Mysterious Investor ‘Pancy_Nelosi’ Makes Millions On Oil Trade Minutes Before Trump’s Iran Announcement #BabylonBee – WASHINGTON, D.C. — Just minutes before President Donald Trump announced a peace deal with Iran was close, a mysterious investor named "Pancy_Nelosi" placed hundreds of millions on a speculative trade that oil prices would plummet.
Read More

Mysterious Investor ‘Pancy_Nelosi’ Makes Millions On Oil Trade Minutes Before Trump’s Iran Announcement #BabylonBee – WASHINGTON, D.C. — Just minutes before President Donald Trump announced a peace deal with Iran was close, a mysterious investor named "Pancy_Nelosi" placed hundreds of millions on a speculative trade that oil prices would plummet.

unitedyam

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Just minutes before President Donald Trump announced a peace deal with Iran was close, a mysterious investor named "Pancy_Nelosi" placed hundreds of millions on a speculative trade that oil prices would plummet.

Read More
U.S. bishops hold ecumenical meeting with evangelicals for joint migration initiative #Catholic The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) took part in an ecumenical meeting with the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) to engage in dialogue and collaborate on pastoral solutions to heightened immigration enforcement.The meeting was held on March 24 to launch the Evangelical-Catholic Dialogue on Immigration (ECDI) — a joint initiative focused on the subject.It builds on previous collaborations, particularly a report on how President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans could affect Christian families. According to a USCCB news release, Catholic and evangelical leaders continue to grapple with pastoral challenges related to the policy, such as an increase in fear and anxiety among members.“I view the ECDI as a means of growing in Christian unity with our evangelical brothers and sisters, while also furthering our shared goal of bringing the message of the Gospel to bear on one of the most pressing issues of our time,” Bishop Brendan Cahill, chair of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, said in a statement.Cahill co-chairs the ECDI with the Rev. Walter Kim, president of the NAE. It also includes five other Catholic and five other evangelical members and organizational observers.“Whatever theological differences exist between us, Catholics and evangelicals across our country are navigating many of the same complex realities — political and social — and the issue of immigration is an important example,” Cahill said. “Together, we place our hope in Jesus Christ, and we seek to live out his teaching in relation to this challenging topic.”Cahill cited Pope Leo XIV’s emphasis on dialogue being necessary for “peace, understanding, and fraternity, especially between different faith traditions.” He expressed gratitude for Kim’s leadership and “willingness to collaborate in this way and for the commitment of all those participating.”In November, the USCCB voted 216-5 to oppose “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people.” The bishops have expressed concerns that the Department of Homeland Security rescinded guidelines that had previously limited immigration enforcement at “sensitive locations,” including churches.
Read More

U.S. bishops hold ecumenical meeting with evangelicals for joint migration initiative #Catholic The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) took part in an ecumenical meeting with the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) to engage in dialogue and collaborate on pastoral solutions to heightened immigration enforcement.The meeting was held on March 24 to launch the Evangelical-Catholic Dialogue on Immigration (ECDI) — a joint initiative focused on the subject.It builds on previous collaborations, particularly a report on how President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans could affect Christian families. According to a USCCB news release, Catholic and evangelical leaders continue to grapple with pastoral challenges related to the policy, such as an increase in fear and anxiety among members.“I view the ECDI as a means of growing in Christian unity with our evangelical brothers and sisters, while also furthering our shared goal of bringing the message of the Gospel to bear on one of the most pressing issues of our time,” Bishop Brendan Cahill, chair of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, said in a statement.Cahill co-chairs the ECDI with the Rev. Walter Kim, president of the NAE. It also includes five other Catholic and five other evangelical members and organizational observers.“Whatever theological differences exist between us, Catholics and evangelicals across our country are navigating many of the same complex realities — political and social — and the issue of immigration is an important example,” Cahill said. “Together, we place our hope in Jesus Christ, and we seek to live out his teaching in relation to this challenging topic.”Cahill cited Pope Leo XIV’s emphasis on dialogue being necessary for “peace, understanding, and fraternity, especially between different faith traditions.” He expressed gratitude for Kim’s leadership and “willingness to collaborate in this way and for the commitment of all those participating.”In November, the USCCB voted 216-5 to oppose “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people.” The bishops have expressed concerns that the Department of Homeland Security rescinded guidelines that had previously limited immigration enforcement at “sensitive locations,” including churches.

unitedyam

Bishop Brendan Cahill noted the importance of ecumenical approaches to “one of the most pressing issues of our time.”

Read More
Catholic bishops in Africa release final report addressing pastoral challenge of polygamy #Catholic NAIROBI, Kenya — Catholic bishops in Africa have released a final report addressing the pastoral challenge of polygamy across Africa. The 25-page document responds directly to the mandate that the multiyear XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, the Synod on Synodality, gave to members of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) “to promote theological and pastoral discernment on the issue of polygamy.”Compiled by a SECAM commission made up of selected theologians and professionals from relevant ecclesiastical disciplines, the report presents a structured reflection on the phenomenon through what it describes as a process of “quadruple listening”: attentive engagement with African cultural realities, sacred Scripture, Church teaching on Christian marriage, and pastoral practices already operative within ecclesial communities across the continent.Polygamy within the context of the African familyThe report begins by situating polygamy within the broader cultural and religious context of the African family. According to the SECAM commission: “The African family is built on the covenant: an alliance between human groups, an alliance with ancestors, and an alliance with God.”Within this worldview, the birth of children is central. The commission members explained that “at the heart of this family, the child represents an inestimable treasure, a divine blessing. He perpetuates the name of the lineage while helping to consolidate the present life.”It is within this framework that members of the SECAM commission situated polygamy, defined as “a marital regime in which an individual is linked at the same time to several spouses.” They clarified that although the term technically includes both polyandry and polygyny, the latter — a man married to multiple women — remains by far the most common form in Africa.Historically, the practice emerged from specific social needs. In early agrarian and nomadic societies, large families provided economic stability and security, they noted, recalling: “Polygamous marriages were practiced not only for the sake of large families, but also for reasons of solidarity, alliances, and political objectives.”Marriage in traditional African societies also carried communal and spiritual dimensions that made divorce rare, they further noted, recalling that marriage ceremonies involved not only the spouses but entire families and even calling upon ancestors, reflecting a deeply communal understanding of family life. SECAM president Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo (left) and secretary-general Father Rafael Simbine Junior (right). | Credit: ACI Africa Biblical discernmentTurning to Scripture, the SECAM commission members noted that the Bible itself reflects diverse marital practices. In the Old Testament world, “forms of marriage varied, from polygamy to monogamy,” and several biblical figures lived in polygamous unions.Nevertheless, the commission members stressed in the report that monogamy gradually emerged as the biblical ideal. They pointed to the Book of Tobit as a text that strongly “exalts monogamy,” describing families that are “strictly monogamous” and characterized by fidelity and religious devotion.The commission members interpreted this development as part of what they call a “divine pedagogy.” According to their report, God allowed polygamy historically but ultimately revealed the ideal of monogamous marriage through Christ.“In his Son, he shows that polygamy is not the ideal couple desired by God,” they said, emphasizing Jesus’ teaching that marriage is a union between “one man and one woman.”This biblical reflection also addressed one of the most common cultural motivations for polygamy — infertility. The commission insisted that biological impediments to fertility do not justify polygamy.They explained that biblical tradition broadens the understanding of motherhood and fatherhood beyond biological reproduction. True fruitfulness, the commission members wrote, can consist in fidelity to God and virtuous life rather than biological offspring alone.Ethical questions raised by polygamyThe report on the pastoral challenges of polygamy raised ethical questions about whether the core meaning of Christian marriage can be reconciled with polygamous unions. The commission highlighted the Christian understanding of marriage as a total mutual gift between two persons.“If marriage translates into ‘the gift of oneself to another,’ one might wonder how a man or woman can experience this ‘gift of self’ by giving themselves to several wives or husbands at the same time,” they observed.Commission members also raised questions about emotional and psychological dimensions, asking whether shared marital relationships risk undermining authentic communion between spouses.The Christian understanding of marriage, they noted, is further illuminated by the apostle Paul’s comparison of marriage with the relationship between Christ and the Church — a singular and exclusive covenant of love.Pastoral challenges: Baptism and sacramental lifeThe commission acknowledged that polygamy has long posed pastoral challenges for the Church in Africa, especially when individuals living in polygamous unions seek baptism or integration into Catholic communities.Historically, missionaries often approached the issue by requiring monogamy as a condition for baptism, they recalled, adding that “monogamous marriage was therefore a requirement for being or becoming a Christian.”Today, however, pastoral practice has evolved in many African dioceses, they said, identifying several pastoral approaches currently used within local churches.One approach requires a man seeking full sacramental participation to choose one spouse while continuing to provide for the other women and their children.Another response is the “permanent catechumenate,” in which a polygamous individual participates in catechetical formation and community life without receiving baptism or the other sacraments due to the continuing marital situation.A third practice involves baptizing the first wife when she has been placed in a polygamous relationship without her consent. In such cases, she may be fully integrated into the Christian community while remaining within her family environment.Position on baptism for polygamistsOne of the clearest conclusions of the SECAM commission concerned the sacrament of baptism. The commission argued that baptizing someone who intends to remain in a polygamous union risks undermining the theological meaning of baptism itself.“Baptizing a polygamist who will continue to remain so would give every appearance of legitimizing this irregularity and could distort or even devalue baptism of its substance,” they stated.For this reason, the commission recommended that baptism should normally follow a clear commitment to monogamous marriage.According to their report, polygamous catechumens should undergo thorough preparation and be ready to “accept the Gospel message, adhere to the Christian ideal, and commit to monogamous marriage before receiving baptism.”Implications for Catholics living in polygamous familiesAt the pastoral level, the members of the commission stressed accompaniment rather than exclusion. The Church, the report says, must practice “a pastoral approach of proximity, listening, and accompaniment.”This approach acknowledges that many polygamous families cannot easily dissolve existing marital bonds. In such cases, pastoral accompaniment may maintain the family structure while gradually introducing the Christian vision of marriage.The commission noted that some members of polygamous families — particularly the first wife and children — may meet the conditions for full sacramental participation, while others may live their faith “in a penitent manner and in the hope of full integration into the community of Jesus’ disciples.”Ultimately, the commission members framed the issue as part of a broader process of inculturation. The challenge for the Church in Africa, they concluded, is to present the Gospel within cultural realities while remaining faithful to the Christian understanding of marriage.This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.
Read More

Catholic bishops in Africa release final report addressing pastoral challenge of polygamy #Catholic NAIROBI, Kenya — Catholic bishops in Africa have released a final report addressing the pastoral challenge of polygamy across Africa. The 25-page document responds directly to the mandate that the multiyear XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, the Synod on Synodality, gave to members of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) “to promote theological and pastoral discernment on the issue of polygamy.”Compiled by a SECAM commission made up of selected theologians and professionals from relevant ecclesiastical disciplines, the report presents a structured reflection on the phenomenon through what it describes as a process of “quadruple listening”: attentive engagement with African cultural realities, sacred Scripture, Church teaching on Christian marriage, and pastoral practices already operative within ecclesial communities across the continent.Polygamy within the context of the African familyThe report begins by situating polygamy within the broader cultural and religious context of the African family. According to the SECAM commission: “The African family is built on the covenant: an alliance between human groups, an alliance with ancestors, and an alliance with God.”Within this worldview, the birth of children is central. The commission members explained that “at the heart of this family, the child represents an inestimable treasure, a divine blessing. He perpetuates the name of the lineage while helping to consolidate the present life.”It is within this framework that members of the SECAM commission situated polygamy, defined as “a marital regime in which an individual is linked at the same time to several spouses.” They clarified that although the term technically includes both polyandry and polygyny, the latter — a man married to multiple women — remains by far the most common form in Africa.Historically, the practice emerged from specific social needs. In early agrarian and nomadic societies, large families provided economic stability and security, they noted, recalling: “Polygamous marriages were practiced not only for the sake of large families, but also for reasons of solidarity, alliances, and political objectives.”Marriage in traditional African societies also carried communal and spiritual dimensions that made divorce rare, they further noted, recalling that marriage ceremonies involved not only the spouses but entire families and even calling upon ancestors, reflecting a deeply communal understanding of family life. SECAM president Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo (left) and secretary-general Father Rafael Simbine Junior (right). | Credit: ACI Africa Biblical discernmentTurning to Scripture, the SECAM commission members noted that the Bible itself reflects diverse marital practices. In the Old Testament world, “forms of marriage varied, from polygamy to monogamy,” and several biblical figures lived in polygamous unions.Nevertheless, the commission members stressed in the report that monogamy gradually emerged as the biblical ideal. They pointed to the Book of Tobit as a text that strongly “exalts monogamy,” describing families that are “strictly monogamous” and characterized by fidelity and religious devotion.The commission members interpreted this development as part of what they call a “divine pedagogy.” According to their report, God allowed polygamy historically but ultimately revealed the ideal of monogamous marriage through Christ.“In his Son, he shows that polygamy is not the ideal couple desired by God,” they said, emphasizing Jesus’ teaching that marriage is a union between “one man and one woman.”This biblical reflection also addressed one of the most common cultural motivations for polygamy — infertility. The commission insisted that biological impediments to fertility do not justify polygamy.They explained that biblical tradition broadens the understanding of motherhood and fatherhood beyond biological reproduction. True fruitfulness, the commission members wrote, can consist in fidelity to God and virtuous life rather than biological offspring alone.Ethical questions raised by polygamyThe report on the pastoral challenges of polygamy raised ethical questions about whether the core meaning of Christian marriage can be reconciled with polygamous unions. The commission highlighted the Christian understanding of marriage as a total mutual gift between two persons.“If marriage translates into ‘the gift of oneself to another,’ one might wonder how a man or woman can experience this ‘gift of self’ by giving themselves to several wives or husbands at the same time,” they observed.Commission members also raised questions about emotional and psychological dimensions, asking whether shared marital relationships risk undermining authentic communion between spouses.The Christian understanding of marriage, they noted, is further illuminated by the apostle Paul’s comparison of marriage with the relationship between Christ and the Church — a singular and exclusive covenant of love.Pastoral challenges: Baptism and sacramental lifeThe commission acknowledged that polygamy has long posed pastoral challenges for the Church in Africa, especially when individuals living in polygamous unions seek baptism or integration into Catholic communities.Historically, missionaries often approached the issue by requiring monogamy as a condition for baptism, they recalled, adding that “monogamous marriage was therefore a requirement for being or becoming a Christian.”Today, however, pastoral practice has evolved in many African dioceses, they said, identifying several pastoral approaches currently used within local churches.One approach requires a man seeking full sacramental participation to choose one spouse while continuing to provide for the other women and their children.Another response is the “permanent catechumenate,” in which a polygamous individual participates in catechetical formation and community life without receiving baptism or the other sacraments due to the continuing marital situation.A third practice involves baptizing the first wife when she has been placed in a polygamous relationship without her consent. In such cases, she may be fully integrated into the Christian community while remaining within her family environment.Position on baptism for polygamistsOne of the clearest conclusions of the SECAM commission concerned the sacrament of baptism. The commission argued that baptizing someone who intends to remain in a polygamous union risks undermining the theological meaning of baptism itself.“Baptizing a polygamist who will continue to remain so would give every appearance of legitimizing this irregularity and could distort or even devalue baptism of its substance,” they stated.For this reason, the commission recommended that baptism should normally follow a clear commitment to monogamous marriage.According to their report, polygamous catechumens should undergo thorough preparation and be ready to “accept the Gospel message, adhere to the Christian ideal, and commit to monogamous marriage before receiving baptism.”Implications for Catholics living in polygamous familiesAt the pastoral level, the members of the commission stressed accompaniment rather than exclusion. The Church, the report says, must practice “a pastoral approach of proximity, listening, and accompaniment.”This approach acknowledges that many polygamous families cannot easily dissolve existing marital bonds. In such cases, pastoral accompaniment may maintain the family structure while gradually introducing the Christian vision of marriage.The commission noted that some members of polygamous families — particularly the first wife and children — may meet the conditions for full sacramental participation, while others may live their faith “in a penitent manner and in the hope of full integration into the community of Jesus’ disciples.”Ultimately, the commission members framed the issue as part of a broader process of inculturation. The challenge for the Church in Africa, they concluded, is to present the Gospel within cultural realities while remaining faithful to the Christian understanding of marriage.This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

unitedyam

SECAM has issued a 25-page final report addressing the pastoral challenge of polygamy across Africa, a direct response to a mandate given at the Synod on Synodality.

Read More
Alaskan Chrism Masses: bishops and priests unite with joy #Catholic – In most parts of the world, Catholic dioceses celebrate the Chrism Mass during Holy Week as they prepare for the Sacred Triduum. However, in Alaska, this annual liturgy typically follows a different schedule. The Church in this vast state, covering 665,384 square miles, usually holds Chrism Masses a few weeks before Holy Week. That’s to enable the many missionary priests, who travel long distances to serve their remote faith communities, to receive the sacred oils, which are consecrated during the Mass, or to have them mailed to their parishes by around Eastertime. The packages contain the Oil of the Sick, the Oil of Catechumens, and the Oil of Chrism, which priests use throughout the year. Father Kamil Kiszka, moderator of St. Joseph Parish in Kotlik and Holy Family in Mertarvik, serves remote southwestern Alaska villages with populations ranging from 200 to 750. He is also a priest of the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. This year, Father Kiszka had a satisfying spiritual moment during a noteworthy Chrism Mass on March 12, following the recent Alaska Priestly Convocation. Every year, priests ministering in Alaska gather for three days of priestly fraternity and spiritual development at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Anchorage, in the Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau. At the end of their convocation, priests from Anchorage-Juneau celebrate the Chrism Mass with Archbishop Andrew Bellisario, while priests from the Diocese of Fairbanks travel to Fairbanks to celebrate the Mass with Bishop Steven Maekawa, O.P. “It was wonderful to be in the presence of the two bishops and my brother priests for the time of convocation. I was even happier to celebrate the Chrism Mass in Fairbanks with the diocesan priests. During the Mass, we receive the sacred oils from the bishop, which unite us priests with the bishop in our ministry. It’s great to have a sense of spiritual support and unity,” said Father Kiszka. “The oils are a sign of the grace of God, which I pass on to the people as a priest to strengthen them spiritually.” Father Kiszka attended an “Oil Mass” last year in Bethel, which he said was unique but lacked the spiritual and fraternal elements of the Chrism Mass, where the bishop consecrates the holy oils and priests renew their promises. After the Chrism Mass in Fairbanks, large bottles of the sacred oils were taken by one of the priests to another city, Bethel. There, the oils were redistributed at a local church into many smaller bottles, which were sent to some remote parishes. Father Kiszka was able to pick up the set of oils for his parish in Kotlik, located on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta near the coast. However, the set for his parish in Mertarvik has to wait for his next trip to visit the village. Unpredictable winter flights make airmail deliveries of the oils difficult. Oils are mailed to parishes without resident priests. In some cases, one priest serves multiple parishes, so oils are mailed ahead when he cannot visit all of them before Easter. The considerable logistics of distributing and mailing the holy oils only hint at the difficulties faced by mission priests living and ministering in Alaska’s “bush” country. Father Kiszka started his full-time missionary work in Alaska in 2024 and is expected to return to Paterson this July. The Polish-born priest travels by snowmobile, boat, and four-wheel vehicle. Sometimes he faces sub-zero temperatures. He often lacks access to running water, showers, restrooms, phone service, the Internet, transportation, or food supplies. To reach Mertarvik, Father Kiszka takes three planes. He sleeps on the floor in the local school to celebrate Mass for parishioners the next day. He enjoys hearing confessions in Yugtun, the native language of the Yupik Indigenous peoples. He also enjoys singing the “Our Father” in Yugtun during Mass. This winter has been the toughest in Alaska since the 1990s. Illustrating the difficulties, pipes broke in his church in Kotlik, and the city of North Pole, near Fairbanks, experienced extreme temperatures of -66 degrees below zero, according to Father Kiszka. “Missionary priests like me are getting a sense that there is a wider Church in the world. It’s challenging, but with God’s grace, I see that I’m doing something here in Alaska that will continue: the building up of the Church,” Father Kiszka said. “I’m bringing God with me to the native people I have been serving. I want to help make their faith more alive than I have in myself and my priesthood.”  
Read More

Alaskan Chrism Masses: bishops and priests unite with joy #Catholic – In most parts of the world, Catholic dioceses celebrate the Chrism Mass during Holy Week as they prepare for the Sacred Triduum. However, in Alaska, this annual liturgy typically follows a different schedule. The Church in this vast state, covering 665,384 square miles, usually holds Chrism Masses a few weeks before Holy Week. That’s to enable the many missionary priests, who travel long distances to serve their remote faith communities, to receive the sacred oils, which are consecrated during the Mass, or to have them mailed to their parishes by around Eastertime. The packages contain the Oil of the Sick, the Oil of Catechumens, and the Oil of Chrism, which priests use throughout the year. Father Kamil Kiszka, moderator of St. Joseph Parish in Kotlik and Holy Family in Mertarvik, serves remote southwestern Alaska villages with populations ranging from 200 to 750. He is also a priest of the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. This year, Father Kiszka had a satisfying spiritual moment during a noteworthy Chrism Mass on March 12, following the recent Alaska Priestly Convocation. Every year, priests ministering in Alaska gather for three days of priestly fraternity and spiritual development at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Anchorage, in the Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau. At the end of their convocation, priests from Anchorage-Juneau celebrate the Chrism Mass with Archbishop Andrew Bellisario, while priests from the Diocese of Fairbanks travel to Fairbanks to celebrate the Mass with Bishop Steven Maekawa, O.P. “It was wonderful to be in the presence of the two bishops and my brother priests for the time of convocation. I was even happier to celebrate the Chrism Mass in Fairbanks with the diocesan priests. During the Mass, we receive the sacred oils from the bishop, which unite us priests with the bishop in our ministry. It’s great to have a sense of spiritual support and unity,” said Father Kiszka. “The oils are a sign of the grace of God, which I pass on to the people as a priest to strengthen them spiritually.” Father Kiszka attended an “Oil Mass” last year in Bethel, which he said was unique but lacked the spiritual and fraternal elements of the Chrism Mass, where the bishop consecrates the holy oils and priests renew their promises. After the Chrism Mass in Fairbanks, large bottles of the sacred oils were taken by one of the priests to another city, Bethel. There, the oils were redistributed at a local church into many smaller bottles, which were sent to some remote parishes. Father Kiszka was able to pick up the set of oils for his parish in Kotlik, located on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta near the coast. However, the set for his parish in Mertarvik has to wait for his next trip to visit the village. Unpredictable winter flights make airmail deliveries of the oils difficult. Oils are mailed to parishes without resident priests. In some cases, one priest serves multiple parishes, so oils are mailed ahead when he cannot visit all of them before Easter. The considerable logistics of distributing and mailing the holy oils only hint at the difficulties faced by mission priests living and ministering in Alaska’s “bush” country. Father Kiszka started his full-time missionary work in Alaska in 2024 and is expected to return to Paterson this July. The Polish-born priest travels by snowmobile, boat, and four-wheel vehicle. Sometimes he faces sub-zero temperatures. He often lacks access to running water, showers, restrooms, phone service, the Internet, transportation, or food supplies. To reach Mertarvik, Father Kiszka takes three planes. He sleeps on the floor in the local school to celebrate Mass for parishioners the next day. He enjoys hearing confessions in Yugtun, the native language of the Yupik Indigenous peoples. He also enjoys singing the “Our Father” in Yugtun during Mass. This winter has been the toughest in Alaska since the 1990s. Illustrating the difficulties, pipes broke in his church in Kotlik, and the city of North Pole, near Fairbanks, experienced extreme temperatures of -66 degrees below zero, according to Father Kiszka. “Missionary priests like me are getting a sense that there is a wider Church in the world. It’s challenging, but with God’s grace, I see that I’m doing something here in Alaska that will continue: the building up of the Church,” Father Kiszka said. “I’m bringing God with me to the native people I have been serving. I want to help make their faith more alive than I have in myself and my priesthood.”  

unitedyam

Alaskan Chrism Masses: bishops and priests unite with joy #Catholic –

In most parts of the world, Catholic dioceses celebrate the Chrism Mass during Holy Week as they prepare for the Sacred Triduum. However, in Alaska, this annual liturgy typically follows a different schedule.

