Anyone who follows education news, or just has children in public schools, knows that we have an education crisis in this country right now.
The post Southern States of Mississippi and Louisiana Go Back to Teaching the Basics in School – Now Lead Liberal States Like California in Literacy appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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Assata Shakur, birth name JoAnne Deborah Byron, a former domestic terrorist who escaped from a New Jersey prison in 1979 and fled to Cuba where she was granted asylum, has died at the age of 78.
The post Assata Shakur, Domestic Terrorist Who Escaped a New Jersey Prison in 1979 and Fled to Cuba, Dies at Age 78 appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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Well, that was fast.
The post SUGAR HIGH: Just Three Days After Jimmy Kimmel’s ‘Big Comeback’ His Ratings Have Crashed by 70 Percent appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read MoreO eternal God and Ruler of all creation, You have allowed me to reach this hour. Forgive the sins I have committed this day by word, deed or thought. Purify me, O Lord, from every spiritual and physical stain. Grant that I may rise from this sleep to glorify You by my deeds throughout my entire lifetime, and that I be victorious over every spiritual and physical enemy. Deliver me, O Lord, from all vain thoughts and from evil desires, for yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, …
Read MoreA reading from the Book of Zechariah
2:5-9, 14-15a
I, Zechariah, raised my eyes and looked:
there was a man with a measuring line in his hand.
I asked, "Where are you going?"
He answered, "To measure Jerusalem,
to see how great is its width and how great its length."
Then the angel who spoke with me advanced,
and another angel came out to meet him and said to him,
"Run, tell this to that young man:
People will live in Jerusalem as though in open country,
because of the multitude of men and beasts in her midst.
But I will be for her an encircling wall of fire, says the LORD,
and I will be the glory in her midst."
Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion!
See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD.
Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day,
and they shall be his people and he will dwell among you.
From the Gospel according to Luke
9:43b-45
While they were all amazed at his every deed,
Jesus said to his disciples,
"Pay attention to what I am telling you.
The Son of Man is to be handed over to men."
But they did not understand this saying;
its meaning was hidden from them
so that they should not understand it,
and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
Fear is a natural dimension of life. In childhood we experience forms of fear that subsequently are revealed to be imaginary and disappear; other fears emerge later which are indeed founded in reality: these must be faced and overcome with human determination and trust in God. However, especially today, there is a deeper form of fear of an existential type and which sometimes borders on anguish: it is born from a sense of emptiness, linked to a certain culture permeated with widespread theoretical and practical nihilism. In the face of the broad and diversified panorama of human fears, the Word of God is clear: those who "fear" God "are not afraid". Fear of God, which the Scriptures define as "the beginning of knowledge" coincides with faith in him, with sacred respect for his authority over life and the world. To be without "fear of God" is equivalent to putting ourselves in his place, to feeling we ourselves are lords of good and evil, of life and death. Instead, those who fear God feel within them the safety that an infant in his mother’s arms feels (cf. Ps 130: 2). Those who fear God are tranquil even in the midst of storms for, as Jesus revealed to us, God is a Father full of mercy and goodness. Those who love him are not afraid (…) (Pope Benedict, XVI, Angelus, 22 June 2008)
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CNA Staff, Sep 26, 2025 / 16:28 pm (CNA).
Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news:
A pro-life advocacy group is launching a massive $9 million campaign in the Senate races of Georgia and Michigan.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and its partner group, Women Speak Out PAC, are working to flip the U.S. Senate in Michigan, pouring $4.5 million into a field effort for the state’s open Senate seat.
Focused in Lansing, Detroit, and Grand Rapids, the pro-life groups aim to expand the U.S. Senate’s pro-life majority. In Michigan, four Planned Parenthoods have closed this year after Congress paused funding for abortion providers.
