NASA’s DAVINCI Probe Can Stand the Heat – An engineering model of NASA’s DAVINCI (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging) descent probe passed a key test that ran from Aug. 28 to Sept. 10, showing it can survive the extreme temperatures of Venus.
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NASA’s DAVINCI Probe Can Stand the Heat – An engineering model of NASA’s DAVINCI (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging) descent probe passed a key test that ran from Aug. 28 to Sept. 10, showing it can survive the extreme temperatures of Venus.

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An engineering model of NASA’s DAVINCI (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging) descent probe passed a key test that ran from Aug. 28 to Sept. 10, showing it can survive the extreme temperatures of Venus.

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What did St. Josemaría see on the day Opus Dei was founded? – #Catholic – On Oct. 2, 1928, “the Lord founded His Work; brought Opus Dei (The Work of God) into being,” wrote St. Josemaría Escrivá in his personal notes, as recorded by Andrés Vázquez de Prada in the Spanish-language volume of “The Founder of Opus Dei,” a definitive text on the Spanish saint’s life.“The Work of God was not imagined by a man,” he would later say. “For many years, the Lord had been inspiring it in an inept and deaf instrument, who saw it for the first time on the Feast of the Guardian Angels.”It was, the saint understood, the answer to the prayers he repeatedly addressed to God: “Domine, ut videam!” and “Domine, ut sit!” (“Lord, that I may see!” and “Lord, that it may come to be!”)On that October day, the founder of Opus Dei was making a spiritual retreat at the Central House of the Vincentian missionaries in Madrid. “I received enlightenment regarding the whole Work … Deeply moved, I knelt down, I was alone in my room in the interval between talks, and thanked the Lord; I recall with emotion the ringing of the bells of the parish church of Our Lady of the Angels.”On that occasion, Vázquez de Prada notes, St. Josemaría’s mind “was illuminated with a clear, general idea of ​​his mission.”“The scattered notes the retreatant had brought with him to meditate upon during the retreat consisted of ideas that were, it seems, unsystematized. In the days that followed, he compiled them in an orderly fashion, in accordance with the general enlightenment he had just received regarding the whole work,” the author explains.Building on that foundation, over the years St. Josemaría “drafted documents that he would later hand to his children in Opus Dei,” Vázquez de Prada continues.In 1930, he wrote in a letter: “We have come to say with the humility of one who knows himself to be a sinner and of little account (“homo peccator sum” — I am a sinful man [Luke 5:8], we say with Peter), yet with the faith of one who allows himself to be guided by the hand of God, that holiness is not reserved for a privileged few: that the Lord calls all of us, that he expects love from everyone, from everyone, wherever they may be; from everyone, whatever their state in life, their profession, or their trade.”“For that ordinary, everyday life without pretense can be a means of holiness; there is no need to abandon one’s state in life to seek God — if the Lord has not given a soul a religious vocation — since every way of life on this earth can be an occasion for an encounter with Christ,” the founder of Opus Dei said.What is Opus Dei?Its official Spanish-language website defines Opus Dei as “a hierarchical institution of the Catholic Church, a personal prelature, whose purpose is to contribute to the Church’s evangelizing mission.”“Specifically, the aim is to spread a deep awareness of the universal call to holiness and the sanctifying value of ordinary work,” the website adds.Among the faithful who discover a “vocation to Opus Dei” and request to join, a distinction is made between numeraries, who live apostolic celibacy and are fully available for the work of the prelature; associates, who also live apostolic celibacy but whose personal, family, or professional circumstances limit that availability; and supernumeraries, whether married or single, who do not commit to celibacy. Priests incardinated in the prelature are drawn from the ranks of numeraries or associates.According to the most recent data released by Opus Dei, around 94,450 people are part of the institution, which is present in 68 countries across five continents.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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What did St. Josemaría see on the day Opus Dei was founded? – #Catholic – On Oct. 2, 1928, “the Lord founded His Work; brought Opus Dei (The Work of God) into being,” wrote St. Josemaría Escrivá in his personal notes, as recorded by Andrés Vázquez de Prada in the Spanish-language volume of “The Founder of Opus Dei,” a definitive text on the Spanish saint’s life.“The Work of God was not imagined by a man,” he would later say. “For many years, the Lord had been inspiring it in an inept and deaf instrument, who saw it for the first time on the Feast of the Guardian Angels.”It was, the saint understood, the answer to the prayers he repeatedly addressed to God: “Domine, ut videam!” and “Domine, ut sit!” (“Lord, that I may see!” and “Lord, that it may come to be!”)On that October day, the founder of Opus Dei was making a spiritual retreat at the Central House of the Vincentian missionaries in Madrid. “I received enlightenment regarding the whole Work … Deeply moved, I knelt down, I was alone in my room in the interval between talks, and thanked the Lord; I recall with emotion the ringing of the bells of the parish church of Our Lady of the Angels.”On that occasion, Vázquez de Prada notes, St. Josemaría’s mind “was illuminated with a clear, general idea of ​​his mission.”“The scattered notes the retreatant had brought with him to meditate upon during the retreat consisted of ideas that were, it seems, unsystematized. In the days that followed, he compiled them in an orderly fashion, in accordance with the general enlightenment he had just received regarding the whole work,” the author explains.Building on that foundation, over the years St. Josemaría “drafted documents that he would later hand to his children in Opus Dei,” Vázquez de Prada continues.In 1930, he wrote in a letter: “We have come to say with the humility of one who knows himself to be a sinner and of little account (“homo peccator sum” — I am a sinful man [Luke 5:8], we say with Peter), yet with the faith of one who allows himself to be guided by the hand of God, that holiness is not reserved for a privileged few: that the Lord calls all of us, that he expects love from everyone, from everyone, wherever they may be; from everyone, whatever their state in life, their profession, or their trade.”“For that ordinary, everyday life without pretense can be a means of holiness; there is no need to abandon one’s state in life to seek God — if the Lord has not given a soul a religious vocation — since every way of life on this earth can be an occasion for an encounter with Christ,” the founder of Opus Dei said.What is Opus Dei?Its official Spanish-language website defines Opus Dei as “a hierarchical institution of the Catholic Church, a personal prelature, whose purpose is to contribute to the Church’s evangelizing mission.”“Specifically, the aim is to spread a deep awareness of the universal call to holiness and the sanctifying value of ordinary work,” the website adds.Among the faithful who discover a “vocation to Opus Dei” and request to join, a distinction is made between numeraries, who live apostolic celibacy and are fully available for the work of the prelature; associates, who also live apostolic celibacy but whose personal, family, or professional circumstances limit that availability; and supernumeraries, whether married or single, who do not commit to celibacy. Priests incardinated in the prelature are drawn from the ranks of numeraries or associates.According to the most recent data released by Opus Dei, around 94,450 people are part of the institution, which is present in 68 countries across five continents.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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On the feast of the Guardian Angels in 1928, the saint received “general enlightenment” about his mission, which later coalesced into a specific form.

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Gospel and Word of the Day – 03 October 2026 – A reading from the Book of Job 42:1-3, 5-6, 12-17 Job answered the LORD and said: I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be hindered. I have dealt with great things that I do not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know. I had heard of you by word of mouth, but now my eye has seen you. Therefore I disown what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes. Thus the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his earlier ones. For he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses. And he had seven sons and three daughters, of whom he called the first Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Kerenhappuch. In all the land no other women were as beautiful as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers. After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; and he saw his children, his grandchildren, and even his great-grandchildren. Then Job died, old and full of years.From the Gospel according to Luke 10:17-24 The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven. ”At that very moment he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” Turning to the disciples in private he said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”The Evangelists Matthew and Luke (cf. Mt 11:25-30 and Lk 10:21-22) have handed down to us a “jewel” of Jesus’ prayer that is often called the Cry of Exultation or the Cry of Messianic Exultation. It is a prayer of thanksgiving and praise, as we have heard. (…) Jesus addresses God by calling him “Father”. This word expresses Jesus’ awareness and certainty of being “the Son” in intimate and constant communion with him, and this is the central focus and source of every one of Jesus’ prayers. We see it clearly in the last part of the hymn which illuminates the entire text. Jesus said: “All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Lk 10:22). (…) Let us now ask ourselves: to whom does the Son want to reveal God’s mysteries? At the beginning of the Hymn Jesus expresses his joy because the Father’s will is to keep these things hidden from the learned and the wise and to reveal them to little ones (cf. Lk 10:21). Thus in his prayer, Jesus manifests his communion with the Father’s decision to disclose his mysteries to the simple of heart: the Son’s will is one with the Father’s. Divine revelation is not brought about in accordance with earthly logic, which holds that cultured and powerful people possess important knowledge and pass it on to simpler people, to little ones. God used a quite different approach: those to whom his communication was addressed were, precisely, “babes”. This is the Father’s will, and the Son shares it with him joyfully. (Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, 7 December 2011)

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A reading from the Book of Job
42:1-3, 5-6, 12-17

Job answered the LORD and said:

I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be hindered.
I have dealt with great things that I do not understand;
things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know.
I had heard of you by word of mouth,
but now my eye has seen you.
Therefore I disown what I have said,
and repent in dust and ashes.

Thus the LORD blessed the latter days of Job
more than his earlier ones.
For he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels,
a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses.
And he had seven sons and three daughters,
of whom he called the first Jemimah,
the second Keziah, and the third Kerenhappuch.
In all the land no other women were as beautiful
as the daughters of Job;
and their father gave them an inheritance
along with their brothers.
After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years;
and he saw his children, his grandchildren,
and even his great-grandchildren.
Then Job died, old and full of years.

From the Gospel according to Luke
10:17-24

The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus,
“Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.”
Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.
Behold, I have given you the power
‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions
and upon the full force of the enemy
and nothing will harm you.
Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you,
but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.

”At that very moment he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,
“I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows who the Son is except the Father,
and who the Father is except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

Turning to the disciples in private he said,
“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I say to you,
many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”

The Evangelists Matthew and Luke (cf. Mt 11:25-30 and Lk 10:21-22) have handed down to us a “jewel” of Jesus’ prayer that is often called the Cry of Exultation or the Cry of Messianic Exultation. It is a prayer of thanksgiving and praise, as we have heard. (…) Jesus addresses God by calling him “Father”. This word expresses Jesus’ awareness and certainty of being “the Son” in intimate and constant communion with him, and this is the central focus and source of every one of Jesus’ prayers. We see it clearly in the last part of the hymn which illuminates the entire text. Jesus said: “All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Lk 10:22). (…)

Let us now ask ourselves: to whom does the Son want to reveal God’s mysteries? At the beginning of the Hymn Jesus expresses his joy because the Father’s will is to keep these things hidden from the learned and the wise and to reveal them to little ones (cf. Lk 10:21). Thus in his prayer, Jesus manifests his communion with the Father’s decision to disclose his mysteries to the simple of heart: the Son’s will is one with the Father’s.

Divine revelation is not brought about in accordance with earthly logic, which holds that cultured and powerful people possess important knowledge and pass it on to simpler people, to little ones. God used a quite different approach: those to whom his communication was addressed were, precisely, “babes”. This is the Father’s will, and the Son shares it with him joyfully. (Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, 7 December 2011)

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Brazilian court rules posts making false claims about conservative candidate must be removed – #Catholic – Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court ruled on Sept. 30 to uphold the removal of false social media posts linking conservative Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, a Liberal Party candidate for president, to an alleged initiative to strip Our Lady of Aparecida of her title as the patroness of Brazil. Under the decision reached in the virtual plenary session, content clearly linking Bolsonaro to the initiative must be removed. However, posts where there is reasonable doubt regarding the link to the candidate are to be preserved. This applies to a post by comedian Antonio Tabet, which was permitted to remain online by the reporting justice, André Mendonça.The case began on Sept. 24 when Tabet posted an image of the dark-skinned Our Lady of Aparecida on X with the caption: “The militia family hates black women so much that they decided to attack Our Lady of Aparecida.” The post did not mention Bolsonaro by name. The senator is the son of Jair Bolsonaro, who was president of Brazil from 2019-2023.The following day, Mendonça, the vice president of the Superior Electoral Court and the rapporteur for the case, ordered the removal of content that claimed Bolsonaro or his family intended to strip Our Lady of Aparecida of her title as the patroness of Brazil.Upon reconsidering his vote, the judge concluded there was doubt regarding the link between Tabet’s post and Bolsonaro and decided to allow the post to stay online.“As it is reasonable to take the content to be ambiguous, I believe the solution most consistent with the criteria of minimal intervention [by the courts] and heightened protection of freedom of expression is to keep the post online,” Mendonça said. According to the judge, the decisions ordering the removal of the content specifically naming Flávio Bolsonaro “do not amount to prior restraint” nor did they violate religious freedom.“Confusing a ‘fake news’ report with a restriction on faith represents a distortion of the decision’s actual substance. Faith was not on trial,” Mendonça said. He further noted that “the insinuation that the decisions issued in these proceedings sought to prevent Catholics from expressing support for or devotion to Our Lady of Aparecida is particularly baffling” and emphasized: “Nothing, absolutely nothing, in the decisions warrants such a conclusion.”He also stated that this change does not alter the other points of his decision and emphasized that he considers “objectively false” the claims that Bolsonaro “had authored, presented, proposed, supported, or concretely orchestrated an initiative aimed at removing Our Lady of Aparecida from her status as the patroness of Brazil.”The president of the Supreme Electoral Court, Justice Nunes Marques, concurred with Mendonça and stated that the decision “protects religious freedom in its collective and democratic dimension.”“In my view, the relief granted protects religious freedom in its collective and democratic dimension, as it prevents the faith of millions of Brazilians from being instrumentalized within days of the election [Oct. 4] through a claim without a factual basis designed to artificially stir up emotional reactions among the electorate,” Marques said.He also highlighted that “the contested post did not need to name the candidate to attribute the claim to him; because it was disseminated at the height of the false narrativeʼs circulation — accompanied by the image of the patroness. Its message was only fully realized and achieved its intended effect due to the context of current news stories in which it was embedded.” Nevertheless, Marques’ difference of opinion regarding Tabet does not alter the effect of the ruling.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.
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Brazilian court rules posts making false claims about conservative candidate must be removed – #Catholic – Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court ruled on Sept. 30 to uphold the removal of false social media posts linking conservative Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, a Liberal Party candidate for president, to an alleged initiative to strip Our Lady of Aparecida of her title as the patroness of Brazil. Under the decision reached in the virtual plenary session, content clearly linking Bolsonaro to the initiative must be removed. However, posts where there is reasonable doubt regarding the link to the candidate are to be preserved. This applies to a post by comedian Antonio Tabet, which was permitted to remain online by the reporting justice, André Mendonça.The case began on Sept. 24 when Tabet posted an image of the dark-skinned Our Lady of Aparecida on X with the caption: “The militia family hates black women so much that they decided to attack Our Lady of Aparecida.” The post did not mention Bolsonaro by name. The senator is the son of Jair Bolsonaro, who was president of Brazil from 2019-2023.The following day, Mendonça, the vice president of the Superior Electoral Court and the rapporteur for the case, ordered the removal of content that claimed Bolsonaro or his family intended to strip Our Lady of Aparecida of her title as the patroness of Brazil.Upon reconsidering his vote, the judge concluded there was doubt regarding the link between Tabet’s post and Bolsonaro and decided to allow the post to stay online.“As it is reasonable to take the content to be ambiguous, I believe the solution most consistent with the criteria of minimal intervention [by the courts] and heightened protection of freedom of expression is to keep the post online,” Mendonça said. According to the judge, the decisions ordering the removal of the content specifically naming Flávio Bolsonaro “do not amount to prior restraint” nor did they violate religious freedom.“Confusing a ‘fake news’ report with a restriction on faith represents a distortion of the decision’s actual substance. Faith was not on trial,” Mendonça said. He further noted that “the insinuation that the decisions issued in these proceedings sought to prevent Catholics from expressing support for or devotion to Our Lady of Aparecida is particularly baffling” and emphasized: “Nothing, absolutely nothing, in the decisions warrants such a conclusion.”He also stated that this change does not alter the other points of his decision and emphasized that he considers “objectively false” the claims that Bolsonaro “had authored, presented, proposed, supported, or concretely orchestrated an initiative aimed at removing Our Lady of Aparecida from her status as the patroness of Brazil.”The president of the Supreme Electoral Court, Justice Nunes Marques, concurred with Mendonça and stated that the decision “protects religious freedom in its collective and democratic dimension.”“In my view, the relief granted protects religious freedom in its collective and democratic dimension, as it prevents the faith of millions of Brazilians from being instrumentalized within days of the election [Oct. 4] through a claim without a factual basis designed to artificially stir up emotional reactions among the electorate,” Marques said.He also highlighted that “the contested post did not need to name the candidate to attribute the claim to him; because it was disseminated at the height of the false narrativeʼs circulation — accompanied by the image of the patroness. Its message was only fully realized and achieved its intended effect due to the context of current news stories in which it was embedded.” Nevertheless, Marques’ difference of opinion regarding Tabet does not alter the effect of the ruling.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.

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Days before Brazil’s presidential election, social media posts made or insinuated false claims about candidate Flávio Bolsonaro.

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Lithuanian bishops announce investigation into crimes against minors since 1990 – #Catholic – The Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference will pursue an investigation into all crimes committed against minors and vulnerable adults within the Church since March 11, 1990, when the country became independent from the Soviet Union.“The priority is the victim, not institutional reputation. To achieve this, it is necessary to establish how many such crimes have occurred in the past, since 11 March 1990,” the bishops said in a statement, according to a Sept. 28 Delfi report. The investigation follows a case involving Father Tadas Švedavičius, a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Vilnius who was charged in connection with 34 criminal counts of child sexual abuse, possession of child pornography, and distributing alcohol to minors over the course of 20 years, the report said. The conference will consult the Holy See and Lithuanian law enforcement during the investigation.Filipino bishops back calls to ban political dynastiesCatholic bishops in the Philippines have voiced their support for a nationwide signature campaign calling for the end of political dynasties in the country.“Public office must never become a family inheritance. It is a public trust entrusted to the people,” Bishop Elias Ayuban Jr. of Cubao said at a launch event for the anti-dynasty initiative known as “Dapat Isa Lang” at the Obispado de Cubao in Quezon City, according to a Sept. 30 press release from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). The conference at large backed the initiative in a pastoral statement on Sept. 25, declaring: “As pastors of God’s people, we cannot remain indifferent to matters that touch the moral foundations of our society, the dignity of our people, justice, equality, and the common good. For these reasons, we support the call to enact a genuine, meaningful, and effective Anti-Political Dynasty Law that will faithfully give effect to the mandate of our Constitution.”2 synod calls expose tensions in Syriac Catholic ChurchA dispute over two proposed meetings of Syriac Catholic bishops has brought internal tensions in the Church into public view. Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Younan called a synod for Nov. 17–20, while another invitation called bishops to meet Sept. 29–30.The patriarchate said Church law gives Younan the first right to convene the synod and considers the separate September invitation unlawful. It has also rejected claims that the patriarch failed to call a synod in recent years, ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Sept. 30. An unnamed source cited by ACI MENA disputed that account and questioned the timing of Younanʼs invitation. The disagreement comes amid wider tensions involving the patriarch and Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Vaticanʼs Dicastery for the Eastern Churches. Younan has publicly accused the cardinal of encouraging bishops to seek his removal, placing the synod dispute within a broader debate over leadership and authority in the Syriac Catholic Church.Angolan bishop: Religious zeal must not come at expense of family responsibilitiesBishop Maurício Agostinho Camuto of Angola’s Diocese of Caxito has cautioned Catholics against religious practices that could lead them to neglect their family responsibilities.“Jesus does not ask for spending more time in the Church than caring for the family,” Camuto said in his homily during Mass at St. Anne’s Cathedral on Sept. 27, ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, reported. “Religious involvement should not result in the abandonment of family responsibilities,” he said, citing situations in which “there are even wives whose husbands almost want to separate from them because they spend more time in the Church than at home, taking care of the family, taking care of the husband.” The bishop further called for stronger formation and accompaniment of members of apostolic groups and movements, particularly through catechesis and participation in the sacramental life of the Church.Japanese cardinal calls faithful to act on behalf of migrants and refugeesCardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo is encouraging Catholics to go beyond words and take action on behalf of migrants and refugees.Kikuchi echoed calls from Pope Leo XIV to move from “merely managing migration” to “full and immediate protection of human rights” in a Sept. 27 reflection, according to UCA News. The reflection came on World Day of Refugees, Migrants, and Displaced Persons on Sept. 27. Kikuchi further urged Catholics to reflect especially on the pope’s appeal for children and to ask themselves, “What can we ourselves do for ‘these little ones’?”Protestant march in Catholic Northern Ireland town permitted; archbishops respond The Northern Ireland Parades Commission has reversed a ruling previously prohibiting the Protestant Orange Order from marching through the Catholic majority town of Portadown for the first time in nearly three decades, according to a Sept. 30 America Magazine report.The Sept. 27 march resulted in a clash between Protestant members of the Orange Order and protesters blocking their path from Drumcree Church, according to the report. Addressing the tension, Archbishop Eamon Martin of the Archdiocese of Armagh and Archbishop John McDowell of the Church of Ireland in Armagh issued a joint statement following the Sept. 27 march. “As our community faces the crisis in Drumcree today, in which so many sincere views, painful histories and important issues are at stake, we cannot think of any time in the last 30 years when this simple message needs to be more urgently heard. How can we be good neighbors to each other?” the archbishops said. “We call for the urgent creation of a constructive, inclusive and reconciling initiative to patiently find a way through this current crisis. Too much is at stake.”Christian parliamentarian raises security concerns as coalition mission ends in IraqThe end of the international coalitionʼs mission in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region has renewed security concerns among Christians, according to Ramy Noori Syawish, an elected Christian member of the Kurdistan Regional Parliament.Syawish told ACI MENA Sept. 30 that the continuing threat from ISIS, armed groups outside state control, and uncontrolled weapons raises questions about the ability of Iraqi and Kurdish forces to respond to another major security crisis. He said smaller communities could be particularly vulnerable because of their declining numbers and dependence on the state for protection. He also pointed to economic hardship and irregular public-sector salaries as factors driving emigration. Syawish said the next Kurdistan Regional Government should prioritize services in Christian areas and address long-running disputes over land and property.Religion in public life sparks debate over Syriaʼs directionA series of incidents during the summer has fueled debate over the growing presence of religion in Syriaʼs public life.The controversies have touched womenʼs dress, education, employment, entertainment, and the way public institutions are being run, according to a Sept. 29 report from ACI MENA. Other disputes followed a dress code directive for female government employees, the separation of male and female students at a Damascus school, and religious questions reportedly included on an employment form. The debate has also reached the arts, while questions over some public appointments have raised concerns about whether professional qualifications or other considerations are shaping hiring decisions. Some allegations surrounding these cases remain disputed or unverified.
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Lithuanian bishops announce investigation into crimes against minors since 1990 – #Catholic – The Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference will pursue an investigation into all crimes committed against minors and vulnerable adults within the Church since March 11, 1990, when the country became independent from the Soviet Union.“The priority is the victim, not institutional reputation. To achieve this, it is necessary to establish how many such crimes have occurred in the past, since 11 March 1990,” the bishops said in a statement, according to a Sept. 28 Delfi report. The investigation follows a case involving Father Tadas Švedavičius, a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Vilnius who was charged in connection with 34 criminal counts of child sexual abuse, possession of child pornography, and distributing alcohol to minors over the course of 20 years, the report said. The conference will consult the Holy See and Lithuanian law enforcement during the investigation.Filipino bishops back calls to ban political dynastiesCatholic bishops in the Philippines have voiced their support for a nationwide signature campaign calling for the end of political dynasties in the country.“Public office must never become a family inheritance. It is a public trust entrusted to the people,” Bishop Elias Ayuban Jr. of Cubao said at a launch event for the anti-dynasty initiative known as “Dapat Isa Lang” at the Obispado de Cubao in Quezon City, according to a Sept. 30 press release from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). The conference at large backed the initiative in a pastoral statement on Sept. 25, declaring: “As pastors of God’s people, we cannot remain indifferent to matters that touch the moral foundations of our society, the dignity of our people, justice, equality, and the common good. For these reasons, we support the call to enact a genuine, meaningful, and effective Anti-Political Dynasty Law that will faithfully give effect to the mandate of our Constitution.”2 synod calls expose tensions in Syriac Catholic ChurchA dispute over two proposed meetings of Syriac Catholic bishops has brought internal tensions in the Church into public view. Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Younan called a synod for Nov. 17–20, while another invitation called bishops to meet Sept. 29–30.The patriarchate said Church law gives Younan the first right to convene the synod and considers the separate September invitation unlawful. It has also rejected claims that the patriarch failed to call a synod in recent years, ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Sept. 30. An unnamed source cited by ACI MENA disputed that account and questioned the timing of Younanʼs invitation. The disagreement comes amid wider tensions involving the patriarch and Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Vaticanʼs Dicastery for the Eastern Churches. Younan has publicly accused the cardinal of encouraging bishops to seek his removal, placing the synod dispute within a broader debate over leadership and authority in the Syriac Catholic Church.Angolan bishop: Religious zeal must not come at expense of family responsibilitiesBishop Maurício Agostinho Camuto of Angola’s Diocese of Caxito has cautioned Catholics against religious practices that could lead them to neglect their family responsibilities.“Jesus does not ask for spending more time in the Church than caring for the family,” Camuto said in his homily during Mass at St. Anne’s Cathedral on Sept. 27, ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, reported. “Religious involvement should not result in the abandonment of family responsibilities,” he said, citing situations in which “there are even wives whose husbands almost want to separate from them because they spend more time in the Church than at home, taking care of the family, taking care of the husband.” The bishop further called for stronger formation and accompaniment of members of apostolic groups and movements, particularly through catechesis and participation in the sacramental life of the Church.Japanese cardinal calls faithful to act on behalf of migrants and refugeesCardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo is encouraging Catholics to go beyond words and take action on behalf of migrants and refugees.Kikuchi echoed calls from Pope Leo XIV to move from “merely managing migration” to “full and immediate protection of human rights” in a Sept. 27 reflection, according to UCA News. The reflection came on World Day of Refugees, Migrants, and Displaced Persons on Sept. 27. Kikuchi further urged Catholics to reflect especially on the pope’s appeal for children and to ask themselves, “What can we ourselves do for ‘these little ones’?”Protestant march in Catholic Northern Ireland town permitted; archbishops respond The Northern Ireland Parades Commission has reversed a ruling previously prohibiting the Protestant Orange Order from marching through the Catholic majority town of Portadown for the first time in nearly three decades, according to a Sept. 30 America Magazine report.The Sept. 27 march resulted in a clash between Protestant members of the Orange Order and protesters blocking their path from Drumcree Church, according to the report. Addressing the tension, Archbishop Eamon Martin of the Archdiocese of Armagh and Archbishop John McDowell of the Church of Ireland in Armagh issued a joint statement following the Sept. 27 march. “As our community faces the crisis in Drumcree today, in which so many sincere views, painful histories and important issues are at stake, we cannot think of any time in the last 30 years when this simple message needs to be more urgently heard. How can we be good neighbors to each other?” the archbishops said. “We call for the urgent creation of a constructive, inclusive and reconciling initiative to patiently find a way through this current crisis. Too much is at stake.”Christian parliamentarian raises security concerns as coalition mission ends in IraqThe end of the international coalitionʼs mission in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region has renewed security concerns among Christians, according to Ramy Noori Syawish, an elected Christian member of the Kurdistan Regional Parliament.Syawish told ACI MENA Sept. 30 that the continuing threat from ISIS, armed groups outside state control, and uncontrolled weapons raises questions about the ability of Iraqi and Kurdish forces to respond to another major security crisis. He said smaller communities could be particularly vulnerable because of their declining numbers and dependence on the state for protection. He also pointed to economic hardship and irregular public-sector salaries as factors driving emigration. Syawish said the next Kurdistan Regional Government should prioritize services in Christian areas and address long-running disputes over land and property.Religion in public life sparks debate over Syriaʼs directionA series of incidents during the summer has fueled debate over the growing presence of religion in Syriaʼs public life.The controversies have touched womenʼs dress, education, employment, entertainment, and the way public institutions are being run, according to a Sept. 29 report from ACI MENA. Other disputes followed a dress code directive for female government employees, the separation of male and female students at a Damascus school, and religious questions reportedly included on an employment form. The debate has also reached the arts, while questions over some public appointments have raised concerns about whether professional qualifications or other considerations are shaping hiring decisions. Some allegations surrounding these cases remain disputed or unverified.