The Church in this vast state, covering 665,384 square miles, usually holds Chrism Masses a few weeks before Holy Week. That’s to enable the many missionary priests, who travel long distances to serve their remote faith communities, to receive the sacred oils, which are consecrated during the Mass, or to have them mailed to their parishes by around Eastertime. The packages contain the Oil of the Sick, the Oil of Catechumens, and the Oil of Chrism, which priests use throughout the year.

Father Kamil Kiszka, moderator of St. Joseph Parish in Kotlik and Holy Family in Mertarvik, serves remote southwestern Alaska villages with populations ranging from 200 to 750. He is also a priest of the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey.

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

This year, Father Kiszka had a satisfying spiritual moment during a noteworthy Chrism Mass on March 12, following the recent Alaska Priestly Convocation. Every year, priests ministering in Alaska gather for three days of priestly fraternity and spiritual development at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Anchorage, in the Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau.

At the end of their convocation, priests from Anchorage-Juneau celebrate the Chrism Mass with Archbishop Andrew Bellisario, while priests from the Diocese of Fairbanks travel to Fairbanks to celebrate the Mass with Bishop Steven Maekawa, O.P.

“It was wonderful to be in the presence of the two bishops and my brother priests for the time of convocation. I was even happier to celebrate the Chrism Mass in Fairbanks with the diocesan priests. During the Mass, we receive the sacred oils from the bishop, which unite us priests with the bishop in our ministry. It’s great to have a sense of spiritual support and unity,” said Father Kiszka. “The oils are a sign of the grace of God, which I pass on to the people as a priest to strengthen them spiritually.”

Father Kiszka attended an “Oil Mass” last year in Bethel, which he said was unique but lacked the spiritual and fraternal elements of the Chrism Mass, where the bishop consecrates the holy oils and priests renew their promises.

After the Chrism Mass in Fairbanks, large bottles of the sacred oils were taken by one of the priests to another city, Bethel. There, the oils were redistributed at a local church into many smaller bottles, which were sent to some remote parishes. Father Kiszka was able to pick up the set of oils for his parish in Kotlik, located on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta near the coast.

However, the set for his parish in Mertarvik has to wait for his next trip to visit the village.
Unpredictable winter flights make airmail deliveries of the oils difficult. Oils are mailed to parishes without resident priests. In some cases, one priest serves multiple parishes, so oils are mailed ahead when he cannot visit all of them before Easter.

The considerable logistics of distributing and mailing the holy oils only hint at the difficulties faced by mission priests living and ministering in Alaska’s “bush” country. Father Kiszka started his full-time missionary work in Alaska in 2024 and is expected to return to Paterson this July.
The Polish-born priest travels by snowmobile, boat, and four-wheel vehicle. Sometimes he faces sub-zero temperatures. He often lacks access to running water, showers, restrooms, phone service, the Internet, transportation, or food supplies.

To reach Mertarvik, Father Kiszka takes three planes. He sleeps on the floor in the local school to celebrate Mass for parishioners the next day. He enjoys hearing confessions in Yugtun, the native language of the Yupik Indigenous peoples. He also enjoys singing the “Our Father” in Yugtun during Mass.

This winter has been the toughest in Alaska since the 1990s. Illustrating the difficulties, pipes broke in his church in Kotlik, and the city of North Pole, near Fairbanks, experienced extreme temperatures of -66 degrees below zero, according to Father Kiszka.

“Missionary priests like me are getting a sense that there is a wider Church in the world. It’s challenging, but with God’s grace, I see that I’m doing something here in Alaska that will continue: the building up of the Church,” Father Kiszka said. “I’m bringing God with me to the native people I have been serving. I want to help make their faith more alive than I have in myself and my priesthood.”

 

– In most parts of the world, Catholic dioceses celebrate the Chrism Mass during Holy Week as they prepare for the Sacred Triduum. However, in Alaska, this annual liturgy typically follows a different schedule. The Church in this vast state, covering 665,384 square miles, usually holds Chrism Masses a few weeks before Holy Week. That’s to enable the many missionary priests, who travel long distances to serve their remote faith communities, to receive the sacred oils, which are consecrated during the Mass, or to have them mailed to their parishes by around Eastertime. The packages contain the Oil of the Sick,

Read More
‘Everything’s possible in Christ’: EPIC group is transforming young lives at St. Anthony of Padua #Catholic – A youth ministry of the Diocese of Paterson gathers more than 40 young adults every week — people who are looking for something more than a meeting: they are looking for a family. Every week, at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Passaic, a group of young adults comes together to pray, share their faith, and grow side by side. The EPIC ministry — Everything’s Possible in Christ — has grown from humble beginnings into one of the most vibrant youth spaces in the Diocese of Paterson, drawing young adults from different cities and even from other states. The weekly gatherings combine faith reflection, Bible study, and prayer, but over time they have become something harder to put into words: a place where young people can arrive with their questions, their history, and their search — without fear of being judged. The group also organizes recreational activities — including a recent ski trip — that strengthen the bonds of community beyond the parish setting. A fire he didn’t want to let die For Danquiewiez González, it all began with a spiritual retreat and an experience he simply could not ignore. “I felt the fire of God’s love in my heart,” he recalls. “After the retreat ended, I didn’t want that fire to go out inside me — that’s why I decided to join the EPIC group, to keep learning more about God and strengthen my faith.” Since then, his involvement in the parish has only grown. He now serves as a lector at Mass and speaks about his faith with a clarity he traces directly to that moment of grace. “Now I see life from a different point of view. All of this is born from the fact that God is in my heart, and I want to serve Him with joy.” Jonathan Moran came to the group with a similar desire: to draw closer to his faith again and find accompaniment along the way. What he found was that — and more. “Since I joined the group, I’ve received many helpful resources and met people who are willing to help me in my discernment process,” he shares. Among the experiences that have marked him most is the group’s retreat. To describe what they lived during those days, Jonathan turns to the words of Psalm 133: “How good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters live together in unity.” Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. An unexpected return Brenda Marte grew up in the Church. But like so many young people, her college years gradually drew her away from the practice of her faith. It was a personal experience of conversion that awakened in her the desire to come back. One day, she noticed an announcement in the parish bulletin for a young adult retreat. She decided to go. That seemingly small decision marked the beginning of a new chapter. “I have made friendships centered on God. My life has changed for the better,” she says today, with the simplicity of someone speaking from deep conviction rather than fleeting enthusiasm. Her commitment has continued to grow: she now serves as a catechist for the first year of Confirmation and participates in the Shalom missionary community in New York. What she treasures most about the group are the holy hours before the Blessed Sacrament. “There is something very special about being in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament together with all your friends. Knowing that there are so many young people seeking God, and that we have that mutual support — it is something truly beautiful.” Building a family, not just a group Behind EPIC’s growth are people who have invested their time and their hearts in building something that goes beyond a parish program. Kenneth Acevedo, one of the coordinators, describes his experience in EPIC as something deeply meaningful in his life. Reflecting on his involvement in the ministry, he explains that being part of the group was already a very valuable experience, but taking on the role of coordinator has been even more special. In his own words: “Being part of EPIC has been truly rewarding, but being a coordinator has been one of the best experiences of my life.” As he shares, the group has grown in recent years and now brings together young adults from different cities and even from other states. The goal of the ministry, he explains, is to offer a space where young people can feel heard and accompanied on their faith journey. With that purpose in mind, he adds: “We have created a place where young adults can come without feeling judged or alone.” Jessica Alvarez remembers the early days, when only a handful of people would show up to a given meeting. Today, it is not uncommon to see more than 40 young adults gathered on a single evening. For her, that growth cannot be explained by communication strategies or appealing programs — it comes down to something simpler: the human warmth of genuine welcome. “We strive to treat every person like a member of our family.” And to that family, the coordinators extend an open invitation to any young adult looking to deepen their faith, or who simply wants to find out whether there is something here for them. As Jessica puts it: “There is always a place for you in our family.” Visit the parish website or social media to learn more.        
Read More

‘Everything’s possible in Christ’: EPIC group is transforming young lives at St. Anthony of Padua #Catholic – A youth ministry of the Diocese of Paterson gathers more than 40 young adults every week — people who are looking for something more than a meeting: they are looking for a family. Every week, at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Passaic, a group of young adults comes together to pray, share their faith, and grow side by side. The EPIC ministry — Everything’s Possible in Christ — has grown from humble beginnings into one of the most vibrant youth spaces in the Diocese of Paterson, drawing young adults from different cities and even from other states. The weekly gatherings combine faith reflection, Bible study, and prayer, but over time they have become something harder to put into words: a place where young people can arrive with their questions, their history, and their search — without fear of being judged. The group also organizes recreational activities — including a recent ski trip — that strengthen the bonds of community beyond the parish setting. A fire he didn’t want to let die For Danquiewiez González, it all began with a spiritual retreat and an experience he simply could not ignore. “I felt the fire of God’s love in my heart,” he recalls. “After the retreat ended, I didn’t want that fire to go out inside me — that’s why I decided to join the EPIC group, to keep learning more about God and strengthen my faith.” Since then, his involvement in the parish has only grown. He now serves as a lector at Mass and speaks about his faith with a clarity he traces directly to that moment of grace. “Now I see life from a different point of view. All of this is born from the fact that God is in my heart, and I want to serve Him with joy.” Jonathan Moran came to the group with a similar desire: to draw closer to his faith again and find accompaniment along the way. What he found was that — and more. “Since I joined the group, I’ve received many helpful resources and met people who are willing to help me in my discernment process,” he shares. Among the experiences that have marked him most is the group’s retreat. To describe what they lived during those days, Jonathan turns to the words of Psalm 133: “How good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters live together in unity.” Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. An unexpected return Brenda Marte grew up in the Church. But like so many young people, her college years gradually drew her away from the practice of her faith. It was a personal experience of conversion that awakened in her the desire to come back. One day, she noticed an announcement in the parish bulletin for a young adult retreat. She decided to go. That seemingly small decision marked the beginning of a new chapter. “I have made friendships centered on God. My life has changed for the better,” she says today, with the simplicity of someone speaking from deep conviction rather than fleeting enthusiasm. Her commitment has continued to grow: she now serves as a catechist for the first year of Confirmation and participates in the Shalom missionary community in New York. What she treasures most about the group are the holy hours before the Blessed Sacrament. “There is something very special about being in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament together with all your friends. Knowing that there are so many young people seeking God, and that we have that mutual support — it is something truly beautiful.” Building a family, not just a group Behind EPIC’s growth are people who have invested their time and their hearts in building something that goes beyond a parish program. Kenneth Acevedo, one of the coordinators, describes his experience in EPIC as something deeply meaningful in his life. Reflecting on his involvement in the ministry, he explains that being part of the group was already a very valuable experience, but taking on the role of coordinator has been even more special. In his own words: “Being part of EPIC has been truly rewarding, but being a coordinator has been one of the best experiences of my life.” As he shares, the group has grown in recent years and now brings together young adults from different cities and even from other states. The goal of the ministry, he explains, is to offer a space where young people can feel heard and accompanied on their faith journey. With that purpose in mind, he adds: “We have created a place where young adults can come without feeling judged or alone.” Jessica Alvarez remembers the early days, when only a handful of people would show up to a given meeting. Today, it is not uncommon to see more than 40 young adults gathered on a single evening. For her, that growth cannot be explained by communication strategies or appealing programs — it comes down to something simpler: the human warmth of genuine welcome. “We strive to treat every person like a member of our family.” And to that family, the coordinators extend an open invitation to any young adult looking to deepen their faith, or who simply wants to find out whether there is something here for them. As Jessica puts it: “There is always a place for you in our family.” Visit the parish website or social media to learn more.        

unitedyam

‘Everything’s possible in Christ’: EPIC group is transforming young lives at St. Anthony of Padua #Catholic –

A youth ministry of the Diocese of Paterson gathers more than 40 young adults every week — people who are looking for something more than a meeting: they are looking for a family.

Every week, at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Passaic, a group of young adults comes together to pray, share their faith, and grow side by side. The EPIC ministry — Everything’s Possible in Christ — has grown from humble beginnings into one of the most vibrant youth spaces in the Diocese of Paterson, drawing young adults from different cities and even from other states.

The weekly gatherings combine faith reflection, Bible study, and prayer, but over time they have become something harder to put into words: a place where young people can arrive with their questions, their history, and their search — without fear of being judged. The group also organizes recreational activities — including a recent ski trip — that strengthen the bonds of community beyond the parish setting.

A fire he didn’t want to let die

For Danquiewiez González, it all began with a spiritual retreat and an experience he simply could not ignore.

“I felt the fire of God’s love in my heart,” he recalls. “After the retreat ended, I didn’t want that fire to go out inside me — that’s why I decided to join the EPIC group, to keep learning more about God and strengthen my faith.”

Since then, his involvement in the parish has only grown. He now serves as a lector at Mass and speaks about his faith with a clarity he traces directly to that moment of grace. “Now I see life from a different point of view. All of this is born from the fact that God is in my heart, and I want to serve Him with joy.”

Jonathan Moran came to the group with a similar desire: to draw closer to his faith again and find accompaniment along the way. What he found was that — and more. “Since I joined the group, I’ve received many helpful resources and met people who are willing to help me in my discernment process,” he shares.

Among the experiences that have marked him most is the group’s retreat. To describe what they lived during those days, Jonathan turns to the words of Psalm 133: “How good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters live together in unity.”

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

An unexpected return

Brenda Marte grew up in the Church. But like so many young people, her college years gradually drew her away from the practice of her faith. It was a personal experience of conversion that awakened in her the desire to come back.

One day, she noticed an announcement in the parish bulletin for a young adult retreat. She decided to go. That seemingly small decision marked the beginning of a new chapter.

“I have made friendships centered on God. My life has changed for the better,” she says today, with the simplicity of someone speaking from deep conviction rather than fleeting enthusiasm. Her commitment has continued to grow: she now serves as a catechist for the first year of Confirmation and participates in the Shalom missionary community in New York.

What she treasures most about the group are the holy hours before the Blessed Sacrament. “There is something very special about being in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament together with all your friends. Knowing that there are so many young people seeking God, and that we have that mutual support — it is something truly beautiful.”

Building a family, not just a group

Behind EPIC’s growth are people who have invested their time and their hearts in building something that goes beyond a parish program.

Kenneth Acevedo, one of the coordinators, describes his experience in EPIC as something deeply meaningful in his life. Reflecting on his involvement in the ministry, he explains that being part of the group was already a very valuable experience, but taking on the role of coordinator has been even more special. In his own words: “Being part of EPIC has been truly rewarding, but being a coordinator has been one of the best experiences of my life.”

As he shares, the group has grown in recent years and now brings together young adults from different cities and even from other states. The goal of the ministry, he explains, is to offer a space where young people can feel heard and accompanied on their faith journey. With that purpose in mind, he adds: “We have created a place where young adults can come without feeling judged or alone.”

Jessica Alvarez remembers the early days, when only a handful of people would show up to a given meeting. Today, it is not uncommon to see more than 40 young adults gathered on a single evening. For her, that growth cannot be explained by communication strategies or appealing programs — it comes down to something simpler: the human warmth of genuine welcome. “We strive to treat every person like a member of our family.”

And to that family, the coordinators extend an open invitation to any young adult looking to deepen their faith, or who simply wants to find out whether there is something here for them. As Jessica puts it: “There is always a place for you in our family.”

Visit the parish website or social media to learn more.

 

 

 

 

– A youth ministry of the Diocese of Paterson gathers more than 40 young adults every week — people who are looking for something more than a meeting: they are looking for a family. Every week, at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Passaic, a group of young adults comes together to pray, share their faith, and grow side by side. The EPIC ministry — Everything’s Possible in Christ — has grown from humble beginnings into one of the most vibrant youth spaces in the Diocese of Paterson, drawing young adults from different cities and even from other states. The weekly

Read More

Reminders of Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going – Moon rocks are seen during a March 24, 2026, event where NASA is outlining how the agency is executing the National Space Policy and accelerating preparations for America’s return to the surface of the Moon by 2028.

unitedyam

Moon rocks are seen during a March 24, 2026, event where NASA is outlining how the agency is executing the National Space Policy and accelerating preparations for America’s return to the surface of the Moon by 2028.

Read More

Gospel and Word of the Day – 25 March 2026 – A reading from the Book of Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10 The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying: Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky! But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!” Then Isaiah said: Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary people, must you also weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us!”   A reading from the letter to the Hebrews 10:4-10 Brothers and sisters: It is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats take away sins. For this reason, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight. Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll, behold, I come to do your will, O God.’” First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delighted in.” These are offered according to the law. Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.” He takes away the first to establish the second. By this “will,” we have been consecrated through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.From the Gospel according to Luke 1:26-38 The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.The Annunciation, recounted at the beginning of St Luke’s Gospel, is a humble, hidden event – no one saw it, no one except Mary knew of it -, but at the same time it was crucial to the history of humanity. When the Virgin said her "yes" to the Angel’s announcement, Jesus was conceived and with him began the new era of history that was to be ratified in Easter as the "new and eternal Covenant". In fact, Mary’s "yes" perfectly mirrors that of Christ himself when he entered the world, as the Letter to the Hebrews says, interpreting Psalm 40[39]: "As is written of me in the book, I have come to do your will, O God" (Heb 10: 7). The Son’s obedience was reflected in that of the Mother and thus, through the encounter of these two "yeses", God was able to take on a human face. This is why the Annunciation is a Christological feast as well, because it celebrates a central mystery of Christ: the Incarnation. "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your Word". Mary’s reply to the Angel is extended in the Church, which is called to make Christ present in history, offering her own availability so that God may continue to visit humanity with his mercy. (Benedict XVI – Angelus, 25 March 2007)

unitedyam

A reading from the Book of Isaiah
7:10-14; 8:10

The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying:
Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;
let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!
But Ahaz answered,
“I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!”
Then Isaiah said:
Listen, O house of David!
Is it not enough for you to weary people,
must you also weary my God?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us!”

 

A reading from the letter to the Hebrews
10:4-10

Brothers and sisters:
It is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats
take away sins.
For this reason, when Christ came into the world, he said:

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight.
Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll,
behold, I come to do your will, O God.’”

First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings,
holocausts and sin offerings,
you neither desired nor delighted in.”
These are offered according to the law.
Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.”
He takes away the first to establish the second.
By this “will,” we have been consecrated
through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.

From the Gospel according to Luke
1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.

The Annunciation, recounted at the beginning of St Luke’s Gospel, is a humble, hidden event – no one saw it, no one except Mary knew of it -, but at the same time it was crucial to the history of humanity. When the Virgin said her "yes" to the Angel’s announcement, Jesus was conceived and with him began the new era of history that was to be ratified in Easter as the "new and eternal Covenant". In fact, Mary’s "yes" perfectly mirrors that of Christ himself when he entered the world, as the Letter to the Hebrews says, interpreting Psalm 40[39]: "As is written of me in the book, I have come to do your will, O God" (Heb 10: 7). The Son’s obedience was reflected in that of the Mother and thus, through the encounter of these two "yeses", God was able to take on a human face. This is why the Annunciation is a Christological feast as well, because it celebrates a central mystery of Christ: the Incarnation. "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your Word". Mary’s reply to the Angel is extended in the Church, which is called to make Christ present in history, offering her own availability so that God may continue to visit humanity with his mercy. (Benedict XVI – Angelus, 25 March 2007)

Read More
Luxembourg’s Cardinal Hollerich says women’s ordination essential to Church’s future – #Catholic – Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, SJ, the former general relator of the Synod on Synodality, has publicly called for the ordination of women, arguing that the Church cannot long endure if half of the people of God lacks access to ordained ministry.“I cannot imagine in the long run how a Church can survive if half of the people of God suffers because they have no access to ordained ministry,” Hollerich said Thursday at a symposium on synodality and Praedicate Evangelium at the University of Bonn, according to news agency KNA.The archbishop of Luxembourg, who previously described himself as more conservative on the question, said his views had changed. “I have also learned as a bishop that this is not just a desire of a few left-wing women’s associations,” he claimed.While calling for patience with other cultures who may see the ordination debate as an “artificial problem,” Hollerich cited what he asserted was widespread support for women’s ordination in his parishes.“When I speak with the women in the parishes, 90% among us have the same opinion,” he said, adding that bishops are obliged to listen to such voices.Church’s definitive teachingIn his 1994 apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, Pope John Paul II declared definitively that “the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.”Since holy orders is a single sacrament with three degrees, that ruling covers the diaconate and episcopate equally.Curia reform and papal successionHollerich also praised the late Pope Francis’ impact on the Roman Curia. Through his apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium, Francis — who served as pope from 2013 until his death in 2025 — opened leadership positions in the Vatican to women. Hollerich said this trajectory would continue under Pope Leo XIV. “It would be my deepest wish that the whole Church rejoices in this,” he said.The symposium was organized by the University of Bonn’s Department of Moral Theology under theologian Jochen Sautermeister. Also speaking were Cardinals Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga and Oswald Gracias, along with Bishops Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen, Germany, and Klaus Krämer of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, Germany.This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News, and has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Read More

Luxembourg’s Cardinal Hollerich says women’s ordination essential to Church’s future – #Catholic – Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, SJ, the former general relator of the Synod on Synodality, has publicly called for the ordination of women, arguing that the Church cannot long endure if half of the people of God lacks access to ordained ministry.“I cannot imagine in the long run how a Church can survive if half of the people of God suffers because they have no access to ordained ministry,” Hollerich said Thursday at a symposium on synodality and Praedicate Evangelium at the University of Bonn, according to news agency KNA.The archbishop of Luxembourg, who previously described himself as more conservative on the question, said his views had changed. “I have also learned as a bishop that this is not just a desire of a few left-wing women’s associations,” he claimed.While calling for patience with other cultures who may see the ordination debate as an “artificial problem,” Hollerich cited what he asserted was widespread support for women’s ordination in his parishes.“When I speak with the women in the parishes, 90% among us have the same opinion,” he said, adding that bishops are obliged to listen to such voices.Church’s definitive teachingIn his 1994 apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, Pope John Paul II declared definitively that “the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.”Since holy orders is a single sacrament with three degrees, that ruling covers the diaconate and episcopate equally.Curia reform and papal successionHollerich also praised the late Pope Francis’ impact on the Roman Curia. Through his apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium, Francis — who served as pope from 2013 until his death in 2025 — opened leadership positions in the Vatican to women. Hollerich said this trajectory would continue under Pope Leo XIV. “It would be my deepest wish that the whole Church rejoices in this,” he said.The symposium was organized by the University of Bonn’s Department of Moral Theology under theologian Jochen Sautermeister. Also speaking were Cardinals Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga and Oswald Gracias, along with Bishops Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen, Germany, and Klaus Krämer of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, Germany.This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News, and has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam

At a symposium titled “Synodality and Praedicate Gospel” at the University of Bonn, the cardinal said he used to be more conservative on this issue but changed his mind.

Read More
Supreme Court hears case on asylum seekers’ rights – #Catholic – The Supreme Court heard arguments on whether asylum starts at a port of entry or only after someone steps onto U.S. soil under the Immigration and Nationality Act.The justices, hearing arguments March 24 in Noem v. Al Otro Lado, painstakingly interrogated the legal and linguistic meaning of “arrives in” and “arrives at,” with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Amy Coney Barrett signaling that they support the Trump administration’s “arrives in” definition, which would prevent migrants from crossing the border to claim asylum.Justice Sonia Sotomayor argued that her colleagues were missing the context and spirit of the statute in question, which sought to protect refugees from persecution.“They’ve arrived. They are knocking at the door,” Sotomayor said.Nicole Elizabeth Ramos, an attorney for Al Otro Lado, a legal and humanitarian aid group for migrants, argued: “You cannot ask someone fleeing rape, torture, or death threats to wait in danger indefinitely because a government has decided their lives are inconvenient.”The United States Conference of Bishops agree, as they explained in an amicus curiae brief: “The turnback policy is not just a flawed piece of statutory interpretation but an historical aberration — one that, during the period it was enforced, left vulnerable asylum seekers stranded in encampments on the border while lawfully trying to seek asylum at a port of entry.”“Metering,” or placing border crossers into various lines based on their status, was stopped by the Biden administration in 2021, but the Trump administration, represented in court by Vivek Suri, an assistant to the solicitor general, said it may be necessary to reinstate because of overwhelming demand for entry at the border, when asked by Barrett if reinstating metering was in the offing.A decision is expected by July.
Read More

Supreme Court hears case on asylum seekers’ rights – #Catholic – The Supreme Court heard arguments on whether asylum starts at a port of entry or only after someone steps onto U.S. soil under the Immigration and Nationality Act.The justices, hearing arguments March 24 in Noem v. Al Otro Lado, painstakingly interrogated the legal and linguistic meaning of “arrives in” and “arrives at,” with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Amy Coney Barrett signaling that they support the Trump administration’s “arrives in” definition, which would prevent migrants from crossing the border to claim asylum.Justice Sonia Sotomayor argued that her colleagues were missing the context and spirit of the statute in question, which sought to protect refugees from persecution.“They’ve arrived. They are knocking at the door,” Sotomayor said.Nicole Elizabeth Ramos, an attorney for Al Otro Lado, a legal and humanitarian aid group for migrants, argued: “You cannot ask someone fleeing rape, torture, or death threats to wait in danger indefinitely because a government has decided their lives are inconvenient.”The United States Conference of Bishops agree, as they explained in an amicus curiae brief: “The turnback policy is not just a flawed piece of statutory interpretation but an historical aberration — one that, during the period it was enforced, left vulnerable asylum seekers stranded in encampments on the border while lawfully trying to seek asylum at a port of entry.”“Metering,” or placing border crossers into various lines based on their status, was stopped by the Biden administration in 2021, but the Trump administration, represented in court by Vivek Suri, an assistant to the solicitor general, said it may be necessary to reinstate because of overwhelming demand for entry at the border, when asked by Barrett if reinstating metering was in the offing.A decision is expected by July.

unitedyam

A decision is expected by July.

