Priest refuses to remove his clerical attire after being told he must to renew passport in Mexico #Catholic Father Alberto Medel reported that staff at Mexico’s Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (SRE, by its Spanish acronym) demanded he remove his clerical attire for the photo to renew his passport, a requirement he described as discriminatory and a violation of his right to religious freedom.The incident took place on Nov. 4 at the passport office in the Coyoacán borough of Mexico City, according to an account the priest shared on X.In response to the complaint, Roberto Velasco Álvarez, who heads the SRE, said on X that he had given instructions “for the photograph to be retaken with him wearing his ecclesiastical attire, and for the passport to be issued.”What happened?According to Medel, the coordinator of the theological committee for the college of exorcists of the Primatial Archdiocese of Mexico, an SRE employee told him that he “could not have the photograph taken while wearing his ecclesiastical attire.”The priest refused to remove his attire, arguing that he had the right to dress according “to my state of life, provided that my face remained perfectly visible.”The employee consulted with a supervisor, and Medel was allowed to be photographed in his clerical attire.However, while waiting for his new passport, the priest was told by another person, who “did not identify herself by name or position and displayed a hostile attitude from the start,” that the SRE would not process a passport application with a photograph showing him in clerical attire.When Medel requested that she show him the law that prohibited his attire, the official “showed him a page from the secretariat’s internal regulations, which state that photographs containing religious symbols are not permitted.”Medel said a police officer standing behind the official seemed to indicate “a clear attitude of intimidation.”“We Catholic priests are second-class citizens whose freedoms and rights are restricted because of our choice of faith,” he stated, alleging that what occurred violated the rights stipulated in the Mexican Constitution concerning nondiscrimination and religious freedom.“Today, I was subjected to discrimination; my human rights were violated, and I was humiliated through clear expressions of anticlericalism and Christianophobia,” he said.Passport regulations and the Supreme Court precedentArticle 14 of Mexico’s “Regulations for Passports and Identity and Travel Documents” stipulates that for the passport application process, “the photograph must be taken facing forward, in color, with a white background; the head must be uncovered, and there must be no garments or objects that partially or completely cover the face, including eyeglasses.”The article does not establish a general prohibition against the use of religious attire or symbols in photographs for a Mexican passport.On Dec. 11, 2025, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation resolved a dispute concerning Muslim women who had been required to remove their hijabs in order to obtain a passport.In that case, the court determined that the women could wear the hijabs; regulations must be interpreted in a manner consistent with freedom of religion, ideology, and conscience; and individuals may wear “religious garments, attire, or symbols” that do not hinder their identification.Furthermore, the court cautioned against “the absolute sacrifice of religious freedom.”‘I am not the only person who has suffered this’In a statement to EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, Medel confirmed that following Velasco’s statement, he received an email and a phone call from SRE staff in order to facilitate the renewal of his passport.However, he has been unable to return to the government office due to his pastoral commitments including the celebration of the 500th anniversary of his parish, Santa María de la Visitación, in the Indigenous town of Santa María Tepepan. This event is scheduled for this Saturday, Nov. 7, and will be attended by the apostolic nuncio to Mexico, Archbishop Joseph Spiteri. Medel said he plans to travel to Rome on Monday, Nov. 9, which is why he needed his passport.He said he hopes to be able to complete the process but also believes it is necessary for the SRE to take measures to prevent other religious from facing similar situations.“I don’t need an apology,” he said, expressing his hope that this case will lead to “firmer steps” being taken to ensure that nothing like this happens again.He said other priests and religious sisters told him they have had similar experiences. Medel clarified that clerical attire “is not a uniform; it is my way of life.” He noted that because he dresses as a priest, he’s been insulted but has also experienced “a great deal of good: People I encounter ask for a blessing, and I have heard confessions in airports, on airplanes, on buses, and out on the street.”He said he is requesting from the authorities, “in writing, a commitment and an instruction to all offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that ensures this does not happen again to any priest or religious.”After EWTN News Español contacted the General Directorate for Social Communication of the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs, the office forwarded Velasco’s public statement.This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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Priest refuses to remove his clerical attire after being told he must to renew passport in Mexico #Catholic Father Alberto Medel reported that staff at Mexico’s Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (SRE, by its Spanish acronym) demanded he remove his clerical attire for the photo to renew his passport, a requirement he described as discriminatory and a violation of his right to religious freedom.The incident took place on Nov. 4 at the passport office in the Coyoacán borough of Mexico City, according to an account the priest shared on X.In response to the complaint, Roberto Velasco Álvarez, who heads the SRE, said on X that he had given instructions “for the photograph to be retaken with him wearing his ecclesiastical attire, and for the passport to be issued.”What happened?According to Medel, the coordinator of the theological committee for the college of exorcists of the Primatial Archdiocese of Mexico, an SRE employee told him that he “could not have the photograph taken while wearing his ecclesiastical attire.”The priest refused to remove his attire, arguing that he had the right to dress according “to my state of life, provided that my face remained perfectly visible.”The employee consulted with a supervisor, and Medel was allowed to be photographed in his clerical attire.However, while waiting for his new passport, the priest was told by another person, who “did not identify herself by name or position and displayed a hostile attitude from the start,” that the SRE would not process a passport application with a photograph showing him in clerical attire.When Medel requested that she show him the law that prohibited his attire, the official “showed him a page from the secretariat’s internal regulations, which state that photographs containing religious symbols are not permitted.”Medel said a police officer standing behind the official seemed to indicate “a clear attitude of intimidation.”“We Catholic priests are second-class citizens whose freedoms and rights are restricted because of our choice of faith,” he stated, alleging that what occurred violated the rights stipulated in the Mexican Constitution concerning nondiscrimination and religious freedom.“Today, I was subjected to discrimination; my human rights were violated, and I was humiliated through clear expressions of anticlericalism and Christianophobia,” he said.Passport regulations and the Supreme Court precedentArticle 14 of Mexico’s “Regulations for Passports and Identity and Travel Documents” stipulates that for the passport application process, “the photograph must be taken facing forward, in color, with a white background; the head must be uncovered, and there must be no garments or objects that partially or completely cover the face, including eyeglasses.”The article does not establish a general prohibition against the use of religious attire or symbols in photographs for a Mexican passport.On Dec. 11, 2025, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation resolved a dispute concerning Muslim women who had been required to remove their hijabs in order to obtain a passport.In that case, the court determined that the women could wear the hijabs; regulations must be interpreted in a manner consistent with freedom of religion, ideology, and conscience; and individuals may wear “religious garments, attire, or symbols” that do not hinder their identification.Furthermore, the court cautioned against “the absolute sacrifice of religious freedom.”‘I am not the only person who has suffered this’In a statement to EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, Medel confirmed that following Velasco’s statement, he received an email and a phone call from SRE staff in order to facilitate the renewal of his passport.However, he has been unable to return to the government office due to his pastoral commitments including the celebration of the 500th anniversary of his parish, Santa María de la Visitación, in the Indigenous town of Santa María Tepepan. This event is scheduled for this Saturday, Nov. 7, and will be attended by the apostolic nuncio to Mexico, Archbishop Joseph Spiteri. Medel said he plans to travel to Rome on Monday, Nov. 9, which is why he needed his passport.He said he hopes to be able to complete the process but also believes it is necessary for the SRE to take measures to prevent other religious from facing similar situations.“I don’t need an apology,” he said, expressing his hope that this case will lead to “firmer steps” being taken to ensure that nothing like this happens again.He said other priests and religious sisters told him they have had similar experiences. Medel clarified that clerical attire “is not a uniform; it is my way of life.” He noted that because he dresses as a priest, he’s been insulted but has also experienced “a great deal of good: People I encounter ask for a blessing, and I have heard confessions in airports, on airplanes, on buses, and out on the street.”He said he is requesting from the authorities, “in writing, a commitment and an instruction to all offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that ensures this does not happen again to any priest or religious.”After EWTN News Español contacted the General Directorate for Social Communication of the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs, the office forwarded Velasco’s public statement.This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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Father Alberto Medel reported that he was told to remove his clerical attire in order to renew his passport in Mexico despite the existence of judicial rulings that protect religious clothing.