In Georgia, the same groups will pour $4.5 million into a field effort for Georgia’s U.S. Senate election. The campaign — aiming to defeat U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Georgia senator who has backed pro-abortion policies — will be focused in Savannah, Augusta, Columbus, and Chattanooga.
SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a Sept. 24 statement that the group aims to “stop the abortion lobby from clawing back $500 million in annual Medicaid dollars for their own political machine.”
“No American should be forced to bankroll a brutal industry that kills over 1.1 million unborn children each year, harms women with substandard care, and funnels millions into partisan politics — especially when better, more accessible health care alternatives outnumber Planned Parenthood 15 to 1,” Dannenfelser said.
Pro-life groups that have experienced censorship in the past are celebrating after Google admitted to political censorship under the Biden administration.
The tech giant admitted the censorship to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and said it was taking steps to open previously banned YouTube accounts.
Kelsey Pritchard, the political communications director for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said companies like Google have a pattern of targeting pro-life advocacy groups.
“We are not at all surprised by Google’s admissions of censorship,” Pritchard told CNA.
“For years, tech giants have demonstrated a pattern of bias, actively undermining, suppressing, and censoring groups like Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, who share the pro-life message in a highly effective way.”
In a timeline on its website, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America detailed censorship and suppression of pro-life groups since 2015 by sites such as Facebook, Yelp, and Google.
For instance, in 2022, Google allegedly shadow banned an online educational resource by Life Issues Institute. In 2021, Google banned Live Action and Heartbeat International’s abortion pill reversal advertisements, including Live Action’s Baby Olivia video, detailing the growth of an unborn child.
SBA Pro-Life America also criticized the Biden administration for allegedly targeting pro-life activists with the law.
“The Biden administration, too, weaponized federal might to target pro-life Americans and even put peaceful activists in jail,” Pritchard said. “The right to voice one’s convictions is a foundational American value and the pro-life movement will always fight back against censorship.”
Students for Life of America spokesperson Jordan Butler, meanwhile, told CNA that the pro-life group “is no stranger to the challenges of free speech in the digital age.”
“While we’ve been fortunate to avoid censorship on platforms like YouTube and Google, TikTok has proven to be a battleground: banning our content 180 times in just 24 hours,” Butler said.
After outcry from pro-life advocates, Butler said the TikTok account, belonging to Lydia Taylor Davis, was restored.
She sees this as “proof that when we stand together, we can push back.”
“That’s why unity matters now more than ever in defending pro-life free speech across America,” Butler said.
“Abortion propaganda is everywhere online, saturating platforms from social media to search engines,” she continued. “Whether it’s digital censorship or campus pushback, we fight relentlessly to protect our voice and our values.”
A group of U.S. congressmen is introducing a bill that could give unborn children a second chance at life even if a mother takes the first pill in the chemical abortion regimen.
U.S. Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, recently introduced the Second Chance at Life Act, which is designed to protect unborn children and mothers from the harms of abortion.
The act, co-sponsored by 16 representatives from 13 states, would establish federal informed consent requirements for abortion pills. This would require abortion providers to inform women seeking to terminate their pregnancies that a chemical abortion can be reversible after the first abortion pill is taken.
Pfluger said many women “are pressured into taking the abortion pill without being fully informed of all their options” and later “express deep regret as they come to terms with the loss of their unborn child.”
“It is unacceptable that so many women are never told by their provider that the effects of the first pill can be reversible,” Pfluger said in a Sept. 18 statement.
Pfluger said the legislation will “empower women to make fully informed choices at every stage of the process, protecting their right to know the full details” about the drugs.
Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, supported the bill in a statement, noting that women are often pressured into abortion.
“Many mothers regret their abortions and wish they had been told about abortion pill reversal before it was too late,” she said. “And too many women are exposed to the deadly pills by those who are coercing them.”
U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, is investigating allegations that school officials in Virginia facilitated an abortion for a minor and attempted to do the same for another student without notifying their parents.