Read More
NBC Disgracefully Buries Gold Star Father’s Account of Meeting with Trump and Hegseth, Claiming Hegseth Lied About Meeting with Families of Fallen Troops – Far left NBC on Thursday attempted to use comments made by the father of a fallen Airman, who tragically died on board a refueling aircraft earlier this month, to discredit War Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Trump’s account of a meeting with Gold Star families at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.  The story sought to debunk Hegseth’s remarks during a Pentagon press briefing with Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine last Thursday, where he honored the fallen troops in the ongoing Iran conflict. The post NBC Disgracefully Buries Gold Star Father’s Account of Meeting with Trump and Hegseth, Claiming Hegseth Lied About Meeting with Families of Fallen Troops appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More

NBC Disgracefully Buries Gold Star Father’s Account of Meeting with Trump and Hegseth, Claiming Hegseth Lied About Meeting with Families of Fallen Troops – Far left NBC on Thursday attempted to use comments made by the father of a fallen Airman, who tragically died on board a refueling aircraft earlier this month, to discredit War Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Trump’s account of a meeting with Gold Star families at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.  The story sought to debunk Hegseth’s remarks during a Pentagon press briefing with Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine last Thursday, where he honored the fallen troops in the ongoing Iran conflict. The post NBC Disgracefully Buries Gold Star Father’s Account of Meeting with Trump and Hegseth, Claiming Hegseth Lied About Meeting with Families of Fallen Troops appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

unitedyam

Collage of six military personnel portraits, showcasing diverse service members in uniform and casual settings, highlighting their dedication and camaraderie.

Collage of six military personnel portraits, showcasing diverse service members in uniform and casual settings, highlighting their dedication and camaraderie.

Far left NBC on Thursday attempted to use comments made by the father of a fallen Airman, who tragically died on board a refueling aircraft earlier this month, to discredit War Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Trump’s account of a meeting with Gold Star families at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.  The story sought to debunk Hegseth’s remarks during a Pentagon press briefing with Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine last Thursday, where he honored the fallen troops in the ongoing Iran conflict.

The post NBC Disgracefully Buries Gold Star Father’s Account of Meeting with Trump and Hegseth, Claiming Hegseth Lied About Meeting with Families of Fallen Troops appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Read More
NEW: Senate Confirms First Ever Assistant Attorney General to Investigate Fraud Nationwide – The US Senate on Tuesday confirmed the first ever Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald to investigate fraud nationwide in a 52-47 vote. The post NEW: Senate Confirms First Ever Assistant Attorney General to Investigate Fraud Nationwide appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More

NEW: Senate Confirms First Ever Assistant Attorney General to Investigate Fraud Nationwide – The US Senate on Tuesday confirmed the first ever Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald to investigate fraud nationwide in a 52-47 vote. The post NEW: Senate Confirms First Ever Assistant Attorney General to Investigate Fraud Nationwide appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

unitedyam

Colin McDonald testifies at a congressional hearing, seated at a table with water bottles and a nameplate, discussing important policy issues.

Colin McDonald testifies at a congressional hearing, seated at a table with water bottles and a nameplate, discussing important policy issues.

The US Senate on Tuesday confirmed the first ever Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald to investigate fraud nationwide in a 52-47 vote.

The post NEW: Senate Confirms First Ever Assistant Attorney General to Investigate Fraud Nationwide appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Read More
Judicial Watch pushes for transparency in 2023 FBI memo linking extremist risk to some Catholics – #Catholic – The conservative legal group Judicial Watch is continuing to push for more transparency around a memo targeting traditionalist Catholics, which was issued in early 2023 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Richmond field office.The memo detailed an investigation into a purported connection between “radical traditionalist” Catholics and “the far-right white nationalist movement.” It recommended “trip wire or source development” in Catholic parishes that offer the Traditional Latin Mass and “radical traditionalist” Catholic communities online.In a federal district court hearing March 20, lawyers for Judicial Watch complained that the FBI has not been fully compliant in its release of records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit against the FBI along with CatholicVote Civic Action.Although the FBI released more than 200 documents to Judicial Watch, the attorney handling the case, Meredith DiLiberto, told EWTN News they were heavily redacted. Although she said some redactions may be legitimate, “they didn’t provide any justification” for any redactions, in spite of the legal requirement that each redaction be justified.DiLiberto said “without that [justification], we really can’t narrow the issues” and determine what redactions are legitimate and what redactions should be challenged in court. She said the judge hearing the case, Judge Amir H. Ali, appeared sympathetic to the concerns raised by Judicial Watch and scheduled a status report for March 27.Judicial Watch is concerned about redactions related to “a lot of internal communication,” which DiLiberto said “is a lot of the cover-up.”“If they were to release the information, we would see kind of how intentional this was, [and] that this wasn’t [just] one or two agents,” she said.The Richmond FBI memo was initially drafted under former President Joe Biden’s administration, and DiLiberto said “we’re not surprised [the redactions] happened under the last administration,” but said the FBI “continues to withhold this information” throughout President Donald Trump’s administration.DiLiberto said the organization is disappointed because FBI Director Kash Patel had seemed “very emotionally invested” in promising more transparency. She recalled his statements at his confirmation hearing about how he would conduct himself.“There’s not been any difference,” DiLiberto said, adding that simply by following this case, “you would not have known that there was a dramatic shift in the political atmosphere.”The FBI’s National Press Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.After the memo was leaked to the public in early February 2023, the FBI retracted it and removed it from its systems for not meeting “the exacting standards of the FBI.” Over the past three years, Judicial Watch and the House Judiciary Committee have sought more information about the memo and the broader scope of the inquiry into traditionalist Catholics.This uncovered FBI surveillance of a Catholic priest for refusing to divulge information about a parishioner who was suspected of planning political violence. The priest cited priest-penitent privilege. It also uncovered that the FBI sent at least one undercover agent into a church and that the inquiry was discussed among several field offices.Several bishops criticized the memo, including Richmond Bishop Barry Knestout, who called it a “threat to religious liberty” and said lawmakers should “ensure that such offenses against the constitutionally protected free exercise of religion do not occur again.”The FBI memo focused on allegations about violent extremism that sometimes included racist or white supremacist ideas. It was assessing whether a subset of Catholics might overlap with racially motivated violent extremism.The Catholic Church rejects racism. According to the Second Vatican Council’s Gaudium et Spes: “Every type of discrimination, whether social or cultural, whether based on sex, race, color, social condition, language, or religion, is to be overcome and eradicated as contrary to God’s intent.” White nationalism directly conflicts with Catholic principles of human dignity, solidarity, justice, and the common good.In a statement prior to the hearing, Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton expressed frustration over continued redactions in documents it has received.“Why won’t this DOJ and FBI reveal the full record on one of the most notorious abuses of power under Biden — the FBI’s targeting of Catholics for their Christian religious beliefs,” Fitton said. “This concerns the First Amendment, and the Biden Justice Department’s flagrant abuse may be criminal.”
Read More

Judicial Watch pushes for transparency in 2023 FBI memo linking extremist risk to some Catholics – #Catholic – The conservative legal group Judicial Watch is continuing to push for more transparency around a memo targeting traditionalist Catholics, which was issued in early 2023 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Richmond field office.The memo detailed an investigation into a purported connection between “radical traditionalist” Catholics and “the far-right white nationalist movement.” It recommended “trip wire or source development” in Catholic parishes that offer the Traditional Latin Mass and “radical traditionalist” Catholic communities online.In a federal district court hearing March 20, lawyers for Judicial Watch complained that the FBI has not been fully compliant in its release of records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit against the FBI along with CatholicVote Civic Action.Although the FBI released more than 200 documents to Judicial Watch, the attorney handling the case, Meredith DiLiberto, told EWTN News they were heavily redacted. Although she said some redactions may be legitimate, “they didn’t provide any justification” for any redactions, in spite of the legal requirement that each redaction be justified.DiLiberto said “without that [justification], we really can’t narrow the issues” and determine what redactions are legitimate and what redactions should be challenged in court. She said the judge hearing the case, Judge Amir H. Ali, appeared sympathetic to the concerns raised by Judicial Watch and scheduled a status report for March 27.Judicial Watch is concerned about redactions related to “a lot of internal communication,” which DiLiberto said “is a lot of the cover-up.”“If they were to release the information, we would see kind of how intentional this was, [and] that this wasn’t [just] one or two agents,” she said.The Richmond FBI memo was initially drafted under former President Joe Biden’s administration, and DiLiberto said “we’re not surprised [the redactions] happened under the last administration,” but said the FBI “continues to withhold this information” throughout President Donald Trump’s administration.DiLiberto said the organization is disappointed because FBI Director Kash Patel had seemed “very emotionally invested” in promising more transparency. She recalled his statements at his confirmation hearing about how he would conduct himself.“There’s not been any difference,” DiLiberto said, adding that simply by following this case, “you would not have known that there was a dramatic shift in the political atmosphere.”The FBI’s National Press Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.After the memo was leaked to the public in early February 2023, the FBI retracted it and removed it from its systems for not meeting “the exacting standards of the FBI.” Over the past three years, Judicial Watch and the House Judiciary Committee have sought more information about the memo and the broader scope of the inquiry into traditionalist Catholics.This uncovered FBI surveillance of a Catholic priest for refusing to divulge information about a parishioner who was suspected of planning political violence. The priest cited priest-penitent privilege. It also uncovered that the FBI sent at least one undercover agent into a church and that the inquiry was discussed among several field offices.Several bishops criticized the memo, including Richmond Bishop Barry Knestout, who called it a “threat to religious liberty” and said lawmakers should “ensure that such offenses against the constitutionally protected free exercise of religion do not occur again.”The FBI memo focused on allegations about violent extremism that sometimes included racist or white supremacist ideas. It was assessing whether a subset of Catholics might overlap with racially motivated violent extremism.The Catholic Church rejects racism. According to the Second Vatican Council’s Gaudium et Spes: “Every type of discrimination, whether social or cultural, whether based on sex, race, color, social condition, language, or religion, is to be overcome and eradicated as contrary to God’s intent.” White nationalism directly conflicts with Catholic principles of human dignity, solidarity, justice, and the common good.In a statement prior to the hearing, Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton expressed frustration over continued redactions in documents it has received.“Why won’t this DOJ and FBI reveal the full record on one of the most notorious abuses of power under Biden — the FBI’s targeting of Catholics for their Christian religious beliefs,” Fitton said. “This concerns the First Amendment, and the Biden Justice Department’s flagrant abuse may be criminal.”

unitedyam

Lawyers for Judicial Watch complained the FBI has not been fully compliant in its release of records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Read More
Justice Samuel Alito SCHOOLS Left-Wing Lawyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson on the Proper Use of Prepositions in Major Border Case – Justice Samuel Alito dismantled a key argument pushed by a left-wing immigration attorney, while directly calling out Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson for repeatedly mischaracterizing the plain language of federal asylum law. The post Justice Samuel Alito SCHOOLS Left-Wing Lawyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson on the Proper Use of Prepositions in Major Border Case appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More

Justice Samuel Alito SCHOOLS Left-Wing Lawyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson on the Proper Use of Prepositions in Major Border Case – Justice Samuel Alito dismantled a key argument pushed by a left-wing immigration attorney, while directly calling out Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson for repeatedly mischaracterizing the plain language of federal asylum law. The post Justice Samuel Alito SCHOOLS Left-Wing Lawyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson on the Proper Use of Prepositions in Major Border Case appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

unitedyam

Portrait of a smiling U.S. Supreme Court Justice in judicial robes against a wooden backdrop.

Portrait of a smiling U.S. Supreme Court Justice in judicial robes against a wooden backdrop.

Justice Samuel Alito dismantled a key argument pushed by a left-wing immigration attorney, while directly calling out Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson for repeatedly mischaracterizing the plain language of federal asylum law.

The post Justice Samuel Alito SCHOOLS Left-Wing Lawyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson on the Proper Use of Prepositions in Major Border Case appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Read More

Artemis 2 on track for April 1 launch

unitedyam

NASA is targeting April 1 for the launch of Artemis 2, with additional opportunities through April 6. The agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft completed their second rollout of the year to Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 20, and the four-person crew entered quarantine twoContinue reading “Artemis 2 on track for April 1 launch”

The post Artemis 2 on track for April 1 launch appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Read More
Pakistan Christian prisoners rebuild lives after church bombings #Catholic LAHORE, Pakistan — Every year during Lent, Sunil Masih remembers his elder brother as churches in Youhanabad — Lahore’s largest squatter settlement for poor Christians — mark the anniversary of the 2015 church bombings.The four Catholic brothers were among more than 150 Christians arrested by police days after twin suicide attacks on St. John’s Catholic Church and Christ Church on March 15, 2015, which killed at least 19 people and injured hundreds. The attacks were claimed by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, an offshoot of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.The bombings sparked mob violence that mistakenly killed two Muslim men, who were later identified and detained through raids and video evidence. Sunil Masih stands beside his vegetable cart in front of his family’s former milk shop in Youhanabad, Lahore, Pakistan, on March 15, 2025. | Credit: Kamran Chaudhry Masih, now 28, said the trauma of prison changed him forever.“They hurled abuses at us, beat us with strips cut from vehicle tires, and in jail we were given old dried roti [flat bread],” he told EWTN News. “Water from the greasy toilet taps was served for drinking. Family meetings were allowed only after a month. It was a hellhole on earth.”He and his brother Sadaqat Perwaiz — popularly known as Monty — were released after six months in Central Jail Lahore. One brother, however, remained among 42 Christians and one Muslim charged in the lynching case.Devastation beyond prisonThe protracted court proceedings devastated the family’s four-decade-old milk business, saddled them with mounting debts, and forced the sale of their 680-square-foot home.Their worries deepened after two Christian inmates, Inderyas Masih, 36, and Usman Shaukat, 29, died in custody under suspicious circumstances during the trial. Police claimed tuberculosis and a heart attack, respectively, while families and the British Pakistani Christian Association reported bruises and unexplained injuries. Pakistani police stand guard outside St. John’s Catholic Church in Youhanabad, Lahore, on March 15, 2025. Posters of Servant of God Akash Bashir flank the entrance gate on the 10th anniversary of twin suicide bombings that struck the neighborhood. | Credit: Kamran Chaudhry In January 2020, an anti-terrorism court acquitted the remaining 39 accused after blood money (Diyat) of 25 million rupees ($89,800) was paid to the victims’ families by Pastor Anwar Fazal, a prominent Christian televangelist.Under the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance 1990, introduced during Gen. Ziaul Haq’s Islamization process, courts calculate compensation based on the financial capacity of the convict and the victim’s heirs, with a minimum value linked to 30,630 grams of silver.Monty died of a heart attack in 2022, leaving behind two children aged 10 and 14. His faded poster still hangs in front of the family’s closed milk shop.“He was a stout man, known for his strong community ties and friendly nature in our neighborhood. Prison left him very lean and weakened by an infection that caused his legs to swell beneath the knees and bleed,” Masih said.Today, Sunil Masih sells vegetables from a wooden cart in front of the same shop, now leased to a real estate dealer. He hopes to marry once his new business stabilizes.‘The gift of a hero’On March 15, police guarded churches in Youhanabad, which houses more than 150,000 Christians, as the community observed the 11th bombing anniversary.At St. John’s, parishioners lit candles and placed flowers beneath a banner honoring Akash Bashir, the 20-year-old security volunteer who died preventing a suicide bomber from entering the church during that Sunday Mass.“Salute and gratitude to the martyrs of Youhanabad,” read the banner near the Marian grotto. In January 2022, the Vatican recognized Bashir as a servant of God, making him the first Pakistani Catholic on the path to canonization. Father Akram Javed (fifth from right), parish priest of St. John’s Catholic Church, lights a memorial candle for Servant of God Akash Bashir at a commemoration in Youhanabad, Lahore, Pakistan, on March 15, 2025. | Credit: Kamran Chaudhry Father Akram Javed, parish priest of St. John’s, thanked police for security.“A group of 30 local volunteers carry on Akash’s mission, protecting the church and worshippers. The bombings were a terrible tragedy, but in that darkness, we received the gift of a hero,” he told EWTN News.‘The bombing was a national tragedy’Pentecostal politician Aslam Pervaiz Sahotra, who spent five years in prison, sees the anniversary as a moment of reflection for Pakistan’s 3.3 million Christians, many of whom continue to face discrimination, economic hardship, and lingering trauma. A man prays outside a church in Youhanabad, Lahore, Pakistan, on March 15, 2025, during commemorations marking the anniversary of the twin suicide bombings. Banners honoring Akash Bashir are visible in the background. | Credit: Kamran Chaudhry “The bombing was a national tragedy from which the authorities learnt nothing. We continue to suffer losses due to terrorism, with sporadic attacks targeting minority communities and security forces,” said the 65-year-old head of the Massiha Millat Party (Christian Nation Party).He alleged prison authorities tried to manipulate him, introducing Muslim prisoners to persuade him to stay passive.“Despite back pain from four displaced vertebrae, my time in prison strengthened my faith and resolve for activism. The trend of arresting Christians for alleged blasphemy to appease angry crowds will continue unless investigations are conducted on merit,” he added. Pakistani bishops demand probe into death of Christian farmworker The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, in its 2025 annual report, said religious freedom in Pakistan continued to deteriorate, recommending it be designated a “country of particular concern,” citing blasphemy-related prosecutions, mob violence, and forced conversions targeting Christians and other minorities, and a growing climate of fear and impunity.
Read More

Pakistan Christian prisoners rebuild lives after church bombings #Catholic LAHORE, Pakistan — Every year during Lent, Sunil Masih remembers his elder brother as churches in Youhanabad — Lahore’s largest squatter settlement for poor Christians — mark the anniversary of the 2015 church bombings.The four Catholic brothers were among more than 150 Christians arrested by police days after twin suicide attacks on St. John’s Catholic Church and Christ Church on March 15, 2015, which killed at least 19 people and injured hundreds. The attacks were claimed by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, an offshoot of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.The bombings sparked mob violence that mistakenly killed two Muslim men, who were later identified and detained through raids and video evidence. Sunil Masih stands beside his vegetable cart in front of his family’s former milk shop in Youhanabad, Lahore, Pakistan, on March 15, 2025. | Credit: Kamran Chaudhry Masih, now 28, said the trauma of prison changed him forever.“They hurled abuses at us, beat us with strips cut from vehicle tires, and in jail we were given old dried roti [flat bread],” he told EWTN News. “Water from the greasy toilet taps was served for drinking. Family meetings were allowed only after a month. It was a hellhole on earth.”He and his brother Sadaqat Perwaiz — popularly known as Monty — were released after six months in Central Jail Lahore. One brother, however, remained among 42 Christians and one Muslim charged in the lynching case.Devastation beyond prisonThe protracted court proceedings devastated the family’s four-decade-old milk business, saddled them with mounting debts, and forced the sale of their 680-square-foot home.Their worries deepened after two Christian inmates, Inderyas Masih, 36, and Usman Shaukat, 29, died in custody under suspicious circumstances during the trial. Police claimed tuberculosis and a heart attack, respectively, while families and the British Pakistani Christian Association reported bruises and unexplained injuries. Pakistani police stand guard outside St. John’s Catholic Church in Youhanabad, Lahore, on March 15, 2025. Posters of Servant of God Akash Bashir flank the entrance gate on the 10th anniversary of twin suicide bombings that struck the neighborhood. | Credit: Kamran Chaudhry In January 2020, an anti-terrorism court acquitted the remaining 39 accused after blood money (Diyat) of 25 million rupees ($89,800) was paid to the victims’ families by Pastor Anwar Fazal, a prominent Christian televangelist.Under the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance 1990, introduced during Gen. Ziaul Haq’s Islamization process, courts calculate compensation based on the financial capacity of the convict and the victim’s heirs, with a minimum value linked to 30,630 grams of silver.Monty died of a heart attack in 2022, leaving behind two children aged 10 and 14. His faded poster still hangs in front of the family’s closed milk shop.“He was a stout man, known for his strong community ties and friendly nature in our neighborhood. Prison left him very lean and weakened by an infection that caused his legs to swell beneath the knees and bleed,” Masih said.Today, Sunil Masih sells vegetables from a wooden cart in front of the same shop, now leased to a real estate dealer. He hopes to marry once his new business stabilizes.‘The gift of a hero’On March 15, police guarded churches in Youhanabad, which houses more than 150,000 Christians, as the community observed the 11th bombing anniversary.At St. John’s, parishioners lit candles and placed flowers beneath a banner honoring Akash Bashir, the 20-year-old security volunteer who died preventing a suicide bomber from entering the church during that Sunday Mass.“Salute and gratitude to the martyrs of Youhanabad,” read the banner near the Marian grotto. In January 2022, the Vatican recognized Bashir as a servant of God, making him the first Pakistani Catholic on the path to canonization. Father Akram Javed (fifth from right), parish priest of St. John’s Catholic Church, lights a memorial candle for Servant of God Akash Bashir at a commemoration in Youhanabad, Lahore, Pakistan, on March 15, 2025. | Credit: Kamran Chaudhry Father Akram Javed, parish priest of St. John’s, thanked police for security.“A group of 30 local volunteers carry on Akash’s mission, protecting the church and worshippers. The bombings were a terrible tragedy, but in that darkness, we received the gift of a hero,” he told EWTN News.‘The bombing was a national tragedy’Pentecostal politician Aslam Pervaiz Sahotra, who spent five years in prison, sees the anniversary as a moment of reflection for Pakistan’s 3.3 million Christians, many of whom continue to face discrimination, economic hardship, and lingering trauma. A man prays outside a church in Youhanabad, Lahore, Pakistan, on March 15, 2025, during commemorations marking the anniversary of the twin suicide bombings. Banners honoring Akash Bashir are visible in the background. | Credit: Kamran Chaudhry “The bombing was a national tragedy from which the authorities learnt nothing. We continue to suffer losses due to terrorism, with sporadic attacks targeting minority communities and security forces,” said the 65-year-old head of the Massiha Millat Party (Christian Nation Party).He alleged prison authorities tried to manipulate him, introducing Muslim prisoners to persuade him to stay passive.“Despite back pain from four displaced vertebrae, my time in prison strengthened my faith and resolve for activism. The trend of arresting Christians for alleged blasphemy to appease angry crowds will continue unless investigations are conducted on merit,” he added. Pakistani bishops demand probe into death of Christian farmworker The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, in its 2025 annual report, said religious freedom in Pakistan continued to deteriorate, recommending it be designated a “country of particular concern,” citing blasphemy-related prosecutions, mob violence, and forced conversions targeting Christians and other minorities, and a growing climate of fear and impunity.

unitedyam

Eleven years after twin suicide bombings struck two Pakistan churches, survivors of mass arrests still bear the scars as a young martyr who died stopping the attack moves toward sainthood.