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All crimes against minors to be pursued says Lithuanian bishops, Filipino bishops call for ban on political dynasties, patriarch calls for synods in Syria, and more in this week’s world news roundup.

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Case closed on long-standing space weather mystery

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If a train leaves the station in Exeter, England, headed south toward Newton Abbot five years before the railway line opens, how long until anyone figures out that it didn’t happen? Well, evidently about 155 years. A report on magnetic storms, published in Nature in 1871, described an incident thought to be the earliest recordedContinue reading “Case closed on long-standing space weather mystery”

The post Case closed on long-standing space weather mystery appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

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10 years after Amoris Laetitia, bishops to discuss challenges of families at the Vatican #Catholic Pope Leo XIV has convened a gathering on the family at the Vatican from Oct. 7–14, during which bishops will listen to the testimony of 11 married couples from five continents.These families will present to more than 150 bishops the challenges they encounter in passing on the faith in increasingly secularized societies.The meeting is being organized on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Amoris Laetitia, the postsynodal apostolic exhortation published by Pope Francis in 2016.The document sparked intense debate, especially after the bishops of the Buenos Aires Pastoral Region interpreted it as allowing, following a process of accompanied pastoral discernment, access to the sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist for some Catholics who are divorced and civilly remarried “when a person judges that he or she would fall into a further fault by harming the children of the new union.”In 2023, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith confirmed that this interpretation forms part of the authentic magisterium after being incorporated into the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, the Holy See’s official bulletin.According to the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, participants in the meeting will include the heads of the 15 Eastern Catholic Churches “sui iuris” (14 represented by their patriarchs or highest authorities and one by a delegate), the presidents of the world’s 115 bishops’ conferences (those of Peru, Paraguay, Turkey, and Ethiopia will send delegates), two representatives of bishops from territories without a bishops’ conference, and 22 participants specially chosen by the Holy Father.In addition, 67 other people will attend, including members of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, the General Secretariat of the Synod, and 26 experts and 16 facilitators.Not an evaluation of Amoris LaetitiaDuring a presentation of the gathering at the Vatican, Gabriella Gambino, undersecretary of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life since 2017, a laywoman, mother of five, and doctor of bioethics, emphasized that “this is not about evaluating a text but about deepening our understanding of the family and pastoral realities that have received and interpreted this document in different ways, just as the life of the Church is diverse in the various places around the world where it is present and rooted in the one Gospel.”“The central point on which we must focus our attention is that the Church’s goal is not to see texts applied mechanically and uniformly in every reality, because each one has characteristics that are very different from the others,” she said.She stated that the central question of the meeting is: “How is the faith transmitted today? How is faith passed on in families today, and how do families contribute to building up the Church?”“Without families, the Church cannot renew its Christian roots. It is in families that children are born, where faith and values are transmitted, for better or worse, and where vocations arise,” she explained.To illustrate the scale of the ongoing religious changes, Gambino offered several statistics. In Poland, religious marriages celebrated over the last five years have declined by 45%. In Australia, they have fallen from 88% in 1970 to 16% in 2024. In her view, these are signs that, in different contexts, highlight the urgency of better accompanying couples in their decision to marry and providing stronger support for the transmission of faith within the family.Orietta Rachele Grazioli, a tenured professor of canon law and comparative family law at the Pontifical John Paul II Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences, and vice coordinator of the expert group, explained that the “methodology chosen by the Holy Father for this gathering is centered on two key words that complement one another: listening and discernment.”5 major themesThe gathering will be structured around five major themes related to marriage, family life, and the transmission of the faith. Reflection will begin with “Families Today: Reality, Beauty, and Challenges,” dedicated to analyzing the current situation of the family, and will continue with “Young People and the Discovery of the Vocation to Marriage,” “Married Life: The First Years of Marriage, a Decisive Time,” and “In Life’s Difficulties: Accompanying and Supporting,” which will address the accompaniment of engaged and married couples at different stages of their journey.The meeting will conclude with the theme “Christian Families as Subjects of the Church’s Mission,” focused on the evangelizing role of families and their contribution to ecclesial life.Father Giacomo Costa, a consultant to the General Secretariat of the Synod, said that “the question is not what Amoris Laetitia says but what we have learned by trying to live it.”He also recalled that the goal identified by Pope Leo XIV, who will be present at both the opening and closing of the gathering, is “to advance in mutual listening toward a synodal discernment about the steps we must take today to proclaim the Gospel with families. The composition of the assembly itself reflects this objective.”Before the start of the proceedings, an introductory meditation will be given by Sister Helen Alford, president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. Each morning will be structured around three types of speeches: family testimonies, contributions from bishops, and reflections from experts.‘The goal is not to eliminate differences’“The goal is not to eliminate differences. We do not want to arrive at an artificial consensus,” Costa said. Each day will include a report summarizing the discussions, which will serve as the basis for extensive dialogue and debate sessions in the afternoon. He made clear, however, that “this is not a new synod on the family but a process guided by the synodal method, one that consciously draws upon the experience of the synods and other forums of the Church.”Regarding the expected outcomes of the gathering, Costa insisted that “nothing has been predetermined.” A final summary will be prepared at the conclusion of the assembly, but no concluding document will be published. The text will be reviewed by a commission tasked with verifying that it faithfully reflects what emerged during the working sessions.Afterward, the presidents of bishops’ conferences will be invited to promote initiatives in their local Churches aimed at opening new pastoral paths and further developing the proposals that emerge from the gathering.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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10 years after Amoris Laetitia, bishops to discuss challenges of families at the Vatican #Catholic Pope Leo XIV has convened a gathering on the family at the Vatican from Oct. 7–14, during which bishops will listen to the testimony of 11 married couples from five continents.These families will present to more than 150 bishops the challenges they encounter in passing on the faith in increasingly secularized societies.The meeting is being organized on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Amoris Laetitia, the postsynodal apostolic exhortation published by Pope Francis in 2016.The document sparked intense debate, especially after the bishops of the Buenos Aires Pastoral Region interpreted it as allowing, following a process of accompanied pastoral discernment, access to the sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist for some Catholics who are divorced and civilly remarried “when a person judges that he or she would fall into a further fault by harming the children of the new union.”In 2023, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith confirmed that this interpretation forms part of the authentic magisterium after being incorporated into the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, the Holy See’s official bulletin.According to the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, participants in the meeting will include the heads of the 15 Eastern Catholic Churches “sui iuris” (14 represented by their patriarchs or highest authorities and one by a delegate), the presidents of the world’s 115 bishops’ conferences (those of Peru, Paraguay, Turkey, and Ethiopia will send delegates), two representatives of bishops from territories without a bishops’ conference, and 22 participants specially chosen by the Holy Father.In addition, 67 other people will attend, including members of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, the General Secretariat of the Synod, and 26 experts and 16 facilitators.Not an evaluation of Amoris LaetitiaDuring a presentation of the gathering at the Vatican, Gabriella Gambino, undersecretary of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life since 2017, a laywoman, mother of five, and doctor of bioethics, emphasized that “this is not about evaluating a text but about deepening our understanding of the family and pastoral realities that have received and interpreted this document in different ways, just as the life of the Church is diverse in the various places around the world where it is present and rooted in the one Gospel.”“The central point on which we must focus our attention is that the Church’s goal is not to see texts applied mechanically and uniformly in every reality, because each one has characteristics that are very different from the others,” she said.She stated that the central question of the meeting is: “How is the faith transmitted today? How is faith passed on in families today, and how do families contribute to building up the Church?”“Without families, the Church cannot renew its Christian roots. It is in families that children are born, where faith and values are transmitted, for better or worse, and where vocations arise,” she explained.To illustrate the scale of the ongoing religious changes, Gambino offered several statistics. In Poland, religious marriages celebrated over the last five years have declined by 45%. In Australia, they have fallen from 88% in 1970 to 16% in 2024. In her view, these are signs that, in different contexts, highlight the urgency of better accompanying couples in their decision to marry and providing stronger support for the transmission of faith within the family.Orietta Rachele Grazioli, a tenured professor of canon law and comparative family law at the Pontifical John Paul II Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences, and vice coordinator of the expert group, explained that the “methodology chosen by the Holy Father for this gathering is centered on two key words that complement one another: listening and discernment.”5 major themesThe gathering will be structured around five major themes related to marriage, family life, and the transmission of the faith. Reflection will begin with “Families Today: Reality, Beauty, and Challenges,” dedicated to analyzing the current situation of the family, and will continue with “Young People and the Discovery of the Vocation to Marriage,” “Married Life: The First Years of Marriage, a Decisive Time,” and “In Life’s Difficulties: Accompanying and Supporting,” which will address the accompaniment of engaged and married couples at different stages of their journey.The meeting will conclude with the theme “Christian Families as Subjects of the Church’s Mission,” focused on the evangelizing role of families and their contribution to ecclesial life.Father Giacomo Costa, a consultant to the General Secretariat of the Synod, said that “the question is not what Amoris Laetitia says but what we have learned by trying to live it.”He also recalled that the goal identified by Pope Leo XIV, who will be present at both the opening and closing of the gathering, is “to advance in mutual listening toward a synodal discernment about the steps we must take today to proclaim the Gospel with families. The composition of the assembly itself reflects this objective.”Before the start of the proceedings, an introductory meditation will be given by Sister Helen Alford, president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. Each morning will be structured around three types of speeches: family testimonies, contributions from bishops, and reflections from experts.‘The goal is not to eliminate differences’“The goal is not to eliminate differences. We do not want to arrive at an artificial consensus,” Costa said. Each day will include a report summarizing the discussions, which will serve as the basis for extensive dialogue and debate sessions in the afternoon. He made clear, however, that “this is not a new synod on the family but a process guided by the synodal method, one that consciously draws upon the experience of the synods and other forums of the Church.”Regarding the expected outcomes of the gathering, Costa insisted that “nothing has been predetermined.” A final summary will be prepared at the conclusion of the assembly, but no concluding document will be published. The text will be reviewed by a commission tasked with verifying that it faithfully reflects what emerged during the working sessions.Afterward, the presidents of bishops’ conferences will be invited to promote initiatives in their local Churches aimed at opening new pastoral paths and further developing the proposals that emerge from the gathering.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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Vatican officials said the weeklong meeting is neither a synod, nor an evaluation of Amoris Laetitia.

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Unborn baby wins wrongful death lawsuit against abortionist #Catholic An aborted baby from New Mexico has won a wrongful death lawsuit against an abortionist.The estate of a child killed in utero during the third trimester collected 0,000 under New Mexico’s wrongful death law.The case, Wabbington v. Boyd, argued by Albuquerque medical malpractice attorney Mike Seibel, described the unborn baby as a “person” who was "entitled to equal protection under the law.” Seibel advocates for women who have been injured by abortion.The baby’s mother had been under the influence of methamphetamine when she went to an abortion clinic in 2020 and was thus unable to give valid informed consent, but the abortion was provided anyway. The lawsuit said that abortionists also failed to inform her of support available to her in the state or refer her to the New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department.Seibel told Live Action News that the case was the first time an abortionist was ever sued for the wrongful death of a baby.3 states file lawsuit against telehealth abortionLouisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama have filed lawsuits against providers who ship abortion drugs into their states and against California, Massachusetts, and New York over their laws shielding abortion pill providers.The states’ Sept. 30 lawsuit against abortion providers calls mail-order abortion “one of the most dramatic and sweeping interstate conflicts in modern history.”“If state sovereignty means anything, it means that states like Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama cannot be forced to endure open violations of their laws, deaths of their babies, and harms to their women and girls simply because an out-of-state actor disagrees with their sovereign prerogative to choose life within their borders,” the lawsuit says.The lawsuit names as defendants several abortion pill providers, including Cambridge Reproductive Health Consultants Inc. in Massachusetts and A Safe Choice Network Inc. in California.A separate lawsuit brought by the states asks the U.S. Supreme Court to rule the abortion shield laws of California, Massachusetts, and New York unconstitutional.Poland opens first abortion pill delivery lockerActivist groups in Poland have launched a locker to distribute abortion pills, which they say is the first of its kind in the world.Women Help Women, a global group that provides abortion pills without physicians, and the Polish abortion activism group Abortion Dream Team put the locker across from Parliament in Warsaw.The organization gives women who are seeking abortion a six-digit code to open one of 22 numbered lockers.Abortion is legal in Poland in cases of rape or incest or if there is risk to the mother’s life or health.Respect Life Month prioritizes abortion pillAs Respect Life Month kicks off in October, the U.S. Catholic bishops are emphasizing the importance of opposing abortion pills.Toledo Bishop Daniel Thomas, the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ pro-life committee, released a statement on Sept. 29 describing the risks of injury and exploitation from abortion pills as “affronts to human dignity.” Catholics across the United States celebrate Respect Life Month each year in October. | Credit: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. “Today, with easier access to abortion pills, the abortion rate is tragically climbing, along with increased health risks,” Thomas said. “This means that more women, many of whom have been misinformed about the nature and risks of the abortion pill, will have an abortion alone at home, without any medical supervision. It also sets up additional opportunities for exploitation by violent partners or human traffickers.”Thomas urged the faithful to pray and take action against abortion.“Our Blessed Mother is our model for upholding the sanctity of all human life in every stage and circumstance,” Thomas continued. “We entrust all our efforts to protect mothers and babies to her motherly care, which we greatly need at this time.”“I thank the many thousands of Catholics across the country who have embraced the nationwide invitation to prayer and action on abortion pills, and I ask that we continue our prayers and advocacy throughout the month of October,” Thomas said.Bishop Burbidge calls for weekly fasting, rosary against abortion amendmentAs Virginians prepare to vote on an amendment that could create a right to abortion in the state’s constitution, Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington is calling on the faithful to take up weekly fasting and prayer throughout October.The “Catholics Vote No” campaign urges Catholics to vote no on the Virginia Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment along with the Virginia Remove Constitutional Same-Sex Marriage Ban Amendment. Virginian Catholics are opposing a pro-abortion ballot measure. Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Newport News, Virginia, has posted a sign urging Catholics to vote no on the ballot amendment. | Credit: Ken Oliver/EWTN News Burbidge asked Catholics to fast every Friday and pray the rosary each Sunday this October.“Our Catholics Vote No campaign is rooted in prayer and fasting,” Burbidge said in a statement. “Therefore, On Fridays, I ask that you pray the Stations of the Cross. And fast—which means eating only one full meal and no meat.” “On Sundays, I ask that you pray the Rosary and fast from social media for at least a few hours—especially before and after Mass,” he said.“It would be a powerful force if all in the Diocese of Arlington were united in these efforts,” Burbidge continued. “We entrust them to the Lord’s amazing grace, so all that is just, right, and true will be done in this election.”
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Unborn baby wins wrongful death lawsuit against abortionist #Catholic An aborted baby from New Mexico has won a wrongful death lawsuit against an abortionist.The estate of a child killed in utero during the third trimester collected $200,000 under New Mexico’s wrongful death law.The case, Wabbington v. Boyd, argued by Albuquerque medical malpractice attorney Mike Seibel, described the unborn baby as a “person” who was "entitled to equal protection under the law.” Seibel advocates for women who have been injured by abortion.The baby’s mother had been under the influence of methamphetamine when she went to an abortion clinic in 2020 and was thus unable to give valid informed consent, but the abortion was provided anyway. The lawsuit said that abortionists also failed to inform her of support available to her in the state or refer her to the New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department.Seibel told Live Action News that the case was the first time an abortionist was ever sued for the wrongful death of a baby.3 states file lawsuit against telehealth abortionLouisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama have filed lawsuits against providers who ship abortion drugs into their states and against California, Massachusetts, and New York over their laws shielding abortion pill providers.The states’ Sept. 30 lawsuit against abortion providers calls mail-order abortion “one of the most dramatic and sweeping interstate conflicts in modern history.”“If state sovereignty means anything, it means that states like Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama cannot be forced to endure open violations of their laws, deaths of their babies, and harms to their women and girls simply because an out-of-state actor disagrees with their sovereign prerogative to choose life within their borders,” the lawsuit says.The lawsuit names as defendants several abortion pill providers, including Cambridge Reproductive Health Consultants Inc. in Massachusetts and A Safe Choice Network Inc. in California.A separate lawsuit brought by the states asks the U.S. Supreme Court to rule the abortion shield laws of California, Massachusetts, and New York unconstitutional.Poland opens first abortion pill delivery lockerActivist groups in Poland have launched a locker to distribute abortion pills, which they say is the first of its kind in the world.Women Help Women, a global group that provides abortion pills without physicians, and the Polish abortion activism group Abortion Dream Team put the locker across from Parliament in Warsaw.The organization gives women who are seeking abortion a six-digit code to open one of 22 numbered lockers.Abortion is legal in Poland in cases of rape or incest or if there is risk to the mother’s life or health.Respect Life Month prioritizes abortion pillAs Respect Life Month kicks off in October, the U.S. Catholic bishops are emphasizing the importance of opposing abortion pills.Toledo Bishop Daniel Thomas, the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ pro-life committee, released a statement on Sept. 29 describing the risks of injury and exploitation from abortion pills as “affronts to human dignity.” Catholics across the United States celebrate Respect Life Month each year in October. | Credit: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. “Today, with easier access to abortion pills, the abortion rate is tragically climbing, along with increased health risks,” Thomas said. “This means that more women, many of whom have been misinformed about the nature and risks of the abortion pill, will have an abortion alone at home, without any medical supervision. It also sets up additional opportunities for exploitation by violent partners or human traffickers.”Thomas urged the faithful to pray and take action against abortion.“Our Blessed Mother is our model for upholding the sanctity of all human life in every stage and circumstance,” Thomas continued. “We entrust all our efforts to protect mothers and babies to her motherly care, which we greatly need at this time.”“I thank the many thousands of Catholics across the country who have embraced the nationwide invitation to prayer and action on abortion pills, and I ask that we continue our prayers and advocacy throughout the month of October,” Thomas said.Bishop Burbidge calls for weekly fasting, rosary against abortion amendmentAs Virginians prepare to vote on an amendment that could create a right to abortion in the state’s constitution, Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington is calling on the faithful to take up weekly fasting and prayer throughout October.The “Catholics Vote No” campaign urges Catholics to vote no on the Virginia Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment along with the Virginia Remove Constitutional Same-Sex Marriage Ban Amendment. Virginian Catholics are opposing a pro-abortion ballot measure. Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Newport News, Virginia, has posted a sign urging Catholics to vote no on the ballot amendment. | Credit: Ken Oliver/EWTN News Burbidge asked Catholics to fast every Friday and pray the rosary each Sunday this October.“Our Catholics Vote No campaign is rooted in prayer and fasting,” Burbidge said in a statement. “Therefore, On Fridays, I ask that you pray the Stations of the Cross. And fast—which means eating only one full meal and no meat.” “On Sundays, I ask that you pray the Rosary and fast from social media for at least a few hours—especially before and after Mass,” he said.“It would be a powerful force if all in the Diocese of Arlington were united in these efforts,” Burbidge continued. “We entrust them to the Lord’s amazing grace, so all that is just, right, and true will be done in this election.”