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Nationwide tax-funded abortion is top priority for Democrats in next session #Catholic The Democratic Party will head into the 2027 legislative session with majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate following a landslide victory in the midterm elections, and one of its focuses will be to advance pro-abortion legislation.Earlier this year, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries promised healthcare would be one of the top Democratic priorities for 2027 and created a Cost-of-Living Healthcare Working Group to develop a legislative plan, led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, and Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Alabama.Based on a memo developed by the working group and obtained by Politico in late September, Democratic plans to codify the now-defunct Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, which made abortion legal nationwide, and plans for tax-funded elective abortions, “should be considered for advancement in the first 100 hours” of the legislative session.“Reestablish a federal right to abortion care and end restrictions that prevent people covered through federal health programs from receiving abortion coverage,” read the memo, which is dated Sept. 1 and was published by Politico on Sept. 25.EWTN News reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s office and Sewell’s office to ask whether this is still the plan but did not receive a response by the time of publication.The White House provided a statement to EWTN News when asked about Democrats’ plans to prioritize abortion legislation but did not specifically say whether President Donald Trump would veto any pro-abortion bills.“The Trump Administration is committed to Gold Standard Science, as outlined in detail by President Trump’s Executive Order, ‘Restoring Gold Standard Science,’” White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster said in the statement. “The mifepristone safety review by the FDA is just one example of President Trumpʼs total commitment to ensuring the health and safety of all Americans.”2 bills for immediate considerationOne bill the working group suggests Democrats consider to advance in the first 100 hours is the Women’s Health Protection Act, which was first introduced in 2013 to codify Roe. This bill would declare abortion “a human right” and prevent state governments from restricting abortion before fetal viability, which is typically in the 23rd or 24th week of pregnancy.According to the 2025 version of the bill, viability is when the unborn child can survive outside of the womb. Whether the unborn child is viable would be determined by “the treating health care provider,” who is typically the abortionist.Although some post-viability abortion restrictions would be allowed, all state laws would need to allow abortion through the ninth month of pregnancy if “the treating health care provider,” who is typically the abortionist, deems it necessary to protect “the life or health of the patient.” The text is unclear as to what qualifies as a threat to the patient’s health.If this bill were to become law, it would immediately invalidate state-level pro-life laws across the country.“It would sweep aside state protections for unborn children,” Laura Echevarria, communications director National Right to Life, told EWTN News.She said the bill would “take away the ability for [people’s] elected representatives … [to] protect babies before viability.” And after viability, she said abortions would be allowed “if the abortionist determines the abortion is necessary.”Echevarria said the text used in the bill offers a “very broad definition” for the health exemption and warned that it could include not just physical health complications but also mental health complications, as determined by the abortionist.The second bill the working group suggests Democrats consider within the first 100 hours is the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act, which would add abortion coverage to tax-funded health insurance plans for government workers and people enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid, and the Childrenʼs Health Insurance Program (CHIP).Essentially, the bill would eliminate the Hyde Amendment, which has been included in spending bills since 1976 to prohibit federal funds for elective abortions. Although the ban on tax-funded abortion originally had bipartisan support, Democrats have sought to eliminate the ban in recent years.Echevarria said the EACH Act would “require abortion coverage across specific government health programs,” with the goal being to eliminate Hyde. She said: “The federal government would ensure that abortion would be covered, so it’s very broad and very sweeping.”She said the Democrats’ plan to prioritize these bills is “disappointing” but “not surprising.” She said that although the Democratic Party used to welcome pro-life voices, “now it’s the party that encourages women to ‘shout their abortion.’”“It used to be we had more pro-life Democrats in the House years ago, [but] the Democratic Party has not welcomed pro-lifers in years,” Echevarria said. “So they are not welcoming that viewpoint.”Kelsey Pritchard, the communications director for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a statement to EWTN News that this agenda shows “pro-abortion Democrat extremism will be on full display next Congress.”In addition to the two bills included in the memo, Pritchard said: “We also anticipate efforts to revive the expansion of Obamacare subsidies that further taxpayer funded abortion coverage, another avenue for more babies to die at the hands of the federal government.”The incoming members of Congress will be sworn in at noon on Jan. 3, 2027. Although not all of the results are finalized, Democrats will have at least 253 seats in the House and at least 54 seats in the Senate.
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Nationwide tax-funded abortion is top priority for Democrats in next session #Catholic The Democratic Party will head into the 2027 legislative session with majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate following a landslide victory in the midterm elections, and one of its focuses will be to advance pro-abortion legislation.Earlier this year, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries promised healthcare would be one of the top Democratic priorities for 2027 and created a Cost-of-Living Healthcare Working Group to develop a legislative plan, led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, and Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Alabama.Based on a memo developed by the working group and obtained by Politico in late September, Democratic plans to codify the now-defunct Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, which made abortion legal nationwide, and plans for tax-funded elective abortions, “should be considered for advancement in the first 100 hours” of the legislative session.“Reestablish a federal right to abortion care and end restrictions that prevent people covered through federal health programs from receiving abortion coverage,” read the memo, which is dated Sept. 1 and was published by Politico on Sept. 25.EWTN News reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s office and Sewell’s office to ask whether this is still the plan but did not receive a response by the time of publication.The White House provided a statement to EWTN News when asked about Democrats’ plans to prioritize abortion legislation but did not specifically say whether President Donald Trump would veto any pro-abortion bills.“The Trump Administration is committed to Gold Standard Science, as outlined in detail by President Trump’s Executive Order, ‘Restoring Gold Standard Science,’” White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster said in the statement. “The mifepristone safety review by the FDA is just one example of President Trumpʼs total commitment to ensuring the health and safety of all Americans.”2 bills for immediate considerationOne bill the working group suggests Democrats consider to advance in the first 100 hours is the Women’s Health Protection Act, which was first introduced in 2013 to codify Roe. This bill would declare abortion “a human right” and prevent state governments from restricting abortion before fetal viability, which is typically in the 23rd or 24th week of pregnancy.According to the 2025 version of the bill, viability is when the unborn child can survive outside of the womb. Whether the unborn child is viable would be determined by “the treating health care provider,” who is typically the abortionist.Although some post-viability abortion restrictions would be allowed, all state laws would need to allow abortion through the ninth month of pregnancy if “the treating health care provider,” who is typically the abortionist, deems it necessary to protect “the life or health of the patient.” The text is unclear as to what qualifies as a threat to the patient’s health.If this bill were to become law, it would immediately invalidate state-level pro-life laws across the country.“It would sweep aside state protections for unborn children,” Laura Echevarria, communications director National Right to Life, told EWTN News.She said the bill would “take away the ability for [people’s] elected representatives … [to] protect babies before viability.” And after viability, she said abortions would be allowed “if the abortionist determines the abortion is necessary.”Echevarria said the text used in the bill offers a “very broad definition” for the health exemption and warned that it could include not just physical health complications but also mental health complications, as determined by the abortionist.The second bill the working group suggests Democrats consider within the first 100 hours is the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act, which would add abortion coverage to tax-funded health insurance plans for government workers and people enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid, and the Childrenʼs Health Insurance Program (CHIP).Essentially, the bill would eliminate the Hyde Amendment, which has been included in spending bills since 1976 to prohibit federal funds for elective abortions. Although the ban on tax-funded abortion originally had bipartisan support, Democrats have sought to eliminate the ban in recent years.Echevarria said the EACH Act would “require abortion coverage across specific government health programs,” with the goal being to eliminate Hyde. She said: “The federal government would ensure that abortion would be covered, so it’s very broad and very sweeping.”She said the Democrats’ plan to prioritize these bills is “disappointing” but “not surprising.” She said that although the Democratic Party used to welcome pro-life voices, “now it’s the party that encourages women to ‘shout their abortion.’”“It used to be we had more pro-life Democrats in the House years ago, [but] the Democratic Party has not welcomed pro-lifers in years,” Echevarria said. “So they are not welcoming that viewpoint.”Kelsey Pritchard, the communications director for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a statement to EWTN News that this agenda shows “pro-abortion Democrat extremism will be on full display next Congress.”In addition to the two bills included in the memo, Pritchard said: “We also anticipate efforts to revive the expansion of Obamacare subsidies that further taxpayer funded abortion coverage, another avenue for more babies to die at the hands of the federal government.”The incoming members of Congress will be sworn in at noon on Jan. 3, 2027. Although not all of the results are finalized, Democrats will have at least 253 seats in the House and at least 54 seats in the Senate.

