will include talks from Catholic author and speaker Jason Evert, international missionary George Devassy, and local young adults sharing their personal testimonies.Jim Isaac, a member of the retreat’s planning team, told EWTN News that the inspiration for the retreat came from conversations with parents where it was evident that there was “an overwhelming need.”“They felt that while children were in high school there were so many guardrails about who they can interact with, who can reach out to them, and all these things to ensure that they have a proper and safe childhood,” he explained. “But, right when they leave high school, all those guardrails are sort of lifted and almost at the same time they also leave home.”He added that young people also feel “thrown into adulthood” and that this transition “was something that they were struggling with.”With this in mind, the Dead Man Walking youth retreat was created to give them a space where they can encounter Christ, help them understand the big questions they’re grappling with, and instill in them a strong foundation to maintain their faith during this transition in their lives.The theme of the retreat comes from John 11, specifically the raising of Lazarus. Isaac explained that many times “we feel that we are going through the motions [and] we are almost like dead people.”Each day focuses on a specific part of the raising of Lazarus. The theme for Day 1 is “Dead for Four Days,” focusing on the idea that there is always hope even when we’re at our lowest point. Day 2 is called “come out,” encouraging the participants to take part in the Church and in their faith and ends with the opportunity for attendees to go to confession and attend Mass. The last day is called “untie and unbind,” which will call the young people gathered to go out on mission and spread the Gospel message.Isaac emphasized that their “primary objective is that they [the attendees] have an encounter with Christ at this crucial juncture of their lives.”“We want these youngsters, who probably are, within their own realities, bombarded with a lot of contemporary and secular media, to understand the richness of the Church,” he added.“We are hoping that something might resonate with them and that might help them build their interior life and thereby reach out to the people within the community. At the end of the day, it is about reaching out to people and giving them a call for mission. Thatʼs what we are hoping for by the end of it.”

unitedyam

Dead Man Walking is being hosted by Jesus Youth Ontario and will take place Oct. 16-18 in Ontario, Canada.

Read More
NFL legend Mike Ditka was a Catholic coach #Catholic Former professional football coach Mike Ditka, a practicing Catholic who occasionally served as lector at the 7 a.m. team Mass on game-day Sundays during his decade leading the Chicago Bears, died Friday. He was 86.“Iron Mike,” as Ditka was known, had a famously explosive temper, which often boiled over on the sidelines and in postgame press conferences. Ditka, who led the Bears to a Super Bowl XX victory in 1986, once broke his right hand after punching a hard object over frustration with the play of a rookie offensive lineman — then, before the next game, told his team to “win this one for Lefty.”Less well known was Ditka’s commitment to his Catholic faith, for which he credited his convert mother and the nuns of his parochial school in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, where he was raised.“Growing up, the most important thing was the sacraments with my family,” Ditka told an interviewer with the Catholic website “One Peter Five” in August 2018. “We loved everything about the faith. Going to Catholic school and learning the faith, I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”“I don’t care how many times I got hit by a nun,” Ditka said, “it was good for me.”Football successBorn Michael Dyczko in 1939, Ditka was the son of a non-churchgoing Ukrainian and Polish steelworker father and an Irish and German mother who converted to Catholicism.He played tight end for the University of Pittsburgh and then in the NFL for the Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys. In 1988 Ditka was honored as the first tight end ever to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.After retiring from playing, Ditka served as an assistant coach before getting his unlikely chance as the head coach of the Bears in 1982.His 1985 Bears went 15-1 during the regular season and stomped their way through the playoffs to a Super Bowl victory. So confident were the players of that dominant team that they recorded a rap song called “The Super Bowl Shuffle” during the regular season. (Ditka later said he didn’t know about it, but he didn’t criticize the players for doing it.)Ditka’s success, toughness, temper, and sense of humor made him a cultural phenomenon, inspiring a recurring skit (and guest appearances) on “Saturday Night Live” and launching a career as a motivational speaker.When the team’s fortunes plummeted, he was fired in 1992. He later coached the New Orleans Saints but was fired after three years.Off-field philanthropyDitka made millions as a pitchman for dozens of products after he left football, and he used some of that wealth to help others.“Ditka was very supportive of Misericordia and other charities that supported children with special needs and disabilities,” Mary FioRito, an attorney, lifelong Chicagoan, and Cardinal Francis George Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, told the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News.And not just with checks.“He spoke at fundraisers, and surprised observers could catch him privately visiting with residents he knew by name,” reported the suburban Chicago Daily Herald.Ditka was also a member of the Knights of Columbus and participated in the organization’s charitable activities.‘Constant turmoil’In his 1986 autobiography “Ditka,” published at the peak of his success, Ditka admitted to having had “no spiritual life at all” during the 1970s, before two other coaches got him involved in a Bible study that reintroduced him to God.“I always had faith, but I never had understanding,” Ditka said. “I always knew what was going on in life. I was raised right. I did all the things you were supposed to do. But I never understood why I was supposed to do them, because I never had a total understanding of what was going on.”He also acknowledged what he called “constant turmoil inside,” and he compared himself unfavorably to longtime Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry (1924–2000), whom he admired for always keeping his cool on the sidelines and for his involvement in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.“My priorities can get mixed up. I don’t think he ever gets his priorities mixed up,” Ditka said in the book.Ditka said he discovered that following his faith was hard work.“Sometimes you take for granted that your faith will always be there and everything will be fine. But without making the effort, that’s just not a fact. You have to make a real effort to live your faith daily,” Ditka said in the book.“Nobody is going to do it every day. Nobody is going to do it perfectly,” he continued. “But unless you make the effort you’ve got no chance at all.”Ditka married in 1961, got divorced in 1973, and then remarried in 1977. Both wives survive him, as do his four children, according to an obituary in the Daily Herald.“I’m far from perfect now, and I’m never going to be perfect,” Ditka said in his autobiography. “When I die, I’m going to be still trying to get better than I am.”This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted by EWTN News.
Read More