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

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Diocese joins Randolph tribute to fallen War on Terror veterans #Catholic – On Sept. 26, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney joined local officials and veterans groups to welcome a national traveling memorial honoring U.S. Armed Forces members lost in the Global War on Terrorism, which stopped for a public visit at the County College of Morris in Randolph, N.J., from Sept. 25 to 27. The poignant visit of the memorial occurred almost two weeks after the United States commemorated the 25th anniversary of terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Remembering Our Fallen is a photographic war memorial with large panels that display more than 5,500 U.S. Armed Forces members lost in the global war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan. The memorial features the faces, names, and biographies of the featured fallen heroes, making the experience personal for visitors. It includes those who served in the combat zone, died in training accidents stateside or overseas, and those who died because of post-traumatic stress syndrome. The NJ SOS Veteran Stakeholders Group made this tribute possible, in partnership with Catholic Charities of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., the County College of Morris, Morris County Government, the N.J. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the N.J. National Guard. Proceeds from the annual Tank Pull fundraiser, a collaboration between the Knights of Columbus and diocesan Catholic Charities which raises funds to support New Jersey veterans in need, funded the memorial visit. Bishop Sweeney delivered the invocation during the opening ceremony on Sept. 26 at the County College of Morris. It included remarks from Vincent Solomeno, U.S. Army veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and New Jersey’s first commissioner of Veterans Affairs; retired U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Vivyen Ray, the college’s vice president of human resources and labor relations; and David Pearson, assistant director of Veteran Services for Catholic Charities. Pearson coordinated the three-day visit with disabled combat veteran A.J. Luna, program manager of the NJ Veterans Stakeholders Group, who served as master of ceremonies of the opening ceremony. Veteran Services provides comprehensive support for military veterans facing crisis, homelessness, or housing instability, collaborating closely with local networks and media outlets such BeaconNJ.org to highlight resources and stakeholder groups In his remarks, Pearson spoke about each generation “having the responsibility to carry on the memories” of those who sacrificed their lives to keep their fellow Americans safe from terrorism. During the ceremony, Randolph Township Mayor Mark Forstenhausler presented a proclamation, while Rabbi Lenny Mandel and Deacon Richard Reck of Resurrection Parish offered prayers. The three-day visit of the memorial also included a veterans dinner and a day for Gold Star families, immediate relatives of the fallen U.S. military service members. “This memorial is not just a display — it is a sacred space where our community can come together to remember and honor those who gave everything for our freedom,” said Luna. “We are honored to bring Remembering Our Fallen to Morris County to bear witness to the courage and sacrifice of our fallen heroes,” he said. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org] Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
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Diocese joins Randolph tribute to fallen War on Terror veterans #Catholic – On Sept. 26, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney joined local officials and veterans groups to welcome a national traveling memorial honoring U.S. Armed Forces members lost in the Global War on Terrorism, which stopped for a public visit at the County College of Morris in Randolph, N.J., from Sept. 25 to 27. The poignant visit of the memorial occurred almost two weeks after the United States commemorated the 25th anniversary of terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Remembering Our Fallen is a photographic war memorial with large panels that display more than 5,500 U.S. Armed Forces members lost in the global war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan. The memorial features the faces, names, and biographies of the featured fallen heroes, making the experience personal for visitors. It includes those who served in the combat zone, died in training accidents stateside or overseas, and those who died because of post-traumatic stress syndrome. The NJ SOS Veteran Stakeholders Group made this tribute possible, in partnership with Catholic Charities of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., the County College of Morris, Morris County Government, the N.J. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the N.J. National Guard. Proceeds from the annual Tank Pull fundraiser, a collaboration between the Knights of Columbus and diocesan Catholic Charities which raises funds to support New Jersey veterans in need, funded the memorial visit. Bishop Sweeney delivered the invocation during the opening ceremony on Sept. 26 at the County College of Morris. It included remarks from Vincent Solomeno, U.S. Army veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and New Jersey’s first commissioner of Veterans Affairs; retired U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Vivyen Ray, the college’s vice president of human resources and labor relations; and David Pearson, assistant director of Veteran Services for Catholic Charities. Pearson coordinated the three-day visit with disabled combat veteran A.J. Luna, program manager of the NJ Veterans Stakeholders Group, who served as master of ceremonies of the opening ceremony. Veteran Services provides comprehensive support for military veterans facing crisis, homelessness, or housing instability, collaborating closely with local networks and media outlets such BeaconNJ.org to highlight resources and stakeholder groups In his remarks, Pearson spoke about each generation “having the responsibility to carry on the memories” of those who sacrificed their lives to keep their fellow Americans safe from terrorism. During the ceremony, Randolph Township Mayor Mark Forstenhausler presented a proclamation, while Rabbi Lenny Mandel and Deacon Richard Reck of Resurrection Parish offered prayers. The three-day visit of the memorial also included a veterans dinner and a day for Gold Star families, immediate relatives of the fallen U.S. military service members. “This memorial is not just a display — it is a sacred space where our community can come together to remember and honor those who gave everything for our freedom,” said Luna. “We are honored to bring Remembering Our Fallen to Morris County to bear witness to the courage and sacrifice of our fallen heroes,” he said. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org] Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

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Diocese joins Randolph tribute to fallen War on Terror veterans #Catholic –

On Sept. 26, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney joined local officials and veterans groups to welcome a national traveling memorial honoring U.S. Armed Forces members lost in the Global War on Terrorism, which stopped for a public visit at the County College of Morris in Randolph, N.J., from Sept. 25 to 27. The poignant visit of the memorial occurred almost two weeks after the United States commemorated the 25th anniversary of terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Remembering Our Fallen is a photographic war memorial with large panels that display more than 5,500 U.S. Armed Forces members lost in the global war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan. The memorial features the faces, names, and biographies of the featured fallen heroes, making the experience personal for visitors. It includes those who served in the combat zone, died in training accidents stateside or overseas, and those who died because of post-traumatic stress syndrome.

The NJ SOS Veteran Stakeholders Group made this tribute possible, in partnership with Catholic Charities of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., the County College of Morris, Morris County Government, the N.J. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the N.J. National Guard. Proceeds from the annual Tank Pull fundraiser, a collaboration between the Knights of Columbus and diocesan Catholic Charities which raises funds to support New Jersey veterans in need, funded the memorial visit.

Bishop Sweeney delivered the invocation during the opening ceremony on Sept. 26 at the County College of Morris. It included remarks from Vincent Solomeno, U.S. Army veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and New Jersey’s first commissioner of Veterans Affairs; retired U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Vivyen Ray, the college’s vice president of human resources and labor relations; and David Pearson, assistant director of Veteran Services for Catholic Charities.

Pearson coordinated the three-day visit with disabled combat veteran A.J. Luna, program manager of the NJ Veterans Stakeholders Group, who served as master of ceremonies of the opening ceremony.

Veteran Services provides comprehensive support for military veterans facing crisis, homelessness, or housing instability, collaborating closely with local networks and media outlets such BeaconNJ.org to highlight resources and stakeholder groups

In his remarks, Pearson spoke about each generation “having the responsibility to carry on the memories” of those who sacrificed their lives to keep their fellow Americans safe from terrorism.

During the ceremony, Randolph Township Mayor Mark Forstenhausler presented a proclamation, while Rabbi Lenny Mandel and Deacon Richard Reck of Resurrection Parish offered prayers.

The three-day visit of the memorial also included a veterans dinner and a day for Gold Star families, immediate relatives of the fallen U.S. military service members.

“This memorial is not just a display — it is a sacred space where our community can come together to remember and honor those who gave everything for our freedom,” said Luna. “We are honored to bring Remembering Our Fallen to Morris County to bear witness to the courage and sacrifice of our fallen heroes,” he said.

BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
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– On Sept. 26, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney joined local officials and veterans groups to welcome a national traveling memorial honoring U.S. Armed Forces members lost in the Global War on Terrorism, which stopped for a public visit at the County College of Morris in Randolph, N.J., from Sept. 25 to 27. The poignant visit of the memorial occurred almost two weeks after the United States commemorated the 25th anniversary of terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Remembering Our Fallen is a photographic war memorial with large panels that display more than 5,500 U.S. Armed Forces members lost in the global

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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 Launches – A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov aboard, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 Launches – A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov aboard, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov aboard, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

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4D Chess: Trump Guarantees Republican Victory In Midterms By Renaming Democrats ‘Republicans’ #BabylonBee – WASHINGTON, D.C. — With the November election barely over a month away, President Donald Trump guaranteed a Republican victory in the midterms by officially renaming the Democrats "Republicans."
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4D Chess: Trump Guarantees Republican Victory In Midterms By Renaming Democrats ‘Republicans’ #BabylonBee – WASHINGTON, D.C. — With the November election barely over a month away, President Donald Trump guaranteed a Republican victory in the midterms by officially renaming the Democrats "Republicans."

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — With the November election barely over a month away, President Donald Trump guaranteed a Republican victory in the midterms by officially renaming the Democrats "Republicans."

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Gospel and Word of the Day – 02 October 2026 – A reading from the Book of Job 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5 The LORD addressed Job out of the storm and said: Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning and shown the dawn its place For taking hold of the ends of the earth, till the wicked are shaken from its surface? The earth is changed as is clay by the seal, and dyed as though it were a garment; But from the wicked the light is withheld, and the arm of pride is shattered. Have you entered into the sources of the sea, or walked about in the depths of the abyss? Have the gates of death been shown to you, or have you seen the gates of darkness? Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell me, if you know all: Which is the way to the dwelling place of light, and where is the abode of darkness, That you may take them to their boundaries and set them on their homeward paths? You know, because you were born before them, and the number of your years is great! Then Job answered the LORD and said: Behold, I am of little account; what can I answer you? I put my hand over my mouth. Though I have spoken once, I will not do so again; though twice, I will do so no more.From the Gospel according to Matthew 18:1-5, 10 The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me. “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”According to the tradition of the Church, we all have an angel with us, who watches over us and helps us to sense things. How many times have we heard: “But … this … I should do it this way, this will not do, be careful …”: so many times! And that is the voice of our travelling companion. (…) And when we do not want to heed his advice, to listen to his voice, it is like telling him: “Go away!”. Driving away our travelling companion is perilous, because no man, no woman can advise themselves. I can advise another person, but I cannot advise myself. There is the Holy Spirit who advises me, there is the angel who advises me. That is why we need them. This is not some fanciful doctrine about angels: no, it is reality. What Jesus, what God said was: “I will send an angel before you to watch over you, to accompany you on your journey, so that you do not go astray”. (…) Today, I would ask the question: how is my relationship with my guardian angel? Do I listen to him? Do I say “good morning” to him in the morning? Do I say, “Watch over me while I sleep”? Do I speak with him? Do I ask him for advice? He is by my side. We can answer this question today, each one of us: how is my relationship with this angel that the Lord has sent to watch over me and to accompany me on my journey, and who always sees the face of the Father who is in heaven? (Pope Francis, Homily at Santa Marta, 2 October 2014)  

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A reading from the Book of Job
38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5

The LORD addressed Job out of the storm and said:

Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning
and shown the dawn its place
For taking hold of the ends of the earth,
till the wicked are shaken from its surface?
The earth is changed as is clay by the seal,
and dyed as though it were a garment;
But from the wicked the light is withheld,
and the arm of pride is shattered.

Have you entered into the sources of the sea,
or walked about in the depths of the abyss?
Have the gates of death been shown to you,
or have you seen the gates of darkness?
Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all:
Which is the way to the dwelling place of light,
and where is the abode of darkness,
That you may take them to their boundaries
and set them on their homeward paths?
You know, because you were born before them,
and the number of your years is great!

Then Job answered the LORD and said:

Behold, I am of little account; what can I answer you?
I put my hand over my mouth.
Though I have spoken once, I will not do so again;
though twice, I will do so no more.

From the Gospel according to Matthew
18:1-5, 10

The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”

According to the tradition of the Church, we all have an angel with us, who watches over us and helps us to sense things. How many times have we heard: “But … this … I should do it this way, this will not do, be careful …”: so many times! And that is the voice of our travelling companion. (…) And when we do not want to heed his advice, to listen to his voice, it is like telling him: “Go away!”. Driving away our travelling companion is perilous, because no man, no woman can advise themselves. I can advise another person, but I cannot advise myself. There is the Holy Spirit who advises me, there is the angel who advises me. That is why we need them. This is not some fanciful doctrine about angels: no, it is reality. What Jesus, what God said was: “I will send an angel before you to watch over you, to accompany you on your journey, so that you do not go astray”. (…) Today, I would ask the question: how is my relationship with my guardian angel? Do I listen to him? Do I say “good morning” to him in the morning? Do I say, “Watch over me while I sleep”? Do I speak with him? Do I ask him for advice? He is by my side. We can answer this question today, each one of us: how is my relationship with this angel that the Lord has sent to watch over me and to accompany me on my journey, and who always sees the face of the Father who is in heaven? (Pope Francis, Homily at Santa Marta, 2 October 2014)

 

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Catholic military archdiocese ‘appreciates’ Pentagon’s new religious affairs office – #Catholic – The Roman Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, said it “appreciates” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s announcement of a new Pentagon office dedicated to supporting religious members of the military.Hegseth introduced the Office of Religious Affairs at the Department of Defense (DOD) in his Sept. 30 State of the Force Address at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, which was attended by 600 officers and service members.In his speech, Hegseth said the office will report directly to him and to the secretaries who serve after him. He said there will be “no staff filters” and “no bureaucratic dilution” but rather a “direct line to the secretary” for the chaplains.“This wonʼt be a paper-pushing shop,” he said. “It will have real teeth. It will protect budgets, demand infrastructure, and strengthen religious support. The experts, our chaplains, will finally have an advocate at the highest levels. Policy and resources will serve the mission, not smother the mission.”In a statement to EWTN News, the Catholic military archdiocese said it hopes the new office “will enhance and strengthen the support offered to the men, women and their families who serve in the military, and to the chaplain corps who strive to accompany our soldiers, sailors, and airmen across all service branches.” “Placing spiritual readiness alongside other departmental priorities, and shortening the timeline between identified field needs and senior decisions can have the practical effect of resolving legacy constraints that historically limited chaplaincy support,” the statement said. “This Archdiocese appreciates the initiative and welcomes its implementation.”Structural changeHegseth explained the new structure is meant to ensure chaplains do not need to go through secular bureaucracy. The secretary said, under the old system, “we let people with no expertise in faith or religion dictate the spiritual life of our warriors,” and the chaplains “were buried echelons deep, waiting for permission.”“Decisions about faith and religion were made by secular careerists in cubicles and lawyers running around with red tape,” he said.The secretary blamed the previous structure for budget cuts, failures to adequately meet needs for resourcing and manpower, and a lack of support for chapels on bases. He said faith had been treated as “an afterthought” even though only 5% of the military is nonreligious.“Our department therefore has a sacred duty — first-class religious support wherever we send our warriors,” Hegseth said. “… For far too long, you know, we didnʼt prioritize that duty at all.”Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, has supported some of Hegseth’s other reforms of the chaplaincy as well. Broglio celebrated Hegseth’s removal of the official spiritual fitness guide, which the secretary said was “pushing secular humanism” and treating chaplains like “emotional support officers” rather than as chaplains.The archbishop said the change allowed chaplains to focus on spiritual ministry “above and beyond everything else that they might ask the chaplains to do.”Broglio also spoke positively of Hegseth’s decision to change the chaplain insignia on uniforms to reflect the faith role instead of the military rank.“If the decision to eliminate the rank insignia for chaplains so as to favor the insignia indicating religious affiliation contributes to making chaplains more approachable, the archdiocese favors it,” the archbishop said in March.Alternatively, the archdiocese faced problems with the Army in 2025 amid canceled religious contracts, which the DOD ultimately worked to restore.Apart from the chaplaincy, Broglio has criticized some military decisions from President Donald Trump’s administration. In April, he echoed the concerns of Pope Leo XIV, saying it was “hard” to see how the Iran war could be justified under Catholic just war doctrine.The archbishop was also critical of earlier threats to annex Greenland, along with attacks on alleged drug boats off the coast of Venezuela that killed more than 100 people.
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Catholic military archdiocese ‘appreciates’ Pentagon’s new religious affairs office – #Catholic – The Roman Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, said it “appreciates” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s announcement of a new Pentagon office dedicated to supporting religious members of the military.Hegseth introduced the Office of Religious Affairs at the Department of Defense (DOD) in his Sept. 30 State of the Force Address at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, which was attended by 600 officers and service members.In his speech, Hegseth said the office will report directly to him and to the secretaries who serve after him. He said there will be “no staff filters” and “no bureaucratic dilution” but rather a “direct line to the secretary” for the chaplains.“This wonʼt be a paper-pushing shop,” he said. “It will have real teeth. It will protect budgets, demand infrastructure, and strengthen religious support. The experts, our chaplains, will finally have an advocate at the highest levels. Policy and resources will serve the mission, not smother the mission.”In a statement to EWTN News, the Catholic military archdiocese said it hopes the new office “will enhance and strengthen the support offered to the men, women and their families who serve in the military, and to the chaplain corps who strive to accompany our soldiers, sailors, and airmen across all service branches.” “Placing spiritual readiness alongside other departmental priorities, and shortening the timeline between identified field needs and senior decisions can have the practical effect of resolving legacy constraints that historically limited chaplaincy support,” the statement said. “This Archdiocese appreciates the initiative and welcomes its implementation.”Structural changeHegseth explained the new structure is meant to ensure chaplains do not need to go through secular bureaucracy. The secretary said, under the old system, “we let people with no expertise in faith or religion dictate the spiritual life of our warriors,” and the chaplains “were buried echelons deep, waiting for permission.”“Decisions about faith and religion were made by secular careerists in cubicles and lawyers running around with red tape,” he said.The secretary blamed the previous structure for budget cuts, failures to adequately meet needs for resourcing and manpower, and a lack of support for chapels on bases. He said faith had been treated as “an afterthought” even though only 5% of the military is nonreligious.“Our department therefore has a sacred duty — first-class religious support wherever we send our warriors,” Hegseth said. “… For far too long, you know, we didnʼt prioritize that duty at all.”Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, has supported some of Hegseth’s other reforms of the chaplaincy as well. Broglio celebrated Hegseth’s removal of the official spiritual fitness guide, which the secretary said was “pushing secular humanism” and treating chaplains like “emotional support officers” rather than as chaplains.The archbishop said the change allowed chaplains to focus on spiritual ministry “above and beyond everything else that they might ask the chaplains to do.”Broglio also spoke positively of Hegseth’s decision to change the chaplain insignia on uniforms to reflect the faith role instead of the military rank.“If the decision to eliminate the rank insignia for chaplains so as to favor the insignia indicating religious affiliation contributes to making chaplains more approachable, the archdiocese favors it,” the archbishop said in March.Alternatively, the archdiocese faced problems with the Army in 2025 amid canceled religious contracts, which the DOD ultimately worked to restore.Apart from the chaplaincy, Broglio has criticized some military decisions from President Donald Trump’s administration. In April, he echoed the concerns of Pope Leo XIV, saying it was “hard” to see how the Iran war could be justified under Catholic just war doctrine.The archbishop was also critical of earlier threats to annex Greenland, along with attacks on alleged drug boats off the coast of Venezuela that killed more than 100 people.

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the new office is meant to give chaplains a direct line to the secretary, to bypass red tape from the secular bureaucracy.

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Supreme Court to hear case on lawsuit that blocked Marian shrine plan in Kentucky – #Catholic – The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a religious liberty case about a local zoning dispute that pitted two residents of a northern Kentucky city against a Catholic chapel that wants to build a Marian shrine.Missionaries of St. John the Baptist, a Catholic religious association that runs the Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel in Park Hills, Kentucky — just south of Cincinnati, Ohio — faces a lawsuit that seeks to block its construction of a grotto shrine that pays homage to the Marian apparitions in 1858 in Lourdes, France.The city board initially approved the chapel’s request to construct the shrine by granting it a variance from a zoning ordinance that would have typically prevented construction in that location, but two neighbors objected to the shrine and filed a lawsuit.The case went up to the Kentucky Supreme Court, which ruled against the chapel, finding that the city board exceeded its authority when it gave the chapel a variance from the ordinance.Joel and Elizabeth Frederic, the neighbors, expressed concerns about traffic and parking if the shrine were to become a pilgrimage site. The chapel argued the shrine would simply include a statue of Mary inside a grotto, a statue of St. Bernadette — who witnessed the apparitions — and a patio and walkway.The Catholic association that operates the chapel argues that blocking the construction of the shrine would violate the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which states that zoning laws cannot substantially burden a church’s exercise of religion. This is also the law cited by the city council as its reason for approving the chapel’s variance.“Telling a church it can’t build a modest place for prayer and reflection on its own property is outrageous,” Kelly Shackelford, president, CEO, and chief counsel at the First Liberty Institute, which is providing legal representation to the chapel, said in a statement.“Federal law provides clear protections for how faith-based organizations can use their property to support their mission,” she said. “This is an important case for religious freedom.”Oral arguments have not yet been scheduled. The case could set nationwide precedent for how cities are expected to handle zoning laws that could impose burdens on religious practice.
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Supreme Court to hear case on lawsuit that blocked Marian shrine plan in Kentucky – #Catholic – The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a religious liberty case about a local zoning dispute that pitted two residents of a northern Kentucky city against a Catholic chapel that wants to build a Marian shrine.Missionaries of St. John the Baptist, a Catholic religious association that runs the Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel in Park Hills, Kentucky — just south of Cincinnati, Ohio — faces a lawsuit that seeks to block its construction of a grotto shrine that pays homage to the Marian apparitions in 1858 in Lourdes, France.The city board initially approved the chapel’s request to construct the shrine by granting it a variance from a zoning ordinance that would have typically prevented construction in that location, but two neighbors objected to the shrine and filed a lawsuit.The case went up to the Kentucky Supreme Court, which ruled against the chapel, finding that the city board exceeded its authority when it gave the chapel a variance from the ordinance.Joel and Elizabeth Frederic, the neighbors, expressed concerns about traffic and parking if the shrine were to become a pilgrimage site. The chapel argued the shrine would simply include a statue of Mary inside a grotto, a statue of St. Bernadette — who witnessed the apparitions — and a patio and walkway.The Catholic association that operates the chapel argues that blocking the construction of the shrine would violate the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which states that zoning laws cannot substantially burden a church’s exercise of religion. This is also the law cited by the city council as its reason for approving the chapel’s variance.“Telling a church it can’t build a modest place for prayer and reflection on its own property is outrageous,” Kelly Shackelford, president, CEO, and chief counsel at the First Liberty Institute, which is providing legal representation to the chapel, said in a statement.“Federal law provides clear protections for how faith-based organizations can use their property to support their mission,” she said. “This is an important case for religious freedom.”Oral arguments have not yet been scheduled. The case could set nationwide precedent for how cities are expected to handle zoning laws that could impose burdens on religious practice.

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Two neighbors objected to the shrine and filed suit. Lawyers for the Missionaries of St. John the Baptist say federal religious liberty protections guarantee their right to construct the shrine.