Cassidy, who chairs the U.S. Senate Health Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, sent a letter to Superintendent Michelle Reid demanding answers after an investigative reporter broke the news that officials at Fairfax County’s Centreville High School reportedly pressured students to have abortions.
A Cole County Circuit judge approved a ballot measure that would protect minors and unborn children from transgender surgeries and abortion, respectively, if passed by Missouri voters.
Because the ballot combines protections for minors against transgender surgeries and pro-life protections, activists challenged it in court. But Judge Daniel Green approved the combination in a Sept. 19 ruling, with the caveat that the ballot measure language must explicitly state that it would repeal a previous ballot measure.
The previous ballot measure, passed in 2024, created a right to abortion in the Missouri Constitution.
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin will stop scheduling abortions beginning Oct. 1 following federal funding cuts by the Trump administration.
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin President and CEO Tanya Atkinson said the pause is meant to be temporary as the group deals with Medicaid funding cuts following the “Big Beautiful Bill.” The location will continue to operate and offer other services in the meantime.
The Trump administration temporarily paused any funding for abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood. At least 40 Planned Parenthoods are closing this year.
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Second statewide Mass for Life draws hundreds to Trenton Cathedral – 
On Sept. 25, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney of the Diocese of Paterson urged all participating pro-life advocates before the start of the second annual N.J. Rally and March for Life in Trenton to lead with love when witnessing to the dignity of every human life — not judgement. Before the N.J. Rally for Life began, Bishop Sweeney served as the homilist that morning during the second annual N.J. Mass for Life in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral in Trenton, the New Jersey State capital. Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., of the Trenton Diocese, celebrated the Mass. The hundreds of
It’s official: According to the U.S. government, taking Tylenol is "not good." However, this raises questions about how people should treat their headaches going forward.
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U.S. — Democrats sounded the alarm over Trump’s prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey, warning that the prosecution of political opponents could set a dangerous precedent for America’s democracy.
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View towards Sorano – taken from San Rocco viewpoint (W of Sorano) during blue hour
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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 26, 2025 / 14:36 pm (CNA).
Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:
After Filipino Catholic bishops welcomed the arrest of Rodrigo Duterte in March, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has now charged Duterte, the former president of the Philippines, with murder.
The three charges laid against Duterte, made public on Sept. 22, were dated back to July, according to the BBC. The first charge relates to Duterte’s involvement in the murder of 19 people in Davao City while he served as mayor from 2013 to 2016. The remaining charges relate to Duterte’s “war on drugs,” which saw the murder of 14 people across the country and the attempted murder of 45 others.
Caritas Philippines President Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo of Kidapawan called Duterte’s detention a critical step toward justice, Vatican News reported in March. “For years Duterte has claimed that he is ready to face the consequences of his actions. Now is the time for him to prove it,” the bishop said.
In a meeting with the Levantine National Council, Syriac Catholic Bishop Hanna Jallouf discussed the role of Christians in public life as the country rebuilds after the fall of the Assad regime last winter.
According to a report from the Syriac Press, the meeting took place on Sept. 25 at the Monastery of St. Lazarus in Daramsuq (Damascus). “The meeting featured an in-depth discussion on the country’s current challenges, focusing on ways to enhance the role of Christians in public life while also addressing their concerns and fears amid ongoing instability,” the report said.
Jallouf reportedly advocated for “citizenship and pluralism as the foundation for Syria’s stability” and encouraged the council to continue its efforts “to preserve the Church’s witness and unity” amid a period marked by fear for Christians and other religious minorities in the country.
Police in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh arrested 14 Christians on Sept. 19 for allegedly violating the state’s stringent anti-conversion law and the national criminal code, according to UCA News.
The report also noted that a group of 19 girls accompanied by a Catholic nun and two staff members of a nongovernmental organization were also arrested Sept. 19 in Jharkhand, which borders Uttar Pradesh from the south, for violating the conversion law as well. The group was released the following day. According to Church sources cited in the report, the arrests were made after “allegations by some right-wing Hindu groups as the girls were traveling to attend a training program, and the nuns came to the railway station to welcome them.”