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Democrats are considering two abortion-related bills for the first 100 hours of the 2027 legislative session: one to legalize abortion nationwide and one to allow federal tax funds for abortion.

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Gospel and Word of the Day – 7 November 2026 – A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians 4:10-19 Brothers and sisters: I rejoice greatly in the Lord that now at last you revived your concern for me. You were, of course, concerned about me but lacked an opportunity. Not that I say this because of need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I find myself, to be self-sufficient. I know indeed how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live with abundance. In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need. I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me. Still, it was kind of you to share in my distress. You Philippians indeed know that at the beginning of the Gospel, when I left Macedonia, not a single church shared with me in an account of giving and receiving, except you alone. For even when I was at Thessalonica you sent me something for my needs, not only once but more than once. It is not that I am eager for the gift; rather, I am eager for the profit that accrues to your account. I have received full payment and I abound. I am very well supplied because of what I received from you through Epaphroditus, “a fragrant aroma,” an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. My God will fully supply whatever you need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.From the Gospel according to Luke 16:9-15 Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and sneered at him. And he said to them, “You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.”Jesus presents a clear alternative between God and wealth, asking us to take a clear and consistent position. “No slave can serve two masters”, therefore “You cannot serve God and wealth” (cf. Lk 16:13).(…)We must decide on a real way of life. It is a matter of choosing where to place our heart. (…) The thirst for wealth risks taking God’s place in our heart, when we believe that it is wealth that will save our lives. (…) The temptation is this: to think that without God we could still live well, while without wealth we would be sad and afflicted by a thousand needs. When faced with the test of need, we feel threatened, but instead of asking for help with trust and sharing with fraternity, we are led to calculate, to accumulate, becoming suspicious and distrustful of others. (…) On the contrary, God assigns the goods of creation to all. (…) Indeed, the Word of the Lord does not pit people against each other in rival classes, but urges everyone to an inner revolution, a conversation that starts from the heart. Then our hands will open: to give, not to grab. (…) Those who serve God become free from wealth, but those who serve wealth remain its slave! Those who seek justice transform wealth into the common good; those who seek dominion transform the common good into the prey of their own greed. (Pope Leo XIV, Homily, 21 September 2025)  

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A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians
4:10-19

Brothers and sisters:
I rejoice greatly in the Lord
that now at last you revived your concern for me.
You were, of course, concerned about me but lacked an opportunity.
Not that I say this because of need,
for I have learned, in whatever situation I find myself,
to be self-sufficient.
I know indeed how to live in humble circumstances;
I know also how to live with abundance.
In every circumstance and in all things
I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry,
of living in abundance and of being in need.
I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me.
Still, it was kind of you to share in my distress.