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Pope Leo XIV honors Harvard scientist whose pursuit of knowledge led her to faith – #Catholic – Pope Leo XIV presented the Pius XI Medal to Karin Öberg, a Harvard scientist specializing in astrochemistry, during a recent audience with members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.The award, presented on Sept. 24, recognizes scientists under the age of 45 who have distinguished themselves through their research and show “exceptional promise” in their field. Recipients of this medal include several Nobel laureates and the physicist Stephen Hawking.Öberg holds the Thomas Dudley Cabot Chair in the Natural Sciences at Harvard University and directs the Öberg Astrochemistry Laboratory at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Her work focuses, among other topics, on chemical processes related to planet formation and chemical habitability.But beyond her scientific career, Öberg has spoken publicly about her conversion to Catholicism and how her pursuit of knowledge influenced her journey toward faith.In a 2011 interview with the Augustine Institute, she explained that there were aspects of the world that began to make it difficult for her to accept a strictly materialist worldview.“There were certain facts about the world that made me very skeptical of atheism or pure materialism. I thought it was pretty obvious there is moral realism in this world, that there are things that are good and evil, regardless of what people think about them,” she noted.Reading C.S. Lewis’ “Mere Christianity” played an important role in that process. As she explained, the British writer’s proposal seemed reasonable to her.“His explanation of Christianity struck me as very sensible, and it seemed to fit with the data about the world I had already gathered,” she stated.For Öberg, however, intellectually accepting the faith was not the end of the journey. “What took time was the aspect of charity — living out the faith and truly building a relationship with God,” she explained.The scientist has also reflected on the limits and scope of the scientific method when it comes to God. She was clear in that interview: “You can never use the scientific method to prove or disprove God.”In her view, science does allow us to appreciate something she considers especially significant: “how intelligible the universe is, how subject to laws it is.” She added: “This cannot be taken for granted. It is magnificent.”The beauty of the universe also plays an important role in her understanding of the relationship between science and faith. “I am moved. And beauty is, in a sense, just as impressive to me,” she said.For this reason, Öberg said she believes that science and faith need not be presented as opposing paths.The scientist has also spoken openly about being Catholic.“I am very open about the fact that I am Catholic,” she said in the interview. At the same time, she explained that she prefers this openness to foster dialogue rather than lead to imposition.“I try to be open and then invite people to come and talk to me, rather than preaching to them,” she noted.Öberg has also expressed a special affinity for the Dominican tradition and for St. Thomas Aquinas, whom she cited as a particularly important figure for the way he united faith and reason.Her brother, Erik Öberg, an economist specializing in macroeconomics at Uppsala University in Sweden, publicly celebrated the recognition Karin received via his LinkedIn account. “I’m very proud of her,” he stated.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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Pope Leo XIV honors Harvard scientist whose pursuit of knowledge led her to faith – #Catholic – Pope Leo XIV presented the Pius XI Medal to Karin Öberg, a Harvard scientist specializing in astrochemistry, during a recent audience with members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.The award, presented on Sept. 24, recognizes scientists under the age of 45 who have distinguished themselves through their research and show “exceptional promise” in their field. Recipients of this medal include several Nobel laureates and the physicist Stephen Hawking.Öberg holds the Thomas Dudley Cabot Chair in the Natural Sciences at Harvard University and directs the Öberg Astrochemistry Laboratory at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Her work focuses, among other topics, on chemical processes related to planet formation and chemical habitability.But beyond her scientific career, Öberg has spoken publicly about her conversion to Catholicism and how her pursuit of knowledge influenced her journey toward faith.In a 2011 interview with the Augustine Institute, she explained that there were aspects of the world that began to make it difficult for her to accept a strictly materialist worldview.“There were certain facts about the world that made me very skeptical of atheism or pure materialism. I thought it was pretty obvious there is moral realism in this world, that there are things that are good and evil, regardless of what people think about them,” she noted.Reading C.S. Lewis’ “Mere Christianity” played an important role in that process. As she explained, the British writer’s proposal seemed reasonable to her.“His explanation of Christianity struck me as very sensible, and it seemed to fit with the data about the world I had already gathered,” she stated.For Öberg, however, intellectually accepting the faith was not the end of the journey. “What took time was the aspect of charity — living out the faith and truly building a relationship with God,” she explained.The scientist has also reflected on the limits and scope of the scientific method when it comes to God. She was clear in that interview: “You can never use the scientific method to prove or disprove God.”In her view, science does allow us to appreciate something she considers especially significant: “how intelligible the universe is, how subject to laws it is.” She added: “This cannot be taken for granted. It is magnificent.”The beauty of the universe also plays an important role in her understanding of the relationship between science and faith. “I am moved. And beauty is, in a sense, just as impressive to me,” she said.For this reason, Öberg said she believes that science and faith need not be presented as opposing paths.The scientist has also spoken openly about being Catholic.“I am very open about the fact that I am Catholic,” she said in the interview. At the same time, she explained that she prefers this openness to foster dialogue rather than lead to imposition.“I try to be open and then invite people to come and talk to me, rather than preaching to them,” she noted.Öberg has also expressed a special affinity for the Dominican tradition and for St. Thomas Aquinas, whom she cited as a particularly important figure for the way he united faith and reason.Her brother, Erik Öberg, an economist specializing in macroeconomics at Uppsala University in Sweden, publicly celebrated the recognition Karin received via his LinkedIn account. “I’m very proud of her,” he stated.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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Karin Öberg holds the Thomas Dudley Cabot Chair in the Natural Sciences at Harvard University and directs the Öberg Astrochemistry Laboratory at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

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Beyond The Beacon podcast 119 – The Good News Workshop: Creating better photos with Joe Gigli #Catholic – How can we all create better photos? This week we get to know Joe Gigli, the gifted, long-time photographer for The Beacon and the Diocese of Paterson. Gigli shares how he got into photography, offers insight into how he thinks about creating images, and shares a few tips and tricks. Gigli’s interview kicks off a new podcast segment titled The Good News Workshop. This intermittent segment will feature interviews with experts in different areas of communications, so we can be inspired and educated to be the best communicators and storytellers we can be as we spread the Good News of our faith in our parishes, schools, and throughout the diocese. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney shares his perspective on being photographed, how an image can bring people together, and discusses the power of a beautiful photograph. Co-hosted by Diocesan Communications Director Jai Agnish. Listen or watch the episode here, or on any major podcast platform, or watch it on Bishop Sweeney’s YouTube channel. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Beacon photographer Joe Gigli poses for a photograph in his home. (By Jai Agnish)
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Beyond The Beacon podcast 119 – The Good News Workshop: Creating better photos with Joe Gigli #Catholic – How can we all create better photos? This week we get to know Joe Gigli, the gifted, long-time photographer for The Beacon and the Diocese of Paterson. Gigli shares how he got into photography, offers insight into how he thinks about creating images, and shares a few tips and tricks. Gigli’s interview kicks off a new podcast segment titled The Good News Workshop. This intermittent segment will feature interviews with experts in different areas of communications, so we can be inspired and educated to be the best communicators and storytellers we can be as we spread the Good News of our faith in our parishes, schools, and throughout the diocese. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney shares his perspective on being photographed, how an image can bring people together, and discusses the power of a beautiful photograph. Co-hosted by Diocesan Communications Director Jai Agnish. Listen or watch the episode here, or on any major podcast platform, or watch it on Bishop Sweeney’s YouTube channel. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Beacon photographer Joe Gigli poses for a photograph in his home. (By Jai Agnish)

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Beyond The Beacon podcast 119 – The Good News Workshop: Creating better photos with Joe Gigli #Catholic –

How can we all create better photos? This week we get to know Joe Gigli, the gifted, long-time photographer for The Beacon and the Diocese of Paterson. Gigli shares how he got into photography, offers insight into how he thinks about creating images, and shares a few tips and tricks.

Gigli’s interview kicks off a new podcast segment titled The Good News Workshop. This intermittent segment will feature interviews with experts in different areas of communications, so we can be inspired and educated to be the best communicators and storytellers we can be as we spread the Good News of our faith in our parishes, schools, and throughout the diocese.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney shares his perspective on being photographed, how an image can bring people together, and discusses the power of a beautiful photograph. Co-hosted by Diocesan Communications Director Jai Agnish.

Listen or watch the episode here, or on any major podcast platform, or watch it on Bishop Sweeney’s YouTube channel.

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Beacon photographer Joe Gigli poses for a photograph in his home. (By Jai Agnish)

–  How can we all create better photos? This week we get to know Joe Gigli, the gifted, long-time photographer for The Beacon and the Diocese of Paterson. Gigli shares how he got into photography, offers insight into how he thinks about creating images, and shares a few tips and tricks. Gigli’s interview kicks off a new podcast segment titled The Good News Workshop. This intermittent segment will feature interviews with experts in different areas of communications, so we can be inspired and educated to be the best communicators and storytellers we can be as we spread the Good News

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This is Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of October #Catholic Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of October is for the mental health ministry.“Melancholy, bad character, confusion of senses — today, we understand that behind these old labels lies a deep, silent suffering not only of those affected by mental disorders but also of their loved ones and their communities,” Pope Leo said in a video released Oct. 1 on X.He added: “We live in a world full of tensions, and even as solutions grow so does the number of people in crisis. This October, let us pray for the mental health ministry — an urgent and ever more needed service in our Church and in the world.”In the full video shared on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website, Pope Leo recites an original prayer written specifically for this month’s prayer intention:“God of life,You know the innermost depths of our hearts — the light and shadows within us,the silent wounds that sometimes no one sees.Today we bring before you our brothers and sisterswho struggle with challenges to their mental health,who suffer in solitude with anxiety, depression, or any other mental illness.You call them by name, with tenderness,and in you they find dignity and hope.Forgive us for the times we have looked the other way,feeding the stigma and discrimination of persons with mental illnesses.May your Church be an open house,a safe space where everyone has a place — a community that accompanies and never excludes,that listens without judging and draws near without fear.We pray to you, Lord, for those who care:professionals, family members, volunteers — men and women who, with patience and love,build bridges of understanding and comfort.Give them strength and compassion to sustain others.Send your Spirit upon us,that we may learn to welcome and integrate care for mental healthinto the life and ministry of our communities and of the whole Church,and thus become a living sign of your mercy,which never abandons and always restores.Amen.”“Pray with the Pope” is accessible on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website and its digital platforms.
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This is Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of October #Catholic Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of October is for the mental health ministry.“Melancholy, bad character, confusion of senses — today, we understand that behind these old labels lies a deep, silent suffering not only of those affected by mental disorders but also of their loved ones and their communities,” Pope Leo said in a video released Oct. 1 on X.He added: “We live in a world full of tensions, and even as solutions grow so does the number of people in crisis. This October, let us pray for the mental health ministry — an urgent and ever more needed service in our Church and in the world.”In the full video shared on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website, Pope Leo recites an original prayer written specifically for this month’s prayer intention:“God of life,You know the innermost depths of our hearts — the light and shadows within us,the silent wounds that sometimes no one sees.Today we bring before you our brothers and sisterswho struggle with challenges to their mental health,who suffer in solitude with anxiety, depression, or any other mental illness.You call them by name, with tenderness,and in you they find dignity and hope.Forgive us for the times we have looked the other way,feeding the stigma and discrimination of persons with mental illnesses.May your Church be an open house,a safe space where everyone has a place — a community that accompanies and never excludes,that listens without judging and draws near without fear.We pray to you, Lord, for those who care:professionals, family members, volunteers — men and women who, with patience and love,build bridges of understanding and comfort.Give them strength and compassion to sustain others.Send your Spirit upon us,that we may learn to welcome and integrate care for mental healthinto the life and ministry of our communities and of the whole Church,and thus become a living sign of your mercy,which never abandons and always restores.Amen.”“Pray with the Pope” is accessible on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website and its digital platforms.

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Pope Leo’s prayer intention for the month of October is for the mental health ministry.

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Pope prays the rosary with children: ‘50 million Hail Marys rising to heaven’ #Catholic VATICAN CITY — More than 700 children from schools and parishes in Rome joined Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican Gardens on Thursday to pray the rosary for peace in the world.The Oct. 1 event marked the beginning of a week of prayer for the initiative “One Million Children Praying the Rosary,” promoted by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need.The Holy Father greeted the children at the beginning. He thanked them and encouraged them to be good at home, in their families, at school, in catechism classes, and in sports, because peace also grows in this way.“I am truly happy to be with you! And you, children, tell me: Are you happy to have come? Good, that makes me happy too. Above all, because this evening we have gathered together to be with the two people who love us more than anyone else. Who are they? The Lord Jesus and his mother, Mary, who never leave us alone and who are always close to us,” Pope Leo said in his address before the rosary. An estimated more than 700 children join in praying the rosary for peace with Pope Leo XIV on Oct. 1, 2026, in the Vatican Gardens. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News/Vatican Pool “We love them too, don’t we?” he added. “Shall we tell them? Let’s try. Let us repeat together: ‘I love you, Jesus. I love you, Mary.’ Yes, we love you, Jesus and Mary, and this evening we ask you for a special gift: peace for all the children of the world, especially those who live where there is war, in so many countries across the earth.”“We do this through the prayer of the holy rosary, which is a simple prayer that everyone can pray,” the pope affectionately emphasized to the children.He noted that “in a little while we will light candles, and we will reflect on Jesus in some important moments of his life … These are moments in which he gave us wonderful gifts that we must never forget, and for this we want to thank him.Calling on the children to repeat with him, he said: “Let us do that together as well, once again. Let us all say: ‘Thank you, Jesus!’ And let us ask him with confidence, all united: ‘Give us peace!’”For the pope, the children’s rosary initiative represents “50 million Hail Marys rising to heaven from every corner of the world and in every language on earth, asking for peace, and joining together like one immense rosary garland, embracing and drawing together all the continents, races, and nations of the planet.” Pope Leo XIV brings flowers to Mary at a replica of the grotto of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes during a rosary prayed with children in the Vatican Gardens on Oct. 1, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News/Vatican Pool Upon his arrival for the rosary, the pope also presented a small bouquet of flowers to Our Lady. It was a simple gesture carried out together with a child at the replica grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens.For the first time this year, the prayer campaign will take place over the course of an entire week, from Oct. 1–7, allowing dioceses, parishes, schools, communities, and families across different continents to participate in the prayer for peace and unity.Similar initiatives are already being prepared in other countries, such as Bolivia, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and many other places marked by war, poverty, or instability.The 2026 campaign is inspired by the message of Fátima: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”The rosary was led by the children through readings, songs, and brief reflections on countries affected by war. The Hail Mary was also recited in several languages.In this year’s invitation to participants, Cardinal Kurt Koch, international president of Aid to the Church in Need and prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, recalled that Mary’s Immaculate Heart represents a life completely open to the Holy Spirit and presents Mary as a model of faith, love, and prayer.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.
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Pope prays the rosary with children: ‘50 million Hail Marys rising to heaven’ #Catholic VATICAN CITY — More than 700 children from schools and parishes in Rome joined Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican Gardens on Thursday to pray the rosary for peace in the world.The Oct. 1 event marked the beginning of a week of prayer for the initiative “One Million Children Praying the Rosary,” promoted by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need.The Holy Father greeted the children at the beginning. He thanked them and encouraged them to be good at home, in their families, at school, in catechism classes, and in sports, because peace also grows in this way.“I am truly happy to be with you! And you, children, tell me: Are you happy to have come? Good, that makes me happy too. Above all, because this evening we have gathered together to be with the two people who love us more than anyone else. Who are they? The Lord Jesus and his mother, Mary, who never leave us alone and who are always close to us,” Pope Leo said in his address before the rosary. An estimated more than 700 children join in praying the rosary for peace with Pope Leo XIV on Oct. 1, 2026, in the Vatican Gardens. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News/Vatican Pool “We love them too, don’t we?” he added. “Shall we tell them? Let’s try. Let us repeat together: ‘I love you, Jesus. I love you, Mary.’ Yes, we love you, Jesus and Mary, and this evening we ask you for a special gift: peace for all the children of the world, especially those who live where there is war, in so many countries across the earth.”“We do this through the prayer of the holy rosary, which is a simple prayer that everyone can pray,” the pope affectionately emphasized to the children.He noted that “in a little while we will light candles, and we will reflect on Jesus in some important moments of his life … These are moments in which he gave us wonderful gifts that we must never forget, and for this we want to thank him.Calling on the children to repeat with him, he said: “Let us do that together as well, once again. Let us all say: ‘Thank you, Jesus!’ And let us ask him with confidence, all united: ‘Give us peace!’”For the pope, the children’s rosary initiative represents “50 million Hail Marys rising to heaven from every corner of the world and in every language on earth, asking for peace, and joining together like one immense rosary garland, embracing and drawing together all the continents, races, and nations of the planet.” Pope Leo XIV brings flowers to Mary at a replica of the grotto of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes during a rosary prayed with children in the Vatican Gardens on Oct. 1, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News/Vatican Pool Upon his arrival for the rosary, the pope also presented a small bouquet of flowers to Our Lady. It was a simple gesture carried out together with a child at the replica grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens.For the first time this year, the prayer campaign will take place over the course of an entire week, from Oct. 1–7, allowing dioceses, parishes, schools, communities, and families across different continents to participate in the prayer for peace and unity.Similar initiatives are already being prepared in other countries, such as Bolivia, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and many other places marked by war, poverty, or instability.The 2026 campaign is inspired by the message of Fátima: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”The rosary was led by the children through readings, songs, and brief reflections on countries affected by war. The Hail Mary was also recited in several languages.In this year’s invitation to participants, Cardinal Kurt Koch, international president of Aid to the Church in Need and prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, recalled that Mary’s Immaculate Heart represents a life completely open to the Holy Spirit and presents Mary as a model of faith, love, and prayer.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.

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“Let us repeat together: ‘I love you, Jesus. I love you, Mary,’” the pontiff said in his remarks before the rosary in the Vatican Gardens.

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See the Moon occult Jupiter October 6

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Make sure to set your alarm clock early on the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 6, so that you won’t miss a rare and spectacular celestial event. The brilliant planet Jupiter and its retinue of Galilean satellites will pass behind the waning Moon, a 20%-illuminated crescent just 4¼ days before New. Astronomers call this phenomenon anContinue reading “See the Moon occult Jupiter October 6”

The post See the Moon occult Jupiter October 6 appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

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Filipino Catholics join to honor San Lorenzo and San Pedro #Catholic – Filipino Catholics from across the Paterson Diocese, N.J., gathered on Sept. 26 at Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Church in the Cedar Knolls neighborhood of Hanover Township, N.J., for the annual diocesan celebration honoring San Lorenzo Ruiz and San Pedro Calungsod, the first two canonized Filipino saints. Despite stormy weather, the faithful gathered for a joyful and prayerful celebration of the Eucharist, giving thanks for the gift of faith and the courageous witness of the two Filipino martyrs. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney served as main celebrant. Concelebrating the liturgy were Father Cerilo Javinez, administrator of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Rockaway, N.J.; Father Vidal Gonzales, pastor of Notre Dame and host of the celebration; Father Lem Camacho, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Dover, N.J.; Father Jun Vizcara, chaplain at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson, N.J.; Father Paul Octubre of St. Philip the Apostle Parish in Clifton, N.J.; Francis Conde of St. Clare Parish in Clifton, N.J.; Father Greg Gaston, rector of the Pontificio Collegio Filippino in Rome; and Father Gabby Paraan, stationed in the Diocese of Helsinki, Finland, as national chaplain for Filipino Migrants. Father Vic Leviste, parochial vicar, St. Therese Parish in the Succasunna neighborhood of Roxbury Township, N.J., and diocesan assistant director of worship, served as master of ceremonies. Assisting at the Mass were Deacon Elmer Maximo of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Rockaway and Deacon Jose Rivera of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in the Haskell neighborhood of Wanaque, N.J. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. In his homily, Bishop Sweeney reflected on the witness of faith of San Lorenzo Ruiz and San Pedro Calungsod and what their example means for Catholics today. Their lives remind the faithful that holiness requires courage, sacrifice, perseverance, and fidelity to Christ, especially in times of difficulty, he said. San Lorenzo Ruiz, a husband and father, remained steadfast in his Catholic faith even in the face of persecution and death. San Pedro Calungsod, a young catechist and missionary, gave his life while helping proclaim the Gospel. The celebration also highlighted the many gifts Filipino Catholics bring to the wider Church — deep devotion to the Eucharist, love for the Blessed Mother and the saints, strong family ties, generous service, and a commitment to passing on the faith to future generations. “Once again, we were blessed with a beautiful and successful celebration of our Filipino Saints,” said Deacon Elmer Maximo, president of the Diocesan Commission for Catholic Filipino Ministries. “Despite the less-than-cooperative weather, everyone came together to make the celebration prayerful, joyful, and truly memorable,” he said. Maximo thanked the clergy, volunteers, parishioners, and members of the Filipino community for their time, sacrifices, generosity, and loving service. “The celebration served as a reminder that the best way to honor San Lorenzo Ruiz and San Pedro Calungsod is not only to remember their heroic witness, but also to imitate their faithfulness by living the Gospel with courage, joy, and love,” Maximo said. BEACON PHOTOS | MATTHEW GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org]  
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Filipino Catholics join to honor San Lorenzo and San Pedro #Catholic – Filipino Catholics from across the Paterson Diocese, N.J., gathered on Sept. 26 at Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Church in the Cedar Knolls neighborhood of Hanover Township, N.J., for the annual diocesan celebration honoring San Lorenzo Ruiz and San Pedro Calungsod, the first two canonized Filipino saints. Despite stormy weather, the faithful gathered for a joyful and prayerful celebration of the Eucharist, giving thanks for the gift of faith and the courageous witness of the two Filipino martyrs. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney served as main celebrant. Concelebrating the liturgy were Father Cerilo Javinez, administrator of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Rockaway, N.J.; Father Vidal Gonzales, pastor of Notre Dame and host of the celebration; Father Lem Camacho, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Dover, N.J.; Father Jun Vizcara, chaplain at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson, N.J.; Father Paul Octubre of St. Philip the Apostle Parish in Clifton, N.J.; Francis Conde of St. Clare Parish in Clifton, N.J.; Father Greg Gaston, rector of the Pontificio Collegio Filippino in Rome; and Father Gabby Paraan, stationed in the Diocese of Helsinki, Finland, as national chaplain for Filipino Migrants. Father Vic Leviste, parochial vicar, St. Therese Parish in the Succasunna neighborhood of Roxbury Township, N.J., and diocesan assistant director of worship, served as master of ceremonies. Assisting at the Mass were Deacon Elmer Maximo of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Rockaway and Deacon Jose Rivera of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in the Haskell neighborhood of Wanaque, N.J. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. In his homily, Bishop Sweeney reflected on the witness of faith of San Lorenzo Ruiz and San Pedro Calungsod and what their example means for Catholics today. Their lives remind the faithful that holiness requires courage, sacrifice, perseverance, and fidelity to Christ, especially in times of difficulty, he said. San Lorenzo Ruiz, a husband and father, remained steadfast in his Catholic faith even in the face of persecution and death. San Pedro Calungsod, a young catechist and missionary, gave his life while helping proclaim the Gospel. The celebration also highlighted the many gifts Filipino Catholics bring to the wider Church — deep devotion to the Eucharist, love for the Blessed Mother and the saints, strong family ties, generous service, and a commitment to passing on the faith to future generations. “Once again, we were blessed with a beautiful and successful celebration of our Filipino Saints,” said Deacon Elmer Maximo, president of the Diocesan Commission for Catholic Filipino Ministries. “Despite the less-than-cooperative weather, everyone came together to make the celebration prayerful, joyful, and truly memorable,” he said. Maximo thanked the clergy, volunteers, parishioners, and members of the Filipino community for their time, sacrifices, generosity, and loving service. “The celebration served as a reminder that the best way to honor San Lorenzo Ruiz and San Pedro Calungsod is not only to remember their heroic witness, but also to imitate their faithfulness by living the Gospel with courage, joy, and love,” Maximo said. BEACON PHOTOS | MATTHEW GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org]  

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Filipino Catholics join to honor San Lorenzo and San Pedro #Catholic –

Filipino Catholics from across the Paterson Diocese, N.J., gathered on Sept. 26 at Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Church in the Cedar Knolls neighborhood of Hanover Township, N.J., for the annual diocesan celebration honoring San Lorenzo Ruiz and San Pedro Calungsod, the first two canonized Filipino saints.

Despite stormy weather, the faithful gathered for a joyful and prayerful celebration of the Eucharist, giving thanks for the gift of faith and the courageous witness of the two Filipino martyrs. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney served as main celebrant.

Concelebrating the liturgy were Father Cerilo Javinez, administrator of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Rockaway, N.J.; Father Vidal Gonzales, pastor of Notre Dame and host of the celebration; Father Lem Camacho, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Dover, N.J.; Father Jun Vizcara, chaplain at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson, N.J.; Father Paul Octubre of St. Philip the Apostle Parish in Clifton, N.J.; Francis Conde of St. Clare Parish in Clifton, N.J.; Father Greg Gaston, rector of the Pontificio Collegio Filippino in Rome; and Father Gabby Paraan, stationed in the Diocese of Helsinki, Finland, as national chaplain for Filipino Migrants. Father Vic Leviste, parochial vicar, St. Therese Parish in the Succasunna neighborhood of Roxbury Township, N.J., and diocesan assistant director of worship, served as master of ceremonies.

Assisting at the Mass were Deacon Elmer Maximo of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Rockaway and Deacon Jose Rivera of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in the Haskell neighborhood of Wanaque, N.J.

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

In his homily, Bishop Sweeney reflected on the witness of faith of San Lorenzo Ruiz and San Pedro Calungsod and what their example means for Catholics today. Their lives remind the faithful that holiness requires courage, sacrifice, perseverance, and fidelity to Christ, especially in times of difficulty, he said.

San Lorenzo Ruiz, a husband and father, remained steadfast in his Catholic faith even in the face of persecution and death. San Pedro Calungsod, a young catechist and missionary, gave his life while helping proclaim the Gospel.

The celebration also highlighted the many gifts Filipino Catholics bring to the wider Church — deep devotion to the Eucharist, love for the Blessed Mother and the saints, strong family ties, generous service, and a commitment to passing on the faith to future generations.

“Once again, we were blessed with a beautiful and successful celebration of our Filipino Saints,” said Deacon Elmer Maximo, president of the Diocesan Commission for Catholic Filipino Ministries. “Despite the less-than-cooperative weather, everyone came together to make the celebration prayerful, joyful, and truly memorable,” he said.

Maximo thanked the clergy, volunteers, parishioners, and members of the Filipino community for their time, sacrifices, generosity, and loving service.

“The celebration served as a reminder that the best way to honor San Lorenzo Ruiz and San Pedro Calungsod is not only to remember their heroic witness, but also to imitate their faithfulness by living the Gospel with courage, joy, and love,” Maximo said.