Bishop Broderick Pabillo of Taytay in Palawan, Philippines, chair of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines Office on Stewardship, has published a pastoral letter condemning the normalization of corruption in the country.
“We must not accept corruption as the norm — it is stealing the people’s taxes,” he said in the letter, according to local reports, pointing out that government funds have been redirected away from critical services such as hospitals, clean water initiatives, safe roads, and electricity for political reasons. “If we want to reduce corruption, we must stop voting for relatives in power,” the bishop added.
A Chaldean Catholic community from the southeast village of Köreli in the Şirnak Silopi district of Turkey returned to their ancestral homeland after nearly half a century, according to a local report on Sept. 25.
About 150 pilgrims, who traveled from across Turkey and abroad, participated in the 10-day visit and celebrated a “deeply symbolic Mass and offered prayers at the village cemetery.”
According to the report, Turkey’s Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Sabri Anar expressed gratitude to the government and for those who welcomed the group. “Our aim is to reconcile those who left this land with their past and show them that the region is safe,” he noted. “Each visit fills us with happiness. In the eyes of our people, we can see the longing for homeland, for soil, and for history.”
Bishop Richard Umbers of the Archdiocese of Sydney has been reinstated to public ministry after an independent investigation determined abuse allegations lodged against him were “not sustained,” according to an internal email cited in a Sept. 24 report by the Pillar.
“The report from the independent investigator highlighted information given by the complainant that was inconsistent with other evidence obtained and therefore, the investigator could not be satisfied that the alleged conduct occurred,” the email by archdiocesan vicar general Father Samuel Lynch said.
The claim of historical abuse against the Opus Dei bishop had been made in early July, after which he stepped down in accordance with archdiocesan protocol.
The Catholic community in Bangladesh is “living in fear” of persecution as Islamic fundamentalism is on the rise and elections loom in the coming February, according to a Sept. 24 Crux report.
“We are afraid of the upcoming elections. Because, before and after the elections, we have been subjected to many injustices and this time there is a greater possibility of it. So, we are constantly praying to God to protect us,” Welcome Lamba, a leader of the Khasi Indigenous village of Pratappur Punjee, told Crux, which noted that there were over 1,000 cases of human rights violations against religious minorities in the country from 2023 to 2024.
After government officials in Papua New Guinea (PNG) announced in June a nationwide HIV emergence, the Australian government has now donated “a fleet of vehicles” to the Catholic Church Health Services in PNG to help aid efforts to expand access to treatment for HIV, according to a local report on Sept. 25.
“The vehicles will support outreach services that include community-based HIV testing, prevention of mother-to-child transmission, antiretroviral therapy adherence, and referrals to other clinics and social services,” the report stated.
Bishop Martín Lasarte Topolansky in Lwena, Angola, spoke out this week against escalating environmental destruction in eastern Angola, particularly in border areas with Zambia, where illegal logging and poaching are severely impacting the population, ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, reported Thursday.
“It is with a heavy heart that I see the felling of precious trees and the disappearance of animals that are part of our environmental heritage. We are witnessing a true plunder of what belongs to the Angolan people,” Lasarte told ACI Africa, while recalling a recent pastoral visit to communities in Eastern Moxico.
The bishop also noted “illegal exploitation of our forests by foreign citizens crossing our border,” likely by Zambians taking advantage of weak local enforcement. He further called on the Angolan government to secure the country’s eastern border and establish stricter environmental laws. “This land is a gift from God, and we will be accountable for how we treat it,” he said.