You Philippians indeed know that at the beginning of the Gospel,
when I left Macedonia,
not a single church shared with me
in an account of giving and receiving, except you alone.
For even when I was at Thessalonica
you sent me something for my needs,
not only once but more than once.
It is not that I am eager for the gift;
rather, I am eager for the profit that accrues to your account.
I have received full payment and I abound.
I am very well supplied because of what I received from you
through Epaphroditus,
“a fragrant aroma,” an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.
My God will fully supply whatever you need,
in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

From the Gospel according to Luke
16:9-15

Jesus said to his disciples:
“I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth,
so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
The person who is trustworthy in very small matters
is also trustworthy in great ones;
and the person who is dishonest in very small matters
is also dishonest in great ones.
If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth,
who will trust you with true wealth?
If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another,
who will give you what is yours?
No servant can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.”

The Pharisees, who loved money,
heard all these things and sneered at him.
And he said to them,
“You justify yourselves in the sight of others,
but God knows your hearts;
for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.”

Jesus presents a clear alternative between God and wealth, asking us to take a clear and consistent position. “No slave can serve two masters”, therefore “You cannot serve God and wealth” (cf. Lk 16:13).(…)We must decide on a real way of life. It is a matter of choosing where to place our heart. (…) The thirst for wealth risks taking God’s place in our heart, when we believe that it is wealth that will save our lives. (…) The temptation is this: to think that without God we could still live well, while without wealth we would be sad and afflicted by a thousand needs. When faced with the test of need, we feel threatened, but instead of asking for help with trust and sharing with fraternity, we are led to calculate, to accumulate, becoming suspicious and distrustful of others. (…) On the contrary, God assigns the goods of creation to all. (…) Indeed, the Word of the Lord does not pit people against each other in rival classes, but urges everyone to an inner revolution, a conversation that starts from the heart. Then our hands will open: to give, not to grab. (…) Those who serve God become free from wealth, but those who serve wealth remain its slave! Those who seek justice transform wealth into the common good; those who seek dominion transform the common good into the prey of their own greed. (Pope Leo XIV, Homily, 21 September 2025)

 