BEACON PHOTOS | MATTHEW GIGLI

 

– Filipino Catholics from across the Paterson Diocese, N.J., gathered on Sept. 26 at Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Church in the Cedar Knolls neighborhood of Hanover Township, N.J., for the annual diocesan celebration honoring San Lorenzo Ruiz and San Pedro Calungsod, the first two canonized Filipino saints. Despite stormy weather, the faithful gathered for a joyful and prayerful celebration of the Eucharist, giving thanks for the gift of faith and the courageous witness of the two Filipino martyrs. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney served as main celebrant. Concelebrating the liturgy were Father Cerilo Javinez, administrator of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish

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New DePaul principal helps open school year at Mass #Catholic – Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney visited DePaul Catholic School in Wayne, N.J., on Sept. 26 to celebrate Mass and open the 2026–27 academic year now under way. The bishop also welcomed Stephen D. Trivino, DePaul’s new principal. Concelebrating the Mass with Bishop Sweeney were Father Frank Lennie and Father Brian Ditullio, chaplains at DePaul, and Father John Tarantino, a retired priest of the Paterson Diocese, DePaul Class of 1968, and a former DePaul staff member. Ted Gaffney, the school’s president, participated in the Mass along with students who served as altar servers, lectors, and music ministers. Mary Baier, diocesan schools superintendent; Filippini Sister Marie Antonelli, principal of Holy Spirit School in Pequannock, N.J.; and students from St. James Academy in Totowa, N.J., also attended the Mass. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org] Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.    
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New DePaul principal helps open school year at Mass #Catholic – Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney visited DePaul Catholic School in Wayne, N.J., on Sept. 26 to celebrate Mass and open the 2026–27 academic year now under way. The bishop also welcomed Stephen D. Trivino, DePaul’s new principal. Concelebrating the Mass with Bishop Sweeney were Father Frank Lennie and Father Brian Ditullio, chaplains at DePaul, and Father John Tarantino, a retired priest of the Paterson Diocese, DePaul Class of 1968, and a former DePaul staff member. Ted Gaffney, the school’s president, participated in the Mass along with students who served as altar servers, lectors, and music ministers. Mary Baier, diocesan schools superintendent; Filippini Sister Marie Antonelli, principal of Holy Spirit School in Pequannock, N.J.; and students from St. James Academy in Totowa, N.J., also attended the Mass. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org] Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.    

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New DePaul principal helps open school year at Mass #Catholic –

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney visited DePaul Catholic School in Wayne, N.J., on Sept. 26 to celebrate Mass and open the 2026–27 academic year now under way. The bishop also welcomed Stephen D. Trivino, DePaul’s new principal.

Concelebrating the Mass with Bishop Sweeney were Father Frank Lennie and Father Brian Ditullio, chaplains at DePaul, and Father John Tarantino, a retired priest of the Paterson Diocese, DePaul Class of 1968, and a former DePaul staff member. Ted Gaffney, the school’s president, participated in the Mass along with students who served as altar servers, lectors, and music ministers.

Mary Baier, diocesan schools superintendent; Filippini Sister Marie Antonelli, principal of Holy Spirit School in Pequannock, N.J.; and students from St. James Academy in Totowa, N.J., also attended the Mass.

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

 

 

– Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney visited DePaul Catholic School in Wayne, N.J., on Sept. 26 to celebrate Mass and open the 2026–27 academic year now under way. The bishop also welcomed Stephen D. Trivino, DePaul’s new principal. Concelebrating the Mass with Bishop Sweeney were Father Frank Lennie and Father Brian Ditullio, chaplains at DePaul, and Father John Tarantino, a retired priest of the Paterson Diocese, DePaul Class of 1968, and a former DePaul staff member. Ted Gaffney, the school’s president, participated in the Mass along with students who served as altar servers, lectors, and music ministers. Mary Baier, diocesan schools superintendent;

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Star Trails – This long-duration image shows star trails above Earth and the blue lights of fishing boats and the yellow lights of Indonesian cities stretching below the International Space Station as it orbited 258 miles above the Banda Sea.

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This long-duration image shows star trails above Earth and the blue lights of fishing boats and the yellow lights of Indonesian cities stretching below the International Space Station as it orbited 258 miles above the Banda Sea.

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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth Taps Elon Musk for New Pentagon Role Focused on Futuristic Warfare – The world’s richest man, the legend, Elon Musk has returned to the Trump administration. The post Secretary of War Pete Hegseth Taps Elon Musk for New Pentagon Role Focused on Futuristic Warfare appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth Taps Elon Musk for New Pentagon Role Focused on Futuristic Warfare – The world’s richest man, the legend, Elon Musk has returned to the Trump administration. The post Secretary of War Pete Hegseth Taps Elon Musk for New Pentagon Role Focused on Futuristic Warfare appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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The world’s richest man, the legend, Elon Musk has returned to the Trump administration.

The post Secretary of War Pete Hegseth Taps Elon Musk for New Pentagon Role Focused on Futuristic Warfare appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Texas Man Accused of Plotting Attack on State Capitol Posts ,000 Bond Just Hours After 3 A.M. SWAT Arrest — FBI Then Takes Him Into Federal Custody – A Texas man accused of planning to shoot up the state Capitol was booked before dawn Wednesday and, according to county jail records, walked out on a ,000 bond before most of Austin had finished coffee. The post Texas Man Accused of Plotting Attack on State Capitol Posts ,000 Bond Just Hours After 3 A.M. SWAT Arrest — FBI Then Takes Him Into Federal Custody appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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Texas Man Accused of Plotting Attack on State Capitol Posts $75,000 Bond Just Hours After 3 A.M. SWAT Arrest — FBI Then Takes Him Into Federal Custody – A Texas man accused of planning to shoot up the state Capitol was booked before dawn Wednesday and, according to county jail records, walked out on a $75,000 bond before most of Austin had finished coffee. The post Texas Man Accused of Plotting Attack on State Capitol Posts $75,000 Bond Just Hours After 3 A.M. SWAT Arrest — FBI Then Takes Him Into Federal Custody appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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A Texas man accused of planning to shoot up the state Capitol was booked before dawn Wednesday and, according to county jail records, walked out on a $75,000 bond before most of Austin had finished coffee.

The post Texas Man Accused of Plotting Attack on State Capitol Posts $75,000 Bond Just Hours After 3 A.M. SWAT Arrest — FBI Then Takes Him Into Federal Custody appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee Halts Remaining Execution for 2026 After Christa Pike Survives TWO Doses of Lethal Injection in Unprecedented Execution Failure — Orders Third-Party Investigation – Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has halted the state’s remaining execution for 2026 and ordered an outside investigation after convicted murderer Christa Gail Pike remained alive despite receiving two doses of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital Wednesday night. The post Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee Halts Remaining Execution for 2026 After Christa Pike Survives TWO Doses of Lethal Injection in Unprecedented Execution Failure — Orders Third-Party Investigation appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee Halts Remaining Execution for 2026 After Christa Pike Survives TWO Doses of Lethal Injection in Unprecedented Execution Failure — Orders Third-Party Investigation – Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has halted the state’s remaining execution for 2026 and ordered an outside investigation after convicted murderer Christa Gail Pike remained alive despite receiving two doses of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital Wednesday night. The post Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee Halts Remaining Execution for 2026 After Christa Pike Survives TWO Doses of Lethal Injection in Unprecedented Execution Failure — Orders Third-Party Investigation appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has halted the state’s remaining execution for 2026 and ordered an outside investigation after convicted murderer Christa Gail Pike remained alive despite receiving two doses of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital Wednesday night.

The post Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee Halts Remaining Execution for 2026 After Christa Pike Survives TWO Doses of Lethal Injection in Unprecedented Execution Failure — Orders Third-Party Investigation appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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The enduring appeal of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, one of France’s most beloved saints #Catholic During the First World War, before being proclaimed a saint, devotion to St. Thérèse of Lisieux became particularly widespread in France. Soldiers carried medals and images of her, and many French Catholics saw her as a spiritual companion and intercessor.The Carmelite nun, patron saint of missions, and the youngest doctor of the Church died at the age of 24 and was canonized in 1925 by Pope Pius XI. She was declared the second patron saint of France in 1944, during the Battle of Normandy, by Pope Pius XII.The town of Lisieux, a 90-minute train ride from Paris, is where Thérèse spent her entire religious life. It is the second most visited pilgrimage destination in France, after Lourdes, with over 2 million pilgrims every year.Last year, in Pope Leo XIV’s message on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the canonization of St. Thérèse’s parents, Louis and Zélie Martin, he called the faithful to “put Jesus at the centre of your families, your activities, and your choices. Help your children discover His boundless love and tenderness, and strive to make them love Him in return as He deserves: this is the great lesson that Louis and Zélie teach us today, and which the Church and the world so urgently need. How could Thérèse have loved Jesus and Mary so much — and then passed on such a beautiful doctrine to us — if she had not learned it from her saintly parents from an early age?”Thérèse lost her mother when she was just 4 years old and endured periods of illness and intense emotional sensitivity as a child. At 14, however, she experienced a moment of spiritual transformation where she received a special grace from God. In France, young children left their shoes by the hearth at Christmas, and parents would fill them with gifts. But her sister Celine didnʼt want Thérèse to grow up, so they continued to place gifts in “baby” Thérèseʼs shoes. As she and Celine climbed the stairs to take off their hats their fatherʼs voice rose from the parlor below. Standing over the shoes, he said: “Thank goodness thatʼs the last time we shall have this kind of thing!” Thérèse froze, and her sister looked at her helplessly, knowing that in a few minutes she would be in tears over what their father had said. But the tantrum never came. A special grace came over Thérèse as Jesus had done what she could not do herself. She swallowed her tears, walked slowly down the stairs, and went over the gifts in the shoes, as if she had never heard a word her father said. In her autobiography, “Story of Soul,” she referred to that Christmas as her “conversion.”From childish to childlikeIn his book “The Way of Trust and Love,” French priest Jacques Philippe explores St. Thérèse of Lisieuxʼs “Little Way” to holiness. He recalls that “through seemingly insignificant events, God can heal us deeply. Sometimes we feel a call from the Lord to step outside ourselves, to take a step forward, to become more mature, more free. There are times in life when we dwell on our immaturity, our complaints, our laments, our dependencies, and then suddenly one day we are given grace, a gift from God, but one that also calls upon our freedom. There is a choice to be made; it is both healing and conversion: freedom must choose to perform an act of courage.”He then later proposes: “Let us then ask God this question: What is the ‘yes’ you are asking of me today? What is the small act of courage and trust you are asking me to do today?”For St. Thérèse, it was about overcoming her emotional sensitivity. For others, it might be learning to control their tongue, be more optimistic, or manage their temper.A ‘Little Way’ for everyoneFrom the very beginning of her life, Thérèse desired to be a saint; still, when she entered the convent, she also thought how inaccessible and unrealizable it was when she compared herself to others.And here, perhaps, is where we can learn one of her most powerful teachings: never lose courage.She goes on: “Instead of being discouraged, I told myself: God would not make me wish for something impossible and so, in spite of my littleness, I can aim at being a saint. It is impossible for me to grow bigger, so I put up with myself as I am, with all my countless faults. But I will look for some means of going to heaven by a little way which is very short and very straight, a little way that is quite new … It is your arms, Jesus, which are the lift to carry me to heaven, and so there is no need for me to grow up. In fact, just the opposite: I must stay little and become less and less.”But by “little,” Thérèse does not suggest we think of ourselves as of small value; instead, she reminds us of an unchanging truth: We are children of God.As St. John Paul II on his apostolic trip to France in June 1980 recalled: “There is something unique about it, a characteristic of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. In it, one finds both the confirmation and the renewal of the most fundamental and universal truth. What truth in the Gospel message is more fundamental and universal than this: God is our Father, and we are his children?”And like children who trust, even if thrown into the air, in the safety of returning to their parents' arms, we must trust in the providence of our Father, with a deep knowledge of his unlimited and unconditional love for us: “In truth I tell you, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:3).A missionary without ever leaving homeProclaimed the patron saint of missionaries for her support of the missions through constant prayer and sacrifice despite being a cloistered nun who never left her convent, she said: “My strength lies in prayer and sacrifice; they are invincible weapons, and touch hearts more surely than words can do, as I have learned by experience.”To many, even in the convent, she seemed like an average, ordinary person. Her greatness showed in the constancy of her love for others in the simplest ways. Perhaps some of the missionary work we are called to do today doesn’t necessarily begin externally but within our hearts. As the saint herself wrote: “A word, a kindly smile, will often suffice to gladden a wounded and sorrowful heart.”Thérèse also found strength in Scripture: “But above all it is the Gospels that occupy me during my prayers; in them I find everything that is necessary for my poor little soul. I constantly discover in them new lights, hidden and mysterious meanings.”Her life was characterized by austerity, far from recognition and noise from the world. She died anonymously in 1897 at the young age of 24, and no more than 30 people attended her funeral.This saint’s life and journal is a legacy for all who want to learn a simple and practical approach toward their relationship with God. Her advice is for everyone: “Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.”
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The enduring appeal of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, one of France’s most beloved saints #Catholic During the First World War, before being proclaimed a saint, devotion to St. Thérèse of Lisieux became particularly widespread in France. Soldiers carried medals and images of her, and many French Catholics saw her as a spiritual companion and intercessor.The Carmelite nun, patron saint of missions, and the youngest doctor of the Church died at the age of 24 and was canonized in 1925 by Pope Pius XI. She was declared the second patron saint of France in 1944, during the Battle of Normandy, by Pope Pius XII.The town of Lisieux, a 90-minute train ride from Paris, is where Thérèse spent her entire religious life. It is the second most visited pilgrimage destination in France, after Lourdes, with over 2 million pilgrims every year.Last year, in Pope Leo XIV’s message on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the canonization of St. Thérèse’s parents, Louis and Zélie Martin, he called the faithful to “put Jesus at the centre of your families, your activities, and your choices. Help your children discover His boundless love and tenderness, and strive to make them love Him in return as He deserves: this is the great lesson that Louis and Zélie teach us today, and which the Church and the world so urgently need. How could Thérèse have loved Jesus and Mary so much — and then passed on such a beautiful doctrine to us — if she had not learned it from her saintly parents from an early age?”Thérèse lost her mother when she was just 4 years old and endured periods of illness and intense emotional sensitivity as a child. At 14, however, she experienced a moment of spiritual transformation where she received a special grace from God. In France, young children left their shoes by the hearth at Christmas, and parents would fill them with gifts. But her sister Celine didnʼt want Thérèse to grow up, so they continued to place gifts in “baby” Thérèseʼs shoes. As she and Celine climbed the stairs to take off their hats their fatherʼs voice rose from the parlor below. Standing over the shoes, he said: “Thank goodness thatʼs the last time we shall have this kind of thing!” Thérèse froze, and her sister looked at her helplessly, knowing that in a few minutes she would be in tears over what their father had said. But the tantrum never came. A special grace came over Thérèse as Jesus had done what she could not do herself. She swallowed her tears, walked slowly down the stairs, and went over the gifts in the shoes, as if she had never heard a word her father said. In her autobiography, “Story of Soul,” she referred to that Christmas as her “conversion.”From childish to childlikeIn his book “The Way of Trust and Love,” French priest Jacques Philippe explores St. Thérèse of Lisieuxʼs “Little Way” to holiness. He recalls that “through seemingly insignificant events, God can heal us deeply. Sometimes we feel a call from the Lord to step outside ourselves, to take a step forward, to become more mature, more free. There are times in life when we dwell on our immaturity, our complaints, our laments, our dependencies, and then suddenly one day we are given grace, a gift from God, but one that also calls upon our freedom. There is a choice to be made; it is both healing and conversion: freedom must choose to perform an act of courage.”He then later proposes: “Let us then ask God this question: What is the ‘yes’ you are asking of me today? What is the small act of courage and trust you are asking me to do today?”For St. Thérèse, it was about overcoming her emotional sensitivity. For others, it might be learning to control their tongue, be more optimistic, or manage their temper.A ‘Little Way’ for everyoneFrom the very beginning of her life, Thérèse desired to be a saint; still, when she entered the convent, she also thought how inaccessible and unrealizable it was when she compared herself to others.And here, perhaps, is where we can learn one of her most powerful teachings: never lose courage.She goes on: “Instead of being discouraged, I told myself: God would not make me wish for something impossible and so, in spite of my littleness, I can aim at being a saint. It is impossible for me to grow bigger, so I put up with myself as I am, with all my countless faults. But I will look for some means of going to heaven by a little way which is very short and very straight, a little way that is quite new … It is your arms, Jesus, which are the lift to carry me to heaven, and so there is no need for me to grow up. In fact, just the opposite: I must stay little and become less and less.”But by “little,” Thérèse does not suggest we think of ourselves as of small value; instead, she reminds us of an unchanging truth: We are children of God.As St. John Paul II on his apostolic trip to France in June 1980 recalled: “There is something unique about it, a characteristic of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. In it, one finds both the confirmation and the renewal of the most fundamental and universal truth. What truth in the Gospel message is more fundamental and universal than this: God is our Father, and we are his children?”And like children who trust, even if thrown into the air, in the safety of returning to their parents' arms, we must trust in the providence of our Father, with a deep knowledge of his unlimited and unconditional love for us: “In truth I tell you, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:3).A missionary without ever leaving homeProclaimed the patron saint of missionaries for her support of the missions through constant prayer and sacrifice despite being a cloistered nun who never left her convent, she said: “My strength lies in prayer and sacrifice; they are invincible weapons, and touch hearts more surely than words can do, as I have learned by experience.”To many, even in the convent, she seemed like an average, ordinary person. Her greatness showed in the constancy of her love for others in the simplest ways. Perhaps some of the missionary work we are called to do today doesn’t necessarily begin externally but within our hearts. As the saint herself wrote: “A word, a kindly smile, will often suffice to gladden a wounded and sorrowful heart.”Thérèse also found strength in Scripture: “But above all it is the Gospels that occupy me during my prayers; in them I find everything that is necessary for my poor little soul. I constantly discover in them new lights, hidden and mysterious meanings.”Her life was characterized by austerity, far from recognition and noise from the world. She died anonymously in 1897 at the young age of 24, and no more than 30 people attended her funeral.This saint’s life and journal is a legacy for all who want to learn a simple and practical approach toward their relationship with God. Her advice is for everyone: “Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.”

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The beloved Carmelite nun, patron saint of the missions, and youngest doctor of the Church is celebrated in the universal Church on Oct. 1.

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Being a businessman is a vocation and a path to holiness, Catholic expert says – #Catholic – “Being a businessman (or woman) is a true vocation,” and work “well done” can be “a path of service and holiness,” said Luis Fernando Calvo, director of the Tomás Moro (Thomas More) Institute, on the occasion of the first event to be held by the Costa Rican Association of Christian Businessmen.The association’s first event on Oct. 1 will feature a lecture titled “Business Organization in the Church’s Social Thought.” It will be delivered by Calvo, author of “John Paul II, Friend of Man: Capitalism in the Thought of a Saint.”Speaking to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, Calvo noted that “the Church’s social doctrine offers clear criteria for the Christian businessman to exercise his vocation with consistency, honesty, and a sense of responsibility toward their workers and the common good.”In the business vocation, he noted, “God invites the businessman to assist in his creation, to improve it, and to make it more habitable for humanity.”“Being a businessman transcends profit, though profit is necessary, because the businessman, through his expertise and effort, creates jobs, goods, and services that benefit those who acquire them, and contributes to building societies that are more worthy of the human person,” he said.In this regard, he said his lecture aims to “help businessmen discover that their work, when well done, is also a path of service and holiness.”“A business is not merely an instrument for generating profit but a community of people called to serve society,” Calvo emphasized.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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Being a businessman is a vocation and a path to holiness, Catholic expert says – #Catholic – “Being a businessman (or woman) is a true vocation,” and work “well done” can be “a path of service and holiness,” said Luis Fernando Calvo, director of the Tomás Moro (Thomas More) Institute, on the occasion of the first event to be held by the Costa Rican Association of Christian Businessmen.The association’s first event on Oct. 1 will feature a lecture titled “Business Organization in the Church’s Social Thought.” It will be delivered by Calvo, author of “John Paul II, Friend of Man: Capitalism in the Thought of a Saint.”Speaking to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, Calvo noted that “the Church’s social doctrine offers clear criteria for the Christian businessman to exercise his vocation with consistency, honesty, and a sense of responsibility toward their workers and the common good.”In the business vocation, he noted, “God invites the businessman to assist in his creation, to improve it, and to make it more habitable for humanity.”“Being a businessman transcends profit, though profit is necessary, because the businessman, through his expertise and effort, creates jobs, goods, and services that benefit those who acquire them, and contributes to building societies that are more worthy of the human person,” he said.In this regard, he said his lecture aims to “help businessmen discover that their work, when well done, is also a path of service and holiness.”“A business is not merely an instrument for generating profit but a community of people called to serve society,” Calvo emphasized.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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In the business vocation, “God invites the entrepreneur to assist in his creation, to improve it, and to make it more habitable for humanity,” noted Luis Fernando Calvo.

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Picture of the day Chief Joseph of the Wallowa band of Nez Perce, an American Native American tribe in the Pacific Northwest. This photo was taken by Edward Sheriff Curtis. Chief Joseph died on this day in 1904. #ImageOfTheDay
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Picture of the day Chief Joseph of the Wallowa band of Nez Perce, an American Native American tribe in the Pacific Northwest. This photo was taken by Edward Sheriff Curtis. Chief Joseph died on this day in 1904. #ImageOfTheDay

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Picture of the day
Chief Joseph of the Wallowa band of Nez Perce, an American Native American tribe in the Pacific Northwest. This photo was taken by Edward Sheriff Curtis. Chief Joseph died on this day in 1904.
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U.S. bishops post .6M gain despite refugee-program revenue plunge – #Catholic – Financial reports for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) revealed a .6 million increase in net assets from 2024 to 2025 despite a 60% decline in federal refugee program grants.The bishops said their money grew mostly because long-term investments did well in 2025. Altogether, the investment pool made a 15.2% return, said Chieko Noguchi, a spokesperson for the conference. The conference ended 2025 with an increase in net assets from 0.4 million to 3.9 million."The increase in net assets was due primarily to the performance of the long-term investment pool in 2025, which received .3 million in investment income (interest income and dividends) as well as an increase in unrealized gains of .2 million due to positive market performance,” Noguchi said.The USCCB’s financial audits for 2024 and 2025 showed total operating expenses fell about 0 million because migrant program activity contracted. Funding for refugee programs fell from 0.46 million to .23 million. The .6 million increase in net assets represents a nearly 13% increase, according to the audit, which reflects the USCCB’s financial position as of Dec. 31, 2025.The USCCB said in its audit that it did not renew its refugee‑resettlement agreements after the federal suspension of grants “rendered the programs financially unsustainable leading to a reduction in conference staff whose positions were funded by those programs.”According to the audit, the reduction of the refugee program and its staff contributed to a decrease in the conference’s overall operational expenses, which declined from 1.9 million in 2024 to 9.6 million in 2025.Overall, the USCCB’s financial position has strengthened over the past four years, with its net assets growing from 8.4 million in 2022 to 4.9 million in 2023, according to its 2022-2023 audit, to 0.4 million in 2024, and 3.9 in 2025.The year-to-year increase in net assets comes despite fluctuations in the conference’s investment portfolio. In 2022, the USCCB reported .4 million in unrealized investment losses. The portfolio returned to gains in the following years, with the conference reporting .4 million in unrealized investment gains in 2023, .6 million in 2024, and .2 million in 2025.National collections declined slightly from .3 million in 2024 to .6 million in 2025, while national collections program expenses increased by .1 million, according to the report. However, national collections are “restricted by the donor for a specific purpose” and therefore do not play a role in offsetting the conference’s loss of refugee program funding.
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U.S. bishops post $43.6M gain despite refugee-program revenue plunge – #Catholic – Financial reports for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) revealed a $43.6 million increase in net assets from 2024 to 2025 despite a 60% decline in federal refugee program grants.The bishops said their money grew mostly because long-term investments did well in 2025. Altogether, the investment pool made a 15.2% return, said Chieko Noguchi, a spokesperson for the conference. The conference ended 2025 with an increase in net assets from $340.4 million to $383.9 million."The increase in net assets was due primarily to the performance of the long-term investment pool in 2025, which received $16.3 million in investment income (interest income and dividends) as well as an increase in unrealized gains of $27.2 million due to positive market performance,” Noguchi said.The USCCB’s financial audits for 2024 and 2025 showed total operating expenses fell about $100 million because migrant program activity contracted. Funding for refugee programs fell from $180.46 million to $72.23 million. The $43.6 million increase in net assets represents a nearly 13% increase, according to the audit, which reflects the USCCB’s financial position as of Dec. 31, 2025.The USCCB said in its audit that it did not renew its refugee‑resettlement agreements after the federal suspension of grants “rendered the programs financially unsustainable leading to a reduction in conference staff whose positions were funded by those programs.”According to the audit, the reduction of the refugee program and its staff contributed to a decrease in the conference’s overall operational expenses, which declined from $281.9 million in 2024 to $189.6 million in 2025.Overall, the USCCB’s financial position has strengthened over the past four years, with its net assets growing from $268.4 million in 2022 to $304.9 million in 2023, according to its 2022-2023 audit, to $340.4 million in 2024, and $383.9 in 2025.The year-to-year increase in net assets comes despite fluctuations in the conference’s investment portfolio. In 2022, the USCCB reported $75.4 million in unrealized investment losses. The portfolio returned to gains in the following years, with the conference reporting $35.4 million in unrealized investment gains in 2023, $11.6 million in 2024, and $27.2 million in 2025.National collections declined slightly from $82.3 million in 2024 to $80.6 million in 2025, while national collections program expenses increased by $9.1 million, according to the report. However, national collections are “restricted by the donor for a specific purpose” and therefore do not play a role in offsetting the conference’s loss of refugee program funding.