Read More
Yad Vashem chief: Holocaust memory is key to fighting antisemitism #Catholic Dani Dayan, chairman of Yad Vashem, said that remembering and honoring the Holocaust is essential to combating rising antisemitism worldwide.Dayan, who met with Pope Leo XIV on March 23 together with Israel’s ambassador to the Holy See, Yaron Sideman, said their conversation focused on “two issues: the historical remembrance, the need to remember, to know about the Holocaust — but not just for the sake of history, also for the sake of the present and the sake of the future.”We have to make sure that an “atrocity like this cannot happen again — not to the Jewish people, not to any other people,” he said.He added that antisemitism is “raising its ugly head again all over the world” and that the two issues are closely linked.“I think that knowing about the Holocaust, learning about the Holocaust, remembering, honoring the Holocaust is one of the tools to combat antisemitism,” Dayan said.‘Antisemitism is bigotry’Asked whether Israeli policy risks fueling antisemitism, Dayan rejected the premise.“I think antisemitism should not have palliative reasons. Antisemitism is bigotry, antisemitism is racism, and it’s completely independent of anything that Israel does or does not,” he said.He described antisemitism as a unifying force among otherwise opposed extremist groups.“In many sectors in the world, antisemitism has become the common denominator, the lingua franca of all the extremists in the world — left-wing extremists, right-wing extremists, religious extremists, Islamist extremists, and many others,” he said.“They hate each other on any other issue… [but] they don’t only agree, they even collaborate.”“Antisemitism should not be understood. It should be combated without any reservation,” he added, noting he found “full agreement” with Pope Leo XIV on the point.Memory, politics, and responsibilityDayan emphasized the distinction between Holocaust remembrance and contemporary political debates.“The policy and Holocaust remembrance are two completely different things,” he said, while noting that the Holocaust remains “omnipresent in the back of our minds” for many Jews and continues to shape collective identity.He said the obligation to remember the Holocaust is “threefold”: for the future, to build a world free of bigotry and genocide; for the present, amid resurging antisemitism; and as a moral duty to the victims.“Six million victims that were massacred by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during the Shoah deserve to be remembered,” he said. “It’s a debt that we have to maintain.”A shared history and a future visit?Reflecting on relations between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people, Dayan pointed to the significance of papal visits to Yad Vashem.He presented Pope Leo XIV with a painting by Jewish artist Carol Deutsch, created during the Shoah, depicting the biblical question “Adam, where are you?”He linked the image to Pope Francis’ address at Yad Vashem, in which the late pope asked: “Where was humanity?”Dayan expressed hope that Pope Leo XIV would visit Yad Vashem in the future, “when circumstances allow it.”‘Peace is an imperative’Asked about the role of believers in promoting peace, Dayan said the memory of the Holocaust underscores the urgency of that mission.“To yearn for it and to act for it,” he said. “Learning about the Holocaust… is one of the greatest motivations a person can have to understand that peace is an imperative.”He acknowledged that he once believed the devastation of World War II and the Holocaust would end war and antisemitism.“Unfortunately… I was very naive in that respect. We have to work harder, all of us, in order to make that a reality in the future,” he said.This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Read More

Yad Vashem chief: Holocaust memory is key to fighting antisemitism #Catholic Dani Dayan, chairman of Yad Vashem, said that remembering and honoring the Holocaust is essential to combating rising antisemitism worldwide.Dayan, who met with Pope Leo XIV on March 23 together with Israel’s ambassador to the Holy See, Yaron Sideman, said their conversation focused on “two issues: the historical remembrance, the need to remember, to know about the Holocaust — but not just for the sake of history, also for the sake of the present and the sake of the future.”We have to make sure that an “atrocity like this cannot happen again — not to the Jewish people, not to any other people,” he said.He added that antisemitism is “raising its ugly head again all over the world” and that the two issues are closely linked.“I think that knowing about the Holocaust, learning about the Holocaust, remembering, honoring the Holocaust is one of the tools to combat antisemitism,” Dayan said.‘Antisemitism is bigotry’Asked whether Israeli policy risks fueling antisemitism, Dayan rejected the premise.“I think antisemitism should not have palliative reasons. Antisemitism is bigotry, antisemitism is racism, and it’s completely independent of anything that Israel does or does not,” he said.He described antisemitism as a unifying force among otherwise opposed extremist groups.“In many sectors in the world, antisemitism has become the common denominator, the lingua franca of all the extremists in the world — left-wing extremists, right-wing extremists, religious extremists, Islamist extremists, and many others,” he said.“They hate each other on any other issue… [but] they don’t only agree, they even collaborate.”“Antisemitism should not be understood. It should be combated without any reservation,” he added, noting he found “full agreement” with Pope Leo XIV on the point.Memory, politics, and responsibilityDayan emphasized the distinction between Holocaust remembrance and contemporary political debates.“The policy and Holocaust remembrance are two completely different things,” he said, while noting that the Holocaust remains “omnipresent in the back of our minds” for many Jews and continues to shape collective identity.He said the obligation to remember the Holocaust is “threefold”: for the future, to build a world free of bigotry and genocide; for the present, amid resurging antisemitism; and as a moral duty to the victims.“Six million victims that were massacred by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during the Shoah deserve to be remembered,” he said. “It’s a debt that we have to maintain.”A shared history and a future visit?Reflecting on relations between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people, Dayan pointed to the significance of papal visits to Yad Vashem.He presented Pope Leo XIV with a painting by Jewish artist Carol Deutsch, created during the Shoah, depicting the biblical question “Adam, where are you?”He linked the image to Pope Francis’ address at Yad Vashem, in which the late pope asked: “Where was humanity?”Dayan expressed hope that Pope Leo XIV would visit Yad Vashem in the future, “when circumstances allow it.”‘Peace is an imperative’Asked about the role of believers in promoting peace, Dayan said the memory of the Holocaust underscores the urgency of that mission.“To yearn for it and to act for it,” he said. “Learning about the Holocaust… is one of the greatest motivations a person can have to understand that peace is an imperative.”He acknowledged that he once believed the devastation of World War II and the Holocaust would end war and antisemitism.“Unfortunately… I was very naive in that respect. We have to work harder, all of us, in order to make that a reality in the future,” he said.This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam

Dani Dayan speaks after meeting Pope Leo XIV, says antisemitism is “bigotry” independent of Israeli policy.

Read More
Picture of the day Common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis), Arrábida National Park, Portugal. The common cuttlefish is one of the largest and best-known cuttlefish species. They are a migratory species that spend the summer and spring inshore for spawning and then move to depths of 100 to 200m during autumn and winter. They only have a lifespan of 1–2 years and have many predators including sharks, dolphins, seals, fish, and cephalopods which includes other cuttlefish. During the day, most cuttlefish can be found buried below the substrate and fairly inactive. At night however, they are actively searching for prey and can ambush them from under the substrate. Cuttlefish are carnivorous and eat a variety of organisms including crustaceans (crabs and shrimp), small fish, molluscs (clams and snails), and sometimes other cuttlefish. #ImageOfTheDay
Read More

Picture of the day Common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis), Arrábida National Park, Portugal. The common cuttlefish is one of the largest and best-known cuttlefish species. They are a migratory species that spend the summer and spring inshore for spawning and then move to depths of 100 to 200m during autumn and winter. They only have a lifespan of 1–2 years and have many predators including sharks, dolphins, seals, fish, and cephalopods which includes other cuttlefish. During the day, most cuttlefish can be found buried below the substrate and fairly inactive. At night however, they are actively searching for prey and can ambush them from under the substrate. Cuttlefish are carnivorous and eat a variety of organisms including crustaceans (crabs and shrimp), small fish, molluscs (clams and snails), and sometimes other cuttlefish. #ImageOfTheDay

unitedyam
Picture of the day
Common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis), Arrábida National Park, Portugal. The common cuttlefish is one of the largest and best-known cuttlefish species. They are a migratory species that spend the summer and spring inshore for spawning and then move to depths of 100 to 200m during autumn and winter. They only have a lifespan of 1–2 years and have many predators including sharks, dolphins, seals, fish, and cephalopods which includes other cuttlefish. During the day, most cuttlefish can be found buried below the substrate and fairly inactive. At night however, they are actively searching for prey and can ambush them from under the substrate. Cuttlefish are carnivorous and eat a variety of organisms including crustaceans (crabs and shrimp), small fish, molluscs (clams and snails), and sometimes other cuttlefish.
Read More
‘Todo es posible en Cristo’: el grupo EPIC transforma la vida de jóvenes en San Antonio de Padua #Catholic - Un ministerio juvenil de la Diócesis de Paterson reúne cada semana a más de cuarenta jóvenes adultos que buscan algo más que una reunión: buscan una familia. Cada semana, en la parroquia San Antonio de Padua, un grupo de jóvenes adultos se reúne para orar, compartir su fe y crecer juntos. El ministerio EPIC —siglas en inglés de Everything’s Possible in Christ, Todo es posible en Cristo— ha crecido desde sus humildes comienzos hasta convertirse en uno de los espacios juveniles más vivos de la Diócesis de Paterson, reuniendo a jóvenes de distintas ciudades e incluso de otros estados. Las reuniones semanales combinan reflexión de fe, estudio bíblico y oración, pero con el tiempo se han convertido en algo más difícil de definir con palabras: un lugar donde los jóvenes pueden llegar con sus preguntas, su historia y su búsqueda, sin sentirse juzgados. El grupo también organiza actividades recreativas —entre ellas, un reciente viaje de esquí— que refuerzan los lazos de comunidad fuera del ambiente parroquial. Un fuego que no quería apagar Para Danquiewiez González, todo comenzó con un retiro espiritual y una experiencia que no supo cómo ignorar. “Sentí el fuego del amor de Dios en mi corazón”, recuerda. “Después de que terminó el retiro, no quería que ese fuego se apagara dentro de mí, por eso decidí integrarme al grupo EPIC para seguir conociendo más de Dios y fortalecer mi fe.” Desde entonces, su participación en la parroquia no ha hecho sino crecer. Hoy sirve como proclamador en la misa y habla de su fe con una claridad que él mismo atribuye a ese momento de gracia. “Ahora veo la vida desde otro punto de vista. Todo esto nace porque Dios está en mi corazón y quiero servirle con alegría.” Para suscribirse a nuestro boletín electrónico semanal, haga click aquí. Jonathan Moran llegó al grupo con un deseo parecido: volver a acercarse a su fe y encontrar acompañamiento en el camino. Lo que encontró fue eso y algo más. “Desde que me uní al grupo he recibido muchos recursos útiles y he conocido personas dispuestas a ayudarme en mi proceso de discernimiento”, cuenta. Entre las experiencias que más lo han marcado está el retiro del grupo. Para describir lo que vivieron aquellos días, Jonathan recurre a las palabras del Salmo 133: “ ¡Qué bueno y agradable; es que los hermanos vivan unidos!” Un regreso inesperado Brenda Marte creció dentro de la Iglesia. Pero como les ocurre a muchos jóvenes, los años universitarios la alejaron de la práctica de la fe. Fue una experiencia personal de conversión la que despertó en ella el deseo de regresar. Un día vio en el boletín parroquial el anuncio de un retiro para jóvenes adultos. Decidió ir. Esa decisión, aparentemente pequeña, marcó el inicio de una nueva etapa. “He hecho amistades centradas en Dios. Mi vida ha cambiado para mejor”, dice hoy, con la sencillez de quien habla desde la convicción, no desde el entusiasmo del momento. Su compromiso ha ido creciendo: actualmente es catequista del primer año de confirmación y participa en la comunidad misionera Shalom en Nueva York. Lo que más valora del grupo son las horas santas ante el Santísimo Sacramento. “Hay algo muy especial en estar frente a Jesús en el Santísimo con todos tus amigos. Saber que hay tantos jóvenes buscando a Dios y que tenemos ese apoyo mutuo es algo muy hermoso.” Construir una familia, no solo un grupo Detrás del crecimiento de EPIC hay personas que han invertido tiempo y corazón en construir algo que va más allá de un programa parroquial. Kenneth Acevedo, uno de los coordinadores, describe su experiencia en EPIC como algo profundamente significativo en su vida. Al reflexionar sobre su participación en el ministerio, explica que formar parte del grupo ya era una experiencia muy valiosa, pero asumir el servicio de coordinación ha sido aún más especial. En sus palabras: “Ser parte de EPIC ha sido verdaderamente gratificante, pero ser coordinador ha sido una de las mejores experiencias de mi vida.” Según comenta, el grupo ha crecido en los últimos años y hoy reúne a jóvenes adultos de diferentes ciudades e incluso de otros estados. El objetivo del ministerio, explica, es ofrecer un espacio donde los jóvenes puedan sentirse escuchados y acompañados en su camino de fe. Con ese propósito, añade: “Hemos creado un lugar donde los jóvenes adultos pueden venir sin sentirse juzgados ni solos.” Jessica Álvarez recuerda los comienzos, cuando en algunas reuniones apenas se juntaban unas pocas personas. Hoy no es raro ver más de cuarenta jóvenes reunidos en una sola noche. Para ella, ese crecimiento no se explica con estrategias de comunicación ni programas atractivos, sino con algo más simple: el calor humano de la acogida en Cristo. “Nos esforzamos por tratar a cada persona como un miembro de nuestra familia.” Y a esa familia, los coordinadores extienden una invitación abierta a cualquier joven adulto que busque profundizar su fe o simplemente quiera ver si hay algo para él en este camino. Como resume Jessica: “Siempre hay un lugar para ti en nuestra familia.” [See image gallery at beaconnj.org]
Read More

‘Todo es posible en Cristo’: el grupo EPIC transforma la vida de jóvenes en San Antonio de Padua #Catholic – Un ministerio juvenil de la Diócesis de Paterson reúne cada semana a más de cuarenta jóvenes adultos que buscan algo más que una reunión: buscan una familia. Cada semana, en la parroquia San Antonio de Padua, un grupo de jóvenes adultos se reúne para orar, compartir su fe y crecer juntos. El ministerio EPIC —siglas en inglés de Everything’s Possible in Christ, Todo es posible en Cristo— ha crecido desde sus humildes comienzos hasta convertirse en uno de los espacios juveniles más vivos de la Diócesis de Paterson, reuniendo a jóvenes de distintas ciudades e incluso de otros estados. Las reuniones semanales combinan reflexión de fe, estudio bíblico y oración, pero con el tiempo se han convertido en algo más difícil de definir con palabras: un lugar donde los jóvenes pueden llegar con sus preguntas, su historia y su búsqueda, sin sentirse juzgados. El grupo también organiza actividades recreativas —entre ellas, un reciente viaje de esquí— que refuerzan los lazos de comunidad fuera del ambiente parroquial. Un fuego que no quería apagar Para Danquiewiez González, todo comenzó con un retiro espiritual y una experiencia que no supo cómo ignorar. “Sentí el fuego del amor de Dios en mi corazón”, recuerda. “Después de que terminó el retiro, no quería que ese fuego se apagara dentro de mí, por eso decidí integrarme al grupo EPIC para seguir conociendo más de Dios y fortalecer mi fe.” Desde entonces, su participación en la parroquia no ha hecho sino crecer. Hoy sirve como proclamador en la misa y habla de su fe con una claridad que él mismo atribuye a ese momento de gracia. “Ahora veo la vida desde otro punto de vista. Todo esto nace porque Dios está en mi corazón y quiero servirle con alegría.” Para suscribirse a nuestro boletín electrónico semanal, haga click aquí. Jonathan Moran llegó al grupo con un deseo parecido: volver a acercarse a su fe y encontrar acompañamiento en el camino. Lo que encontró fue eso y algo más. “Desde que me uní al grupo he recibido muchos recursos útiles y he conocido personas dispuestas a ayudarme en mi proceso de discernimiento”, cuenta. Entre las experiencias que más lo han marcado está el retiro del grupo. Para describir lo que vivieron aquellos días, Jonathan recurre a las palabras del Salmo 133: “ ¡Qué bueno y agradable; es que los hermanos vivan unidos!” Un regreso inesperado Brenda Marte creció dentro de la Iglesia. Pero como les ocurre a muchos jóvenes, los años universitarios la alejaron de la práctica de la fe. Fue una experiencia personal de conversión la que despertó en ella el deseo de regresar. Un día vio en el boletín parroquial el anuncio de un retiro para jóvenes adultos. Decidió ir. Esa decisión, aparentemente pequeña, marcó el inicio de una nueva etapa. “He hecho amistades centradas en Dios. Mi vida ha cambiado para mejor”, dice hoy, con la sencillez de quien habla desde la convicción, no desde el entusiasmo del momento. Su compromiso ha ido creciendo: actualmente es catequista del primer año de confirmación y participa en la comunidad misionera Shalom en Nueva York. Lo que más valora del grupo son las horas santas ante el Santísimo Sacramento. “Hay algo muy especial en estar frente a Jesús en el Santísimo con todos tus amigos. Saber que hay tantos jóvenes buscando a Dios y que tenemos ese apoyo mutuo es algo muy hermoso.” Construir una familia, no solo un grupo Detrás del crecimiento de EPIC hay personas que han invertido tiempo y corazón en construir algo que va más allá de un programa parroquial. Kenneth Acevedo, uno de los coordinadores, describe su experiencia en EPIC como algo profundamente significativo en su vida. Al reflexionar sobre su participación en el ministerio, explica que formar parte del grupo ya era una experiencia muy valiosa, pero asumir el servicio de coordinación ha sido aún más especial. En sus palabras: “Ser parte de EPIC ha sido verdaderamente gratificante, pero ser coordinador ha sido una de las mejores experiencias de mi vida.” Según comenta, el grupo ha crecido en los últimos años y hoy reúne a jóvenes adultos de diferentes ciudades e incluso de otros estados. El objetivo del ministerio, explica, es ofrecer un espacio donde los jóvenes puedan sentirse escuchados y acompañados en su camino de fe. Con ese propósito, añade: “Hemos creado un lugar donde los jóvenes adultos pueden venir sin sentirse juzgados ni solos.” Jessica Álvarez recuerda los comienzos, cuando en algunas reuniones apenas se juntaban unas pocas personas. Hoy no es raro ver más de cuarenta jóvenes reunidos en una sola noche. Para ella, ese crecimiento no se explica con estrategias de comunicación ni programas atractivos, sino con algo más simple: el calor humano de la acogida en Cristo. “Nos esforzamos por tratar a cada persona como un miembro de nuestra familia.” Y a esa familia, los coordinadores extienden una invitación abierta a cualquier joven adulto que busque profundizar su fe o simplemente quiera ver si hay algo para él en este camino. Como resume Jessica: “Siempre hay un lugar para ti en nuestra familia.” [See image gallery at beaconnj.org]

unitedyam

‘Todo es posible en Cristo’: el grupo EPIC transforma la vida de jóvenes en San Antonio de Padua #Catholic –

Un ministerio juvenil de la Diócesis de Paterson reúne cada semana a más de cuarenta jóvenes adultos que buscan algo más que una reunión: buscan una familia.

Cada semana, en la parroquia San Antonio de Padua, un grupo de jóvenes adultos se reúne para orar, compartir su fe y crecer juntos. El ministerio EPIC —siglas en inglés de Everything’s Possible in Christ, Todo es posible en Cristo— ha crecido desde sus humildes comienzos hasta convertirse en uno de los espacios juveniles más vivos de la Diócesis de Paterson, reuniendo a jóvenes de distintas ciudades e incluso de otros estados.

Las reuniones semanales combinan reflexión de fe, estudio bíblico y oración, pero con el tiempo se han convertido en algo más difícil de definir con palabras: un lugar donde los jóvenes pueden llegar con sus preguntas, su historia y su búsqueda, sin sentirse juzgados. El grupo también organiza actividades recreativas —entre ellas, un reciente viaje de esquí— que refuerzan los lazos de comunidad fuera del ambiente parroquial.

Un fuego que no quería apagar

Para Danquiewiez González, todo comenzó con un retiro espiritual y una experiencia que no supo cómo ignorar.

“Sentí el fuego del amor de Dios en mi corazón”, recuerda. “Después de que terminó el retiro, no quería que ese fuego se apagara dentro de mí, por eso decidí integrarme al grupo EPIC para seguir conociendo más de Dios y fortalecer mi fe.”

Desde entonces, su participación en la parroquia no ha hecho sino crecer. Hoy sirve como proclamador en la misa y habla de su fe con una claridad que él mismo atribuye a ese momento de gracia. “Ahora veo la vida desde otro punto de vista. Todo esto nace porque Dios está en mi corazón y quiero servirle con alegría.”

Para suscribirse a nuestro boletín electrónico semanal, haga click aquí.

Jonathan Moran llegó al grupo con un deseo parecido: volver a acercarse a su fe y encontrar acompañamiento en el camino. Lo que encontró fue eso y algo más. “Desde que me uní al grupo he recibido muchos recursos útiles y he conocido personas dispuestas a ayudarme en mi proceso de discernimiento”, cuenta.

Entre las experiencias que más lo han marcado está el retiro del grupo. Para describir lo que vivieron aquellos días, Jonathan recurre a las palabras del Salmo 133: “ ¡Qué bueno y agradable; es que los hermanos vivan unidos!”

Un regreso inesperado

Brenda Marte creció dentro de la Iglesia. Pero como les ocurre a muchos jóvenes, los años universitarios la alejaron de la práctica de la fe. Fue una experiencia personal de conversión la que despertó en ella el deseo de regresar.

Un día vio en el boletín parroquial el anuncio de un retiro para jóvenes adultos. Decidió ir. Esa decisión, aparentemente pequeña, marcó el inicio de una nueva etapa.

“He hecho amistades centradas en Dios. Mi vida ha cambiado para mejor”, dice hoy, con la sencillez de quien habla desde la convicción, no desde el entusiasmo del momento. Su compromiso ha ido creciendo: actualmente es catequista del primer año de confirmación y participa en la comunidad misionera Shalom en Nueva York.

Lo que más valora del grupo son las horas santas ante el Santísimo Sacramento. “Hay algo muy especial en estar frente a Jesús en el Santísimo con todos tus amigos. Saber que hay tantos jóvenes buscando a Dios y que tenemos ese apoyo mutuo es algo muy hermoso.”

Construir una familia, no solo un grupo

Detrás del crecimiento de EPIC hay personas que han invertido tiempo y corazón en construir algo que va más allá de un programa parroquial.

Kenneth Acevedo, uno de los coordinadores, describe su experiencia en EPIC como algo profundamente significativo en su vida. Al reflexionar sobre su participación en el ministerio, explica que formar parte del grupo ya era una experiencia muy valiosa, pero asumir el servicio de coordinación ha sido aún más especial. En sus palabras: “Ser parte de EPIC ha sido verdaderamente gratificante, pero ser coordinador ha sido una de las mejores experiencias de mi vida.”

Según comenta, el grupo ha crecido en los últimos años y hoy reúne a jóvenes adultos de diferentes ciudades e incluso de otros estados. El objetivo del ministerio, explica, es ofrecer un espacio donde los jóvenes puedan sentirse escuchados y acompañados en su camino de fe. Con ese propósito, añade: “Hemos creado un lugar donde los jóvenes adultos pueden venir sin sentirse juzgados ni solos.”

Jessica Álvarez recuerda los comienzos, cuando en algunas reuniones apenas se juntaban unas pocas personas. Hoy no es raro ver más de cuarenta jóvenes reunidos en una sola noche. Para ella, ese crecimiento no se explica con estrategias de comunicación ni programas atractivos, sino con algo más simple: el calor humano de la acogida en Cristo. “Nos esforzamos por tratar a cada persona como un miembro de nuestra familia.”

Y a esa familia, los coordinadores extienden una invitación abierta a cualquier joven adulto que busque profundizar su fe o simplemente quiera ver si hay algo para él en este camino. Como resume Jessica: “Siempre hay un lugar para ti en nuestra familia.”