Read MoreOn some clear, moonless night this fall, head out and locate the constellation Vulpecula the Fox. It’s not the easiest star pattern to identify, but two much more apparent constellations will help you get into the right area. Vulpecula lies south of Cygnus and north of Aquila. And while you might be thinking, ah, he’sContinue reading “Michael’s Miscellany: Observe the Coathanger”
The post Michael’s Miscellany: Observe the Coathanger appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe), the agency’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On–Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. The missions will each focus on different effects of the solar wind — the continuous stream of particles emitted by the Sun — and space weather — the changing conditions in space driven by the Sun — from their origins at the Sun to their farthest reaches billions of miles away at the edge of our solar system.
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CNA Staff, Sep 26, 2025 / 10:37 am (CNA).
The suspect in the violent assault of a pro-life advocate in New York City earlier this year will not face charges after a prosecutor’s office dropped the case against the alleged assailant.
The Thomas More Society said this week it was launching a civil lawsuit against Brianna Rivers over her alleged assault of Savannah Craven Antao after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg dismissed the case.
Rivers struck Antao in the face and left her bloodied in the April assault in Manhattan. The assault, which was caught on camera, came as Antao was calmly interviewing Rivers and debating pro-life politics with her.
VIDEO OF THE ASSAULT OF PRO LIFE JOURNALIST BY PRO-ABORTION ADVOCATE IN NEW YORK
Savannah Craven was working with Live Action conducting man on the street interviews, asking “Do you know what Planned Parenthood does?” when she was attacked
She is at hospital now pic.twitter.com/oTOKATXsjp
— Lila Rose (@LilaGraceRose) April 4, 2025
Antao told CNA in April that she “had absolutely no time to see that it was coming.”
“I regularly do street interviews for my YouTube channel and various other organizations,” she said at the time. “This isn’t something I’m not used to doing. It was just like any other day.”
Antao’s injuries required a trip to the hospital and stitches. The Thomas More Society this week said the hospital visit resulted in $3,000 worth of bills.
Christopher Ferrara, a senior lawyer with the Thomas More Society, said this week that Bragg’s dismissal of the charges “only works to undermine confidence in the system, especially when our political climate has become as fraught as it is now.”
“Failing to prosecute these clear-cut charges sets a dangerous standard for how our society responds to violence against those engaging in democratic dialogue,” he said.
Antao did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNA on Sept. 26. In the Thomas More Society’s press release, she criticized the prosecutor’s decision to “quietly let the charges fade away” in spite of the “indisputable evidence” of the recording of the assault.
“Political violence should never be tolerated or given a free pass,” she said. “When those in power refuse to hold accountable those who respond to free speech with violence, it threatens the very fabric of our civil society.”
Bragg’s office did not immediately respond to a phone call and email seeking comment.
Ferrara said the lawsuit will seek punitive damages for Antao.
“Savannah’s assailant may have been spared criminal consequences by the Manhattan DA’s failure, but we will see to it that she faces accountability,” he said.
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Mountain Lakes prayer ministry marks feast of ‘Little Flower’ – 
Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney helped the rosary and prayer ministry of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, also known as the “Little Flower,” celebrate the saint’s feast day on Sept. 21 by leading a prayer service, which included his presentation about St. Thérèse, at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Mountain Lakes, N.J. More than 300 people — priests, deacons, religious, and laity — attended the prayer service, which featured three vocalists. Emmanuel Cruz, a cantor at many churches, was accompanied on organ by Lou Scarpa, a trustee at Assumption College for Sisters in Denville, N.J. Barbara Bailey from St. Catherine’s sang
Vatican City, Sep 26, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV has appointed Italian Archbishop Filippo Iannone as prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Bishops, a department the pope himself once led.
The appointment, announced Sept. 26, marks Leo’s first selection of a head of a major Vatican office since his election in May.
Leo chose Iannone, a respected Italian canon lawyer and the Vatican’s top legislator, to fill the post he himself held as then-Cardinal Robert Prevost from 2023 until becoming pope.