NFL legend Mike Ditka was a Catholic coach #Catholic Former professional football coach Mike Ditka, a practicing Catholic who occasionally served as lector at the 7 a.m. team Mass on game-day Sundays during his decade leading the Chicago Bears, died Friday. He was 86.“Iron Mike,” as Ditka was known, had a famously explosive temper, which often boiled over on the sidelines and in postgame press conferences. Ditka, who led the Bears to a Super Bowl XX victory in 1986, once broke his right hand after punching a hard object over frustration with the play of a rookie offensive lineman — then, before the next game, told his team to “win this one for Lefty.”Less well known was Ditka’s commitment to his Catholic faith, for which he credited his convert mother and the nuns of his parochial school in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, where he was raised.“Growing up, the most important thing was the sacraments with my family,” Ditka told an interviewer with the Catholic website “One Peter Five” in August 2018. “We loved everything about the faith. Going to Catholic school and learning the faith, I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”“I don’t care how many times I got hit by a nun,” Ditka said, “it was good for me.”Football successBorn Michael Dyczko in 1939, Ditka was the son of a non-churchgoing Ukrainian and Polish steelworker father and an Irish and German mother who converted to Catholicism.He played tight end for the University of Pittsburgh and then in the NFL for the Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys. In 1988 Ditka was honored as the first tight end ever to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.After retiring from playing, Ditka served as an assistant coach before getting his unlikely chance as the head coach of the Bears in 1982.His 1985 Bears went 15-1 during the regular season and stomped their way through the playoffs to a Super Bowl victory. So confident were the players of that dominant team that they recorded a rap song called “The Super Bowl Shuffle” during the regular season. (Ditka later said he didn’t know about it, but he didn’t criticize the players for doing it.)Ditka’s success, toughness, temper, and sense of humor made him a cultural phenomenon, inspiring a recurring skit (and guest appearances) on “Saturday Night Live” and launching a career as a motivational speaker.When the team’s fortunes plummeted, he was fired in 1992. He later coached the New Orleans Saints but was fired after three years.Off-field philanthropyDitka made millions as a pitchman for dozens of products after he left football, and he used some of that wealth to help others.“Ditka was very supportive of Misericordia and other charities that supported children with special needs and disabilities,” Mary FioRito, an attorney, lifelong Chicagoan, and Cardinal Francis George Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, told the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News.And not just with checks.“He spoke at fundraisers, and surprised observers could catch him privately visiting with residents he knew by name,” reported the suburban Chicago Daily Herald.Ditka was also a member of the Knights of Columbus and participated in the organization’s charitable activities.‘Constant turmoil’In his 1986 autobiography “Ditka,” published at the peak of his success, Ditka admitted to having had “no spiritual life at all” during the 1970s, before two other coaches got him involved in a Bible study that reintroduced him to God.“I always had faith, but I never had understanding,” Ditka said. “I always knew what was going on in life. I was raised right. I did all the things you were supposed to do. But I never understood why I was supposed to do them, because I never had a total understanding of what was going on.”He also acknowledged what he called “constant turmoil inside,” and he compared himself unfavorably to longtime Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry (1924–2000), whom he admired for always keeping his cool on the sidelines and for his involvement in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.“My priorities can get mixed up. I don’t think he ever gets his priorities mixed up,” Ditka said in the book.Ditka said he discovered that following his faith was hard work.“Sometimes you take for granted that your faith will always be there and everything will be fine. But without making the effort, that’s just not a fact. You have to make a real effort to live your faith daily,” Ditka said in the book.“Nobody is going to do it every day. Nobody is going to do it perfectly,” he continued. “But unless you make the effort you’ve got no chance at all.”Ditka married in 1961, got divorced in 1973, and then remarried in 1977. Both wives survive him, as do his four children, according to an obituary in the Daily Herald.“I’m far from perfect now, and I’m never going to be perfect,” Ditka said in his autobiography. “When I die, I’m going to be still trying to get better than I am.”This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