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New film ‘Jimmy’ explores the untold story of Jimmy Stewart’s WWII service and enduring faith – #Catholic – A piece of American history came to life at the Nov. 4 red carpet premiere of a new film called “Jimmy.” With music from the 1940s playing in the background, a military color guard paying tribute to legendary actor Jimmy Stewart, and a B-24 Liberator flying overhead, the evening in Dallas celebrated a side of Stewart that many don’t know: his service as a World War II bomber pilot.James “Jimmy” Stewart was a beloved American actor best known for his portrayal of George Bailey in the Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.” But at the height of his Hollywood career, Stewart put acting on hold to serve his country during World War II. The new film explores this transformative chapter of his life and how his wartime experiences would later influence his iconic portrayal of the family man from Bedford Falls.Stewart served in the military from 1941 to 1945, eventually deploying to England in 1943 as a heavy bomber pilot with the United States Army Air Forces. Assigned to the Eighth Air Force, he rose to become a squadron and group commander and flew the B-24 Liberator on 20 combat missions over occupied Europe, including raids on targets such as Berlin. He would later serve as a strategic bomber officer and attain the rank of brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.It was Stewart’s service to his country that inspired director Aaron Burns to create the new film. A military color guard pays tribute to actor and war veteran Jimmy Stewart at the red carpet premiere of the new film “Jimmy” in Fort Worth, Texas, on Nov. 4, 2026. | Credit: Francesca Fenton/EWTN News In an interview with EWTN News at the premiere of “Jimmy,” Burns shared that he grew up watching Stewart’s movies but he had “no idea that the life he lived was every bit as interesting — maybe even more so — than the films he made.”“I read an article that Jimmy wrote about this period of his life and how ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ was the first movie he made when he came back from serving in World War II,” he added. “And I had no idea that Jimmy was in a war and so it uncovered, for me, a whole new chapter to explore.”For Kelly Stewart-Harcourt — one of Stewart’s daughters — her initial reaction upon hearing someone wanted to make a biopic on her father was that it would be “boring because he had a scandal-free life.”“But then, when it was focused on this particular chapter of his life, then I started thinking more about it,” she said. “My biggest concern was, ‘Would dad approve?’ And I think, it doesn’t glorify war, it tells a really true story, and I think he would approve.”Stewart-Harcourt also recalled the role her father’s faith played in his life professionally as an actor, during his service, and as a father and husband.“Faith was very important to dad. He didn’t wear it on his sleeve. He was very quietly religious but he went to church every single Sunday … A few times, I would burst into the bedroom to tell him something, and it would be before he was going to bed, and he would be kneeling at the bed like a little boy saying his prayers.”She added that he often told her that his faith is what “gave him great strength and comfort.” Jimmy Stewart’s daughter, Kelly Stewart-Harcourt, and KJ Apa on the set of “Jimmy.” | Credit: Photo courtesy of Burns & Co. KJ Apa, the actor who portrays Stewart in the film, shared that taking on this role impacted the way in which he thinks about what it truly means to live a meaningful life.He admitted that in his early 20s he got “caught up for the wrong reasons” in the entertainment industry. Now, as a father and in a committed relationship, it “puts things in perspective.”“At the end of the day, what it comes down to is what kind of person you are behind closed doors. That’s who you really are. I can say with certainty that Jimmy was that same guy behind closed doors and hopefully it inspires other people to practice what you preach, in a way,” he said.Apa added: “Because in a time where people like to capitalize on fame, and one opportunity, and they’re very quick to kind of forget about everything else in order to gain this thing that’s going to make them huge — this story kind of shows the opposite of what that looks like, to throw that away and be like I’m doing this because itʼs the right thing to do. It’s pretty cool. It’s the ultimate to me. It’s the ultimate story.”Karolyn Grimes, the actress who played ZuZu Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” recalled her time working alongside Stewart and called him “an angel on earth” and that the beloved American Christmas classic “was a gift to people.”She said she hopes viewers will “realize that there is kindness in this world and there is goodness. Sometimes you have to look for it, but it’s there.”“Jimmy was the epitome of kindness and he set such a wonderful example that I hope they could take that away from him and maybe make some changes in their lives to be more of a good Samaritan and to give of themselves more,” Grimes added. Karolyn Grimes, the actress who portrayed ZuZu Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” on the red carpet at the premiere of “Jimmy” in Fort Worth, Texas, on Nov. 4, 2026. | Credit: Francesca Fenton/EWTN News Screenshot Hien Papaian, the founder of the production studio behind the film, Papaian Studios, shared similar sentiments. She told EWTN News that she hopes viewers will see “the kindness and the love that exudes from every part of this movie. Again we can disagree, we can have differences, but we can love each other through that and still unite in kindness.”As for Stewart-Harcourt, she said she hopes viewers will come to see “how very honorable” her father was.“Jimmy” can be watched in theaters nationwide now. Veterans, active-duty military, first responders, and their families can receive free tickets to see the film. Instagram post
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New film ‘Jimmy’ explores the untold story of Jimmy Stewart’s WWII service and enduring faith – #Catholic – A piece of American history came to life at the Nov. 4 red carpet premiere of a new film called “Jimmy.” With music from the 1940s playing in the background, a military color guard paying tribute to legendary actor Jimmy Stewart, and a B-24 Liberator flying overhead, the evening in Dallas celebrated a side of Stewart that many don’t know: his service as a World War II bomber pilot.James “Jimmy” Stewart was a beloved American actor best known for his portrayal of George Bailey in the Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.” But at the height of his Hollywood career, Stewart put acting on hold to serve his country during World War II. The new film explores this transformative chapter of his life and how his wartime experiences would later influence his iconic portrayal of the family man from Bedford Falls.Stewart served in the military from 1941 to 1945, eventually deploying to England in 1943 as a heavy bomber pilot with the United States Army Air Forces. Assigned to the Eighth Air Force, he rose to become a squadron and group commander and flew the B-24 Liberator on 20 combat missions over occupied Europe, including raids on targets such as Berlin. He would later serve as a strategic bomber officer and attain the rank of brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.It was Stewart’s service to his country that inspired director Aaron Burns to create the new film. A military color guard pays tribute to actor and war veteran Jimmy Stewart at the red carpet premiere of the new film “Jimmy” in Fort Worth, Texas, on Nov. 4, 2026. | Credit: Francesca Fenton/EWTN News In an interview with EWTN News at the premiere of “Jimmy,” Burns shared that he grew up watching Stewart’s movies but he had “no idea that the life he lived was every bit as interesting — maybe even more so — than the films he made.”“I read an article that Jimmy wrote about this period of his life and how ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ was the first movie he made when he came back from serving in World War II,” he added. “And I had no idea that Jimmy was in a war and so it uncovered, for me, a whole new chapter to explore.”For Kelly Stewart-Harcourt — one of Stewart’s daughters — her initial reaction upon hearing someone wanted to make a biopic on her father was that it would be “boring because he had a scandal-free life.”“But then, when it was focused on this particular chapter of his life, then I started thinking more about it,” she said. “My biggest concern was, ‘Would dad approve?’ And I think, it doesn’t glorify war, it tells a really true story, and I think he would approve.”Stewart-Harcourt also recalled the role her father’s faith played in his life professionally as an actor, during his service, and as a father and husband.“Faith was very important to dad. He didn’t wear it on his sleeve. He was very quietly religious but he went to church every single Sunday … A few times, I would burst into the bedroom to tell him something, and it would be before he was going to bed, and he would be kneeling at the bed like a little boy saying his prayers.”She added that he often told her that his faith is what “gave him great strength and comfort.” Jimmy Stewart’s daughter, Kelly Stewart-Harcourt, and KJ Apa on the set of “Jimmy.” | Credit: Photo courtesy of Burns & Co. KJ Apa, the actor who portrays Stewart in the film, shared that taking on this role impacted the way in which he thinks about what it truly means to live a meaningful life.He admitted that in his early 20s he got “caught up for the wrong reasons” in the entertainment industry. Now, as a father and in a committed relationship, it “puts things in perspective.”“At the end of the day, what it comes down to is what kind of person you are behind closed doors. That’s who you really are. I can say with certainty that Jimmy was that same guy behind closed doors and hopefully it inspires other people to practice what you preach, in a way,” he said.Apa added: “Because in a time where people like to capitalize on fame, and one opportunity, and they’re very quick to kind of forget about everything else in order to gain this thing that’s going to make them huge — this story kind of shows the opposite of what that looks like, to throw that away and be like I’m doing this because itʼs the right thing to do. It’s pretty cool. It’s the ultimate to me. It’s the ultimate story.”Karolyn Grimes, the actress who played ZuZu Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” recalled her time working alongside Stewart and called him “an angel on earth” and that the beloved American Christmas classic “was a gift to people.”She said she hopes viewers will “realize that there is kindness in this world and there is goodness. Sometimes you have to look for it, but it’s there.”“Jimmy was the epitome of kindness and he set such a wonderful example that I hope they could take that away from him and maybe make some changes in their lives to be more of a good Samaritan and to give of themselves more,” Grimes added. Karolyn Grimes, the actress who portrayed ZuZu Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” on the red carpet at the premiere of “Jimmy” in Fort Worth, Texas, on Nov. 4, 2026. | Credit: Francesca Fenton/EWTN News Screenshot Hien Papaian, the founder of the production studio behind the film, Papaian Studios, shared similar sentiments. She told EWTN News that she hopes viewers will see “the kindness and the love that exudes from every part of this movie. Again we can disagree, we can have differences, but we can love each other through that and still unite in kindness.”As for Stewart-Harcourt, she said she hopes viewers will come to see “how very honorable” her father was.“Jimmy” can be watched in theaters nationwide now. Veterans, active-duty military, first responders, and their families can receive free tickets to see the film. Instagram post

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The movie explores the lesser-known story of Jimmy Stewart’s military service and the faith, humility, and kindness that shaped his life.