[See image gallery at beaconnj.org] – Un ministerio juvenil de la Diócesis de Paterson reúne cada semana a más de cuarenta jóvenes adultos que buscan algo más que una reunión: buscan una familia. Cada semana, en la parroquia San Antonio de Padua, un grupo de jóvenes adultos se reúne para orar, compartir su fe y crecer juntos. El ministerio EPIC —siglas en inglés de Everything’s Possible in Christ, Todo es posible en Cristo— ha crecido desde sus humildes comienzos hasta convertirse en uno de los espacios juveniles más vivos de la Diócesis de Paterson, reuniendo a jóvenes de distintas ciudades e incluso de otros estados. Las

Read More
Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney’s Schedule: April, 2026 #Catholic – 4/1 Wed., 9:30 a.m. Mass – the Morristown Prison. 4/2 Thu., 7 p.m. Holy Thursday Mass – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson. 4/3 Fri., 12:30 p.m. Via Crucis – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson; 3 p.m. Passion of the Lord – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson. 4/4 Sat., 8 p.m. Easter Vigil – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson. 4/5 Easter Sunday, 11 a.m. Easter Sunday Mass – Resurrection Parish, Randolph. 4/7 Tue., 7 p.m. Confirmation – Holy Angels Parish, Little Falls. 4/9 Thu., 5 p.m. Confirmation – Our Lady Queen Peace Parish, Branchville. 4/10 Fri., 7:30 p.m. Confirmation – Immaculate Conception Parish, Franklin. 4/11 Sat., 8 a.m. Mass for Life & Procession – St. Margaret of Scotland, Morristown; 10 a.m. Confirmation – Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish, Morristown; 1 p.m. Confirmation – Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish, Morristown; 5 p.m. Installation Mass for Father Sylwester Pierzak, St. Mark the Evangelist Parish, Long Valley. 4/12 Sun., 11 a.m. Confirmation – St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Stirling; 3 p.m. Padre Pio Parish, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Recitation of the Divine Mercy Chaplet – Our Lady of Pompei Church, followed by procession with the Blessed Sacrament to St. Bonaventure Church for benediction. 4/13 Mon., 5:30 p.m. Confirmation – Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Boonton. 4/14 Tue., 7 p.m. Confirmation – Our Lady of the Holy Angels Parish, Little Falls. 4/16 Thu., 10 a.m. Finance Council Meeting – the Chancery, Clifton; 7 p.m. Confirmation – St. Ann Parish, Parsippany. 4/17 Fri., 7 p.m. Confirmation – St. Thomas of Aquin Parish, Ogdensburg. 4/18 Sat., 10 a.m. Religious Jubilee Mass – St. Ann Parish, Parsippany; 5 p.m. Confirmation – St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish, Sparta. 4/19 Sun., 12:15 p.m. Confirmation – Our Lady of the Mountain Parish, Long Valley; 4 p.m. Confirmation – St. Gerard Majella Parish, Paterson. 4/20 Mon., 7 p.m. Confirmation for St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Oak Ridge & St. John Vianney Parish, Stockholm – St. Thomas Church, Oak Ridge. 4/21 Tue., 7 p.m. Confirmation for St. James the Greater Parish, Montague, and St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Sandyston, – St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Sandyston. 4/23 Thu., 7 p.m. Confirmation – Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Wayne. 4/24 Fri., 7 p.m. Confirmation – St. Clement Pope and Martyr Parish, Dover. 4/25 Sat., 10 a.m. Confirmation – St. Lawrence the Martyr Parish, Chester; 5 p.m. Confirmation – St. Catherine of Bologna Parish, Ringwood. 4/26 Sun., 10:30 a.m. Confirmation – Blessed Sacrament Parish, Paterson; 1 p.m. Confirmation – Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Whippany. 4/27 Mon., 7 p.m. Confirmation for St. Andrew the Apostle Parish and St. Clare Parish – St. Andrew the Apostle Church, Clifton. 4/28 Tue., 6 p.m. Confirmation – Christ the King Parish, New Vernon. 4/30 Thu., 7 p.m. Confirmation – Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Pompton Plains.
Read More

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney’s Schedule: April, 2026 #Catholic – 4/1 Wed., 9:30 a.m. Mass – the Morristown Prison. 4/2 Thu., 7 p.m. Holy Thursday Mass – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson. 4/3 Fri., 12:30 p.m. Via Crucis – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson; 3 p.m. Passion of the Lord – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson. 4/4 Sat., 8 p.m. Easter Vigil – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson. 4/5 Easter Sunday, 11 a.m. Easter Sunday Mass – Resurrection Parish, Randolph. 4/7 Tue., 7 p.m. Confirmation – Holy Angels Parish, Little Falls. 4/9 Thu., 5 p.m. Confirmation – Our Lady Queen Peace Parish, Branchville. 4/10 Fri., 7:30 p.m. Confirmation – Immaculate Conception Parish, Franklin. 4/11 Sat., 8 a.m. Mass for Life & Procession – St. Margaret of Scotland, Morristown; 10 a.m. Confirmation – Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish, Morristown; 1 p.m. Confirmation – Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish, Morristown; 5 p.m. Installation Mass for Father Sylwester Pierzak, St. Mark the Evangelist Parish, Long Valley. 4/12 Sun., 11 a.m. Confirmation – St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Stirling; 3 p.m. Padre Pio Parish, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Recitation of the Divine Mercy Chaplet – Our Lady of Pompei Church, followed by procession with the Blessed Sacrament to St. Bonaventure Church for benediction. 4/13 Mon., 5:30 p.m. Confirmation – Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Boonton. 4/14 Tue., 7 p.m. Confirmation – Our Lady of the Holy Angels Parish, Little Falls. 4/16 Thu., 10 a.m. Finance Council Meeting – the Chancery, Clifton; 7 p.m. Confirmation – St. Ann Parish, Parsippany. 4/17 Fri., 7 p.m. Confirmation – St. Thomas of Aquin Parish, Ogdensburg. 4/18 Sat., 10 a.m. Religious Jubilee Mass – St. Ann Parish, Parsippany; 5 p.m. Confirmation – St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish, Sparta. 4/19 Sun., 12:15 p.m. Confirmation – Our Lady of the Mountain Parish, Long Valley; 4 p.m. Confirmation – St. Gerard Majella Parish, Paterson. 4/20 Mon., 7 p.m. Confirmation for St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Oak Ridge & St. John Vianney Parish, Stockholm – St. Thomas Church, Oak Ridge. 4/21 Tue., 7 p.m. Confirmation for St. James the Greater Parish, Montague, and St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Sandyston, – St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Sandyston. 4/23 Thu., 7 p.m. Confirmation – Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Wayne. 4/24 Fri., 7 p.m. Confirmation – St. Clement Pope and Martyr Parish, Dover. 4/25 Sat., 10 a.m. Confirmation – St. Lawrence the Martyr Parish, Chester; 5 p.m. Confirmation – St. Catherine of Bologna Parish, Ringwood. 4/26 Sun., 10:30 a.m. Confirmation – Blessed Sacrament Parish, Paterson; 1 p.m. Confirmation – Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Whippany. 4/27 Mon., 7 p.m. Confirmation for St. Andrew the Apostle Parish and St. Clare Parish – St. Andrew the Apostle Church, Clifton. 4/28 Tue., 6 p.m. Confirmation – Christ the King Parish, New Vernon. 4/30 Thu., 7 p.m. Confirmation – Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Pompton Plains.

unitedyam

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney’s Schedule: April, 2026 #Catholic –

4/1 Wed., 9:30 a.m. Mass – the Morristown Prison.
4/2 Thu., 7 p.m. Holy Thursday Mass – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson.
4/3 Fri., 12:30 p.m. Via Crucis – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson; 3 p.m. Passion of the Lord – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson.
4/4 Sat., 8 p.m. Easter Vigil – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson.
4/5 Easter Sunday, 11 a.m. Easter Sunday Mass – Resurrection Parish, Randolph.
4/7 Tue., 7 p.m. Confirmation – Holy Angels Parish, Little Falls.
4/9 Thu., 5 p.m. Confirmation – Our Lady Queen Peace Parish, Branchville.
4/10 Fri., 7:30 p.m. Confirmation – Immaculate Conception Parish, Franklin.
4/11 Sat., 8 a.m. Mass for Life & Procession – St. Margaret of Scotland, Morristown; 10 a.m. Confirmation – Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish, Morristown; 1 p.m. Confirmation – Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish, Morristown; 5 p.m. Installation Mass for Father Sylwester Pierzak, St. Mark the Evangelist Parish, Long Valley.
4/12 Sun., 11 a.m. Confirmation – St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Stirling; 3 p.m. Padre Pio Parish, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Recitation of the Divine Mercy Chaplet – Our Lady of Pompei Church, followed by procession with the Blessed Sacrament to St. Bonaventure Church for benediction.
4/13 Mon., 5:30 p.m. Confirmation – Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Boonton.
4/14 Tue., 7 p.m. Confirmation – Our Lady of the Holy Angels Parish, Little Falls.
4/16 Thu., 10 a.m. Finance Council Meeting – the Chancery, Clifton; 7 p.m. Confirmation – St. Ann Parish, Parsippany.
4/17 Fri., 7 p.m. Confirmation – St. Thomas of Aquin Parish, Ogdensburg.
4/18 Sat., 10 a.m. Religious Jubilee Mass – St. Ann Parish, Parsippany; 5 p.m. Confirmation – St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish, Sparta.
4/19 Sun., 12:15 p.m. Confirmation – Our Lady of the Mountain Parish, Long Valley; 4 p.m. Confirmation – St. Gerard Majella Parish, Paterson.
4/20 Mon., 7 p.m. Confirmation for St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Oak Ridge & St. John Vianney Parish, Stockholm – St. Thomas Church, Oak Ridge.
4/21 Tue., 7 p.m. Confirmation for St. James the Greater Parish, Montague, and St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Sandyston, – St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Sandyston.
4/23 Thu., 7 p.m. Confirmation – Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Wayne.
4/24 Fri., 7 p.m. Confirmation – St. Clement Pope and Martyr Parish, Dover.
4/25 Sat., 10 a.m. Confirmation – St. Lawrence the Martyr Parish, Chester; 5 p.m. Confirmation – St. Catherine of Bologna Parish, Ringwood.
4/26 Sun., 10:30 a.m. Confirmation – Blessed Sacrament Parish, Paterson; 1 p.m. Confirmation – Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Whippany.
4/27 Mon., 7 p.m. Confirmation for St. Andrew the Apostle Parish and St. Clare Parish – St. Andrew the Apostle Church, Clifton.
4/28 Tue., 6 p.m. Confirmation – Christ the King Parish, New Vernon.
4/30 Thu., 7 p.m. Confirmation – Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Pompton Plains.

– 4/1 Wed., 9:30 a.m. Mass – the Morristown Prison. 4/2 Thu., 7 p.m. Holy Thursday Mass – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson. 4/3 Fri., 12:30 p.m. Via Crucis – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson; 3 p.m. Passion of the Lord – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson. 4/4 Sat., 8 p.m. Easter Vigil – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson. 4/5 Easter Sunday, 11 a.m. Easter Sunday Mass – Resurrection Parish, Randolph. 4/7 Tue., 7 p.m. Confirmation – Holy Angels Parish, Little Falls. 4/9 Thu., 5 p.m. Confirmation – Our

Read More

Gospel and Word of the Day – 24 March 2026 – A reading from the Book of Numbers 21:4-9 From Mount Hor the children of Israel set out on the Red Sea road, to bypass the land of Edom. But with their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!” In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents, which bit the people so that many of them died. Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you. Pray the LORD to take the serpents away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses, “Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and whoever looks at it after being bitten will live.” Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.From the Gospel according to John 8:21-30 Jesus said to the Pharisees: “I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come.” So the Jews said, “He is not going to kill himself, is he, because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?” He said to them, “You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning. I have much to say about you in condemnation. But the one who sent me is true, and what I heard from him I tell the world.” They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father. So Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me. The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.” Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.Today’s first reading speaks to us of the people’s journey through the desert. We can imagine them as they walked, led by Moses. (…) At a certain point, “the people became impatient on the way” (Num 21:4). They are tired, water supplies are low and all they have for food is manna, which, although plentiful and sent by God, seems far too meagre in a time of crisis. And so they complain and protest against God and against Moses: “Why did you make us leave?…” (cf. Num. 21:5). They are tempted to turn back and abandon the journey. (…) During such moments of disorientation – the Bible says – poisonous serpents come and bite the people, and many die. This causes the people to repent and to turn to Moses for forgiveness, asking him to beseech the Lord so that he will cast out the snakes. Moses prays to the Lord, and the Lord offers a remedy: a bronze serpent set on a pole; whoever looks at it will be saved from the deadly poison of the vipers. What is the meaning of this symbol? God does not destroy the serpents, but rather offers an “antidote”: by means of the bronze serpent fashioned by Moses, God transmits his healing strength, namely his mercy, which is more potent than the Tempter’s poison. (Francis – Homily in the Holy Mass with the rite of marriage in the feast of the exaltation on the Holy Cross)

unitedyam

A reading from the Book of Numbers
21:4-9

From Mount Hor the children of Israel set out on the Red Sea road,
to bypass the land of Edom.
But with their patience worn out by the journey,
the people complained against God and Moses,
“Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert,
where there is no food or water?
We are disgusted with this wretched food!”

In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,
which bit the people so that many of them died.
Then the people came to Moses and said,
“We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you.
Pray the LORD to take the serpents away from us.”
So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses,
“Make a saraph and mount it on a pole,
and whoever looks at it after being bitten will live.”
Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole,
and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent
looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

From the Gospel according to John
8:21-30

Jesus said to the Pharisees:
“I am going away and you will look for me,
but you will die in your sin.
Where I am going you cannot come.”
So the Jews said,
“He is not going to kill himself, is he,
because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?”
He said to them, “You belong to what is below,
I belong to what is above.
You belong to this world,
but I do not belong to this world.
That is why I told you that you will die in your sins.
For if you do not believe that I AM,
you will die in your sins.”
So they said to him, “Who are you?”
Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning.
I have much to say about you in condemnation.
But the one who sent me is true,
and what I heard from him I tell the world.”
They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father.
So Jesus said to them,
“When you lift up the Son of Man,
then you will realize that I AM,
and that I do nothing on my own,
but I say only what the Father taught me.
The one who sent me is with me.
He has not left me alone,
because I always do what is pleasing to him.”
Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.

Today’s first reading speaks to us of the people’s journey through the desert. We can imagine them as they walked, led by Moses. (…) At a certain point, “the people became impatient on the way” (Num 21:4). They are tired, water supplies are low and all they have for food is manna, which, although plentiful and sent by God, seems far too meagre in a time of crisis. And so they complain and protest against God and against Moses: “Why did you make us leave?…” (cf. Num. 21:5). They are tempted to turn back and abandon the journey. (…) During such moments of disorientation – the Bible says – poisonous serpents come and bite the people, and many die. This causes the people to repent and to turn to Moses for forgiveness, asking him to beseech the Lord so that he will cast out the snakes. Moses prays to the Lord, and the Lord offers a remedy: a bronze serpent set on a pole; whoever looks at it will be saved from the deadly poison of the vipers. What is the meaning of this symbol? God does not destroy the serpents, but rather offers an “antidote”: by means of the bronze serpent fashioned by Moses, God transmits his healing strength, namely his mercy, which is more potent than the Tempter’s poison. (Francis – Homily in the Holy Mass with the rite of marriage in the feast of the exaltation on the Holy Cross)

Read More
Kermit Gosnell, ‘America’s biggest serial killer,’ dies in prison – #Catholic – Abortionist and convicted serial killer Kermit Gosnell, believed to have murdered thousands of infants and convicted of involuntary manslaughter of a woman, died in prison at 85.Gosnell died two weeks ago of unknown causes, but his death went unreported until March 23, when Irish husband‑and‑wife documentary filmmaking team  Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney reported it.For 30 years, Gosnell operated out of an abortion clinic with conditions so disturbing it was nicknamed the “house of horrors” after law enforcement raided the clinic that had gone unchecked.Gosnell hoarded baby body parts in the abortion facility in Philadelphia, where law enforcement found blood-stained rooms, rusting and unsanitary medical equipment, flea-infested cats and cat feces, as well as severed feet of unborn babies preserved in specimen jars and body parts in the freezer next to staff lunches.Convicted in 2013 of first-degree murder of three infants, Gosnell was sentenced to three consecutive life terms without parole, among other concurrent sentences. Gosnell would “snip” the spinal cords of the children born alive during illegal late-term abortions after inducing labor in pregnant women, according to employee testimony. Former clinic staff testified that this occurred hundreds of times.Gosnell was also found guilty of involuntary manslaughter of Karnamaya Mongar, a 41-year-old refugee from Bhutan, who died of a lethal overdose of anesthesia administered by unlicensed staff in 2009.Gosnell earned an estimated .8 million per year.The Department of Health in Pennsylvania did not intervene in spite of the death of two women, injuries of many more, and years of complaints from staff and patients. Two high-ranking health department officials were fired after the clinic was exposed. The crimes were uncovered when Detective Jim Wood led a raid, along with the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration, of the clinic on Feb. 18, 2010.A 2018 film about Gosnell’s trial named him “America’s biggest serial killer.”“May God have mercy on his soul but his soul was filled with evil so there may be no mercy for him, like there was no mercy for the babies,” said Wood, the detective who brought Gosnell to justice.Maria V. Gallagher, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation of National Right to Life, said: “We continue to grieve the loss of the babies and women who fell victim to Gosnell’s violent crime spree. And we hold out hope that the lessons learned from Gosnell’s reign of terror will not be forgotten." “Tragically, public officials allowed his House of Horrors abortion facility to operate for years without being inspected,” Gallagher said. “As the grand jury stated, hair and nail salons received greater scrutiny than Gosnell’s catastrophic abortion center.”“We at Students for Life pray that he repented before dying,” said a statement from Students for Life of America. “His operation was profit-driven, dangerous, and even led to the death of a mother.”
Read More

Kermit Gosnell, ‘America’s biggest serial killer,’ dies in prison – #Catholic – Abortionist and convicted serial killer Kermit Gosnell, believed to have murdered thousands of infants and convicted of involuntary manslaughter of a woman, died in prison at 85.Gosnell died two weeks ago of unknown causes, but his death went unreported until March 23, when Irish husband‑and‑wife documentary filmmaking team  Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney reported it.For 30 years, Gosnell operated out of an abortion clinic with conditions so disturbing it was nicknamed the “house of horrors” after law enforcement raided the clinic that had gone unchecked.Gosnell hoarded baby body parts in the abortion facility in Philadelphia, where law enforcement found blood-stained rooms, rusting and unsanitary medical equipment, flea-infested cats and cat feces, as well as severed feet of unborn babies preserved in specimen jars and body parts in the freezer next to staff lunches.Convicted in 2013 of first-degree murder of three infants, Gosnell was sentenced to three consecutive life terms without parole, among other concurrent sentences. Gosnell would “snip” the spinal cords of the children born alive during illegal late-term abortions after inducing labor in pregnant women, according to employee testimony. Former clinic staff testified that this occurred hundreds of times.Gosnell was also found guilty of involuntary manslaughter of Karnamaya Mongar, a 41-year-old refugee from Bhutan, who died of a lethal overdose of anesthesia administered by unlicensed staff in 2009.Gosnell earned an estimated $1.8 million per year.The Department of Health in Pennsylvania did not intervene in spite of the death of two women, injuries of many more, and years of complaints from staff and patients. Two high-ranking health department officials were fired after the clinic was exposed. The crimes were uncovered when Detective Jim Wood led a raid, along with the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration, of the clinic on Feb. 18, 2010.A 2018 film about Gosnell’s trial named him “America’s biggest serial killer.”“May God have mercy on his soul but his soul was filled with evil so there may be no mercy for him, like there was no mercy for the babies,” said Wood, the detective who brought Gosnell to justice.Maria V. Gallagher, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation of National Right to Life, said: “We continue to grieve the loss of the babies and women who fell victim to Gosnell’s violent crime spree. And we hold out hope that the lessons learned from Gosnell’s reign of terror will not be forgotten." “Tragically, public officials allowed his House of Horrors abortion facility to operate for years without being inspected,” Gallagher said. “As the grand jury stated, hair and nail salons received greater scrutiny than Gosnell’s catastrophic abortion center.”“We at Students for Life pray that he repented before dying,” said a statement from Students for Life of America. “His operation was profit-driven, dangerous, and even led to the death of a mother.”

unitedyam

Abortionist and convicted serial killer Kermit Gosnell, believed to have murdered thousands and convicted of involuntary manslaughter of a woman and the murders of three infants, died in prison at 85.

Read More
Molotov cocktail thrown at participants at March for Life in Lisbon, Portugal – #Catholic – A 39-year-old man was arrested on Saturday, March 21, for throwing an incendiary device at participants at the March for Life in front of the country’s Parliament building in Lisbon, Portugal. According to the police, at the time of the attack “the demonstration comprised approximately 500 participants,” including families with young children and babies. The man approached the scene and “hurled an improvised incendiary device — a ‘Molotov cocktail’ containing gasoline — in the direction of the people present; the device struck the ground but failed to ignite, thereby averting potentially more serious consequences.”The suspect was apprehended and arrested at the scene. The police stated that other “individuals who were allegedly part of a group with anarchist leanings” fled, but three members were subsequently identified.The authorities also seized the device, “consisting of a glass bottle containing flammable liquid and textile material — as well as other items of evidentiary value.”Commenting on the case, Portugal’s minister of internal administration, Luís Neves, said on social media: “We do not tolerate any form of violent extremism, and we will continue to act firmly to prevent and combat it, safeguarding democratic values.”Act of terrorismThe Portuguese Federation for Life, which organized the March for Life, issued a statement on March 23 classifying Saturday’s incident as a “terrorist attack.”In recounting the event, the federation emphasized that while the incendiary device did not ignite, “the fuel used in the device” splashed on “several people, including two babies.”“Had the ignition not failed, we would be talking today about the deaths of children and infants,” the federation stated. However, the group emphasized that “the failure of the attack cannot obscure the fact that a political organization planned and sought to carry out an attack using an incendiary device against a public event packed with families, youths, and children.”The Portuguese Federation for Life urged “that this attack be treated by the authorities as the act of terrorism that it is.” The group also requested that if any link between the attackers and a political organization is established, that organization should “be declared a terrorist organization, as provided for in the counterterrorism law.”Furthermore, the federation called upon “all those who, especially in the exercise of public office, have in recent years employed a tone of hatred against the pro-life movement, accusing us of countless evils, to search their consciences and understand the consequences of their rhetoric.”The federation announced that it will request a meeting with the minister of internal administration and the prosecutor general of the republic to address the incident and that, “at the appropriate moment,” it will “join as an amicus curiae [friend of the court] in the ensuing judicial proceedings.”Gravely unacceptable incidentThe patriarch of Lisbon, Rui Manuel Sousa Valério, condemned the attack against the March for Life.“Such events are gravely unacceptable,” Sousa Valério said. He emphasized that “violence is never the way,” that it “harms human dignity and does not serve the truth.” “And it becomes even more painful when it threatens the most vulnerable, especially children, who should always be a sign of hope and never exposed to fear,” he pointed out.The patriarch expressed “his closeness to all those who participated in this initiative and, in particular, to the families and children who may have felt fear and insecurity.”“The Church is close to everyone; it accompanies and prays for each person. No incidence of violence can erase the good accomplished, the witness given, and the hope sown,” he said.The March for LifeThe March for Life took place in 12 Portuguese cities on Saturday. In addition to Lisbon, demonstrators took to the streets to take a stand against abortion and euthanasia in Aveiro, Beja, Braga, Bragança, Coimbra, Faro, Guarda, Lamego, Porto, Setúbal, and Viseu.This year, the March for Life adopted the theme “The Pro-Life People Take to the Streets” and aimed to be a march “for the dignity of all human beings, for life from the moment of conception until natural death, and for families.”Abortion was legalized in Portugal in 2007 after a national referendum.Pope Leo XIV sent a message to the participants of the March for Life, stating that “the family is, by divine design, the natural guardian of life” and therefore, it is necessary “to ensure that it does not lack the conditions required to welcome nascent life and to care, with renewed commitment, for that which is in decline (ailing or elderly persons).”“May public resources sustain Portuguese families, specifically supporting women who are about to become mothers and fostering the implementation of authentic policies of solidarity that draw citizens closer to the most needy, the marginalized, the lonely, and migrants in whom the face of Christ shines,” the pope said.Of the culture of death, Leo said that “mere declarations of good intentions, and least of all, illusory forms of compassion such as euthanasia and, ultimately, abortion, do not serve the development of our societies.”In his view, “ideas and words that inspire actions and gestures that raise up human dignity are indispensable, a goal to which friendship with Christ, fostered through the prayerful reading of the Gospel within the family, contributes immensely.”The pope also encouraged newlyweds to “welcome God’s love and allow it to bear fruit, thereby mirroring the joy of marriage and parenthood.”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

Molotov cocktail thrown at participants at March for Life in Lisbon, Portugal – #Catholic – A 39-year-old man was arrested on Saturday, March 21, for throwing an incendiary device at participants at the March for Life in front of the country’s Parliament building in Lisbon, Portugal. According to the police, at the time of the attack “the demonstration comprised approximately 500 participants,” including families with young children and babies. The man approached the scene and “hurled an improvised incendiary device — a ‘Molotov cocktail’ containing gasoline — in the direction of the people present; the device struck the ground but failed to ignite, thereby averting potentially more serious consequences.”The suspect was apprehended and arrested at the scene. The police stated that other “individuals who were allegedly part of a group with anarchist leanings” fled, but three members were subsequently identified.The authorities also seized the device, “consisting of a glass bottle containing flammable liquid and textile material — as well as other items of evidentiary value.”Commenting on the case, Portugal’s minister of internal administration, Luís Neves, said on social media: “We do not tolerate any form of violent extremism, and we will continue to act firmly to prevent and combat it, safeguarding democratic values.”Act of terrorismThe Portuguese Federation for Life, which organized the March for Life, issued a statement on March 23 classifying Saturday’s incident as a “terrorist attack.”In recounting the event, the federation emphasized that while the incendiary device did not ignite, “the fuel used in the device” splashed on “several people, including two babies.”“Had the ignition not failed, we would be talking today about the deaths of children and infants,” the federation stated. However, the group emphasized that “the failure of the attack cannot obscure the fact that a political organization planned and sought to carry out an attack using an incendiary device against a public event packed with families, youths, and children.”The Portuguese Federation for Life urged “that this attack be treated by the authorities as the act of terrorism that it is.” The group also requested that if any link between the attackers and a political organization is established, that organization should “be declared a terrorist organization, as provided for in the counterterrorism law.”Furthermore, the federation called upon “all those who, especially in the exercise of public office, have in recent years employed a tone of hatred against the pro-life movement, accusing us of countless evils, to search their consciences and understand the consequences of their rhetoric.”The federation announced that it will request a meeting with the minister of internal administration and the prosecutor general of the republic to address the incident and that, “at the appropriate moment,” it will “join as an amicus curiae [friend of the court] in the ensuing judicial proceedings.”Gravely unacceptable incidentThe patriarch of Lisbon, Rui Manuel Sousa Valério, condemned the attack against the March for Life.“Such events are gravely unacceptable,” Sousa Valério said. He emphasized that “violence is never the way,” that it “harms human dignity and does not serve the truth.” “And it becomes even more painful when it threatens the most vulnerable, especially children, who should always be a sign of hope and never exposed to fear,” he pointed out.The patriarch expressed “his closeness to all those who participated in this initiative and, in particular, to the families and children who may have felt fear and insecurity.”“The Church is close to everyone; it accompanies and prays for each person. No incidence of violence can erase the good accomplished, the witness given, and the hope sown,” he said.The March for LifeThe March for Life took place in 12 Portuguese cities on Saturday. In addition to Lisbon, demonstrators took to the streets to take a stand against abortion and euthanasia in Aveiro, Beja, Braga, Bragança, Coimbra, Faro, Guarda, Lamego, Porto, Setúbal, and Viseu.This year, the March for Life adopted the theme “The Pro-Life People Take to the Streets” and aimed to be a march “for the dignity of all human beings, for life from the moment of conception until natural death, and for families.”Abortion was legalized in Portugal in 2007 after a national referendum.Pope Leo XIV sent a message to the participants of the March for Life, stating that “the family is, by divine design, the natural guardian of life” and therefore, it is necessary “to ensure that it does not lack the conditions required to welcome nascent life and to care, with renewed commitment, for that which is in decline (ailing or elderly persons).”“May public resources sustain Portuguese families, specifically supporting women who are about to become mothers and fostering the implementation of authentic policies of solidarity that draw citizens closer to the most needy, the marginalized, the lonely, and migrants in whom the face of Christ shines,” the pope said.Of the culture of death, Leo said that “mere declarations of good intentions, and least of all, illusory forms of compassion such as euthanasia and, ultimately, abortion, do not serve the development of our societies.”In his view, “ideas and words that inspire actions and gestures that raise up human dignity are indispensable, a goal to which friendship with Christ, fostered through the prayerful reading of the Gospel within the family, contributes immensely.”The pope also encouraged newlyweds to “welcome God’s love and allow it to bear fruit, thereby mirroring the joy of marriage and parenthood.”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

After the incendiary device failed to ignite, a suspect was arrested. The march organizers called it an act of terrorism, and the patriarch of Lisbon condemned the attack.