Iannone, 67, will officially assume his new responsibilities Oct. 15. As the prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, he will play a key role in the selection process for diocesan bishops and in the evaluation of abuse allegations against bishops.
The ultimate decision in appointing bishops rests with the pope, and he is free to select anyone he chooses. Usually, the pope’s representative in a country, the apostolic nuncio, passes on recommendations and documentation to the Vatican. The Dicastery for Bishops then discusses the appointment in a further process and takes a vote. On being presented with the recommendations, the pope makes the final decision.
Alongside Iannone, Pope Leo confirmed Brazilian Bishop Ilson de Jesus Montanari for a five-year term as secretary of the dicastery and extended the mandate of Monsignor Ivan Kovač of Bosnia and Herzegovina as undersecretary.
In addition to leading the bishops’ office, Iannone will take over as president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, which manages relations between the Vatican and Latin American episcopal conferences.
A Carmelite and an experienced canon lawyer, Iannone currently serves as the prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Legislative Texts, making him the Holy See’s top legislator.
Pope Francis named him president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts in 2018, promoting him over the office’s secretary in an unusual move. He became prefect of the newly reorganized dicastery in 2022.
In that role, Iannone was instrumental in revising Church law, including expanding the reach of Vos Estis Lux Mundi, a framework for investigating abuse, to include lay Catholic leaders.
Born in Naples on Dec. 13, 1957, Iannone entered the Carmelite order in 1976 and was ordained a priest in 1982. He taught canon law in Naples before being named auxiliary bishop of his native archdiocese by Pope John Paul II in 2001.
Benedict XVI named him bishop of the Italian Diocese of Sora-Cassino-Aquino-Pontecorvo in 2009 and later vicegerent of the Diocese of Rome, where he dealt with the fallout of a major hospital corruption scandal and was responsible for the reorganization of ecclesiastical courts.
Iannone is also a member of two study groups for the Synod on Synodality, examining the judicial role of bishops and methods for shared discernment on controversial doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical issues.
After the death of Pope Francis, all of the heads of Vatican dicasteries technically lost their jobs with Pope Leo XIV only confirming them provisionally. Iannone’s appointment now leaves another important vacancy for the pope to fill in the Roman Curia.
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CNA Staff, Sep 26, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
Courage International, the Catholic apostolate that helps men and women experiencing same-sex attraction “persevere on the path of holiness,” marked 45 years of ministry on Sept. 26, celebrating nearly half a century of helping individuals struggling with sexuality to “live a chaste life” in line with Church teaching.
The Connecticut-based organization traces its earliest roots to an effort started by New York archbishop Cardinal Terence Cooke, who in 1978 conceived of a same-sex attraction ministry and asked Father John Harvey, OSFS, to lead the effort.
Harvey, who died in 2010, authored the 1979 pamphlet “A Spiritual Plan to Redirect One’s Life,” offering a program for “homosexually-oriented persons” to “achieve a chaste, productive, and happy life.”
The apostolate held its first official meeting the following year on Sept. 26 at the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Manhattan. In 1981 the group published the first version of its “Five Goals,” which include dedications to chastity, service, the sacraments, and fellowship.
Within a few years the program expanded to Canada, officially becoming an international organization; it also began to expand throughout the U.S. at the time.
An endorsement by the Holy See came in 1994. The group by this time had already begun hosting annual “Courage Conferences,” with Harvey publishing several new works on the ministry over the years.
The group’s offerings for those struggling with same-sex attraction include retreats, literature, online chat groups, and a men’s sports camp — a weekend of “team sports with encouragement, coaching, and an abundance of Christian fellowship” (where teams compete in an “annual epic battle for the coveted Harvey Cup”).
Father Brian Gannon, the executive director of Courage, said the group was originally founded to minister to men with same-sex attraction and eventually expanded to include women. A sister program, “EnCourage,” ministers to family members of those with same-sex attraction.
The group works primarily through chapters, which number around 160 worldwide and function as clergy-led support groups.