unitedyam

The Chicago Bears icon, who died on Friday, gave to charities, lectored at Mass, and belonged to the Knights of Columbus.

Read More

Gospel and Word of the Day – 10 October 2026 – A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Galatians 3:22-29 Brothers and sisters: Scripture confined all things under the power of sin, that through faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe. Before faith came, we were held in custody under law, confined for the faith that was to be revealed. Consequently, the law was our disciplinarian for Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a disciplinarian. For through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise.From the Gospel according to Luke 11:27-28 While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”To listen to the Word of God and practise it, are the only two “conditions” established by Jesus for those who want to follow him. Christian life is “simple, simple”. Perhaps we have made it a bit difficult, with so many explanations that nobody understands, but the Christian life is like this: listening to the Word of God and practising it. (…) Every time we open the Gospel and read a passage and ask ourselves: ‘Is God speaking to me with this, is he saying something to me’?. This means “to listen to the Word of God, to listen with the ears and listen with the heart, to open the heart to God’s Word”. On the other hand, “Jesus’ enemies listened to Jesus’ words but they were close by in order to try and find a mistake, to make him slip up” and make him lose authority. But they never asked themselves: ‘What is God telling me with these words’?. Moreover, the Pontiff added, “God does not speak only to all but he speaks to each one of us. The Gospel was written for each one of us. (…) The Lord, “always plants his Word”, and in exchange “he asks only for an open heart to listen to it and good will to put it into practise. This is why today’s prayer is that of the Psalm: ‘Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands’, that is, on the path of your Word, so that, with your guidance, I may learn to practice it”. (Pope Francis, Santa Marta, 23 September 2014)

unitedyam

A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Galatians
3:22-29

Brothers and sisters:
Scripture confined all things under the power of sin,
that through faith in Jesus Christ
the promise might be given to those who believe.

Before faith came, we were held in custody under law,
confined for the faith that was to be revealed.
Consequently, the law was our disciplinarian for Christ,
that we might be justified by faith.
But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a disciplinarian.
For through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus.
For all of you who were baptized into Christ
have clothed yourselves with Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither slave nor free person,
there is not male and female;
for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants,
heirs according to the promise.

From the Gospel according to Luke
11:27-28

While Jesus was speaking,
a woman from the crowd called out and said to him,
“Blessed is the womb that carried you
and the breasts at which you nursed.”
He replied, “Rather, blessed are those
who hear the word of God and observe it.”