Read More
Bishops urge action on bill to examine Indian boarding school policies – #Catholic – Four bishops have written to Congress urging them to investigate the federal Indian boarding school system.Archbishop Shelton Fabre of the Archdiocese of Louisville, Kentucky, with Bishops John Folda of the Diocese of Fargo, North Dakota; Robert Brennan of the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York; and Barry Knestout of the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, sent a letter to lawmakers in support of a bill (HR 7325) that would establish a commission to investigate, document, and report on the history and lasting impacts of Indian boarding schools.Christian missionaries sought to educate Native American children to initiate them into the Christian faith through catechesis and spiritual formation, but the schools, which were overseen by the federal government in the mid-19th century, involved many hardships for Native American populations. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has acknowledged the Church’s involvement in this history.“The forced removal of children from their tribal lands and communities as part of federal boarding school policies was a moral failure that disregarded the unique culture and dignity of Indigenous peoples,” the four bishops wrote to bill sponsor Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, and Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kansas. “Accounts from this era illustrate lasting trauma among those who were involuntarily brought to these schools. The pain from the Native American boarding school era continues to echo today.”The four bishops addressed the same letter to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii.Sponsored by Murkowski, the Senate’s identical version of the bill (SB 761) would create a commission to investigate the impacts and ongoing effects of the Indian Boarding School Policies and develop ways to protect unmarked graves and accompanying land protections. The bill also would support repatriation and identify the tribal nations from which children were taken and put an end to the removal of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children from their families and tribal communities by state social service departments, foster care agencies, and adoption agencies.The bishops urged creation of a Truth and Healing Commission to acknowledge the moral failures that harmed Indigenous children and communities and promote accountability. Under the bill, the commission would work toward reconciliation through a cooperative process involving government and religious institutions.No hearings have been set on the legislation in the House or Senate.The bishops’ letter said “the Catholic Church in the United States remains committed to transparency, to listening, and to humility. We remain dedicated to working with Native communities, government actors, and other religious traditions in efforts to bring about authentic healing and reconciliation. As one means of promoting this, we urge the House to favorably advance this legislation.”Fabre serves as chair of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development; Folda is chair of the Subcommittee on Native American Affairs; Brennan is chair of the Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church; and Knestout is chair of the Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People.
Read More

Bishops urge action on bill to examine Indian boarding school policies – #Catholic – Four bishops have written to Congress urging them to investigate the federal Indian boarding school system.Archbishop Shelton Fabre of the Archdiocese of Louisville, Kentucky, with Bishops John Folda of the Diocese of Fargo, North Dakota; Robert Brennan of the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York; and Barry Knestout of the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, sent a letter to lawmakers in support of a bill (HR 7325) that would establish a commission to investigate, document, and report on the history and lasting impacts of Indian boarding schools.Christian missionaries sought to educate Native American children to initiate them into the Christian faith through catechesis and spiritual formation, but the schools, which were overseen by the federal government in the mid-19th century, involved many hardships for Native American populations. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has acknowledged the Church’s involvement in this history.“The forced removal of children from their tribal lands and communities as part of federal boarding school policies was a moral failure that disregarded the unique culture and dignity of Indigenous peoples,” the four bishops wrote to bill sponsor Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, and Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kansas. “Accounts from this era illustrate lasting trauma among those who were involuntarily brought to these schools. The pain from the Native American boarding school era continues to echo today.”The four bishops addressed the same letter to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii.Sponsored by Murkowski, the Senate’s identical version of the bill (SB 761) would create a commission to investigate the impacts and ongoing effects of the Indian Boarding School Policies and develop ways to protect unmarked graves and accompanying land protections. The bill also would support repatriation and identify the tribal nations from which children were taken and put an end to the removal of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children from their families and tribal communities by state social service departments, foster care agencies, and adoption agencies.The bishops urged creation of a Truth and Healing Commission to acknowledge the moral failures that harmed Indigenous children and communities and promote accountability. Under the bill, the commission would work toward reconciliation through a cooperative process involving government and religious institutions.No hearings have been set on the legislation in the House or Senate.The bishops’ letter said “the Catholic Church in the United States remains committed to transparency, to listening, and to humility. We remain dedicated to working with Native communities, government actors, and other religious traditions in efforts to bring about authentic healing and reconciliation. As one means of promoting this, we urge the House to favorably advance this legislation.”Fabre serves as chair of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development; Folda is chair of the Subcommittee on Native American Affairs; Brennan is chair of the Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church; and Knestout is chair of the Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People.

unitedyam

“The pain from the Native American boarding school era continues to echo today,” four U.S. bishops wrote to lawmakers.

Read More

Rocket Lab launches ESA’s first step toward a new navigation constellation

unitedyam

Mission Highlight: Daughter of the Stars Rocket Lab is targeting Wednesday, March 25, at 5:14 a.m. EDT for the launch of its 85th Electron mission from Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula. The mission, titled Daughter of the Stars, marks the first time Rocket Lab has flown a dedicated mission for the EuropeanContinue reading “Rocket Lab launches ESA’s first step toward a new navigation constellation”

The post Rocket Lab launches ESA’s first step toward a new navigation constellation appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Read More
Pope Leo XIV reunites with his eighth grade classmates #Catholic On the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Pope Leo XIV met last week with some of his eighth grade classmates from St. Mary of the Assumption lower school in south Chicago, where he grew up.Of the 82 eighth graders with whom he attended St. Mary’s in 1969, 10 greeted him after the general audience on March 18, exchanging laughs, gifts, and warm handshakes.During the meeting, his former classmates gave him a photograph of the class of 1969, which he held up as he posed for another group shot more than 50 years later.Jerome Clemens pointed out the young Robert Prevost standing among his classmates to the L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper: “Here he is, our friend, the pope,” showing the back of the photo with Prevost’s old autograph and his new one, which he signed, “Leo XIV.”Another former classmate, Sherry Stone (née Blue), dropped a sign she held that read “God bless you Pope Leo” when the pope approached her.“Sorry! I’m nervous!” she said, laughing, as he shook her hand.Instagram postLast spring, Stone told the Lansing Journal: “When he was in the conclave, I thought, ‘Could it be him? Could Bob be the new pope? No, probably not.’ When I saw that it was him, I was just amazed. I was crying tears of joy.”“He was a super nice guy, but not nerdy,” she said.After finishing eighth grade at St. Mary’s, Prevost attended boarding school at St. Augustine Seminary High School in Michigan, graduating in 1973. He then attended another Augustinian school, Villanova University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1977 before entering the Augustinian novitiate that September. He was ordained a priest in 1982, earning a master of divinity degree from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago that same year. He earned a licentiate in canon law (JCL) in 1984 and completed a doctorate in canon law (JCD) in 1987, both from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.St. Mary’s church and school on Chicago’s ‘most endangered list’St. Mary of the Assumption Church and School, where a young Prevost served as an altar boy and his mother, Mildred Prevost, worked as a librarian, was at the center of a vibrant Catholic community in the Riverdale neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side in the 1960s.The property, which has been vacant since 2011 and is now privately owned, is located just a few blocks from the pope’s childhood home in Dolton, Illinois, but within Chicago city limits.The neighborhood has seen significant decline since then. Ward Miller of Preservation Chicago told EWTN News that St. Mary’s, which has a hole in the roof of the church building, broken windows, graffiti, and many other issues, was listed on Preservation Chicago’s 2026 “7 Most Endangered List" as of March 4. Broken windows and graffiti on St. Mary of the Assumption School, where Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, attended eighth grade in 1969. | Credit: Matthew Kaplan “We at Preservation Chicago are of the opinion that the church and school buildings of St. Mary’s are in need of immediate attention in order to secure temporary repairs, with a long-term goal of a full restoration of the campus of buildings, before everything is lost to deterioration,” Miller said.The property’s current owner, Joel Hall, said last year he is open to a landmark designation by the city, according to Miller. Preservation Chicago, a nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to preserving historic sites in Chicago and encouraging landmark designations in the city, presented its case to designate it as such at a meeting in May 2025 of the Commission of Chicago Landmarks.No decision has been made yet regarding the landmark designation, but Preservation Chicago has created an online petition to the city of Chicago to “Save the Pope’s Church!”“This complex should become a visitors site, an oratory or shrine, as this is our first American pope — a world leader, and from Chicago!” Miller told EWTN News. The interior of the dilapidated St. Mary of the Assumption Church, showing water damage to the floor and graffiti behind where the altar once stood. Pope Leo XIV served as an altar boy there during his childhood. | Credit: Ward Miller/Preservation Chicago “We would very much like to see a partnership form to save these buildings and tell the story of this world leader,” reads an article on Preservation Chicago’s website. “An initial step in this process would be to consider a Chicago landmark designation of the buildings of this campus, with a plan to methodically restore and repurpose each of the buildings.” Close-up of St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Riverdale, Chicago, Pope Leo XIV’s childhood parish, which was recently added to Preservation Chicagoʼs “7 Most Endangered” list of historic structures in the city. | Credit: Cristen Brown Miller told EWTN News he would like to see the property “prepared [in time] for the pope’s return visits to Chicago!”The pope does not yet have plans to visit the United States.
Read More

Pope Leo XIV reunites with his eighth grade classmates #Catholic On the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Pope Leo XIV met last week with some of his eighth grade classmates from St. Mary of the Assumption lower school in south Chicago, where he grew up.Of the 82 eighth graders with whom he attended St. Mary’s in 1969, 10 greeted him after the general audience on March 18, exchanging laughs, gifts, and warm handshakes.During the meeting, his former classmates gave him a photograph of the class of 1969, which he held up as he posed for another group shot more than 50 years later.Jerome Clemens pointed out the young Robert Prevost standing among his classmates to the L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper: “Here he is, our friend, the pope,” showing the back of the photo with Prevost’s old autograph and his new one, which he signed, “Leo XIV.”Another former classmate, Sherry Stone (née Blue), dropped a sign she held that read “God bless you Pope Leo” when the pope approached her.“Sorry! I’m nervous!” she said, laughing, as he shook her hand.Instagram postLast spring, Stone told the Lansing Journal: “When he was in the conclave, I thought, ‘Could it be him? Could Bob be the new pope? No, probably not.’ When I saw that it was him, I was just amazed. I was crying tears of joy.”“He was a super nice guy, but not nerdy,” she said.After finishing eighth grade at St. Mary’s, Prevost attended boarding school at St. Augustine Seminary High School in Michigan, graduating in 1973. He then attended another Augustinian school, Villanova University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1977 before entering the Augustinian novitiate that September. He was ordained a priest in 1982, earning a master of divinity degree from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago that same year. He earned a licentiate in canon law (JCL) in 1984 and completed a doctorate in canon law (JCD) in 1987, both from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.St. Mary’s church and school on Chicago’s ‘most endangered list’St. Mary of the Assumption Church and School, where a young Prevost served as an altar boy and his mother, Mildred Prevost, worked as a librarian, was at the center of a vibrant Catholic community in the Riverdale neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side in the 1960s.The property, which has been vacant since 2011 and is now privately owned, is located just a few blocks from the pope’s childhood home in Dolton, Illinois, but within Chicago city limits.The neighborhood has seen significant decline since then. Ward Miller of Preservation Chicago told EWTN News that St. Mary’s, which has a hole in the roof of the church building, broken windows, graffiti, and many other issues, was listed on Preservation Chicago’s 2026 “7 Most Endangered List" as of March 4. Broken windows and graffiti on St. Mary of the Assumption School, where Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, attended eighth grade in 1969. | Credit: Matthew Kaplan “We at Preservation Chicago are of the opinion that the church and school buildings of St. Mary’s are in need of immediate attention in order to secure temporary repairs, with a long-term goal of a full restoration of the campus of buildings, before everything is lost to deterioration,” Miller said.The property’s current owner, Joel Hall, said last year he is open to a landmark designation by the city, according to Miller. Preservation Chicago, a nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to preserving historic sites in Chicago and encouraging landmark designations in the city, presented its case to designate it as such at a meeting in May 2025 of the Commission of Chicago Landmarks.No decision has been made yet regarding the landmark designation, but Preservation Chicago has created an online petition to the city of Chicago to “Save the Pope’s Church!”“This complex should become a visitors site, an oratory or shrine, as this is our first American pope — a world leader, and from Chicago!” Miller told EWTN News. The interior of the dilapidated St. Mary of the Assumption Church, showing water damage to the floor and graffiti behind where the altar once stood. Pope Leo XIV served as an altar boy there during his childhood. | Credit: Ward Miller/Preservation Chicago “We would very much like to see a partnership form to save these buildings and tell the story of this world leader,” reads an article on Preservation Chicago’s website. “An initial step in this process would be to consider a Chicago landmark designation of the buildings of this campus, with a plan to methodically restore and repurpose each of the buildings.” Close-up of St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Riverdale, Chicago, Pope Leo XIV’s childhood parish, which was recently added to Preservation Chicagoʼs “7 Most Endangered” list of historic structures in the city. | Credit: Cristen Brown Miller told EWTN News he would like to see the property “prepared [in time] for the pope’s return visits to Chicago!”The pope does not yet have plans to visit the United States.

unitedyam

Pope Leo XIV met with 10 of his eighth grade classmates in St. Peter’s Square at a recent general audience.

Read More
War forces Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem to cancel Palm Sunday procession #Catholic Amid the continuing war and restrictions on access to the holy sites, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem has canceled the traditional Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem, announcing “exceptional measures” regarding this year’s Holy Week and Easter celebrations.The Palm Sunday procession will instead be replaced by a time of prayer for the city in a location yet to be announced.The patriarchate also announced the postponement of the chrism Mass until circumstances allow — most likely during the Easter season after necessary ecclesiastical approvals are obtained.At the same time, it affirmed that the churches of the diocese will remain open and that priests and pastors will work, within the limits of what is possible, to ensure the participation of the faithful in prayers and liturgical celebrations.The patriarchate explained that this year it has not been possible to hold the traditional Lenten pilgrimage in Jerusalem, with its celebrations at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the sites associated with Christ’s passion. It noted that, although the faithful have been able to prepare individually, they have felt the absence of the communal journey toward Easter, which is an essential element of the Church’s spiritual life.Continuing restrictionsThe patriarchate said the security conditions linked to the conflict do not suggest any improvement in the near future. It stressed that, in coordination with the other Churches and the relevant authorities, it is continuing to assess possible ways to hold the celebrations within the available framework.Decisions, it said, will be made on a day-by-day basis according to developments on the ground. According to the statement, it has become clear that it will not be possible to organize normal celebrations open to all the faithful, prompting the patriarchate to adopt a set of organizational measures.The patriarchate said this reality constitutes “another wound added to the many wounds caused by the conflict.” The pain, it said, is not limited to the consequences of war but also includes the inability to celebrate Easter together “in a fitting way.” Yet it stressed the need not to surrender to despair and called for perseverance in prayer.In this context, the patriarchate called on the faithful to unite in prayer on Saturday, March 28, by reciting the rosary for peace and reassurance, especially for those suffering because of the conflict. It concluded by affirming that Easter remains, despite every circumstance, a sign of hope, recalling that “no darkness, not even the darkness of war, can have the last word” and that the empty tomb remains a witness to the victory of life over hatred and mercy over sin.This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Read More

War forces Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem to cancel Palm Sunday procession #Catholic Amid the continuing war and restrictions on access to the holy sites, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem has canceled the traditional Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem, announcing “exceptional measures” regarding this year’s Holy Week and Easter celebrations.The Palm Sunday procession will instead be replaced by a time of prayer for the city in a location yet to be announced.The patriarchate also announced the postponement of the chrism Mass until circumstances allow — most likely during the Easter season after necessary ecclesiastical approvals are obtained.At the same time, it affirmed that the churches of the diocese will remain open and that priests and pastors will work, within the limits of what is possible, to ensure the participation of the faithful in prayers and liturgical celebrations.The patriarchate explained that this year it has not been possible to hold the traditional Lenten pilgrimage in Jerusalem, with its celebrations at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the sites associated with Christ’s passion. It noted that, although the faithful have been able to prepare individually, they have felt the absence of the communal journey toward Easter, which is an essential element of the Church’s spiritual life.Continuing restrictionsThe patriarchate said the security conditions linked to the conflict do not suggest any improvement in the near future. It stressed that, in coordination with the other Churches and the relevant authorities, it is continuing to assess possible ways to hold the celebrations within the available framework.Decisions, it said, will be made on a day-by-day basis according to developments on the ground. According to the statement, it has become clear that it will not be possible to organize normal celebrations open to all the faithful, prompting the patriarchate to adopt a set of organizational measures.The patriarchate said this reality constitutes “another wound added to the many wounds caused by the conflict.” The pain, it said, is not limited to the consequences of war but also includes the inability to celebrate Easter together “in a fitting way.” Yet it stressed the need not to surrender to despair and called for perseverance in prayer.In this context, the patriarchate called on the faithful to unite in prayer on Saturday, March 28, by reciting the rosary for peace and reassurance, especially for those suffering because of the conflict. It concluded by affirming that Easter remains, despite every circumstance, a sign of hope, recalling that “no darkness, not even the darkness of war, can have the last word” and that the empty tomb remains a witness to the victory of life over hatred and mercy over sin.This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam

Holy Week observances and events in the Holy Land have been canceled or significantly revised in the face of closures in Jerusalem due to the war with Iran.

Read More
Georgia House Committee Quietly Removes Key Section of IT Expert’s Public Comment on Critical Voting Machine Vulnerabilities –   During a hearing in the Georgia legislature on March 17th, 2026, a 40-year IT professional testified during public comment and offered to show the committee evidence of vulnerabilities in the election software they use. The post Georgia House Committee Quietly Removes Key Section of IT Expert’s Public Comment on Critical Voting Machine Vulnerabilities appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More

Georgia House Committee Quietly Removes Key Section of IT Expert’s Public Comment on Critical Voting Machine Vulnerabilities –   During a hearing in the Georgia legislature on March 17th, 2026, a 40-year IT professional testified during public comment and offered to show the committee evidence of vulnerabilities in the election software they use. The post Georgia House Committee Quietly Removes Key Section of IT Expert’s Public Comment on Critical Voting Machine Vulnerabilities appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

unitedyam

Man in a blue plaid shirt speaks at a public meeting, presenting information on a laptop while an audience listens attentively in the background.

Man in a blue plaid shirt speaks at a public meeting, presenting information on a laptop while an audience listens attentively in the background.

  During a hearing in the Georgia legislature on March 17th, 2026, a 40-year IT professional testified during public comment and offered to show the committee evidence of vulnerabilities in the election software they use.

The post Georgia House Committee Quietly Removes Key Section of IT Expert’s Public Comment on Critical Voting Machine Vulnerabilities appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Read More
NEW: Billionaire Owner of Infamous Adult-Content Website OnlyFans Dead at 43 – The founder of one of the world’s most infamous websites has passed away at a young age. The post NEW: Billionaire Owner of Infamous Adult-Content Website OnlyFans Dead at 43 appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More

NEW: Billionaire Owner of Infamous Adult-Content Website OnlyFans Dead at 43 – The founder of one of the world’s most infamous websites has passed away at a young age. The post NEW: Billionaire Owner of Infamous Adult-Content Website OnlyFans Dead at 43 appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

unitedyam

Smiling man in a casual gray shirt, with a warm background and soft lighting, showcasing a friendly and approachable demeanor.

Smiling man in a casual gray shirt, with a warm background and soft lighting, showcasing a friendly and approachable demeanor.

The founder of one of the world’s most infamous websites has passed away at a young age.

The post NEW: Billionaire Owner of Infamous Adult-Content Website OnlyFans Dead at 43 appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Read More
Barack Obama Issues Statement on Trump Tormentor Robert Mueller’s Death and It Instantly Blows Up in His Face – Former President Barack Obama probably should have thought twice before hitting ‘send’ after posting a delusional eulogy for former FBI director and Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The post Barack Obama Issues Statement on Trump Tormentor Robert Mueller’s Death and It Instantly Blows Up in His Face appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More

Barack Obama Issues Statement on Trump Tormentor Robert Mueller’s Death and It Instantly Blows Up in His Face – Former President Barack Obama probably should have thought twice before hitting ‘send’ after posting a delusional eulogy for former FBI director and Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The post Barack Obama Issues Statement on Trump Tormentor Robert Mueller’s Death and It Instantly Blows Up in His Face appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

unitedyam

Barack Obama speaking at The Connecticut Forum, discussing key issues while holding a microphone and gesturing with his hand.

Barack Obama speaking at The Connecticut Forum, discussing key issues while holding a microphone and gesturing with his hand.