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Pope Leo in Uruguay: Protect life at all stages, provide universal healthcare – #Catholic – MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — Pope Leo XIV on Friday opened his first visit to South America as pope with a call to protect life from its beginning in the womb until its natural end and to guarantee healthcare for all members of society.The pope addressed Uruguay’s President Yamandú Orsi and other dignitaries in the country’s capital on the first day of an 11-day tour of the continent that will also take him to Argentina and Peru.“The unborn already belong to the human family and to the future of their people. Their absolute dependence on their mother does not diminish the dignity to which they are entitled or the protection they deserve,” Leo said.Though he did not directly mention euthanasia, which Uruguay legalized last year, the pope stressed the need to preserve life even in the midst of suffering.“Given the painful reality of suicide, it is clear that adequate healthcare, family ties, and the closeness of the community are inseparable. None should ever feel like a stranger among their own or think that their absence matters less than their presence,” Leo said. “It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that each person can live with dignity, receive the care they need, and be accompanied until the natural end of his or her life.”Euthanasia, the intentional ending of a human life in order to relieve suffering, is forbidden by Catholic teaching.The pope referred to his recent surgery for lung cancer, less than a month before his trip to South America, in his call for universal healthcare.“Recently I experienced firsthand the limitations imposed by illness and I received care for which I am deeply grateful. That experience makes me think of the many men and women who lack the means to obtain a timely diagnosis or receive the treatments they need. Ensuring that healthcare is accessible to everyone, regardless of their resources, is a duty that confronts every society,” Leo said.Uruguay is exceptional among Latin American countries for the extent of its state-provided social services. It is also one of the most secular countries in the region, where more than half the population does not identify with organized religion and the official state calendar refers to Holy Week as Tourism Week.Echoing remarks he made in September in France, whose model of secularism has historically influenced Uruguay, Leo called for religious believers and institutions to take part in public life.“The secular character of the state involves an obligation to ensure that there is room for believers and nonbelievers to live together in freedom and respect. This neutrality does not require that the religious dimension be confined to the private sphere,” the pope said. “Individuals and religious communities can contribute to the common good while respecting the autonomy of civil institutions.” Pope Leo XIV participates in vespers at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and Sts. Philip and James in Montevideo, Uruguay, Nov. 6, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Leo also took up the theme of Uruguay’s secularism in his second and final speech of the day, a homily at a vespers service in the city’s cathedral with bishops, clergy, religious, and seminarians. The pope said the example of a Christian minority was especially important in evangelizing the society around them.“One of the secrets of evangelization is to resemble the One whom we proclaim. In this land, where many of our contemporaries barely know Jesus Christ and so many young people have grown up far from the life of the Church, that witness has a special power. May the way we look at others, the way we listen, or the way we reach out to those who suffer prompt them to ask about the origins of that love. When we speak to them of Jesus, may they discover the very Lord whose goodness they have begun to experience, despite our own poverty,” the pope said.This story was updated at 6:42 p.m. ET on Nov. 6, 2026, with his speech at vespers.
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Pope Leo in Uruguay: Protect life at all stages, provide universal healthcare – #Catholic – MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — Pope Leo XIV on Friday opened his first visit to South America as pope with a call to protect life from its beginning in the womb until its natural end and to guarantee healthcare for all members of society.The pope addressed Uruguay’s President Yamandú Orsi and other dignitaries in the country’s capital on the first day of an 11-day tour of the continent that will also take him to Argentina and Peru.“The unborn already belong to the human family and to the future of their people. Their absolute dependence on their mother does not diminish the dignity to which they are entitled or the protection they deserve,” Leo said.Though he did not directly mention euthanasia, which Uruguay legalized last year, the pope stressed the need to preserve life even in the midst of suffering.“Given the painful reality of suicide, it is clear that adequate healthcare, family ties, and the closeness of the community are inseparable. None should ever feel like a stranger among their own or think that their absence matters less than their presence,” Leo said. “It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that each person can live with dignity, receive the care they need, and be accompanied until the natural end of his or her life.”Euthanasia, the intentional ending of a human life in order to relieve suffering, is forbidden by Catholic teaching.The pope referred to his recent surgery for lung cancer, less than a month before his trip to South America, in his call for universal healthcare.“Recently I experienced firsthand the limitations imposed by illness and I received care for which I am deeply grateful. That experience makes me think of the many men and women who lack the means to obtain a timely diagnosis or receive the treatments they need. Ensuring that healthcare is accessible to everyone, regardless of their resources, is a duty that confronts every society,” Leo said.Uruguay is exceptional among Latin American countries for the extent of its state-provided social services. It is also one of the most secular countries in the region, where more than half the population does not identify with organized religion and the official state calendar refers to Holy Week as Tourism Week.Echoing remarks he made in September in France, whose model of secularism has historically influenced Uruguay, Leo called for religious believers and institutions to take part in public life.“The secular character of the state involves an obligation to ensure that there is room for believers and nonbelievers to live together in freedom and respect. This neutrality does not require that the religious dimension be confined to the private sphere,” the pope said. “Individuals and religious communities can contribute to the common good while respecting the autonomy of civil institutions.” Pope Leo XIV participates in vespers at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and Sts. Philip and James in Montevideo, Uruguay, Nov. 6, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Leo also took up the theme of Uruguay’s secularism in his second and final speech of the day, a homily at a vespers service in the city’s cathedral with bishops, clergy, religious, and seminarians. The pope said the example of a Christian minority was especially important in evangelizing the society around them.“One of the secrets of evangelization is to resemble the One whom we proclaim. In this land, where many of our contemporaries barely know Jesus Christ and so many young people have grown up far from the life of the Church, that witness has a special power. May the way we look at others, the way we listen, or the way we reach out to those who suffer prompt them to ask about the origins of that love. When we speak to them of Jesus, may they discover the very Lord whose goodness they have begun to experience, despite our own poverty,” the pope said.This story was updated at 6:42 p.m. ET on Nov. 6, 2026, with his speech at vespers.

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The pontiff’s speech referred to his own recent cancer surgery.