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Suspended federal funding made the refugee‑resettlement program grants financially unsustainable and forced staff cuts, the U.S. bishops’ financial report said.

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Pope’s words in France are encouragement to not give up the fight against ‘deadly laws’ #Catholic – PARIS (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV’s forceful defense of human life during his Sept. 25-27 visit to France has reignited debate over the country’s newly approved assisted-dying law, which lawmakers had largely considered settled after its passage in July. The pope’s words are now interpreted by pro-life movements as a call to protect life despite the new law, which took effect in August. For Lucie Pacherie, a lawyer and spokesperson for the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation, the pope’s words are a “great encouragement to continue raising awareness among the French people that this law is not good, even though it has been passed.” “The pope spoke in extremely firm terms,” she told OSV News. “He really made it clear that what is legal is not necessarily moral.” Jerome Trillard, one of the six altar servers with Down syndrome who served papal Mass at Place de la Concorde Sept. 26, told French channel C News that people like him should not be “excluded” from society. “Instead, we need inclusion for people with disabilities,” he urged. The presence of these altar servers at the papal Mass in mainstream television channels and viral papal blessings of the sick and disabled from Paris, through Lourdes to Metz, sent a signal that life is sacred, pro-life advocates and bishops underlined following the trip. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Pope Leo in France: ‘What is legal is not necessarily moral’ Pope Leo used his first visit to France to deliver a forceful defense of human life at every stage, condemning abortion, surrogacy and assisted dying while urging lawmakers and caregivers to protect the vulnerable. At the Élysée Palace in Paris Sept. 25, the pope told French civil authorities that “the protection of the right to life constitutes the indispensable foundation of every other human right,” warning against “trends in society that risk turning science and technology into profit-driven ventures promoting genetic manipulation, surrogacy, the trade in human organs or the possibility of arranging one’s own death.” The pope called for a conversion of minds and hearts “to welcome life unconditionally, to support frailty with loving care, to accompany every stage of life with respect and mutual trust, and to defend with courage and compassion those unable to make their voices heard and those who feel ignored or overlooked.” Two days later in Lourdes, speaking to patients and caregivers at the Accueil Notre Dame, Pope Leo applied that appeal particularly to those who are sick, elderly or disabled. “Dear brothers and sisters who are sick, I want to tell you that you are not a burden,” he said. “You are the beating heart of our humanity and a precious treasure for the Church.” He rejected the idea that human worth can be determined by utility, technology, or under legal decisions. “No one ever has the right, on the basis of laboratory algorithms, to decide the life of a given embryo or elderly person!” he said. “Medicine must never become the servant of programmed death.” “No human law should ever make you lose the certainty of your dignity,” the pope told the sick and disabled. “It is impossible to regard causing death as something normal. What is legal is not necessarily moral.” Pope to critics in France: ‘We’re applying the Gospel to people’s lives’ The papal words caused an avalanche of reactions in France. While his address at the Élysée Palace was considered to be delivered “peacefully,” France’s top-rated television channel TF1 noted the pope took a “tougher stance” in Lourdes. “The pope must still respect the laws of our country,” Jean-Luc Romero, a former deputy mayor of Paris known for actively campaigning in favor of the assisted-dying law, commented on France Info TV. Olivier Falorni, who served as the principal architect of the bill on assisted dying while he was a member of parliament opposed any “interference by the Church” in French law, speaking on France Info, a public news radio station. The pope, asked about the hot button issue on a plane from Metz to Rome, said he “didn’t cross” the line of separation between the state and the Church, and encouraged to “read or re-read” his first encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas.” “When it speaks about questions of social doctrine, we’re not entering into politics,” the pope told journalists. “We’re applying the Gospel to people’s lives.” While noting there “can be politicians” who say “no, religion should only be in the private sphere. Let people do what they want on their own,” the pope underlined, “That is a state.” But in the Church, “we have to be separate,” he said. “I went to France … primarily to preach the Gospel, to preach the good news, to reaffirm what Jesus Christ himself says when he says: ‘I am the way and the truth and the life.’” The defense of life, the pope said, “is something that, as you all know, the Church teaches and believes very deeply.” While acknowledging laws similar to the French assisted-dying bill are spreading in Europe, Pope Leo said his encounter with the sick in the sanctuary of Lourdes carried a different kind of message. In Lourdes, he said, people who are sick are “searching for something much deeper,” for “understanding that their lives, even in the midst of sickness or disability or pain of different kinds … has meaning.” The Church, the pope said, “because of Jesus himself, wants to be close to those people and to affirm the values that that life itself … holds for all of us. So … I would say if that’s politics, I did that, but it was not to get involved in French politics. It was to teach what the Church really believes.” Lejeune Foundation: Pope’s affirmation of life not ‘too late’ even if law passed Many French journalists and politicians, from all corners of politics, reacted positively to the papal appeals for the protection of life. French weekly Journal du Dimanche hailed a “vibrant speech against euthanasia.” “It is true that the pope sounded the charge against this law,” Rokhaya Diallo, a left-wing activist, commented on France Info. “But this is not just a right-wing opinion.” “This issue transcends the left-right divide,” she emphasized, referring to the Franco-Chilean lawyer Élisa Rojas, an left-wing activist opposed to euthanasia, who published a book in April titled “To Die, Press One” to oppose this law. For Pacherie, spokeswoman at the Lejeune Foundation, the remarks of the pope were shaped by the June 22 audience with members of the Lejeune Foundation to mark the centennial of Jérôme Lejeune’s birth. “It was on that very same day that young boys and men with Down syndrome asked the pope if they could serve at his Mass during his visit to France,” Pacherie said. When the pope agreed, “it was a beautiful symbol to honor them and bless them in this way on that occasion,” Pacherie told OSV News. The Lejeune Foundation carries on the work of the French scientist, professor of genetics who discovered that an extra chromosome in human DNA causes Down syndrome. What he hoped would be a breakthrough in protecting people with Down syndrome became a reason to eliminate them by abortion. In France, the abortion rate in cases of a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome is 68%. “Professor Lejeune understood that while technology can assist medicine, it can never replace it. He also knew that technology can be used against medicine — which by its very nature is at the service of life — whenever it escapes essential ethical oversight and is governed instead by calculations of efficiency, profitability, or utility,” Pope Leo told Lejeune Foundation representatives on June 22. “But the value of the human person does not depend on what he or she accomplishes or produces. For this reason, a physician should never be allowed to decide on the life of a particular embryo or a particular elderly person, on the basis of laboratory algorithms! Medicine must never become the servant of programmed death!” Pope Leo added in what was a preludium to the papal address in Acceuil Notre Dame in Lourdes. Pacherie believes that “the pope’s statement has not come too late,” even though the law has already been passed. “On June 22, the pope had already told us that neither he nor the Church as such was in a position to halt the ongoing process that would lead to the passage of this law,” she explained. “Even if he had come to France earlier, he would not have been able to stop this measure, which was orchestrated by activists deeply involved in French politics.” But for Pacherie, “the pope’s remarks in Lourdes come at just the right time to ensure we do not give up the fight against these deadly laws.” She said the pope shed a light on people who are fragile and vulnerable in face of legislation and “our task is to continue caring for them, so that they do not have the weight of this law on their shoulders, and to raise awareness among the French public that just because something is legal does not mean it is a good thing.” Caroline de Sury writes for OSV News from Paris.  
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Pope’s words in France are encouragement to not give up the fight against ‘deadly laws’ #Catholic – PARIS (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV’s forceful defense of human life during his Sept. 25-27 visit to France has reignited debate over the country’s newly approved assisted-dying law, which lawmakers had largely considered settled after its passage in July. The pope’s words are now interpreted by pro-life movements as a call to protect life despite the new law, which took effect in August. For Lucie Pacherie, a lawyer and spokesperson for the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation, the pope’s words are a “great encouragement to continue raising awareness among the French people that this law is not good, even though it has been passed.” “The pope spoke in extremely firm terms,” she told OSV News. “He really made it clear that what is legal is not necessarily moral.” Jerome Trillard, one of the six altar servers with Down syndrome who served papal Mass at Place de la Concorde Sept. 26, told French channel C News that people like him should not be “excluded” from society. “Instead, we need inclusion for people with disabilities,” he urged. The presence of these altar servers at the papal Mass in mainstream television channels and viral papal blessings of the sick and disabled from Paris, through Lourdes to Metz, sent a signal that life is sacred, pro-life advocates and bishops underlined following the trip. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Pope Leo in France: ‘What is legal is not necessarily moral’ Pope Leo used his first visit to France to deliver a forceful defense of human life at every stage, condemning abortion, surrogacy and assisted dying while urging lawmakers and caregivers to protect the vulnerable. At the Élysée Palace in Paris Sept. 25, the pope told French civil authorities that “the protection of the right to life constitutes the indispensable foundation of every other human right,” warning against “trends in society that risk turning science and technology into profit-driven ventures promoting genetic manipulation, surrogacy, the trade in human organs or the possibility of arranging one’s own death.” The pope called for a conversion of minds and hearts “to welcome life unconditionally, to support frailty with loving care, to accompany every stage of life with respect and mutual trust, and to defend with courage and compassion those unable to make their voices heard and those who feel ignored or overlooked.” Two days later in Lourdes, speaking to patients and caregivers at the Accueil Notre Dame, Pope Leo applied that appeal particularly to those who are sick, elderly or disabled. “Dear brothers and sisters who are sick, I want to tell you that you are not a burden,” he said. “You are the beating heart of our humanity and a precious treasure for the Church.” He rejected the idea that human worth can be determined by utility, technology, or under legal decisions. “No one ever has the right, on the basis of laboratory algorithms, to decide the life of a given embryo or elderly person!” he said. “Medicine must never become the servant of programmed death.” “No human law should ever make you lose the certainty of your dignity,” the pope told the sick and disabled. “It is impossible to regard causing death as something normal. What is legal is not necessarily moral.” Pope to critics in France: ‘We’re applying the Gospel to people’s lives’ The papal words caused an avalanche of reactions in France. While his address at the Élysée Palace was considered to be delivered “peacefully,” France’s top-rated television channel TF1 noted the pope took a “tougher stance” in Lourdes. “The pope must still respect the laws of our country,” Jean-Luc Romero, a former deputy mayor of Paris known for actively campaigning in favor of the assisted-dying law, commented on France Info TV. Olivier Falorni, who served as the principal architect of the bill on assisted dying while he was a member of parliament opposed any “interference by the Church” in French law, speaking on France Info, a public news radio station. The pope, asked about the hot button issue on a plane from Metz to Rome, said he “didn’t cross” the line of separation between the state and the Church, and encouraged to “read or re-read” his first encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas.” “When it speaks about questions of social doctrine, we’re not entering into politics,” the pope told journalists. “We’re applying the Gospel to people’s lives.” While noting there “can be politicians” who say “no, religion should only be in the private sphere. Let people do what they want on their own,” the pope underlined, “That is a state.” But in the Church, “we have to be separate,” he said. “I went to France … primarily to preach the Gospel, to preach the good news, to reaffirm what Jesus Christ himself says when he says: ‘I am the way and the truth and the life.’” The defense of life, the pope said, “is something that, as you all know, the Church teaches and believes very deeply.” While acknowledging laws similar to the French assisted-dying bill are spreading in Europe, Pope Leo said his encounter with the sick in the sanctuary of Lourdes carried a different kind of message. In Lourdes, he said, people who are sick are “searching for something much deeper,” for “understanding that their lives, even in the midst of sickness or disability or pain of different kinds … has meaning.” The Church, the pope said, “because of Jesus himself, wants to be close to those people and to affirm the values that that life itself … holds for all of us. So … I would say if that’s politics, I did that, but it was not to get involved in French politics. It was to teach what the Church really believes.” Lejeune Foundation: Pope’s affirmation of life not ‘too late’ even if law passed Many French journalists and politicians, from all corners of politics, reacted positively to the papal appeals for the protection of life. French weekly Journal du Dimanche hailed a “vibrant speech against euthanasia.” “It is true that the pope sounded the charge against this law,” Rokhaya Diallo, a left-wing activist, commented on France Info. “But this is not just a right-wing opinion.” “This issue transcends the left-right divide,” she emphasized, referring to the Franco-Chilean lawyer Élisa Rojas, an left-wing activist opposed to euthanasia, who published a book in April titled “To Die, Press One” to oppose this law. For Pacherie, spokeswoman at the Lejeune Foundation, the remarks of the pope were shaped by the June 22 audience with members of the Lejeune Foundation to mark the centennial of Jérôme Lejeune’s birth. “It was on that very same day that young boys and men with Down syndrome asked the pope if they could serve at his Mass during his visit to France,” Pacherie said. When the pope agreed, “it was a beautiful symbol to honor them and bless them in this way on that occasion,” Pacherie told OSV News. The Lejeune Foundation carries on the work of the French scientist, professor of genetics who discovered that an extra chromosome in human DNA causes Down syndrome. What he hoped would be a breakthrough in protecting people with Down syndrome became a reason to eliminate them by abortion. In France, the abortion rate in cases of a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome is 68%. “Professor Lejeune understood that while technology can assist medicine, it can never replace it. He also knew that technology can be used against medicine — which by its very nature is at the service of life — whenever it escapes essential ethical oversight and is governed instead by calculations of efficiency, profitability, or utility,” Pope Leo told Lejeune Foundation representatives on June 22. “But the value of the human person does not depend on what he or she accomplishes or produces. For this reason, a physician should never be allowed to decide on the life of a particular embryo or a particular elderly person, on the basis of laboratory algorithms! Medicine must never become the servant of programmed death!” Pope Leo added in what was a preludium to the papal address in Acceuil Notre Dame in Lourdes. Pacherie believes that “the pope’s statement has not come too late,” even though the law has already been passed. “On June 22, the pope had already told us that neither he nor the Church as such was in a position to halt the ongoing process that would lead to the passage of this law,” she explained. “Even if he had come to France earlier, he would not have been able to stop this measure, which was orchestrated by activists deeply involved in French politics.” But for Pacherie, “the pope’s remarks in Lourdes come at just the right time to ensure we do not give up the fight against these deadly laws.” She said the pope shed a light on people who are fragile and vulnerable in face of legislation and “our task is to continue caring for them, so that they do not have the weight of this law on their shoulders, and to raise awareness among the French public that just because something is legal does not mean it is a good thing.” Caroline de Sury writes for OSV News from Paris.  

unitedyam

Pope’s words in France are encouragement to not give up the fight against ‘deadly laws’ #Catholic –

PARIS (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV’s forceful defense of human life during his Sept. 25-27 visit to France has reignited debate over the country’s newly approved assisted-dying law, which lawmakers had largely considered settled after its passage in July.

The pope’s words are now interpreted by pro-life movements as a call to protect life despite the new law, which took effect in August.

For Lucie Pacherie, a lawyer and spokesperson for the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation, the pope’s words are a “great encouragement to continue raising awareness among the French people that this law is not good, even though it has been passed.”

“The pope spoke in extremely firm terms,” she told OSV News. “He really made it clear that what is legal is not necessarily moral.”

Jerome Trillard, one of the six altar servers with Down syndrome who served papal Mass at Place de la Concorde Sept. 26, told French channel C News that people like him should not be “excluded” from society. “Instead, we need inclusion for people with disabilities,” he urged.

The presence of these altar servers at the papal Mass in mainstream television channels and viral papal blessings of the sick and disabled from Paris, through Lourdes to Metz, sent a signal that life is sacred, pro-life advocates and bishops underlined following the trip.

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Pope Leo in France: ‘What is legal is not necessarily moral’

Pope Leo used his first visit to France to deliver a forceful defense of human life at every stage, condemning abortion, surrogacy and assisted dying while urging lawmakers and caregivers to protect the vulnerable.

At the Élysée Palace in Paris Sept. 25, the pope told French civil authorities that “the protection of the right to life constitutes the indispensable foundation of every other human right,” warning against “trends in society that risk turning science and technology into profit-driven ventures promoting genetic manipulation, surrogacy, the trade in human organs or the possibility of arranging one’s own death.”

The pope called for a conversion of minds and hearts “to welcome life unconditionally, to support frailty with loving care, to accompany every stage of life with respect and mutual trust, and to defend with courage and compassion those unable to make their voices heard and those who feel ignored or overlooked.”

Two days later in Lourdes, speaking to patients and caregivers at the Accueil Notre Dame, Pope Leo applied that appeal particularly to those who are sick, elderly or disabled.

“Dear brothers and sisters who are sick, I want to tell you that you are not a burden,” he said. “You are the beating heart of our humanity and a precious treasure for the Church.”

He rejected the idea that human worth can be determined by utility, technology, or under legal decisions. “No one ever has the right, on the basis of laboratory algorithms, to decide the life of a given embryo or elderly person!” he said. “Medicine must never become the servant of programmed death.”

“No human law should ever make you lose the certainty of your dignity,” the pope told the sick and disabled. “It is impossible to regard causing death as something normal. What is legal is not necessarily moral.”

Pope to critics in France: ‘We’re applying the Gospel to people’s lives’

The papal words caused an avalanche of reactions in France. While his address at the Élysée Palace was considered to be delivered “peacefully,” France’s top-rated television channel TF1 noted the pope took a “tougher stance” in Lourdes.

“The pope must still respect the laws of our country,” Jean-Luc Romero, a former deputy mayor of Paris known for actively campaigning in favor of the assisted-dying law, commented on France Info TV.

Olivier Falorni, who served as the principal architect of the bill on assisted dying while he was a member of parliament opposed any “interference by the Church” in French law, speaking on France Info, a public news radio station.

The pope, asked about the hot button issue on a plane from Metz to Rome, said he “didn’t cross” the line of separation between the state and the Church, and encouraged to “read or re-read” his first encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas.”

“When it speaks about questions of social doctrine, we’re not entering into politics,” the pope told journalists. “We’re applying the Gospel to people’s lives.”

While noting there “can be politicians” who say “no, religion should only be in the private sphere. Let people do what they want on their own,” the pope underlined, “That is a state.”

But in the Church, “we have to be separate,” he said.

“I went to France … primarily to preach the Gospel, to preach the good news, to reaffirm what Jesus Christ himself says when he says: ‘I am the way and the truth and the life.’”

The defense of life, the pope said, “is something that, as you all know, the Church teaches and believes very deeply.”

While acknowledging laws similar to the French assisted-dying bill are spreading in Europe, Pope Leo said his encounter with the sick in the sanctuary of Lourdes carried a different kind of message.

In Lourdes, he said, people who are sick are “searching for something much deeper,” for “understanding that their lives, even in the midst of sickness or disability or pain of different kinds … has meaning.”

The Church, the pope said, “because of Jesus himself, wants to be close to those people and to affirm the values that that life itself … holds for all of us. So … I would say if that’s politics, I did that, but it was not to get involved in French politics. It was to teach what the Church really believes.”

Lejeune Foundation: Pope’s affirmation of life not ‘too late’ even if law passed

Many French journalists and politicians, from all corners of politics, reacted positively to the papal appeals for the protection of life.

French weekly Journal du Dimanche hailed a “vibrant speech against euthanasia.” “It is true that the pope sounded the charge against this law,” Rokhaya Diallo, a left-wing activist, commented on France Info.

“But this is not just a right-wing opinion.” “This issue transcends the left-right divide,” she emphasized, referring to the Franco-Chilean lawyer Élisa Rojas, an left-wing activist opposed to euthanasia, who published a book in April titled “To Die, Press One” to oppose this law.

For Pacherie, spokeswoman at the Lejeune Foundation, the remarks of the pope were shaped by the June 22 audience with members of the Lejeune Foundation to mark the centennial of Jérôme Lejeune’s birth.

“It was on that very same day that young boys and men with Down syndrome asked the pope if they could serve at his Mass during his visit to France,” Pacherie said. When the pope agreed, “it was a beautiful symbol to honor them and bless them in this way on that occasion,” Pacherie told OSV News.

The Lejeune Foundation carries on the work of the French scientist, professor of genetics who discovered that an extra chromosome in human DNA causes Down syndrome. What he hoped would be a breakthrough in protecting people with Down syndrome became a reason to eliminate them by abortion. In France, the abortion rate in cases of a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome is 68%.

“Professor Lejeune understood that while technology can assist medicine, it can never replace it. He also knew that technology can be used against medicine — which by its very nature is at the service of life — whenever it escapes essential ethical oversight and is governed instead by calculations of efficiency, profitability, or utility,” Pope Leo told Lejeune Foundation representatives on June 22.

“But the value of the human person does not depend on what he or she accomplishes or produces. For this reason, a physician should never be allowed to decide on the life of a particular embryo or a particular elderly person, on the basis of laboratory algorithms! Medicine must never become the servant of programmed death!” Pope Leo added in what was a preludium to the papal address in Acceuil Notre Dame in Lourdes.

Pacherie believes that “the pope’s statement has not come too late,” even though the law has already been passed.

“On June 22, the pope had already told us that neither he nor the Church as such was in a position to halt the ongoing process that would lead to the passage of this law,” she explained.

“Even if he had come to France earlier, he would not have been able to stop this measure, which was orchestrated by activists deeply involved in French politics.”

But for Pacherie, “the pope’s remarks in Lourdes come at just the right time to ensure we do not give up the fight against these deadly laws.”

She said the pope shed a light on people who are fragile and vulnerable in face of legislation and “our task is to continue caring for them, so that they do not have the weight of this law on their shoulders, and to raise awareness among the French public that just because something is legal does not mean it is a good thing.”

Caroline de Sury writes for OSV News from Paris.