Former President Barack Obama probably should have thought twice before hitting ‘send’ after posting a delusional eulogy for former FBI director and Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

The post Barack Obama Issues Statement on Trump Tormentor Robert Mueller’s Death and It Instantly Blows Up in His Face appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Read More
After Jesus Bestows Nicknames ‘The Rock’ And ‘Sons Of Thunder’, Apostle James Bummed To Get Stuck With ‘The Lesser’ #BabylonBee – JUDEA — With his fellow apostle scoring nicknames from Jesus like "The Rock" and "Sons of Thunder", the Apostle James admitted to feeling a tad bit disappointed with being christened "The Lesser".
Read More

After Jesus Bestows Nicknames ‘The Rock’ And ‘Sons Of Thunder’, Apostle James Bummed To Get Stuck With ‘The Lesser’ #BabylonBee – JUDEA — With his fellow apostle scoring nicknames from Jesus like "The Rock" and "Sons of Thunder", the Apostle James admitted to feeling a tad bit disappointed with being christened "The Lesser".

unitedyam

JUDEA — With his fellow apostle scoring nicknames from Jesus like "The Rock" and "Sons of Thunder", the Apostle James admitted to feeling a tad bit disappointed with being christened "The Lesser".

Read More
Picture of the day Fishermen fishing in the chars (shifting sediment islands) of the river Padma in Rajshahi District, Bangladesh. The chars are being frequently visible as the river is drying up. Today is the International Day of Action for Rivers. #ImageOfTheDay
Read More

Picture of the day Fishermen fishing in the chars (shifting sediment islands) of the river Padma in Rajshahi District, Bangladesh. The chars are being frequently visible as the river is drying up. Today is the International Day of Action for Rivers. #ImageOfTheDay

unitedyam
Picture of the day
Fishermen fishing in the chars (shifting sediment islands) of the river Padma in Rajshahi District, Bangladesh. The chars are being frequently visible as the river is drying up. Today is the International Day of Action for Rivers.
Read More

Gospel and Word of the Day – 23 March 2026 – A reading from the Book of Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 In Babylon there lived a man named Joakim, who married a very beautiful and God-fearing woman, Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah; her pious parents had trained their daughter according to the law of Moses. Joakim was very rich; he had a garden near his house, and the Jews had recourse to him often because he was the most respected of them all. That year, two elders of the people were appointed judges, of whom the Lord said, “Wickedness has come out of Babylon: from the elders who were to govern the people as judges.” These men, to whom all brought their cases, frequented the house of Joakim. When the people left at noon, Susanna used to enter her husband’s garden for a walk. When the old men saw her enter every day for her walk, they began to lust for her. They suppressed their consciences; they would not allow their eyes to look to heaven, and did not keep in mind just judgments. One day, while they were waiting for the right moment, she entered the garden as usual, with two maids only. She decided to bathe, for the weather was warm. Nobody else was there except the two elders, who had hidden themselves and were watching her. “Bring me oil and soap,” she said to the maids, “and shut the garden doors while I bathe.” As soon as the maids had left, the two old men got up and hurried to her. “Look,” they said, “the garden doors are shut, and no one can see us; give in to our desire, and lie with us. If you refuse, we will testify against you that you dismissed your maids because a young man was here with you.” “I am completely trapped,” Susanna groaned. “If I yield, it will be my death; if I refuse, I cannot escape your power. Yet it is better for me to fall into your power without guilt than to sin before the Lord.” Then Susanna shrieked, and the old men also shouted at her, as one of them ran to open the garden doors. When the people in the house heard the cries from the garden, they rushed in by the side gate to see what had happened to her. At the accusations by the old men, the servants felt very much ashamed, for never had any such thing been said about Susanna. When the people came to her husband Joakim the next day, the two wicked elders also came, fully determined to put Susanna to death. Before all the people they ordered: “Send for Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah, the wife of Joakim.” When she was sent for, she came with her parents, children and all her relatives. All her relatives and the onlookers were weeping. In the midst of the people the two elders rose up and laid their hands on her head. Through tears she looked up to heaven, for she trusted in the Lord wholeheartedly. The elders made this accusation: “As we were walking in the garden alone, this woman entered with two girls and shut the doors of the garden, dismissing the girls. A young man, who was hidden there, came and lay with her. When we, in a corner of the garden, saw this crime, we ran toward them. We saw them lying together, but the man we could not hold, because he was stronger than we; he opened the doors and ran off. Then we seized her and asked who the young man was, but she refused to tell us. We testify to this.” The assembly believed them, since they were elders and judges of the people, and they condemned her to death. But Susanna cried aloud: “O eternal God, you know what is hidden and are aware of all things before they come to be: you know that they have testified falsely against me. Here I am about to die, though I have done none of the things with which these wicked men have charged me.” The Lord heard her prayer. As she was being led to execution, God stirred up the holy spirit of a young boy named Daniel, and he cried aloud: “I will have no part in the death of this woman.” All the people turned and asked him, “What is this you are saying?” He stood in their midst and continued, “Are you such fools, O children of Israel! To condemn a woman of Israel without examination and without clear evidence? Return to court, for they have testified falsely against her.” Then all the people returned in haste. To Daniel the elders said, “Come, sit with us and inform us, since God has given you the prestige of old age.” But he replied, “Separate these two far from each other that I may examine them.” After they were separated one from the other, he called one of them and said: “How you have grown evil with age! Now have your past sins come to term: passing unjust sentences, condemning the innocent, and freeing the guilty, although the Lord says, ‘The innocent and the just you shall not put to death.’ Now, then, if you were a witness, tell me under what tree you saw them together.” “Under a mastic tree,” he answered. Daniel replied, “Your fine lie has cost you your head, for the angel of God shall receive the sentence from him and split you in two.” Putting him to one side, he ordered the other one to be brought. Daniel said to him, “Offspring of Canaan, not of Judah, beauty has seduced you, lust has subverted your conscience. This is how you acted with the daughters of Israel, and in their fear they yielded to you; but a daughter of Judah did not tolerate your wickedness. Now, then, tell me under what tree you surprised them together.” “Under an oak,” he said. Daniel replied, “Your fine lie has cost you also your head, for the angel of God waits with a sword to cut you in two so as to make an end of you both.” The whole assembly cried aloud, blessing God who saves those who hope in him. They rose up against the two elders, for by their own words Daniel had convicted them of perjury. According to the law of Moses, they inflicted on them the penalty they had plotted to impose on their neighbor: they put them to death. Thus was innocent blood spared that day.From the Gospel according to John 8:1-11 Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”What a difference there is between the Master and the woman’s accusers!  They cited the Scriptures to condemn her; Jesus, the very Word of God, completely rehabilitates the woman, restoring her hope.  From this story, we learn that any judgment that is not inspired and moved by charity only serves to make things worse for those who receive it.  God, on the other hand, always leaves room for second chance; he can always find paths that lead to liberation and salvation. Forgiveness changed that woman’s life.  Mercy and misery embraced.  Mercy and misery met there, and the woman’s life changed. We can even speculate whether, after being forgiven by Jesus, she was able in turn to forgive others.  Perhaps she even came to see her accusers no longer as harsh and wicked men, but as the means that led to her encounter with Jesus.  The Lord also wants us, his disciples, his Church, likewise forgiven by him, to become tireless witnesses of reconciliation.  Witnesses of a God for whom the word “irredeemable” does not exist, a God who always forgives.  God always forgives.  We are the ones who get tired of asking for forgiveness.  Our God is a God who never stops believing in us and always gives us a chance to start anew.  There is no sin or failure that we can bring before him that cannot become the opportunity for starting to live a new and different life under the banner of mercy.  There is no sin that cannot be treated in this manner.  God forgives everything.  He forgives every sin. (Francis – Homily in the Holy Mass on Floriana, 3 April 2022)

unitedyam

A reading from the Book of Daniel
13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62

In Babylon there lived a man named Joakim,
who married a very beautiful and God-fearing woman, Susanna,
the daughter of Hilkiah;
her pious parents had trained their daughter
according to the law of Moses.
Joakim was very rich;
he had a garden near his house,
and the Jews had recourse to him often
because he was the most respected of them all.

That year, two elders of the people were appointed judges,
of whom the Lord said, “Wickedness has come out of Babylon:
from the elders who were to govern the people as judges.”
These men, to whom all brought their cases,
frequented the house of Joakim.
When the people left at noon,
Susanna used to enter her husband’s garden for a walk.
When the old men saw her enter every day for her walk,
they began to lust for her.
They suppressed their consciences;
they would not allow their eyes to look to heaven,
and did not keep in mind just judgments.

One day, while they were waiting for the right moment,
she entered the garden as usual, with two maids only.
She decided to bathe, for the weather was warm.
Nobody else was there except the two elders,
who had hidden themselves and were watching her.
“Bring me oil and soap,” she said to the maids,
“and shut the garden doors while I bathe.”

As soon as the maids had left,
the two old men got up and hurried to her.
“Look,” they said, “the garden doors are shut, and no one can see us;
give in to our desire, and lie with us.
If you refuse, we will testify against you
that you dismissed your maids because a young man was here with you.”

“I am completely trapped,” Susanna groaned.
“If I yield, it will be my death;
if I refuse, I cannot escape your power.
Yet it is better for me to fall into your power without guilt
than to sin before the Lord.”
Then Susanna shrieked, and the old men also shouted at her,
as one of them ran to open the garden doors.
When the people in the house heard the cries from the garden,
they rushed in by the side gate to see what had happened to her.
At the accusations by the old men,
the servants felt very much ashamed,
for never had any such thing been said about Susanna.

When the people came to her husband Joakim the next day,
the two wicked elders also came,
fully determined to put Susanna to death.
Before all the people they ordered:
“Send for Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah,
the wife of Joakim.”
When she was sent for,
she came with her parents, children and all her relatives.
All her relatives and the onlookers were weeping.

In the midst of the people the two elders rose up
and laid their hands on her head.
Through tears she looked up to heaven,
for she trusted in the Lord wholeheartedly.
The elders made this accusation:
“As we were walking in the garden alone,
this woman entered with two girls
and shut the doors of the garden, dismissing the girls.
A young man, who was hidden there, came and lay with her.
When we, in a corner of the garden, saw this crime,
we ran toward them.
We saw them lying together,
but the man we could not hold, because he was stronger than we;
he opened the doors and ran off.
Then we seized her and asked who the young man was,
but she refused to tell us.
We testify to this.”
The assembly believed them,
since they were elders and judges of the people,
and they condemned her to death.

But Susanna cried aloud:
“O eternal God, you know what is hidden
and are aware of all things before they come to be:
you know that they have testified falsely against me.
Here I am about to die,
though I have done none of the things
with which these wicked men have charged me.”

The Lord heard her prayer.
As she was being led to execution,
God stirred up the holy spirit of a young boy named Daniel,
and he cried aloud:
“I will have no part in the death of this woman.”
All the people turned and asked him, “What is this you are saying?”
He stood in their midst and continued,
“Are you such fools, O children of Israel!
To condemn a woman of Israel without examination
and without clear evidence?
Return to court, for they have testified falsely against her.”

Then all the people returned in haste.
To Daniel the elders said,
“Come, sit with us and inform us,
since God has given you the prestige of old age.”
But he replied,
“Separate these two far from each other that I may examine them.”

After they were separated one from the other,
he called one of them and said:
“How you have grown evil with age!
Now have your past sins come to term:
passing unjust sentences, condemning the innocent,
and freeing the guilty, although the Lord says,
‘The innocent and the just you shall not put to death.’
Now, then, if you were a witness,
tell me under what tree you saw them together.”
“Under a mastic tree,” he answered.
Daniel replied, “Your fine lie has cost you your head,
for the angel of God shall receive the sentence from him
and split you in two.”
Putting him to one side, he ordered the other one to be brought.
Daniel said to him,
“Offspring of Canaan, not of Judah, beauty has seduced you,
lust has subverted your conscience.
This is how you acted with the daughters of Israel,
and in their fear they yielded to you;
but a daughter of Judah did not tolerate your wickedness.
Now, then, tell me under what tree you surprised them together.”
“Under an oak,” he said.
Daniel replied, “Your fine lie has cost you also your head,
for the angel of God waits with a sword to cut you in two
so as to make an end of you both.”

The whole assembly cried aloud,
blessing God who saves those who hope in him.
They rose up against the two elders,
for by their own words Daniel had convicted them of perjury.
According to the law of Moses,
they inflicted on them
the penalty they had plotted to impose on their neighbor:
they put them to death.
Thus was innocent blood spared that day.

From the Gospel according to John
8:1-11

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area,
and all the people started coming to him,
and he sat down and taught them.
Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman
who had been caught in adultery
and made her stand in the middle.
They said to him,
“Teacher, this woman was caught
in the very act of committing adultery.
Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.
So what do you say?”
They said this to test him,
so that they could have some charge to bring against him.
Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.
But when they continued asking him,
he straightened up and said to them,
“Let the one among you who is without sin
be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.
And in response, they went away one by one,
beginning with the elders.
So he was left alone with the woman before him.
Then Jesus straightened up and said to her,
“Woman, where are they?
Has no one condemned you?”
She replied, “No one, sir.”
Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you.
Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”

What a difference there is between the Master and the woman’s accusers!  They cited the Scriptures to condemn her; Jesus, the very Word of God, completely rehabilitates the woman, restoring her hope.  From this story, we learn that any judgment that is not inspired and moved by charity only serves to make things worse for those who receive it.  God, on the other hand, always leaves room for second chance; he can always find paths that lead to liberation and salvation. Forgiveness changed that woman’s life.  Mercy and misery embraced.  Mercy and misery met there, and the woman’s life changed. We can even speculate whether, after being forgiven by Jesus, she was able in turn to forgive others.  Perhaps she even came to see her accusers no longer as harsh and wicked men, but as the means that led to her encounter with Jesus.  The Lord also wants us, his disciples, his Church, likewise forgiven by him, to become tireless witnesses of reconciliation.  Witnesses of a God for whom the word “irredeemable” does not exist, a God who always forgives.  God always forgives.  We are the ones who get tired of asking for forgiveness.  Our God is a God who never stops believing in us and always gives us a chance to start anew.  There is no sin or failure that we can bring before him that cannot become the opportunity for starting to live a new and different life under the banner of mercy.  There is no sin that cannot be treated in this manner.  God forgives everything.  He forgives every sin. (Francis – Homily in the Holy Mass on Floriana, 3 April 2022)

Read More

March 22, 1997: Comet Hale-Bopp peaks

unitedyam

American astronomer Alan Hale, observing from Cloudcroft, New Mexico, and American amateur astronomer Thomas Bopp, observing near Stanfield, Arizona, independently discovered Comet Hale-Bopp July 23, 1995. Both observers had been viewing the globular cluster M70 in Sagittarius and spotted the comet nearby. Orbital calculations showed that on the night they found it, Hale-Bopp lay someContinue reading “March 22, 1997: Comet Hale-Bopp peaks”

The post March 22, 1997: Comet Hale-Bopp peaks appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Read More
Jesse Kelly and Author Joshua Lisec Discuss Communism’s Evil Tactics – “Communism is An Anti-Christian Set of Tactics for Gaining Power Over Other People” (VIDEO) – Jesse Kelly of “The First” talked with author Joshua Lisec about the evil tactics of communism. The post Jesse Kelly and Author Joshua Lisec Discuss Communism’s Evil Tactics – “Communism is An Anti-Christian Set of Tactics for Gaining Power Over Other People” (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More

Jesse Kelly and Author Joshua Lisec Discuss Communism’s Evil Tactics – “Communism is An Anti-Christian Set of Tactics for Gaining Power Over Other People” (VIDEO) – Jesse Kelly of “The First” talked with author Joshua Lisec about the evil tactics of communism. The post Jesse Kelly and Author Joshua Lisec Discuss Communism’s Evil Tactics – “Communism is An Anti-Christian Set of Tactics for Gaining Power Over Other People” (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

unitedyam

Two men in professional attire engage in discussion on a split-screen format, with bookshelves and a framed poster in the background.

Two men in professional attire engage in discussion on a split-screen format, with bookshelves and a framed poster in the background.

Jesse Kelly of “The First” talked with author Joshua Lisec about the evil tactics of communism.

The post Jesse Kelly and Author Joshua Lisec Discuss Communism’s Evil Tactics – “Communism is An Anti-Christian Set of Tactics for Gaining Power Over Other People” (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Read More
Pope decries war’s toll #Catholic Pope Leo XIV on Sunday voiced dismay over ongoing conflicts around the world, saying the suffering of innocent victims “hurts all of humanity” and urging an end to hostilities grounded in dialogue and respect for human dignity.“We cannot remain silent in the face of the suffering of so many defenseless people who are victims of these conflicts. What hurts them hurts all of humanity,” the pope said after praying the Angelus on March 22.“The death and pain caused by these wars is a scandal for the entire human family and a cry that rises to God,” he continued. “I strongly renew my appeal to persevere in prayer, so that hostilities may cease and paths to peace may finally open up, based on sincere dialogue and respect for the dignity of every human person.”Earlier, in his reflection before the Angelus, the pope focused on the Gospel account of the raising of Lazarus, describing it as a sign of Christ’s victory over death and the promise of eternal life received through baptism.“The account of the resurrection of Lazarus, then, invites us to listen to this profound need and, with the power of the Holy Spirit, to free our hearts from habits, conditioning, and ways of thinking which, like boulders, shut us away in the tomb of selfishness, materialism, violence, and superficiality,” he said.“In these places there is no life but only confusion, dissatisfaction, and loneliness.”Quoting Jesus’ command in the Gospel — “Come out!” — the pope said Christ calls believers to emerge from such “cramped spaces,” renewed by his grace, and to “walk in the light of love, as new women and men, capable of hoping and loving, without calculation and without measure, according to the model of his infinite charity.”He also warned that the world seems “to constantly search for novelty and change, even at the cost of sacrificing important things — time, energy, values, affections,” as though “fame, material goods, entertainment, and fleeting relationships could fill our hearts or make us immortal.”“It is a symptom of a longing for the infinite that each of us carries within us, a need that cannot be satisfied by passing things,” he said. “Nothing finite can quench our inner thirst, for we are made for God, and we find no peace until we rest in him.”The pope concluded by entrusting the faithful to the Virgin Mary, praying that the experience of encountering the risen Christ may be renewed in them each day.This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Read More

Pope decries war’s toll #Catholic Pope Leo XIV on Sunday voiced dismay over ongoing conflicts around the world, saying the suffering of innocent victims “hurts all of humanity” and urging an end to hostilities grounded in dialogue and respect for human dignity.“We cannot remain silent in the face of the suffering of so many defenseless people who are victims of these conflicts. What hurts them hurts all of humanity,” the pope said after praying the Angelus on March 22.“The death and pain caused by these wars is a scandal for the entire human family and a cry that rises to God,” he continued. “I strongly renew my appeal to persevere in prayer, so that hostilities may cease and paths to peace may finally open up, based on sincere dialogue and respect for the dignity of every human person.”Earlier, in his reflection before the Angelus, the pope focused on the Gospel account of the raising of Lazarus, describing it as a sign of Christ’s victory over death and the promise of eternal life received through baptism.“The account of the resurrection of Lazarus, then, invites us to listen to this profound need and, with the power of the Holy Spirit, to free our hearts from habits, conditioning, and ways of thinking which, like boulders, shut us away in the tomb of selfishness, materialism, violence, and superficiality,” he said.“In these places there is no life but only confusion, dissatisfaction, and loneliness.”Quoting Jesus’ command in the Gospel — “Come out!” — the pope said Christ calls believers to emerge from such “cramped spaces,” renewed by his grace, and to “walk in the light of love, as new women and men, capable of hoping and loving, without calculation and without measure, according to the model of his infinite charity.”He also warned that the world seems “to constantly search for novelty and change, even at the cost of sacrificing important things — time, energy, values, affections,” as though “fame, material goods, entertainment, and fleeting relationships could fill our hearts or make us immortal.”“It is a symptom of a longing for the infinite that each of us carries within us, a need that cannot be satisfied by passing things,” he said. “Nothing finite can quench our inner thirst, for we are made for God, and we find no peace until we rest in him.”The pope concluded by entrusting the faithful to the Virgin Mary, praying that the experience of encountering the risen Christ may be renewed in them each day.This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam

Pope Leo XIV says suffering of innocent victims “hurts all of humanity” as he calls for end to hostilities and renewed paths to peace.

Read More
Kim Jong-Un Showcases Teenage Daughter Driving a Tank in Chilling Succession Signal – Kim Jong Un’s teenage daughter was seen driving a battle tank during a military drill, in the latest appearance alongside the North Korean dictator. The post Kim Jong-Un Showcases Teenage Daughter Driving a Tank in Chilling Succession Signal appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More

Kim Jong-Un Showcases Teenage Daughter Driving a Tank in Chilling Succession Signal – Kim Jong Un’s teenage daughter was seen driving a battle tank during a military drill, in the latest appearance alongside the North Korean dictator. The post Kim Jong-Un Showcases Teenage Daughter Driving a Tank in Chilling Succession Signal appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

unitedyam

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un poses on a military tank with soldiers during a military event, showcasing military strength and capabilities.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un poses on a military tank with soldiers during a military event, showcasing military strength and capabilities.

Kim Jong Un’s teenage daughter was seen driving a battle tank during a military drill, in the latest appearance alongside the North Korean dictator.

The post Kim Jong-Un Showcases Teenage Daughter Driving a Tank in Chilling Succession Signal appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Read More
Variety Publishes Disgusting Chuck Norris Political Hit-Piece the Day After His Death – With action movie legend Chuck Norris unable to fight back, Variety unleashed an attack under the guise of an obituary. The post Variety Publishes Disgusting Chuck Norris Political Hit-Piece the Day After His Death appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More

Variety Publishes Disgusting Chuck Norris Political Hit-Piece the Day After His Death – With action movie legend Chuck Norris unable to fight back, Variety unleashed an attack under the guise of an obituary. The post Variety Publishes Disgusting Chuck Norris Political Hit-Piece the Day After His Death appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

unitedyam

Chuck Norris poses confidently in a cowboy hat and jacket in front of a vehicle, promoting his brand Force.

Chuck Norris poses confidently in a cowboy hat and jacket in front of a vehicle, promoting his brand Force.

With action movie legend Chuck Norris unable to fight back, Variety unleashed an attack under the guise of an obituary.