“There’s individual groups in various dioceses that are run by chaplains — either priests or deacons — and they meet on a regular basis, usually about once a week,” Gannon said.
Group members “come together, read through the goals, discuss their experiences and challenges during the week, and pray,” he said. “Prayer is absolutely central to it.”
Courage has a presence in numerous countries worldwide, including the Philippines, Singapore, and Poland. In addition to executive leadership, the group is overseen by an episcopal board of several bishops. “It’s fully sanctioned by the Church,” Gannon said.
Gannon himself came into the leadership role in 2024. Years before he helped to start a Courage chapter in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He was approached by the organization last year and asked to serve as director.
The priest took on that role in addition to his pastorship at St. Theresa Parish in Trumbull, Connecticut. “It’s a challenge,” he said with a chuckle. ”But you balance it as best you can. You always want to do more for both [roles].”
He described the men and women who take part in the apostolate as “truly inspirational,” while the organization’s staff, including another full-time priest, are “very hardworking.”
Looking to the future, Gannon said the group is hoping to expand its social media presence. He also said it is making efforts to contact each new bishop installed in the U.S.
“We’ve just started to reach out to newly appointed bishops, sending them a welcome letter and encouraging them to get in touch with us, letting them know we’d love to come and talk to them about starting a Courage chapter if they don’t have one,” he said.
Gannon said participants in the ministry do not seek a watered-down version of Catholic doctrine. “They want to follow exactly what the Church is teaching,” he said.
“The secular world has a twisted view of sexuality,” he said. “This is such a needed ministry. It helps people find peace.”
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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 26, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
The United States bishops have expressed their solidarity with the bishops and faithful in Africa “as they offer the world a profound witness of respect for human life and dignity amidst ongoing conflicts” on the continent.
In a Sept. 24 statement, Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on International Justice and Peace, said the bishops “pray that government officials and people of all faiths may work together to bring lasting peace, justice, and security to the continent.”
“In 2025, millions of our brothers and sisters on the African continent live displaced from their homes and communities, forced to flee due to conflict, religious and ethnic persecution, economic hardship, and environmental crises,” Zaidan wrote.
African nations have experienced extreme violence, war, and disease, which has left more than 15 million displaced in the sub-Saharan region. Zaidan emphasized that “cycles of deadly violence” are leading humanitarian crises to continuously “claim thousands of innocent lives in Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, and throughout the Sahel region.”
In Sudan, thousands have been affected by the country’s cholera outbreak, exacerbating the country’s existing humanitarian crisis, with nearly 100,000 reported cases and more than 2,470 related deaths (as of August).
Ongoing violent conflicts in countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia also continue to escalate and have resulted in the deaths of thousands amid the ongoing wars.
“Due to the rise of extremist violence, Christians, Muslims, and other people of faith are increasingly targeted by campaigns of mass killings, abductions, and forced displacement,” Zaidan wrote. He particularly drew attention to “the hundreds of Christian civilians massacred in recent weeks and months in Nigeria’s Middle Belt and northern regions as well as in eastern Congo.”
These acts of violence include a June attack by Islamist Fulani militants in northern Nigeria, which left around 200 Nigerian Christians dead. International aid organizations referred to it as the “worst killing spree” in the region yet.
“The Catholic Church and the U.S. government have a shared responsibility to promote the international common good and respect for human life by contributing to international humanitarian and development assistance,” Zaidan said, adding that the bishops “reaffirm that lifesaving and life-affirming international assistance funding is a crucial complement to these efforts.”
“In fraternal unity with the Church in Africa, we ask Our Lady Queen of Peace to comfort all those afflicted by violence and grant all people of goodwill the courage to build peace both in their local communities and across borders.”
“As our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, has said: ‘May every community become a “house of peace,” where one learns how to defuse hostility through dialogue, where justice is practiced and forgiveness is cherished.’”
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