To listen to the Word of God and practise it, are the only two “conditions” established by Jesus for those who want to follow him. Christian life is “simple, simple”. Perhaps we have made it a bit difficult, with so many explanations that nobody understands, but the Christian life is like this: listening to the Word of God and practising it. (…)

Every time we open the Gospel and read a passage and ask ourselves: ‘Is God speaking to me with this, is he saying something to me’?. This means “to listen to the Word of God, to listen with the ears and listen with the heart, to open the heart to God’s Word”. On the other hand, “Jesus’ enemies listened to Jesus’ words but they were close by in order to try and find a mistake, to make him slip up” and make him lose authority. But they never asked themselves: ‘What is God telling me with these words’?. Moreover, the Pontiff added, “God does not speak only to all but he speaks to each one of us. The Gospel was written for each one of us. (…)

The Lord, “always plants his Word”, and in exchange “he asks only for an open heart to listen to it and good will to put it into practise. This is why today’s prayer is that of the Psalm: ‘Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands’, that is, on the path of your Word, so that, with your guidance, I may learn to practice it”. (Pope Francis, Santa Marta, 23 September 2014)

Read More
Transnational online scam operations on the rise, U.S. State Department says #Catholic The State Department released its 2026 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report on Oct. 8, showing criminal organizations and repressive governments are using trafficking for profit in new ways.The report, released more than three months after the June 30 deadline, said the spread of industrial-scale online scam operations “pose a direct threat to US national security.”Transnational crime organizations, mostly run by Chinese nationals and long based in Southeast Asia, have moved into Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America, destabilizing local communities and cheating people out of billions of dollars each year, according to the report. Fraudulent online romance, gambling, and cryptocurrency schemes have defrauded people in more than 125 countries, with Americans, the primary targets, losing at least .2 billion in 2025 to compounds operating out of Southeast Asia, according to the report.The organizations recruited people from at least 80 countries over the past few years through fraudulent schemes, often pushing them into forced labor and holding them in guarded compounds and manipulating them through violence, sexual exploitation, intimidation, and other acts. They are often coerced into committing crimes, the report found.The report, an annual assessment required by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000, covers April 1, 2025, through March 31.The State Department said it relied on information from embassy reporting, government officials, nongovernmental and international organizations, published reports, news articles, and other sources.The State Department said that governments that fail to punish traffickers and protect victims should be held accountable.12 governments citedTwelve governments are cited in the report for a “policy or pattern” of state-sponsored human trafficking: Afghanistan, Belarus, Burma, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Russia, South Sudan, and Sudan. This designation covers “trafficking in government-funded programs, forced labor in government-affiliated medical services or other sectors, sexual slavery in government camps, or the employment or recruitment of child soldiers.”Under the Child Soldiers Prevention Act, the department listed 14 countries whose forces or state-backed militias recruited or used children in any capacity during hostilities, including as sex slaves: Afghanistan, Burma, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Iran, Nigeria, Russia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Venezuela, and Yemen.Among country rankings reported so far, Israel returned to Tier 1, the highest category, for the first time since 2021, after five years on Tier 2. The Republic of Congo was downgraded to Tier 3, the lowest, for failing to meet minimum standards and not making significant efforts. A Tier 3 listing can restrict certain U.S. assistance, including security assistance, the report said.A Tier 1 ranking does not mean that a country has no human trafficking. Instead, according to the report, “a Tier 1 ranking indicates that a government has made efforts to address the problem … and met the TVPA’s minimum standards.”Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, author of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, said in a statement on Oct. 8 that the report’s findings are “a stark reminder that modern-day slavery remains a global scourge — and that governments must be held accountable when they fail to protect vulnerable people.”“Human trafficking is an assault on human dignity and freedom,” the congressman wrote. “The United States must continue to use every tool at its disposal — including the TIP Report — to expose human trafficking whenever it rears its ugly head, protect survivors, and press foreign governments to end this blight upon humanity.”“China remains on Tier 3 — the lowest ranking,” Smith continued, “reflecting its continued failure to meet the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) use and enabling of forced labor — including the systematic exploitation of Uyghurs and other persecuted minorities — is deeply troubling and deserves the greatest level of scrutiny.”“Moreover, the horrific, ongoing consequences of China’s one-child per couple policy can still be seen and felt today, as the Report notes that a gross disparity — tens of millions more boys than girls — has driven the demand for commercial sex trafficking and coercive marriages in the country,” Smith wrote.“Governments on Tier 3 — including China, North Korea, Iran, Russia, Burma, Belarus, Cambodia, Cuba, Laos, Nicaragua, Sudan, South Sudan, and Venezuela — can and must do more. Tier 3 must never become a permanent designation; it should serve as a dire warning and a call to action,” Smith wrote.
Read More