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Exit polling shows Catholics almost evenly split between Democrats, Republicans in 2026 midterms – #Catholic – Catholics voted about equally for Democrats and Republicans in the 2026 midterms, exit polls show, with Catholic voters shifting their alignment from 2024 to help propel Democratic politicians to their historic victories on Nov. 3. Exit polling data released by NBC News shows the Catholic vote almost equally split between Democratic and Republican politicians this year, with the network reporting 50% of Catholic voters choosing Democrats and 49% choosing Republicans. The even split marks a notable departure from the 2024 presidential election, which saw just 39% of Catholic voters casting ballots for Democrat Kamala Harris and 59% of them voting for Republican Donald Trump, according to NBC data from that year.Andrew Chestnut, the Bishop Walter F. Sullivan chair in Catholic studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, told EWTN News that the results represent a “notable shift” from 2024, though “it remains to be seen whether this represents a lasting political realignment.”He noted that a closer read of polling data reveals a more nuanced view of the Catholic voting bloc. “The preliminary exit polls underscore the considerable diversity of American Catholicism, with 56% of white Catholics voting Republican compared with 65% of Hispanic Catholics who favored Democrats,” he said. “Equally noteworthy is the generational divide, with 65% of Catholics under 29 voting Democratic,” he said, though he pointed out that “younger voters' preferences do not necessarily predict their political allegiances later in life.”The stronger Latino Catholic vote for Democrats likely reflects a response to Trump’s hard-line immigration policies, Chestnut said. The president’s public criticism of Pope Leo XIV earlier in the year “could also have influenced some voters,” he noted, though “the extent of either effect is difficult to establish.” Though the Catholic vote in the midterms broke markedly from 2024, the 2026 numbers are similar to other recent elections in which NBC obtained exit polling data. Exit polling in 2016 showed 46% of Catholics voting for Hillary Clinton that year and 50% voting for Trump, while in 2020 Catholics voted for Democrat Joe Biden over Trump by a 52% to 47% margin. Though Catholics were evenly divided between both major parties in 2026, other religions broke heavily for Democrats, according to the exit poll data. Muslim voters reported voting Democratic 86% of the time, according to the network’s data, while 68% of Jewish voters cast Democratic ballots. Those who identified their religious affiliation as “none,” meanwhile, were 78% in favor of Democrats, with just 20% voting Republican. Chestnut said high Democratic support from “nones” reflects the “growing electoral significance of religiously unaffiliated Americans,” while high Muslim support “point[s] to the diversity of the partyʼs religious coalition.”Regarding the Catholic vote, meanwhile, “ultimately, the results reinforce the importance of Catholics as a potentially pivotal constituency whose voting patterns reflect differences in ethnicity, generation, and political outlook, rather than any unified Catholic political identity,” he said.
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Exit polling shows Catholics almost evenly split between Democrats, Republicans in 2026 midterms – #Catholic – Catholics voted about equally for Democrats and Republicans in the 2026 midterms, exit polls show, with Catholic voters shifting their alignment from 2024 to help propel Democratic politicians to their historic victories on Nov. 3. Exit polling data released by NBC News shows the Catholic vote almost equally split between Democratic and Republican politicians this year, with the network reporting 50% of Catholic voters choosing Democrats and 49% choosing Republicans. The even split marks a notable departure from the 2024 presidential election, which saw just 39% of Catholic voters casting ballots for Democrat Kamala Harris and 59% of them voting for Republican Donald Trump, according to NBC data from that year.Andrew Chestnut, the Bishop Walter F. Sullivan chair in Catholic studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, told EWTN News that the results represent a “notable shift” from 2024, though “it remains to be seen whether this represents a lasting political realignment.”He noted that a closer read of polling data reveals a more nuanced view of the Catholic voting bloc. “The preliminary exit polls underscore the considerable diversity of American Catholicism, with 56% of white Catholics voting Republican compared with 65% of Hispanic Catholics who favored Democrats,” he said. “Equally noteworthy is the generational divide, with 65% of Catholics under 29 voting Democratic,” he said, though he pointed out that “younger voters' preferences do not necessarily predict their political allegiances later in life.”The stronger Latino Catholic vote for Democrats likely reflects a response to Trump’s hard-line immigration policies, Chestnut said. The president’s public criticism of Pope Leo XIV earlier in the year “could also have influenced some voters,” he noted, though “the extent of either effect is difficult to establish.” Though the Catholic vote in the midterms broke markedly from 2024, the 2026 numbers are similar to other recent elections in which NBC obtained exit polling data. Exit polling in 2016 showed 46% of Catholics voting for Hillary Clinton that year and 50% voting for Trump, while in 2020 Catholics voted for Democrat Joe Biden over Trump by a 52% to 47% margin. Though Catholics were evenly divided between both major parties in 2026, other religions broke heavily for Democrats, according to the exit poll data. Muslim voters reported voting Democratic 86% of the time, according to the network’s data, while 68% of Jewish voters cast Democratic ballots. Those who identified their religious affiliation as “none,” meanwhile, were 78% in favor of Democrats, with just 20% voting Republican. Chestnut said high Democratic support from “nones” reflects the “growing electoral significance of religiously unaffiliated Americans,” while high Muslim support “point[s] to the diversity of the partyʼs religious coalition.”Regarding the Catholic vote, meanwhile, “ultimately, the results reinforce the importance of Catholics as a potentially pivotal constituency whose voting patterns reflect differences in ethnicity, generation, and political outlook, rather than any unified Catholic political identity,” he said.

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Muslim and Jewish voters, along with the nonreligious, voted overwhelmingly for Democrats, according to polls.

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Newsom Clears Murderers Out Of Death Row To Make Room For People Caught With Plastic Straws #BabylonBee – SACRAMENTO, CA — California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Thursday granting immediate clemency to all 548 inmates currently residing on the state’s death row to make room in prisons for people who use plastic straws.
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Newsom Clears Murderers Out Of Death Row To Make Room For People Caught With Plastic Straws #BabylonBee – SACRAMENTO, CA — California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Thursday granting immediate clemency to all 548 inmates currently residing on the state’s death row to make room in prisons for people who use plastic straws.

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SACRAMENTO, CA — California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Thursday granting immediate clemency to all 548 inmates currently residing on the state’s death row to make room in prisons for people who use plastic straws.