 

– PARIS (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV’s forceful defense of human life during his Sept. 25-27 visit to France has reignited debate over the country’s newly approved assisted-dying law, which lawmakers had largely considered settled after its passage in July. The pope’s words are now interpreted by pro-life movements as a call to protect life despite the new law, which took effect in August. For Lucie Pacherie, a lawyer and spokesperson for the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation, the pope’s words are a “great encouragement to continue raising awareness among the French people that this law is not good, even though it

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Papal trip showed miracle of rebirth out of tragedy is possible, pope says #Catholic – VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Leo XIV’s journey to France aimed to show that a joyful or serene rebirth is always possible even after tremendous tragedy or terrible suffering, he said. By visiting the newly restored Notre Dame Cathedral, meeting with survivors of abuse and praying at Lourdes, and celebrating the Christian faith openly in the public square of a secular nation, the pope highlighted how the miracle of new life can happen when everyone comes together out of love for one’s neighbor and the common good, he said during his weekly general audience Sept. 30. As has been customary, Pope Leo used his first general audience after his Sept. 25-28 trip to Paris, Lourdes and Metz in France to tell people about the purpose of his visit and to thank all those who made the journey possible. He also repeated an appeal he made in France: asking the faithful worldwide to pray the rosary throughout October, “dedicating it in a special way to ending wars and achieving peace.” The motto of the journey, “That the world may have life,” the pope said in English, “characterized the Gospel-centered nature of my meetings throughout the visit. For God alone, through his grace, can restore the Church and renew humanity, and it was evident to me that this is precisely what is occurring.” Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. The Cathedral of Notre Dame of Paris, which was restored after a fire destroyed its wooden spire and most of its roof in 2019, “can symbolically shed light on this entire apostolic journey, offering a perspective that I would summarize in one word: rebirth,” he said in his main catechesis in Italian to thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square. Rebuilt and “more splendid than ever, the cathedral’s restoration “was a test of the possible collaboration between the Church, the state, public institutions and civil society,” Pope Leo said. “The synergy for the common good should be the norm for institutions, political and social forces, and all those with civil and economic responsibilities,” he said. “This is the message I wished to convey” to secular leaders and organizations, he said, “highlighting the fundamental criterion upon which such collaboration must be based: the dignity of the human person.” According to France’s National Institute of Demographic Studies, the percentage of 18 to 49-year-olds who reported not belonging to any religion grew from 45% in 2009 to 53% in 2020, and 29% of the entire population reported being Catholic. However, the pope said, there is also “a sign of renewal within the Church in France that has been evident for some years now, namely the remarkable and growing number of young people and adults seeking baptism.” A tangible and visible sign of rebirth “appeared in a surprising way” during Mass Sept. 26 in Place de la Concorde, which, he said, was a highpoint of his visit. “Priests, the choir and a remarkable crowd extended all the way along the Avenue des Champs Élysées up to the Arc de Triomphe and beyond.” An estimated 800,000 people filled the streets, according to the Vatican. Despite the vast crowds, “everyone was able to receive the Eucharist,” he said, “This is the true reconstruction, the restoration of the Church that only God can bring about, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary.” Turning to his visit to Lourdes, he said the shrine dedicated to Our Lady also represents “a message of hope and rebirth,” especially for those who are sick “in body and spirit.” This was another message “that I wished to openly reaffirm: every human life, in whatever condition, even in the most extreme frailty, retains its inviolable dignity and deserves to be cared for, accompanied and relieved of suffering with human compassion and with the aid of the means offered by science,” he said. Because Lourdes “represents for the entire world a sanctuary of the civilization of love,” he said this was context for his meeting with a group of people who had experienced abuse by members of the church. “I asked them to help me express to other victims too my own wish, and that of the whole Church, to listen to them and walk alongside them as they seek healing, acknowledging the pain inflicted upon their lives and working to prevent abuse,” he said. Lastly, visiting the city of Metz, he said, helped symbolize its role in the process of unifying Europe “as a project for peace in the wake of the destruction wrought by war.” After two devastating world wars, “Europe was reborn, founded on those principles of democracy, solidarity and fraternity amongst peoples, which owe much to its Christian roots,” Pope Leo said. “Dear brothers and sisters, may the public witness of love for Jesus Christ that we have seen in France be an inspiration to the whole Church. Let us not hide our faith!” he told Portuguese-speaking pilgrims.  
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Papal trip showed miracle of rebirth out of tragedy is possible, pope says #Catholic – VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Leo XIV’s journey to France aimed to show that a joyful or serene rebirth is always possible even after tremendous tragedy or terrible suffering, he said. By visiting the newly restored Notre Dame Cathedral, meeting with survivors of abuse and praying at Lourdes, and celebrating the Christian faith openly in the public square of a secular nation, the pope highlighted how the miracle of new life can happen when everyone comes together out of love for one’s neighbor and the common good, he said during his weekly general audience Sept. 30. As has been customary, Pope Leo used his first general audience after his Sept. 25-28 trip to Paris, Lourdes and Metz in France to tell people about the purpose of his visit and to thank all those who made the journey possible. He also repeated an appeal he made in France: asking the faithful worldwide to pray the rosary throughout October, “dedicating it in a special way to ending wars and achieving peace.” The motto of the journey, “That the world may have life,” the pope said in English, “characterized the Gospel-centered nature of my meetings throughout the visit. For God alone, through his grace, can restore the Church and renew humanity, and it was evident to me that this is precisely what is occurring.” Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. The Cathedral of Notre Dame of Paris, which was restored after a fire destroyed its wooden spire and most of its roof in 2019, “can symbolically shed light on this entire apostolic journey, offering a perspective that I would summarize in one word: rebirth,” he said in his main catechesis in Italian to thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square. Rebuilt and “more splendid than ever, the cathedral’s restoration “was a test of the possible collaboration between the Church, the state, public institutions and civil society,” Pope Leo said. “The synergy for the common good should be the norm for institutions, political and social forces, and all those with civil and economic responsibilities,” he said. “This is the message I wished to convey” to secular leaders and organizations, he said, “highlighting the fundamental criterion upon which such collaboration must be based: the dignity of the human person.” According to France’s National Institute of Demographic Studies, the percentage of 18 to 49-year-olds who reported not belonging to any religion grew from 45% in 2009 to 53% in 2020, and 29% of the entire population reported being Catholic. However, the pope said, there is also “a sign of renewal within the Church in France that has been evident for some years now, namely the remarkable and growing number of young people and adults seeking baptism.” A tangible and visible sign of rebirth “appeared in a surprising way” during Mass Sept. 26 in Place de la Concorde, which, he said, was a highpoint of his visit. “Priests, the choir and a remarkable crowd extended all the way along the Avenue des Champs Élysées up to the Arc de Triomphe and beyond.” An estimated 800,000 people filled the streets, according to the Vatican. Despite the vast crowds, “everyone was able to receive the Eucharist,” he said, “This is the true reconstruction, the restoration of the Church that only God can bring about, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary.” Turning to his visit to Lourdes, he said the shrine dedicated to Our Lady also represents “a message of hope and rebirth,” especially for those who are sick “in body and spirit.” This was another message “that I wished to openly reaffirm: every human life, in whatever condition, even in the most extreme frailty, retains its inviolable dignity and deserves to be cared for, accompanied and relieved of suffering with human compassion and with the aid of the means offered by science,” he said. Because Lourdes “represents for the entire world a sanctuary of the civilization of love,” he said this was context for his meeting with a group of people who had experienced abuse by members of the church. “I asked them to help me express to other victims too my own wish, and that of the whole Church, to listen to them and walk alongside them as they seek healing, acknowledging the pain inflicted upon their lives and working to prevent abuse,” he said. Lastly, visiting the city of Metz, he said, helped symbolize its role in the process of unifying Europe “as a project for peace in the wake of the destruction wrought by war.” After two devastating world wars, “Europe was reborn, founded on those principles of democracy, solidarity and fraternity amongst peoples, which owe much to its Christian roots,” Pope Leo said. “Dear brothers and sisters, may the public witness of love for Jesus Christ that we have seen in France be an inspiration to the whole Church. Let us not hide our faith!” he told Portuguese-speaking pilgrims.  

unitedyam

Papal trip showed miracle of rebirth out of tragedy is possible, pope says #Catholic –

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Leo XIV’s journey to France aimed to show that a joyful or serene rebirth is always possible even after tremendous tragedy or terrible suffering, he said.

By visiting the newly restored Notre Dame Cathedral, meeting with survivors of abuse and praying at Lourdes, and celebrating the Christian faith openly in the public square of a secular nation, the pope highlighted how the miracle of new life can happen when everyone comes together out of love for one’s neighbor and the common good, he said during his weekly general audience Sept. 30.

As has been customary, Pope Leo used his first general audience after his Sept. 25-28 trip to Paris, Lourdes and Metz in France to tell people about the purpose of his visit and to thank all those who made the journey possible.

He also repeated an appeal he made in France: asking the faithful worldwide to pray the rosary throughout October, “dedicating it in a special way to ending wars and achieving peace.”

The motto of the journey, “That the world may have life,” the pope said in English, “characterized the Gospel-centered nature of my meetings throughout the visit. For God alone, through his grace, can restore the Church and renew humanity, and it was evident to me that this is precisely what is occurring.”

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

The Cathedral of Notre Dame of Paris, which was restored after a fire destroyed its wooden spire and most of its roof in 2019, “can symbolically shed light on this entire apostolic journey, offering a perspective that I would summarize in one word: rebirth,” he said in his main catechesis in Italian to thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

Rebuilt and “more splendid than ever, the cathedral’s restoration “was a test of the possible collaboration between the Church, the state, public institutions and civil society,” Pope Leo said.

“The synergy for the common good should be the norm for institutions, political and social forces, and all those with civil and economic responsibilities,” he said.

“This is the message I wished to convey” to secular leaders and organizations, he said, “highlighting the fundamental criterion upon which such collaboration must be based: the dignity of the human person.”

According to France’s National Institute of Demographic Studies, the percentage of 18 to 49-year-olds who reported not belonging to any religion grew from 45% in 2009 to 53% in 2020, and 29% of the entire population reported being Catholic.

However, the pope said, there is also “a sign of renewal within the Church in France that has been evident for some years now, namely the remarkable and growing number of young people and adults seeking baptism.”

A tangible and visible sign of rebirth “appeared in a surprising way” during Mass Sept. 26 in Place de la Concorde, which, he said, was a highpoint of his visit. “Priests, the choir and a remarkable crowd extended all the way along the Avenue des Champs Élysées up to the Arc de Triomphe and beyond.” An estimated 800,000 people filled the streets, according to the Vatican.

Despite the vast crowds, “everyone was able to receive the Eucharist,” he said, “This is the true reconstruction, the restoration of the Church that only God can bring about, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary.”

Turning to his visit to Lourdes, he said the shrine dedicated to Our Lady also represents “a message of hope and rebirth,” especially for those who are sick “in body and spirit.”

This was another message “that I wished to openly reaffirm: every human life, in whatever condition, even in the most extreme frailty, retains its inviolable dignity and deserves to be cared for, accompanied and relieved of suffering with human compassion and with the aid of the means offered by science,” he said.

Because Lourdes “represents for the entire world a sanctuary of the civilization of love,” he said this was context for his meeting with a group of people who had experienced abuse by members of the church.

“I asked them to help me express to other victims too my own wish, and that of the whole Church, to listen to them and walk alongside them as they seek healing, acknowledging the pain inflicted upon their lives and working to prevent abuse,” he said.

Lastly, visiting the city of Metz, he said, helped symbolize its role in the process of unifying Europe “as a project for peace in the wake of the destruction wrought by war.”

After two devastating world wars, “Europe was reborn, founded on those principles of democracy, solidarity and fraternity amongst peoples, which owe much to its Christian roots,” Pope Leo said.

“Dear brothers and sisters, may the public witness of love for Jesus Christ that we have seen in France be an inspiration to the whole Church. Let us not hide our faith!” he told Portuguese-speaking pilgrims.

 

– VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Leo XIV’s journey to France aimed to show that a joyful or serene rebirth is always possible even after tremendous tragedy or terrible suffering, he said. By visiting the newly restored Notre Dame Cathedral, meeting with survivors of abuse and praying at Lourdes, and celebrating the Christian faith openly in the public square of a secular nation, the pope highlighted how the miracle of new life can happen when everyone comes together out of love for one’s neighbor and the common good, he said during his weekly general audience Sept. 30. As has been customary,

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Zambia archbishop released on bail after night in jail – #Catholic – LUSAKA, Zambia  — Archbishop Alick Banda of the Archdiocese of Lusaka in Zambia has been released from Chimbokaila Correctional Facility after meeting the bail conditions set by the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court.The archbishop spent a night in custody after he could not complete the bail process before close of business, despite the court granting him bail of 80,000 Zambian kwacha (about ,094) on Sept. 28.Banda was arrested by Zambia’s Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) over the alleged possession of property suspected to have been unlawfully obtained, contrary to Section 319 of the Penal Code.The charge relates to a blue Toyota Hilux bearing registration number ALF 7734, which the DEC alleges Banda had in his possession between April 22, 2021, and Dec. 27, 2023.According to the particulars of the case, the vehicle is alleged to have been unlawfully obtained from the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA).The DEC said the vehicle forms part of a wider investigation involving approximately 22 ZRA motor vehicles allegedly disposed of improperly.The archbishop appeared before Magistrate Mwandu Nakazwe, where he pleaded not guilty to the charge.The court granted him 80,000 Zambian kwacha (about ,094) bail on his own recognizance (meaning he does not need to pay up front), requiring three working sureties (guarantors — usually family members or responsible parties) who are each bound to pay the sum of 50,000 Zambian kwacha (about ,560) if the accused takes off or skips court. The court also ordered the archbishop to surrender his travel documents.Following his release, Banda will remain subject to the court process as he awaits further proceedings in the case.The allegations against him remain unproven, and the archbishopʼs “not guilty” plea means the matter will now proceed through the judicial process.The archbishop’s arrest has generated varied reactions among members of the public, with calls for calm and for the legal process to be allowed to proceed without inflammatory statements.Members of the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops expressed solidarity with Banda as he appeared before the DEC, calling for fairness, dignity, and due process.In a statement issued Sept. 28, the Zambian bishops also called for spiritual solidarity with Banda as he faces the charges.The bishops affirmed their deep respect for Banda’s pastoral ministry and his tireless dedication to serving the Church and the nation.“In this moment, we recall the Church’s teaching that every person is entitled to fairness, dignity, and due process. We therefore call upon all concerned to ensure that these principles are upheld without prejudice or intimidation,” they said.This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.
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Zambia archbishop released on bail after night in jail – #Catholic – LUSAKA, Zambia  — Archbishop Alick Banda of the Archdiocese of Lusaka in Zambia has been released from Chimbokaila Correctional Facility after meeting the bail conditions set by the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court.The archbishop spent a night in custody after he could not complete the bail process before close of business, despite the court granting him bail of 80,000 Zambian kwacha (about $4,094) on Sept. 28.Banda was arrested by Zambia’s Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) over the alleged possession of property suspected to have been unlawfully obtained, contrary to Section 319 of the Penal Code.The charge relates to a blue Toyota Hilux bearing registration number ALF 7734, which the DEC alleges Banda had in his possession between April 22, 2021, and Dec. 27, 2023.According to the particulars of the case, the vehicle is alleged to have been unlawfully obtained from the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA).The DEC said the vehicle forms part of a wider investigation involving approximately 22 ZRA motor vehicles allegedly disposed of improperly.The archbishop appeared before Magistrate Mwandu Nakazwe, where he pleaded not guilty to the charge.The court granted him 80,000 Zambian kwacha (about $4,094) bail on his own recognizance (meaning he does not need to pay up front), requiring three working sureties (guarantors — usually family members or responsible parties) who are each bound to pay the sum of 50,000 Zambian kwacha (about $2,560) if the accused takes off or skips court. The court also ordered the archbishop to surrender his travel documents.Following his release, Banda will remain subject to the court process as he awaits further proceedings in the case.The allegations against him remain unproven, and the archbishopʼs “not guilty” plea means the matter will now proceed through the judicial process.The archbishop’s arrest has generated varied reactions among members of the public, with calls for calm and for the legal process to be allowed to proceed without inflammatory statements.Members of the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops expressed solidarity with Banda as he appeared before the DEC, calling for fairness, dignity, and due process.In a statement issued Sept. 28, the Zambian bishops also called for spiritual solidarity with Banda as he faces the charges.The bishops affirmed their deep respect for Banda’s pastoral ministry and his tireless dedication to serving the Church and the nation.“In this moment, we recall the Church’s teaching that every person is entitled to fairness, dignity, and due process. We therefore call upon all concerned to ensure that these principles are upheld without prejudice or intimidation,” they said.This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

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Archbishop Alick Banda of the Lusaka Archdiocese was arrested over the alleged possession of a vehicle suspected to have been unlawfully obtained.

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Massachusetts report reveals ‘nearly 1,000 children’ abused by hundreds of priests across 3 dioceses #Catholic Nearly 1,000 children were abused by hundreds of priests across three dioceses in Massachusetts for decades, a report by the state’s attorney general said.The report, published on Sept. 30, found evidence that “more than 270 Catholic clerics abused nearly 1,000 children over the course of a century in the Dioceses of Fall River, Springfield, and Worcester,” state Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said. Leaders of the three dioceses failed to respond to allegations of abuse over the years, the attorney general said; diocesan leadership often transferred accused priests to other parishes and “failed to consistently report allegations to law enforcement,” according to the report. Among the contributing factors to the abuse epidemic, according to the report, was a “culture of reverence and indulgence” toward priests. Around mid-century, priests “were viewed as holy, and their attention or attachment to a particular family was encouraged,” the report says. These social dynamics “allowed offending priests easy access to victims.” The investigation was launched in 2019 and involved more than 300,000 pages of documentation as well as interviews with more than 100 people, including victims of child sex abuse. The inquiry is similar to those that have been undertaken in other states, including in Michigan, where the state’s attorney general has periodically released reports on the seven dioceses there. The Massachusetts report covers every diocese in the state except the Archdiocese of Boston. That archdiocese has been subject to lengthy scrutiny after having been among the earliest subjects of abuse inquiries starting in 2002. The attorney general’s report said the three dioceses “often intentionally did not document child sexual abuse allegations or used coded and euphemistic language to conceal them.” The office said it “worked diligently to create as complete a record as possible” of abuse in the dioceses. As with similar reports in other states, the Massachusetts investigation mostly concerned abuse that was decades old. The “majority of known abuse” occurred “before 2002,” prior to major public awareness of the clergy abuse scandal, the report said. The report expressed hope that the investigation would “result in a stronger commitment to a safer environment within these dioceses.” It thanked the child abuse victims who came forward to contribute to the inquiry. It was not immediately clear how many of the instances of abuse in the report had already been identified and/or reported by the three dioceses. A query to the state attorney general’s office was not immediately returned.Dioceses apologizeBoth the Worcester Diocese and the Fall River Diocese had issued responses to the report by the afternoon of Sept. 30 in which they apologized to victims of sexual abuse. A statement from the Diocese of Worcester said it would study the report to “identify any additional improvements” it could make to its child safety policies. The diocese noted that the report found the “vast majority of cases” occurred decades ago and that it had significantly updated its screening procedures in the years since. Fall River Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, SDV, meanwhile, said in a statement that he was “filled with sorrow” over the details of the report. The diocese has developed a “culture of protection” to ensure children are not abused, including reporting abuse allegations to law enforcement and enhancing safety protocols, the bishop said. Da Cunha said that during his time as bishop he has “learned much about the best practices for protecting children and vulnerable adults in our care.”
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Massachusetts report reveals ‘nearly 1,000 children’ abused by hundreds of priests across 3 dioceses #Catholic Nearly 1,000 children were abused by hundreds of priests across three dioceses in Massachusetts for decades, a report by the state’s attorney general said.The report, published on Sept. 30, found evidence that “more than 270 Catholic clerics abused nearly 1,000 children over the course of a century in the Dioceses of Fall River, Springfield, and Worcester,” state Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said. Leaders of the three dioceses failed to respond to allegations of abuse over the years, the attorney general said; diocesan leadership often transferred accused priests to other parishes and “failed to consistently report allegations to law enforcement,” according to the report. Among the contributing factors to the abuse epidemic, according to the report, was a “culture of reverence and indulgence” toward priests. Around mid-century, priests “were viewed as holy, and their attention or attachment to a particular family was encouraged,” the report says. These social dynamics “allowed offending priests easy access to victims.” The investigation was launched in 2019 and involved more than 300,000 pages of documentation as well as interviews with more than 100 people, including victims of child sex abuse. The inquiry is similar to those that have been undertaken in other states, including in Michigan, where the state’s attorney general has periodically released reports on the seven dioceses there. The Massachusetts report covers every diocese in the state except the Archdiocese of Boston. That archdiocese has been subject to lengthy scrutiny after having been among the earliest subjects of abuse inquiries starting in 2002. The attorney general’s report said the three dioceses “often intentionally did not document child sexual abuse allegations or used coded and euphemistic language to conceal them.” The office said it “worked diligently to create as complete a record as possible” of abuse in the dioceses. As with similar reports in other states, the Massachusetts investigation mostly concerned abuse that was decades old. The “majority of known abuse” occurred “before 2002,” prior to major public awareness of the clergy abuse scandal, the report said. The report expressed hope that the investigation would “result in a stronger commitment to a safer environment within these dioceses.” It thanked the child abuse victims who came forward to contribute to the inquiry. It was not immediately clear how many of the instances of abuse in the report had already been identified and/or reported by the three dioceses. A query to the state attorney general’s office was not immediately returned.Dioceses apologizeBoth the Worcester Diocese and the Fall River Diocese had issued responses to the report by the afternoon of Sept. 30 in which they apologized to victims of sexual abuse. A statement from the Diocese of Worcester said it would study the report to “identify any additional improvements” it could make to its child safety policies. The diocese noted that the report found the “vast majority of cases” occurred decades ago and that it had significantly updated its screening procedures in the years since. Fall River Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, SDV, meanwhile, said in a statement that he was “filled with sorrow” over the details of the report. The diocese has developed a “culture of protection” to ensure children are not abused, including reporting abuse allegations to law enforcement and enhancing safety protocols, the bishop said. Da Cunha said that during his time as bishop he has “learned much about the best practices for protecting children and vulnerable adults in our care.”

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A “culture of reverence” in decades past helped priests avoid scrutiny for abuse, the lengthy report found.

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Starship reaches orbit on 14th test flight

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Mission Highlight: Starship Flight 14 After 13 previous suborbital test flights, Starship finally reached orbit on test flight 14. SpaceX’s launch window opened at 8:15 a.m. EDT on Monday, Sept. 28, and the rocket cleared the tower at Starbase, Texas, at 8:48 a.m. EDT. Just over three hours later, the flight ended in a fireballContinue reading “Starship reaches orbit on 14th test flight”

The post Starship reaches orbit on 14th test flight appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

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Crew-13 Rocket and Spacecraft at Launch Pad – Ahead of launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the Dragon spacecraft atop, is vertical at the launch pad of Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026.

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Ahead of launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the Dragon spacecraft atop, is vertical at the launch pad of Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026.

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Guardian Angel Prayer #2: Prayer of the Day for Wednesday, September 30, 2026 – #Prayer – (This is an old Guardian Angel Prayer) O Holy Angel, attendant of my wretched soul and of mine afflicted life, forsake me not, a sinner, neither depart from me for mine inconstancy. Give no place to the evil demon to subdue me with the oppression of this mortal body; but take me by my wretched and outstretched hand, and lead me in the way of salvation. Yea, O holy Angel of God, the guardian and protector of my hapless soul and body, forgive me all things …

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(This is an old Guardian Angel Prayer)

O Holy Angel,
attendant of my wretched soul
and of mine afflicted life,
forsake me not, a sinner,
neither depart from me for mine inconstancy.
Give no place to the evil demon to subdue me
with the oppression of this mortal body;
but take me by my wretched and outstretched hand,
and lead me in the way of salvation.
Yea, O holy Angel of God,
the guardian and protector
of my hapless soul and body,
forgive me all things …

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Vatican secretary of state says world’s fragmentation starts with forgetting what a human person is #Catholic NEW YORK — The root of today’s fragmented world is not technology, excess freedom, or diversity but the loss of a common understanding of who the human person is, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said at a New York dinner that took place during the United Nations General Assembly’s High-level Week.Parolin spoke Sept. 25 as an honoree of CAPP-USA, the U.S. arm of the Fondazione Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice, a Vatican foundation that promotes Catholic social teaching and was established by St. John Paul II in 1993.Among those present at the event were the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (U.N.) Mike Waltz, Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly, and the Holy See’s permanent observer to the U.N., Archbishop Christophe-Zakhia El-Kassis, who delivered the evening’s benediction.Parolin said: “In the light of the Gospel, each generation must read the signs of its own times.”Citing Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, Parolin said modern technology is not humanity’s enemy but that dignity belongs to people, not systems or algorithms. He also recalled Rerum Novarum, the encyclical Pope Leo XIII penned in 1891 as the Church’s response to the industrial revolution and which laid the foundation for Catholic social teaching.“In a world that builds towers, build places of encounter,” Parolin challenged his listeners. “In a world connected online and disconnected offline, be people of presence. In a world asking whether we can remain human, answer with the witness of your lives.”He told attendees the foundation matters because its members are meant to be “bridge builders between the encyclicals … and the decisions made in daily life.”Fragmentation and lonelinessParolin said people “are more connected than any generation in history, and yet many of us are lonelier than ever.” Exchanging information instantly but struggling to encounter one another as human beings has led to fragmentation, he said, and families, communities, and nations are “divided into camps that no longer even speak the same language.”He noted Pope Leo’s description of this moment in the opening lines of Magnifica Humanitas, saying: “We can either construct a new tower of Babel or build the city in which God and humanity dwell together.”‘A fragmented world is a searching world’Regarding the spiritual hunger many modern people are feeling, he said restlessness, especially among the young, is evidence that our hearts are made for God and cannot rest until we rest in him, citing St. Augustine.“A fragmented world is also a searching world,” he noted.“The human person is not self-made, but receives; he is a being created for relationship,” he said. “Leo expressed the hope that the world will come to recognize the human heart is the place where God desires to dwell.”The Church’s social doctrine is “itself an expression of the spiritual life,” Parolin said, and results in a faith that becomes real “concern for the worker, the family, the poor, and the seeking of the common good.”Freedom and pluralism not to blame, Parolin saysOn freedom and pluralism, he rejected blaming “too much freedom” or “too many voices.” The Church defends “freedom as a gift inseparable from human dignity,” he said, noting the Second Vatican Council’s teaching on “religious freedom as a right found in the very nature of the human person.” But, he said, “freedom detached from truth and responsibility for others turns against itself.” Freedom, in the Christian vision, “is not the capacity to choose anything whatsoever. It is the capacity to choose the good.”Authentic pluralism, he said, rests on dignity, the common good, solidarity, and subsidiarity. “We should respect the family, communities, and institutions through which people flourish,” he urged.The next day, Sept. 26, Parolin addressed the opening of the 81st U.N. General Assembly, whose theme is “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations That Delivers for All.”
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Vatican secretary of state says world’s fragmentation starts with forgetting what a human person is #Catholic NEW YORK — The root of today’s fragmented world is not technology, excess freedom, or diversity but the loss of a common understanding of who the human person is, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said at a New York dinner that took place during the United Nations General Assembly’s High-level Week.Parolin spoke Sept. 25 as an honoree of CAPP-USA, the U.S. arm of the Fondazione Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice, a Vatican foundation that promotes Catholic social teaching and was established by St. John Paul II in 1993.Among those present at the event were the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (U.N.) Mike Waltz, Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly, and the Holy See’s permanent observer to the U.N., Archbishop Christophe-Zakhia El-Kassis, who delivered the evening’s benediction.Parolin said: “In the light of the Gospel, each generation must read the signs of its own times.”Citing Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, Parolin said modern technology is not humanity’s enemy but that dignity belongs to people, not systems or algorithms. He also recalled Rerum Novarum, the encyclical Pope Leo XIII penned in 1891 as the Church’s response to the industrial revolution and which laid the foundation for Catholic social teaching.“In a world that builds towers, build places of encounter,” Parolin challenged his listeners. “In a world connected online and disconnected offline, be people of presence. In a world asking whether we can remain human, answer with the witness of your lives.”He told attendees the foundation matters because its members are meant to be “bridge builders between the encyclicals … and the decisions made in daily life.”Fragmentation and lonelinessParolin said people “are more connected than any generation in history, and yet many of us are lonelier than ever.” Exchanging information instantly but struggling to encounter one another as human beings has led to fragmentation, he said, and families, communities, and nations are “divided into camps that no longer even speak the same language.”He noted Pope Leo’s description of this moment in the opening lines of Magnifica Humanitas, saying: “We can either construct a new tower of Babel or build the city in which God and humanity dwell together.”‘A fragmented world is a searching world’Regarding the spiritual hunger many modern people are feeling, he said restlessness, especially among the young, is evidence that our hearts are made for God and cannot rest until we rest in him, citing St. Augustine.“A fragmented world is also a searching world,” he noted.“The human person is not self-made, but receives; he is a being created for relationship,” he said. “Leo expressed the hope that the world will come to recognize the human heart is the place where God desires to dwell.”The Church’s social doctrine is “itself an expression of the spiritual life,” Parolin said, and results in a faith that becomes real “concern for the worker, the family, the poor, and the seeking of the common good.”Freedom and pluralism not to blame, Parolin saysOn freedom and pluralism, he rejected blaming “too much freedom” or “too many voices.” The Church defends “freedom as a gift inseparable from human dignity,” he said, noting the Second Vatican Council’s teaching on “religious freedom as a right found in the very nature of the human person.” But, he said, “freedom detached from truth and responsibility for others turns against itself.” Freedom, in the Christian vision, “is not the capacity to choose anything whatsoever. It is the capacity to choose the good.”Authentic pluralism, he said, rests on dignity, the common good, solidarity, and subsidiarity. “We should respect the family, communities, and institutions through which people flourish,” he urged.The next day, Sept. 26, Parolin addressed the opening of the 81st U.N. General Assembly, whose theme is “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations That Delivers for All.”