Transnational online scam operations on the rise, U.S. State Department says #Catholic The State Department released its 2026 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report on Oct. 8, showing criminal organizations and repressive governments are using trafficking for profit in new ways.The report, released more than three months after the June 30 deadline, said the spread of industrial-scale online scam operations “pose a direct threat to US national security.”Transnational crime organizations, mostly run by Chinese nationals and long based in Southeast Asia, have moved into Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America, destabilizing local communities and cheating people out of billions of dollars each year, according to the report. Fraudulent online romance, gambling, and cryptocurrency schemes have defrauded people in more than 125 countries, with Americans, the primary targets, losing at least $18.2 billion in 2025 to compounds operating out of Southeast Asia, according to the report.The organizations recruited people from at least 80 countries over the past few years through fraudulent schemes, often pushing them into forced labor and holding them in guarded compounds and manipulating them through violence, sexual exploitation, intimidation, and other acts. They are often coerced into committing crimes, the report found.The report, an annual assessment required by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000, covers April 1, 2025, through March 31.The State Department said it relied on information from embassy reporting, government officials, nongovernmental and international organizations, published reports, news articles, and other sources.The State Department said that governments that fail to punish traffickers and protect victims should be held accountable.12 governments citedTwelve governments are cited in the report for a “policy or pattern” of state-sponsored human trafficking: Afghanistan, Belarus, Burma, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Russia, South Sudan, and Sudan. This designation covers “trafficking in government-funded programs, forced labor in government-affiliated medical services or other sectors, sexual slavery in government camps, or the employment or recruitment of child soldiers.”Under the Child Soldiers Prevention Act, the department listed 14 countries whose forces or state-backed militias recruited or used children in any capacity during hostilities, including as sex slaves: Afghanistan, Burma, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Iran, Nigeria, Russia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Venezuela, and Yemen.Among country rankings reported so far, Israel returned to Tier 1, the highest category, for the first time since 2021, after five years on Tier 2. The Republic of Congo was downgraded to Tier 3, the lowest, for failing to meet minimum standards and not making significant efforts. A Tier 3 listing can restrict certain U.S. assistance, including security assistance, the report said.A Tier 1 ranking does not mean that a country has no human trafficking. Instead, according to the report, “a Tier 1 ranking indicates that a government has made efforts to address the problem … and met the TVPA’s minimum standards.”Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, author of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, said in a statement on Oct. 8 that the report’s findings are “a stark reminder that modern-day slavery remains a global scourge — and that governments must be held accountable when they fail to protect vulnerable people.”“Human trafficking is an assault on human dignity and freedom,” the congressman wrote. “The United States must continue to use every tool at its disposal — including the TIP Report — to expose human trafficking whenever it rears its ugly head, protect survivors, and press foreign governments to end this blight upon humanity.”“China remains on Tier 3 — the lowest ranking,” Smith continued, “reflecting its continued failure to meet the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) use and enabling of forced labor — including the systematic exploitation of Uyghurs and other persecuted minorities — is deeply troubling and deserves the greatest level of scrutiny.”“Moreover, the horrific, ongoing consequences of China’s one-child per couple policy can still be seen and felt today, as the Report notes that a gross disparity — tens of millions more boys than girls — has driven the demand for commercial sex trafficking and coercive marriages in the country,” Smith wrote.“Governments on Tier 3 — including China, North Korea, Iran, Russia, Burma, Belarus, Cambodia, Cuba, Laos, Nicaragua, Sudan, South Sudan, and Venezuela — can and must do more. Tier 3 must never become a permanent designation; it should serve as a dire warning and a call to action,” Smith wrote.

unitedyam

Fraudulent online romance, gambling, and cryptocurrency schemes have defrauded people in more than 125 countries, with Americans losing at least $18.2 billion in 2025, according to a new report.

Read More
Older Posts