The post Variety Publishes Disgusting Chuck Norris Political Hit-Piece the Day After His Death appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Read More
Ireland sees modest revival in faith, especially among youth and young adults #Catholic An increase in spirituality and religious practice among young adults in Ireland aged 18 to 30 and confirmation that Ireland is in the “middle range” of religious countries in Europe are among the trends identified in a new report published by the Irish Catholic bishops titled “Turning the Tide.”Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, primate of all Ireland, told EWTN News: “There has been a lot of talk recently about the so-called quiet revival in religious practice in recent years. The [report] looks at some of the research studies that have been carried out north and south of the island of Ireland into religious practice, religious awareness and spirituality, and interest in religion, and asks a question by comparing this with European social studies: Is there actually any uptake [in] religious practice and awareness and interest in Ireland?”Drawing on research from the European Social Survey, the Iona Institute’s two recent surveys conducted by Amárach Research, and a variety of relevant academic studies, the report seeks to provide an integrated, relevant, and current look at religious practice in Ireland.“The report very interestingly points to some type of uptick, as they call it, particularly among young people around the ages of 16 to 30 and the fact that they are taking a new interest in religion and in spirituality.”Encouraged by the positive trends emerging across different studies, Martin sounded a note of caution, highlighting the challenges that these findings pose for the Catholic Church in Ireland.“I don’t think we should get ourselves too enthusiastic thinking this is a complete reversal of the very obvious decline and religious practice over the last 10 or 20 years,” he said. “However, it is saying something on the turning tide.”The archbishop pointed to the implications for the Irish Church: “It’s asking us to reflect on this phenomenon in the light of research, and for instance what does this mean for us as Church, as parishes, as dioceses? How are we responding to this growing body of young people who want to know more more about God, about church, and about religion?”The report, co-authored by Stephen Bullivant, professor of theology and the sociology of religion at St. Mary’s University, Twickenham, and Emily Nelson, a doctoral student of sociology at Queen’s University Belfast, examined the overall religious profile of the island of Ireland, including areas of convergence and divergence between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.The authors drew together research studies on patterns in belief, practice, and religious identification between generations, with particular attention to differences within young adult cohorts. The work also provided insight on  dimensions of religiosity, religious transmission, and attitudes toward Church teaching and institutions among both men and women.Ireland remains among the more religious countries in Europe, on measures of religious affiliation, religious service attendance, and frequency of prayer. Among western European countries, it is one of few outliers with a relatively high level of overall religiosity. It also ranks toward the higher end of (especially western) European countries on measures of weekly Mass attendance and daily prayer.While key measures of Irish religiosity have declined significantly since the European Social Survey began in 2002-2003, the most recent round in 2023-2024 shows a strong uptick in religious affiliation and religious practice.This effect is most strongly evident among those aged 16–29 years, across both Catholics and Protestants.Northern Ireland is both the most religious region of the United Kingdom, by a large margin, and the most religious part of the island of Ireland, in terms of both affiliation and religious practice.Although women in the Republic of Ireland are equally as likely as men to be religious, they continue to play an influential role in transmitting faith, even as they express higher levels of moral dissent and institutional dissatisfaction. The report revealed that 74% of Irish Catholic women were found to believe that the Church did not treat them with “a lot of respect.”According to the report, 51% of Irish adults — and 27% of Irish young adults —pray at least once a week, and 31% say they attend Mass at least once a week, placing them fourth overall, alongside Italy (32%) but well behind Poland (49%) and Slovakia (46%).There is a significant drop-off among young adults, whose reported religious practice is roughly half that of older adults. Irish 16- to 29-year-olds rank sixth overall compared with other countries, at 17%, though that is at least double the rates of the same age group in Switzerland, Germany, and Belgium, at 5%, and in Austria with less than 1%.The Irish report also pointed to a 2023 Barna study that found in certain respects, Irish teens are more religious than their global peers. Just over 3 in 5 (62%) Irish teens identify as Christian with nearly a third identify as atheist, agnostic, or of no faith.On average, 18- to 24-year-olds in the Republic of Ireland aren’t particularly positive about both Christianity and the Catholic Church in Ireland, but they are more positive than those in the 25–34 age range, and fewer have a negative attitude toward priests and nuns.In 2023, EWTN News’ Colm Flynn traveled to Ireland with the question “Is Ireland still Catholic?” He explored the various reasons for the decline of the faith in Ireland and the challenges the Church faces there today. In the three years since, and after many emails and messages pointing to signs of a “quiet revival” of faith in Ireland, Flynn recently returned to the country to explore those signs of renewal. In his report, he refers to the “Turning the Tide” report:
Read More

Ireland sees modest revival in faith, especially among youth and young adults #Catholic An increase in spirituality and religious practice among young adults in Ireland aged 18 to 30 and confirmation that Ireland is in the “middle range” of religious countries in Europe are among the trends identified in a new report published by the Irish Catholic bishops titled “Turning the Tide.”Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, primate of all Ireland, told EWTN News: “There has been a lot of talk recently about the so-called quiet revival in religious practice in recent years. The [report] looks at some of the research studies that have been carried out north and south of the island of Ireland into religious practice, religious awareness and spirituality, and interest in religion, and asks a question by comparing this with European social studies: Is there actually any uptake [in] religious practice and awareness and interest in Ireland?”Drawing on research from the European Social Survey, the Iona Institute’s two recent surveys conducted by Amárach Research, and a variety of relevant academic studies, the report seeks to provide an integrated, relevant, and current look at religious practice in Ireland.“The report very interestingly points to some type of uptick, as they call it, particularly among young people around the ages of 16 to 30 and the fact that they are taking a new interest in religion and in spirituality.”Encouraged by the positive trends emerging across different studies, Martin sounded a note of caution, highlighting the challenges that these findings pose for the Catholic Church in Ireland.“I don’t think we should get ourselves too enthusiastic thinking this is a complete reversal of the very obvious decline and religious practice over the last 10 or 20 years,” he said. “However, it is saying something on the turning tide.”The archbishop pointed to the implications for the Irish Church: “It’s asking us to reflect on this phenomenon in the light of research, and for instance what does this mean for us as Church, as parishes, as dioceses? How are we responding to this growing body of young people who want to know more more about God, about church, and about religion?”The report, co-authored by Stephen Bullivant, professor of theology and the sociology of religion at St. Mary’s University, Twickenham, and Emily Nelson, a doctoral student of sociology at Queen’s University Belfast, examined the overall religious profile of the island of Ireland, including areas of convergence and divergence between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.The authors drew together research studies on patterns in belief, practice, and religious identification between generations, with particular attention to differences within young adult cohorts. The work also provided insight on  dimensions of religiosity, religious transmission, and attitudes toward Church teaching and institutions among both men and women.Ireland remains among the more religious countries in Europe, on measures of religious affiliation, religious service attendance, and frequency of prayer. Among western European countries, it is one of few outliers with a relatively high level of overall religiosity. It also ranks toward the higher end of (especially western) European countries on measures of weekly Mass attendance and daily prayer.While key measures of Irish religiosity have declined significantly since the European Social Survey began in 2002-2003, the most recent round in 2023-2024 shows a strong uptick in religious affiliation and religious practice.This effect is most strongly evident among those aged 16–29 years, across both Catholics and Protestants.Northern Ireland is both the most religious region of the United Kingdom, by a large margin, and the most religious part of the island of Ireland, in terms of both affiliation and religious practice.Although women in the Republic of Ireland are equally as likely as men to be religious, they continue to play an influential role in transmitting faith, even as they express higher levels of moral dissent and institutional dissatisfaction. The report revealed that 74% of Irish Catholic women were found to believe that the Church did not treat them with “a lot of respect.”According to the report, 51% of Irish adults — and 27% of Irish young adults —pray at least once a week, and 31% say they attend Mass at least once a week, placing them fourth overall, alongside Italy (32%) but well behind Poland (49%) and Slovakia (46%).There is a significant drop-off among young adults, whose reported religious practice is roughly half that of older adults. Irish 16- to 29-year-olds rank sixth overall compared with other countries, at 17%, though that is at least double the rates of the same age group in Switzerland, Germany, and Belgium, at 5%, and in Austria with less than 1%.The Irish report also pointed to a 2023 Barna study that found in certain respects, Irish teens are more religious than their global peers. Just over 3 in 5 (62%) Irish teens identify as Christian with nearly a third identify as atheist, agnostic, or of no faith.On average, 18- to 24-year-olds in the Republic of Ireland aren’t particularly positive about both Christianity and the Catholic Church in Ireland, but they are more positive than those in the 25–34 age range, and fewer have a negative attitude toward priests and nuns.In 2023, EWTN News’ Colm Flynn traveled to Ireland with the question “Is Ireland still Catholic?” He explored the various reasons for the decline of the faith in Ireland and the challenges the Church faces there today. In the three years since, and after many emails and messages pointing to signs of a “quiet revival” of faith in Ireland, Flynn recently returned to the country to explore those signs of renewal. In his report, he refers to the “Turning the Tide” report:

unitedyam

A new report examining surveys and research on the practice of the Catholic faith in Ireland shows an uptick in religious practice and spirituality among younger people.

Read More
Angola parish prepares to host historic meeting of pope and Church leaders #Catholic LUANDA, Angola — Our Lady of Fátima Parish in the Archdiocese of Luanda is at the center of preparations for a historic moment in Angola as it prepares to host Pope Leo XIV’s meeting with bishops, priests, women and men religious, and catechists during his planned April 18–21 apostolic visit.The encounter, scheduled for April 20, places the parish — run by members of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (OFM Cap) — in the spotlight, drawing attention from across the country and around the world.For Father Diogo Messias, pastor of the parish, the choice of Our Lady of Fátima as host is both an honor and a profound spiritual moment for the local Church.“The visit of the Holy Father to our community is a moment of great significance, joy, and pride for all the faithful,” he said in an interview with ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, on March 18.“The pope’s presence is a blessing for our parish and for all of Angola,” he said. “The visit marks a historic moment, and seeing our parish chosen for this meeting is a cause of joy and renewal for our community.” Father Diogo Messias is pastor of Our Lady of Fátima Parish in the Archdiocese of Luanda in Angola. | Credit: Photo courtesy of ACI Africa As the largest Capuchin fraternity in Angola, the parish has become a hive of activity, with preparations focused on ensuring that the venue is ready to welcome hundreds of Church leaders and participants expected for the encounter.“The preparations are focused both inside and outside the church,” Messias explained, adding: “Visible work includes improving the courtyard, pavement, and chairs. The essential part, however, is the interior, where the meeting with the Holy Father will take place.”The parish’s infrastructure is old, but efforts are underway to enhance the space and ensure it reflects the dignity of the occasion.“It is not a case of serious deterioration, but we want to give dignity to the Capuchin house and the place of prayer for the faithful. Every touch and detail matters,” the priest said. Preparations are being made both inside and outside of Our Lady of Fátima Parish in the Archdiocese of Luanda, Angola, to prepare for Pope Leo XIV’s historic apostolic visit April 18–21, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of ACI Africa Renovation works include painting, structural repairs, and adapting the church to accommodate the expected influx of participants. At the same time, improvements are ongoing in surrounding areas, particularly at Largo Rainha Ginga, where access routes and walkways are being upgraded.“These works aim to improve access and movement for everyone and enhance the appearance of the church that will receive the pope on April 20,” Messias said.Beyond logistics, Messias underscored the significance of the gathering, describing it as a moment that brings together the entire Church in Angola and beyond.“The meeting with the Holy Father involves the entire Church in Angola, including religious sisters, catechists, and members from other dioceses and neighboring countries, such as São Tomé,” he said. “The event will have national and international impact, showing the unity of the Church and the richness of Angolan culture.”While the parish prepares physically, the emphasis remains on spiritual renewal for those who will take part in the encounter.“Despite the great mobilization, the most important thing is the experience of renewal for all those present. Those who participate will leave strengthened in spirit, committed to the community, and motivated to live values of fraternity and respect,” Messias said.The April 20 meeting is expected to be one of the defining moments of the pope’s visit to Angola, offering a unique opportunity for direct engagement with Church leaders and pastoral agents.“Bishops, women and men religious, and catechists in Angola expect Pope Leo XIV to bring a message centered above all on unity, hope, and community commitment,” Messias said.He said the visit is widely seen as an opportunity for deeper reflection and renewal within the Church. Our Lady of Fátima Parish in Angola’s Archdiocese of Luanda will host Pope Leo XIV’s meeting with Church leaders during the pope’s planned apostolic visit April 18–21, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of ACI Africa “The visit of the Holy Father is seen as a moment that goes beyond a simple meeting, being understood as an opportunity for inner renewal,” he said, adding: “It is expected that the Holy Father’s message will help consecrated persons renew their vocation, strengthen their dedication to service, and assume with greater responsibility the role they play in the life of the Church and the country.”Meanwhile, members of the local community are playing an active role in the preparations. Among them is David Afonso, a young carpenter overseeing the restoration of church benches.“Working to receive the Holy Father is a great responsibility, and we are doing our best to ensure everything is in good condition,” he said.Although not a Catholic, Afonso expressed pride in contributing to the preparations.“It is a pleasure to take part in an event of this magnitude. Every detail matters, and we want the space to be worthy and memorable for all the faithful and visitors,” he said.This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.
Read More

Angola parish prepares to host historic meeting of pope and Church leaders #Catholic LUANDA, Angola — Our Lady of Fátima Parish in the Archdiocese of Luanda is at the center of preparations for a historic moment in Angola as it prepares to host Pope Leo XIV’s meeting with bishops, priests, women and men religious, and catechists during his planned April 18–21 apostolic visit.The encounter, scheduled for April 20, places the parish — run by members of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (OFM Cap) — in the spotlight, drawing attention from across the country and around the world.For Father Diogo Messias, pastor of the parish, the choice of Our Lady of Fátima as host is both an honor and a profound spiritual moment for the local Church.“The visit of the Holy Father to our community is a moment of great significance, joy, and pride for all the faithful,” he said in an interview with ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, on March 18.“The pope’s presence is a blessing for our parish and for all of Angola,” he said. “The visit marks a historic moment, and seeing our parish chosen for this meeting is a cause of joy and renewal for our community.” Father Diogo Messias is pastor of Our Lady of Fátima Parish in the Archdiocese of Luanda in Angola. | Credit: Photo courtesy of ACI Africa As the largest Capuchin fraternity in Angola, the parish has become a hive of activity, with preparations focused on ensuring that the venue is ready to welcome hundreds of Church leaders and participants expected for the encounter.“The preparations are focused both inside and outside the church,” Messias explained, adding: “Visible work includes improving the courtyard, pavement, and chairs. The essential part, however, is the interior, where the meeting with the Holy Father will take place.”The parish’s infrastructure is old, but efforts are underway to enhance the space and ensure it reflects the dignity of the occasion.“It is not a case of serious deterioration, but we want to give dignity to the Capuchin house and the place of prayer for the faithful. Every touch and detail matters,” the priest said. Preparations are being made both inside and outside of Our Lady of Fátima Parish in the Archdiocese of Luanda, Angola, to prepare for Pope Leo XIV’s historic apostolic visit April 18–21, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of ACI Africa Renovation works include painting, structural repairs, and adapting the church to accommodate the expected influx of participants. At the same time, improvements are ongoing in surrounding areas, particularly at Largo Rainha Ginga, where access routes and walkways are being upgraded.“These works aim to improve access and movement for everyone and enhance the appearance of the church that will receive the pope on April 20,” Messias said.Beyond logistics, Messias underscored the significance of the gathering, describing it as a moment that brings together the entire Church in Angola and beyond.“The meeting with the Holy Father involves the entire Church in Angola, including religious sisters, catechists, and members from other dioceses and neighboring countries, such as São Tomé,” he said. “The event will have national and international impact, showing the unity of the Church and the richness of Angolan culture.”While the parish prepares physically, the emphasis remains on spiritual renewal for those who will take part in the encounter.“Despite the great mobilization, the most important thing is the experience of renewal for all those present. Those who participate will leave strengthened in spirit, committed to the community, and motivated to live values of fraternity and respect,” Messias said.The April 20 meeting is expected to be one of the defining moments of the pope’s visit to Angola, offering a unique opportunity for direct engagement with Church leaders and pastoral agents.“Bishops, women and men religious, and catechists in Angola expect Pope Leo XIV to bring a message centered above all on unity, hope, and community commitment,” Messias said.He said the visit is widely seen as an opportunity for deeper reflection and renewal within the Church. Our Lady of Fátima Parish in Angola’s Archdiocese of Luanda will host Pope Leo XIV’s meeting with Church leaders during the pope’s planned apostolic visit April 18–21, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of ACI Africa “The visit of the Holy Father is seen as a moment that goes beyond a simple meeting, being understood as an opportunity for inner renewal,” he said, adding: “It is expected that the Holy Father’s message will help consecrated persons renew their vocation, strengthen their dedication to service, and assume with greater responsibility the role they play in the life of the Church and the country.”Meanwhile, members of the local community are playing an active role in the preparations. Among them is David Afonso, a young carpenter overseeing the restoration of church benches.“Working to receive the Holy Father is a great responsibility, and we are doing our best to ensure everything is in good condition,” he said.Although not a Catholic, Afonso expressed pride in contributing to the preparations.“It is a pleasure to take part in an event of this magnitude. Every detail matters, and we want the space to be worthy and memorable for all the faithful and visitors,” he said.This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

unitedyam

Our Lady of Fatima Parish in the Archdiocese of Luanda is preparing to host Pope Leo XIV’s meeting with bishops, priests, women and men religious, and catechists during his April 18–21 visit.

Read More
Faith-based summer camp restores hope for kids of fallen heroes - #Catholic - On their first day at LifeCampUSA, middle-school-aged campers are taught how to use a map and a compass to learn how to find their way around. Then they’re given a Bible — for many, their first time having one — and shown how to find the different books of the Bible, after which there’s a discussion about how God’s word can serve as a map and compass in life.For boys and girls who have lost their dads in military service, as first responders, or in law enforcement, LifeCampUSA and its Bible-based curriculum can be a life-changing summer experience where they forge new friendships and find a relationship with God.Founded by married couple Mark and Jane Neumann, the camp — which, according to its website, is “a Christian ministry unassociated with a specific church or religious denomination” — first opened in the summer of 2021 after the Neumanns met a group of middle schoolers from military families and heard about the struggles they faced in the aftermath of losing their fathers. Having experience working with middle schoolers in youth ministry at their church, the Neumanns felt called to help these children and “become fathers to the fatherless.”Despite neither one growing up in a typical military family, both Jane and Mark grew up with a “general sense of patriotism,” Jane told EWTN News in an interview.The Neumanns emphasized that they start the week at camp with the map and compass lesson because they want the children to leave knowing that “just like with the compass you’re not going to get lost if you follow the Bible’s lessons and what this book has for you; it’s going to give you direction in life,” Mark said. Middle-school-aged girls attend LifeCampUSA. | Credit: Photo courtesy of LifeCampUSA LifeCampUSA offers their summer camp program in several different states across the United States including Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Each camp has spaces for 10 boys and 10 girls. Each boy is assigned his own male mentor, while five couples serve as mentors for the girls’ camp.“We have five couples for the girls so that the men can speak into the girls’ lives safely there and that the girls can see father figures [and] hear the things that a dad would want to tell their daughters, but also see the healthy marriages,” Mark explained.Additionally, all expenses — including airfare — are completely covered by LifeCampUSA for the campers who attend. Also, all campers can take part in a 12-month program called LifeCare after their week at camp to continue their mentorship.Mark and Jane also highlighted the way in which they’ve seen young boys in particular grow into young men during their time at camp. Jane shared that much of the feedback she receives from moms once their sons get back home is how much more respectful they are and how they begin to take more initiative in helping around the house.One of Mark’s favorite stories was from a mom who shared with him that her son began leading his family in prayer before every meal after getting back home from camp.“I mean there’s countless stories — it’s been such a blessing,” Mark said.The Neumanns also pointed out the impact camp has on the many children who have lost their fathers due to suicide after serving the country. They shared that out of the 100 children who are signed up to attend camp this summer, 80% have lost their dads from suicide.“Moms will tell us that they didn’t mean for this to happen, but they feel a sense of shame when their husbands have taken their own lives, and they didn’t even want necessarily that sense of shame, but it just naturally happens and they don’t mean to project that onto their kids, but it just has,” Jane explained.She added that these children also face bullying in school after kids find out the manner in which they lost their fathers. A group of campers and their mentors at LifeCampUSA. | Credit: Photo courtesy of LifeCampUSA “Their dads are our nation’s heroes. [Yet] somebody finds out that that dad had an injury to their mind, they don’t understand that, but they have no problem bullying our kids, teasing them that their dads took their own lives. And so they don’t want anybody to know,” she shared. “… And now these kids — they’re almost suppressing their patriotism, putting shame into their lives. So our kids come to camp with that stigmatism.”However, many of the mothers of these children have shared that after they attend camp they witness a “change in their hearts and their heads and it puts more confidence in them, it puts a pride in there for their dad, it puts pride back in for our nation,” Jane said.Most importantly, the children are introduced to Jesus, which Mark and Jane believe is the greatest reason for the success seen during their summer camps.“So, [when] you put the Creator in the heart and you know who your creator is, so many things get worked out. … We recognize the fact that Jesus is the one — when we can put Jesus into the program, we’re going to have the best success for these kiddos and families,” Jane said.“We know that really we have the answer to the healing for these kids. That’s it. And so we want to tell them about Jesus because that’s the real solution,” Mark added.Mark shared that their main hope for children who attend LifeCampUSA is to give them “hope, to be honest, because a lot of them are pretty hopeless,” and to “change the direction of their life.”
Read More

Faith-based summer camp restores hope for kids of fallen heroes – #Catholic – On their first day at LifeCampUSA, middle-school-aged campers are taught how to use a map and a compass to learn how to find their way around. Then they’re given a Bible — for many, their first time having one — and shown how to find the different books of the Bible, after which there’s a discussion about how God’s word can serve as a map and compass in life.For boys and girls who have lost their dads in military service, as first responders, or in law enforcement, LifeCampUSA and its Bible-based curriculum can be a life-changing summer experience where they forge new friendships and find a relationship with God.Founded by married couple Mark and Jane Neumann, the camp — which, according to its website, is “a Christian ministry unassociated with a specific church or religious denomination” — first opened in the summer of 2021 after the Neumanns met a group of middle schoolers from military families and heard about the struggles they faced in the aftermath of losing their fathers. Having experience working with middle schoolers in youth ministry at their church, the Neumanns felt called to help these children and “become fathers to the fatherless.”Despite neither one growing up in a typical military family, both Jane and Mark grew up with a “general sense of patriotism,” Jane told EWTN News in an interview.The Neumanns emphasized that they start the week at camp with the map and compass lesson because they want the children to leave knowing that “just like with the compass you’re not going to get lost if you follow the Bible’s lessons and what this book has for you; it’s going to give you direction in life,” Mark said. Middle-school-aged girls attend LifeCampUSA. | Credit: Photo courtesy of LifeCampUSA LifeCampUSA offers their summer camp program in several different states across the United States including Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Each camp has spaces for 10 boys and 10 girls. Each boy is assigned his own male mentor, while five couples serve as mentors for the girls’ camp.“We have five couples for the girls so that the men can speak into the girls’ lives safely there and that the girls can see father figures [and] hear the things that a dad would want to tell their daughters, but also see the healthy marriages,” Mark explained.Additionally, all expenses — including airfare — are completely covered by LifeCampUSA for the campers who attend. Also, all campers can take part in a 12-month program called LifeCare after their week at camp to continue their mentorship.Mark and Jane also highlighted the way in which they’ve seen young boys in particular grow into young men during their time at camp. Jane shared that much of the feedback she receives from moms once their sons get back home is how much more respectful they are and how they begin to take more initiative in helping around the house.One of Mark’s favorite stories was from a mom who shared with him that her son began leading his family in prayer before every meal after getting back home from camp.“I mean there’s countless stories — it’s been such a blessing,” Mark said.The Neumanns also pointed out the impact camp has on the many children who have lost their fathers due to suicide after serving the country. They shared that out of the 100 children who are signed up to attend camp this summer, 80% have lost their dads from suicide.“Moms will tell us that they didn’t mean for this to happen, but they feel a sense of shame when their husbands have taken their own lives, and they didn’t even want necessarily that sense of shame, but it just naturally happens and they don’t mean to project that onto their kids, but it just has,” Jane explained.She added that these children also face bullying in school after kids find out the manner in which they lost their fathers. A group of campers and their mentors at LifeCampUSA. | Credit: Photo courtesy of LifeCampUSA “Their dads are our nation’s heroes. [Yet] somebody finds out that that dad had an injury to their mind, they don’t understand that, but they have no problem bullying our kids, teasing them that their dads took their own lives. And so they don’t want anybody to know,” she shared. “… And now these kids — they’re almost suppressing their patriotism, putting shame into their lives. So our kids come to camp with that stigmatism.”However, many of the mothers of these children have shared that after they attend camp they witness a “change in their hearts and their heads and it puts more confidence in them, it puts a pride in there for their dad, it puts pride back in for our nation,” Jane said.Most importantly, the children are introduced to Jesus, which Mark and Jane believe is the greatest reason for the success seen during their summer camps.“So, [when] you put the Creator in the heart and you know who your creator is, so many things get worked out. … We recognize the fact that Jesus is the one — when we can put Jesus into the program, we’re going to have the best success for these kiddos and families,” Jane said.“We know that really we have the answer to the healing for these kids. That’s it. And so we want to tell them about Jesus because that’s the real solution,” Mark added.Mark shared that their main hope for children who attend LifeCampUSA is to give them “hope, to be honest, because a lot of them are pretty hopeless,” and to “change the direction of their life.”

unitedyam

LifeCampUSA is a summer program for middle-schoolers who have lost fathers in military service, law enforcement, or as first responders.

Read More
France Explains They Can’t Help Open Strait Of Hormuz As They Already Sent All 15 Of Their Soldiers To Defend Greenland #BabylonBee – PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron explained today that the French Army simply could not help open the Strait of Hormuz as all fifteen of its soldiers have already been deployed to defend Greenland.
Read More

France Explains They Can’t Help Open Strait Of Hormuz As They Already Sent All 15 Of Their Soldiers To Defend Greenland #BabylonBee – PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron explained today that the French Army simply could not help open the Strait of Hormuz as all fifteen of its soldiers have already been deployed to defend Greenland.

unitedyam

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron explained today that the French Army simply could not help open the Strait of Hormuz as all fifteen of its soldiers have already been deployed to defend Greenland.

Read More
Saint Peter Gently Asks Chuck Norris To Stop Roundhouse Kicking The Cherubim #BabylonBee – HEAVEN — After several incidents over the course of his first day in paradise, Chuck Norris was pulled aside by Saint Peter and gently asked to please stop roundhouse kicking the cherubim.
Read More

Saint Peter Gently Asks Chuck Norris To Stop Roundhouse Kicking The Cherubim #BabylonBee – HEAVEN — After several incidents over the course of his first day in paradise, Chuck Norris was pulled aside by Saint Peter and gently asked to please stop roundhouse kicking the cherubim.

unitedyam

HEAVEN — After several incidents over the course of his first day in paradise, Chuck Norris was pulled aside by Saint Peter and gently asked to please stop roundhouse kicking the cherubim.

Read More
Older Posts