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“In a world connected online and disconnected offline, be people of presence,” Cardinal Pietro Parolin said. “In a world asking whether we can remain human, answer with the witness of your lives.”

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Gospel and Word of the Day – 30 September 2026 – A reading from the Book of Job 9:1-12, 14-16 Job answered his friends and said: I know well that it is so; but how can a man be justified before God? Should one wish to contend with him, he could not answer him once in a thousand times. God is wise in heart and mighty in strength; who has withstood him and remained unscathed? He removes the mountains before they know it; he overturns them in his anger. He shakes the earth out of its place, and the pillars beneath it tremble. He commands the sun, and it rises not; he seals up the stars. He alone stretches out the heavens and treads upon the crests of the sea. He made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south; He does great things past finding out, marvelous things beyond reckoning. Should he come near me, I see him not; should he pass by, I am not aware of him; Should he seize me forcibly, who can say him nay? Who can say to him, "What are you doing?" How much less shall I give him any answer, or choose out arguments against him! Even though I were right, I could not answer him, but should rather beg for what was due me. If I appealed to him and he answered my call, I could not believe that he would hearken to my words.From the Gospel according to Luke 9:57-62 As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding on their journey, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head." And to another he said, "Follow me." But he replied, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father." But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God." And another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home." Jesus answered him, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God."The Evangelist presents us three characters — three cases of vocation, we could say — that shed light on what is required of those who wish to follow Jesus to the end, completely. The first character promises him: “I will follow you wherever you go” (v. 57). Generous! But Jesus replies that the Son of man, unlike foxes that have holes, and birds that have nests, “has nowhere to lay his head” (v. 58). (…) The second character Jesus meets receives the call directly from him, but replies: “Lord, let me first go and bury my father” (v. 59). (…) Nevertheless, Jesus responds: “Leave the dead to bury their own dead” (Lk 9:60). With these deliberately provocative words, he intends to emphasize the primacy of following and of proclaiming the Kingdom of God, even over and above the most important realities, such as the family. (…) The third character also wants to follow Jesus but on one condition: he will do so after bidding farewell to his relatives. And this is the response he receives from the Teacher: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (v. 62). Following Jesus excludes regrets and backward glances but requires the virtue of decision. Jesus wants us to be passionate about him and about the Gospel. A heartfelt passion which translates into concrete gestures of proximity, of closeness to the brothers and sisters most in need of welcome and care. Precisely as he himself lived. (Pope Francis, Angelus, 30 June 2019)  

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A reading from the Book of Job
9:1-12, 14-16

Job answered his friends and said:

I know well that it is so;
but how can a man be justified before God?
Should one wish to contend with him,
he could not answer him once in a thousand times.
God is wise in heart and mighty in strength;
who has withstood him and remained unscathed?

He removes the mountains before they know it;
he overturns them in his anger.
He shakes the earth out of its place,
and the pillars beneath it tremble.
He commands the sun, and it rises not;
he seals up the stars.

He alone stretches out the heavens
and treads upon the crests of the sea.
He made the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the constellations of the south;
He does great things past finding out,
marvelous things beyond reckoning.

Should he come near me, I see him not;
should he pass by, I am not aware of him;
Should he seize me forcibly, who can say him nay?
Who can say to him, "What are you doing?"

How much less shall I give him any answer,
or choose out arguments against him!
Even though I were right, I could not answer him,
but should rather beg for what was due me.
If I appealed to him and he answered my call,
I could not believe that he would hearken to my words.

From the Gospel according to Luke
9:57-62

As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding
on their journey, someone said to him,
"I will follow you wherever you go."
Jesus answered him,
"Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."
And to another he said, "Follow me."
But he replied, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father."
But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead.
But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God."
And another said, "I will follow you, Lord,
but first let me say farewell to my family at home."
Jesus answered him, "No one who sets a hand to the plow
and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God."

The Evangelist presents us three characters — three cases of vocation, we could say — that shed light on what is required of those who wish to follow Jesus to the end, completely. The first character promises him: “I will follow you wherever you go” (v. 57). Generous! But Jesus replies that the Son of man, unlike foxes that have holes, and birds that have nests, “has nowhere to lay his head” (v. 58). (…) The second character Jesus meets receives the call directly from him, but replies: “Lord, let me first go and bury my father” (v. 59). (…) Nevertheless, Jesus responds: “Leave the dead to bury their own dead” (Lk 9:60). With these deliberately provocative words, he intends to emphasize the primacy of following and of proclaiming the Kingdom of God, even over and above the most important realities, such as the family. (…) The third character also wants to follow Jesus but on one condition: he will do so after bidding farewell to his relatives. And this is the response he receives from the Teacher: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (v. 62). Following Jesus excludes regrets and backward glances but requires the virtue of decision. Jesus wants us to be passionate about him and about the Gospel. A heartfelt passion which translates into concrete gestures of proximity, of closeness to the brothers and sisters most in need of welcome and care. Precisely as he himself lived. (Pope Francis, Angelus, 30 June 2019)

 

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March for Life reveals 2027 theme, with truth as the focus #Catholic The March for Life announced the theme for next year’s rally in Washington, D.C.: “The Truth Is Pro-Life.”In a Sept. 29 teleconference, the group also revealed that recently retired Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw will give the keynote address at the march, taking place on Jan. 22, 2027.“The truth cannot be denied and that’s why we have kept our message so simple and bold this year,” said Hayden Sledge, chief of staff for the March for Life.“Truth doesn’t shout. It’s just there, waiting to be seen,” she said. “Truth has a way of bringing people together. That’s why for more than 50 years we’ve kept showing up to defend that truth. Some things remain true no matter the culture, politics, or the year. The truth is pro-life.” Retired Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is set to give the keynote address at the Jan. 22, 2027, March for Life.| Credit: Photo Works/Shutterstock The national march occurs every year near the anniversary of the legalization of abortion nationwide in the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade. The event continues despite Roe’s reversal by the court in 2022 as abortion remains legal in dozens of U.S. states. In all, some 63 million babies have been aborted since the Roe decision, according to pro-life groups.During the press conference, the committee shared the details of the expected program and the intentional decision behind the chosen theme.Last year’s theme was “Life Is a Gift.”“Last year, our theme spoke to the heart,” Sledge said. “This year, we are speaking to the head and making a clear statement about the truth at the heart of our mission, because truth does not change with an election or due to politics, or current trends. It’s unchanging. That’s why our theme is ‘The Truth Is Pro-Life.’”Kershaw, a three-time Cy Young Award winner and the 2014 National League MVP, operates the nonprofit group Kershaw’s Challenge, which partners with other charities to improve the lives of children in need living in Los Angeles, Dallas, Zambia, and the Dominican Republic.“Iʼm excited to get to be the speaker for the 2027 March for Life,” said Kershaw, while holding his 9-month-old daughter, Chloe, the youngest of his five children. “She’s excited for us to be there, too, and we can’t wait.”In keeping with this year’s theme, the March for Life organizing committee is inviting individuals to ask “the hard questions” about human life when they interact with those outside the pro-life community.“Today, itʼs hard to figure out what the truth is. Not because it isnʼt there, but because of the distractions. But sometimes all you have to do is look closer, get rid of the noise, the chaos, the confusion, and see whatʼs really there,” Sledge said.
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March for Life reveals 2027 theme, with truth as the focus #Catholic The March for Life announced the theme for next year’s rally in Washington, D.C.: “The Truth Is Pro-Life.”In a Sept. 29 teleconference, the group also revealed that recently retired Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw will give the keynote address at the march, taking place on Jan. 22, 2027.“The truth cannot be denied and that’s why we have kept our message so simple and bold this year,” said Hayden Sledge, chief of staff for the March for Life.“Truth doesn’t shout. It’s just there, waiting to be seen,” she said. “Truth has a way of bringing people together. That’s why for more than 50 years we’ve kept showing up to defend that truth. Some things remain true no matter the culture, politics, or the year. The truth is pro-life.” Retired Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is set to give the keynote address at the Jan. 22, 2027, March for Life.| Credit: Photo Works/Shutterstock The national march occurs every year near the anniversary of the legalization of abortion nationwide in the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade. The event continues despite Roe’s reversal by the court in 2022 as abortion remains legal in dozens of U.S. states. In all, some 63 million babies have been aborted since the Roe decision, according to pro-life groups.During the press conference, the committee shared the details of the expected program and the intentional decision behind the chosen theme.Last year’s theme was “Life Is a Gift.”“Last year, our theme spoke to the heart,” Sledge said. “This year, we are speaking to the head and making a clear statement about the truth at the heart of our mission, because truth does not change with an election or due to politics, or current trends. It’s unchanging. That’s why our theme is ‘The Truth Is Pro-Life.’”Kershaw, a three-time Cy Young Award winner and the 2014 National League MVP, operates the nonprofit group Kershaw’s Challenge, which partners with other charities to improve the lives of children in need living in Los Angeles, Dallas, Zambia, and the Dominican Republic.“Iʼm excited to get to be the speaker for the 2027 March for Life,” said Kershaw, while holding his 9-month-old daughter, Chloe, the youngest of his five children. “She’s excited for us to be there, too, and we can’t wait.”In keeping with this year’s theme, the March for Life organizing committee is inviting individuals to ask “the hard questions” about human life when they interact with those outside the pro-life community.“Today, itʼs hard to figure out what the truth is. Not because it isnʼt there, but because of the distractions. But sometimes all you have to do is look closer, get rid of the noise, the chaos, the confusion, and see whatʼs really there,” Sledge said.

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Retired Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is set to give the keynote address at the Jan. 22, 2027, rally.

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About 3,000 people gather in Washington, DC, for rosary pilgrimage – #Catholic – WASHINGTON — Thousands of Catholics who gathered at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on Saturday got a head start on the approaching month of the rosary by participating in a daylong event featuring prayer and talks centered on the power of the Marian prayer.The fourth annual Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage drew an estimated 3,000 people, with tens of thousands of others joining via livestream broadcast.Hosted by the Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Joseph, the event included opportunities for joining in Eucharistic adoration and receiving the sacrament of reconciliation.“Every year the pilgrimage grows. Every year, more people join us and every year those prayers are lifted up to heaven with greater enthusiasm,” said Dominican Father Patrick Briscoe, promoter general for social communication of the Province of St. Joseph, which extends from New England to Virginia to Ohio. Pilgrims sit shoulder to shoulder in the basilica, some with hands clasped in prayer, during the Vigil Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., for the Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno “It’s such a beautiful event,” said pilgrim Lauren Rodriguez, who traveled from Miami. “This is the second time I’ve come and this year I brought my husband. I just thought it was so impactful to see so much beauty, prayer, and truth in the preaching. It’s incredibly peaceful for as many activities that there are throughout the day.”In preparation for the event, an estimated 100,000 Catholics participated in a nine-month novena, beginning on Jan. 31 and ending on Sept. 26, according to Dominican Father John Paul Kern, the St. Joseph province’s executive director. Dominican friars carry a statue of Mary holding the infant Jesus through the basilica during the rosary procession at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., for the Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno “I think Our Lady brings us closer to him and reveals something to us about her son in a very special way with him here at this event,” Kern said.Dominican Father Peter John Cameron, the event’s principal speaker, described the rosary as a gift and a “chain that unites people to God.” A man bows his head over clasped hands while seated in the church at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., for the Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno “The rosary is something truly unique and indescribably precious,” he told EWTN News. “Because more than just a form of prayer, the rosary is a relationship. The rosary is a dynamic experience of our sonship, of our daughtership, in God.”“For someone like me who’s so busy, and so many people are busy, it’s a day dedicated to prayer, to soak it in, receive the graces,” Rodriguez told EWTN News. “You meet so many wonderful people from all over. It really is reaching so many people and touching so many hearts.”The Catholic Church dedicates the entire month of October to the most holy rosary and celebrates the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on Oct. 7. Children sit with adults beside a stroller in a crowded pew at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., for the Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
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About 3,000 people gather in Washington, DC, for rosary pilgrimage – #Catholic – WASHINGTON — Thousands of Catholics who gathered at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on Saturday got a head start on the approaching month of the rosary by participating in a daylong event featuring prayer and talks centered on the power of the Marian prayer.The fourth annual Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage drew an estimated 3,000 people, with tens of thousands of others joining via livestream broadcast.Hosted by the Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Joseph, the event included opportunities for joining in Eucharistic adoration and receiving the sacrament of reconciliation.“Every year the pilgrimage grows. Every year, more people join us and every year those prayers are lifted up to heaven with greater enthusiasm,” said Dominican Father Patrick Briscoe, promoter general for social communication of the Province of St. Joseph, which extends from New England to Virginia to Ohio. Pilgrims sit shoulder to shoulder in the basilica, some with hands clasped in prayer, during the Vigil Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., for the Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno “It’s such a beautiful event,” said pilgrim Lauren Rodriguez, who traveled from Miami. “This is the second time I’ve come and this year I brought my husband. I just thought it was so impactful to see so much beauty, prayer, and truth in the preaching. It’s incredibly peaceful for as many activities that there are throughout the day.”In preparation for the event, an estimated 100,000 Catholics participated in a nine-month novena, beginning on Jan. 31 and ending on Sept. 26, according to Dominican Father John Paul Kern, the St. Joseph province’s executive director. Dominican friars carry a statue of Mary holding the infant Jesus through the basilica during the rosary procession at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., for the Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno “I think Our Lady brings us closer to him and reveals something to us about her son in a very special way with him here at this event,” Kern said.Dominican Father Peter John Cameron, the event’s principal speaker, described the rosary as a gift and a “chain that unites people to God.” A man bows his head over clasped hands while seated in the church at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., for the Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno “The rosary is something truly unique and indescribably precious,” he told EWTN News. “Because more than just a form of prayer, the rosary is a relationship. The rosary is a dynamic experience of our sonship, of our daughtership, in God.”“For someone like me who’s so busy, and so many people are busy, it’s a day dedicated to prayer, to soak it in, receive the graces,” Rodriguez told EWTN News. “You meet so many wonderful people from all over. It really is reaching so many people and touching so many hearts.”The Catholic Church dedicates the entire month of October to the most holy rosary and celebrates the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on Oct. 7. Children sit with adults beside a stroller in a crowded pew at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., for the Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

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The Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Joseph hosted the Sept. 26 event.

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Federal appeals court says historic cross, Nativity can remain in Los Angeles public square – #Catholic – A cross and Nativity will remain in a Los Angeles public plaza after a U.S. appeals court ruled against an atheist who brought a lawsuit to have the displays removed. The two monuments are located at El Pueblo de Los Angeles, the historical center of the Southern California city, marking its founding in 1781. Los Angeles resident Jack Gerritsen sued the city government claiming that the displays violate the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution. Gerritsen identifies himself as a “nonbeliever” in the suit and claims the monuments make him feel “excluded” in the public space. A U.S. district court ruled against Gerritsen, after which he appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. On Sept. 29, the religious liberty law firm Becket announced that the appeals court had also ruled against Gerritsen. The plaintiff “failed to establish the requirements” to justify removing the monument, the appeals court said, including failing to establish that he would “suffer irreparable harm” if the monuments were left in place. He further failed to affirm that removing the monuments would be “in the public interest,” the court noted. The ruling comes after a group of merchants located on Olvera Street near the monuments asked to join the lawsuit in defense of the public displays. Among them was cafe owner Edward Flores, who said that a cultural display such as the cross and Nativity helps “[ennoble] Americans across all ethnicities, faiths, cultures, and generations to take pride in their own contributions and to see more clearly their future potential.”The appeals court ultimately ruled against the efforts of the merchants to join the suit, arguing that their participation in the legal proceeding was moot given the court’s dismissal of Gerritsen’s request. But Andrea Butler, a lawyer at Becket who represented the merchants in their request, said in a news release that the ruling was “common sense.” “Los Angeles belongs to people of every faith and none, and its public square naturally bears the marks of that diversity,” Butler said. The case will be sent back to lower district court following the appeals ruling, according to Becket. The law firm said the monuments will remain “while courts move toward a final decision in the case.”
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Federal appeals court says historic cross, Nativity can remain in Los Angeles public square – #Catholic – A cross and Nativity will remain in a Los Angeles public plaza after a U.S. appeals court ruled against an atheist who brought a lawsuit to have the displays removed. The two monuments are located at El Pueblo de Los Angeles, the historical center of the Southern California city, marking its founding in 1781. Los Angeles resident Jack Gerritsen sued the city government claiming that the displays violate the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution. Gerritsen identifies himself as a “nonbeliever” in the suit and claims the monuments make him feel “excluded” in the public space. A U.S. district court ruled against Gerritsen, after which he appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. On Sept. 29, the religious liberty law firm Becket announced that the appeals court had also ruled against Gerritsen. The plaintiff “failed to establish the requirements” to justify removing the monument, the appeals court said, including failing to establish that he would “suffer irreparable harm” if the monuments were left in place. He further failed to affirm that removing the monuments would be “in the public interest,” the court noted. The ruling comes after a group of merchants located on Olvera Street near the monuments asked to join the lawsuit in defense of the public displays. Among them was cafe owner Edward Flores, who said that a cultural display such as the cross and Nativity helps “[ennoble] Americans across all ethnicities, faiths, cultures, and generations to take pride in their own contributions and to see more clearly their future potential.”The appeals court ultimately ruled against the efforts of the merchants to join the suit, arguing that their participation in the legal proceeding was moot given the court’s dismissal of Gerritsen’s request. But Andrea Butler, a lawyer at Becket who represented the merchants in their request, said in a news release that the ruling was “common sense.” “Los Angeles belongs to people of every faith and none, and its public square naturally bears the marks of that diversity,” Butler said. The case will be sent back to lower district court following the appeals ruling, according to Becket. The law firm said the monuments will remain “while courts move toward a final decision in the case.”

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Local merchants had rallied to save the historic monument alongside a Nativity display in Los Angeles’ 300-year-old historic center.

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Federal court rules in favor of Oklahoma Jewish charter school amid public funding lawsuit – #Catholic – A Jewish charter school in Oklahoma scored a key victory this month in its federal lawsuit seeking access to the state’s publicly funded charter program. The ruling from the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Oklahoma comes more than a year after a Catholic charter school lost a similar lawsuit seeking to be included in Oklahoma’s charter school funding. In his decision, U.S. District Judge David Russell said the state may not “single out religious schools for exclusion” from public charter funding “solely because of their religious character.” The Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board may not deny funding to the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation, Russell held, though the order only applies so long as the lawsuit continues through the federal court system. The Oklahoma government requires charter schools to identify as “nonsectarian” and not be affiliated with religious groups. That rule was previously challenged by a Catholic institution, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which sought funding from the charter school board and which sued the state in 2023 over being excluded from the state program. That suit drew the backing of the U.S. bishops as well as numerous states who advocated expanded educational opportunities. Yet the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately declined to issue a ruling in the case after the court’s justices were split in the dispute, leaving the school without charter funding. It’s unclear whether or not the Jewish charter school dispute will affect the status of the Catholic charter school. But in his ruling Russell said the denial of the school’s application on religious grounds constituted a “concrete” and “actual” injury. A “long line of Supreme Court precedent” supports the school’s position that the denial of its public funding violates the U.S. Constitution, the judge said. Daniel Chen, an attorney with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing the charter school, said in a press release that Oklahoma’s ban on religious charter funding was “destined to fail.” “The Constitution doesn’t permit the state to welcome every kind of charter school except a religious one,” Chen said. The state has 30 days to appeal to the federal Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, Becket said.
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Federal court rules in favor of Oklahoma Jewish charter school amid public funding lawsuit – #Catholic – A Jewish charter school in Oklahoma scored a key victory this month in its federal lawsuit seeking access to the state’s publicly funded charter program. The ruling from the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Oklahoma comes more than a year after a Catholic charter school lost a similar lawsuit seeking to be included in Oklahoma’s charter school funding. In his decision, U.S. District Judge David Russell said the state may not “single out religious schools for exclusion” from public charter funding “solely because of their religious character.” The Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board may not deny funding to the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation, Russell held, though the order only applies so long as the lawsuit continues through the federal court system. The Oklahoma government requires charter schools to identify as “nonsectarian” and not be affiliated with religious groups. That rule was previously challenged by a Catholic institution, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which sought funding from the charter school board and which sued the state in 2023 over being excluded from the state program. That suit drew the backing of the U.S. bishops as well as numerous states who advocated expanded educational opportunities. Yet the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately declined to issue a ruling in the case after the court’s justices were split in the dispute, leaving the school without charter funding. It’s unclear whether or not the Jewish charter school dispute will affect the status of the Catholic charter school. But in his ruling Russell said the denial of the school’s application on religious grounds constituted a “concrete” and “actual” injury. A “long line of Supreme Court precedent” supports the school’s position that the denial of its public funding violates the U.S. Constitution, the judge said. Daniel Chen, an attorney with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing the charter school, said in a press release that Oklahoma’s ban on religious charter funding was “destined to fail.” “The Constitution doesn’t permit the state to welcome every kind of charter school except a religious one,” Chen said. The state has 30 days to appeal to the federal Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, Becket said.

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A Catholic charter school had previously brought a similar lawsuit against the state but had failed to secure a ruling from the Supreme Court.

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