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Nov. 6, 1919: Einstein is right

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The earliest test of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity took place just four years after he published it. During the May 29, 1919, total solar eclipse, British astronomer Sir Arthur Eddington and colleagues studied the theory by measuring how the Sun distorts light from background stars. According to general relativity, any object with massContinue reading “Nov. 6, 1919: Einstein is right”

The post Nov. 6, 1919: Einstein is right appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

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The Sky This Week from November 6 to 13: Venus in the spotlight

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Friday, November 6The waning Moon leaves us with perfect skies for deep-sky observing. Let’s kick off the week with a bright planetary nebula in Aquarius: NGC 7293, commonly known as the Helix Nebula.  Despite its impressive magnitude of 7.3, the Helix presents a challenge: It is a broad 13’ across, which spreads its light overContinue reading “The Sky This Week from November 6 to 13: Venus in the spotlight”

The post The Sky This Week from November 6 to 13: Venus in the spotlight appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

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Gospel and Word of the Day – 6 November 2026 – A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians 3:17—4:1 Join with others in being imitators of me, brothers and sisters,  and observe those who thus conduct themselves  according to the model you have in us. For many, as I have often told you  and now tell you even in tears,  conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction. Their God is their stomach;  their glory is in their “shame.” Their minds are occupied with earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven,  and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified Body  by the power that enables him also  to bring all things into subjection to himself. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown,  in this way stand firm in the Lord, beloved.  From the Gospel according to Luke 16:1-8 Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. He summoned him and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.’ The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.’ He called in his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’ Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred measures of wheat.’   He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.’ And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the children of light.”In the story we see a steward summoned by the rich man for “an accounting” of his management. Here we are presented with an image that conveys something important: we are not the masters of our lives or of the goods we enjoy; everything has been given to us as a gift by the Lord, who has entrusted this to our care, our freedom, and our responsibility. One day we will be called to give an account of how we have managed ourselves, our possessions and the earth’s resources – before both God and humankind, before society, and especially before those who will come after us. (…) Taking his cue from the story, Jesus exhorts us: “Make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes” (v. 9). Indeed, the steward in the parable, even while managing the dishonest wealth of this world, succeeds in finding a way to make friends, leaving behind the solitude of his own selfishness.  How much more, then, must we, who are disciples living in the light of the Gospel, use the goods of this world and our very lives with a view to the true wealth, which is friendship with the Lord and with our brothers and sisters. (Pope Leo XIV, Angelus, 21 September 2025)

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A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians
3:17—4:1

Join with others in being imitators of me, brothers and sisters, 
and observe those who thus conduct themselves 
according to the model you have in us.
For many, as I have often told you 
and now tell you even in tears, 
conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Their end is destruction.
Their God is their stomach; 
their glory is in their “shame.”
Their minds are occupied with earthly things.
But our citizenship is in heaven, 
and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will change our lowly body
to conform with his glorified Body 
by the power that enables him also 
to bring all things into subjection to himself.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters,
whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, 
in this way stand firm in the Lord, beloved.  

From the Gospel according to Luke
16:1-8

Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward
who was reported to him for squandering his property.
He summoned him and said,
‘What is this I hear about you?
Prepare a full account of your stewardship,
because you can no longer be my steward.’
The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do,
now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?
I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.
I know what I shall do so that,
when I am removed from the stewardship,
they may welcome me into their homes.’
He called in his master’s debtors one by one.
To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’
He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note.
Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’
Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’
He replied, ‘One hundred measures of wheat.’  
He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note;
write one for eighty.’
And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.
For the children of this world
are more prudent in dealing with their own generation
than the children of light.”

In the story we see a steward summoned by the rich man for “an accounting” of his management. Here we are presented with an image that conveys something important: we are not the masters of our lives or of the goods we enjoy; everything has been given to us as a gift by the Lord, who has entrusted this to our care, our freedom, and our responsibility. One day we will be called to give an account of how we have managed ourselves, our possessions and the earth’s resources – before both God and humankind, before society, and especially before those who will come after us. (…)

Taking his cue from the story, Jesus exhorts us: “Make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes” (v. 9).

Indeed, the steward in the parable, even while managing the dishonest wealth of this world, succeeds in finding a way to make friends, leaving behind the solitude of his own selfishness.  How much more, then, must we, who are disciples living in the light of the Gospel, use the goods of this world and our very lives with a view to the true wealth, which is friendship with the Lord and with our brothers and sisters. (Pope Leo XIV, Angelus, 21 September 2025)

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Catholic group praises California for ‘largest commutation in history’ as hundreds spared execution #Catholic The prominent anti-death penalty group Catholic Mobilizing Network praised California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Nov. 5 for his commutation of the death sentences of every prisoner on the state’s death row. In a publicly released letter, Newsom said he had “decided to exercise [his] constitutional clemency authority to commute all California death sentences to life without the possibility of parole.”The Democratic governor, who identifies as Catholic, said in the letter that he had come to “firmly believe that state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values,” that it “undermines the foundations of our legal system,” and that it “diminishes each of us.” The governor described life in prison without parole as “the most severe punishment I can lawfully impose.” The convicted criminals “will die in prison but not by our hand,” he said. The commutation covered all 548 prisoners condemned to death in the state. Newsom’s executive order in 2019 ensured executions would not occur while he remained governor.Responding to the news on Nov. 5, Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, executive director of Catholic Mobilizing Network, called the decision “an incredibly encouraging and historic witness for life and human dignity.” She described the order as “the largest commutation in world history.”The Catholic group regularly advocates death sentence commutations and the national abolition of the death penalty itself. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states bluntly that the death penalty is “inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.”Vaillancourt Murphy in her statement said the mass clemency “demonstrates how justice can be rooted in mercy and restoration instead of death and retribution.”Newsom “has given each of [the condemned criminals] a tangible sign of hope and a chance for rehabilitation,” she said.The decision “underscores the sacred value” of the lives of the prisoners, she said, though she stressed the need to “bear witness to the incomparable suffering that the families and loved ones of murder victims endure.” “We hear the cry for justice and accountability that grave harm rightly deserves, and we continue to hold them in prayer,” Vaillancourt Murphy said. Newsom in his statement noted that the state Supreme Court will have to weigh in on some of the commutations according to the state constitution, though the governor said he was “confident that this act of categorical clemency” was in line with state law.
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Catholic group praises California for ‘largest commutation in history’ as hundreds spared execution #Catholic The prominent anti-death penalty group Catholic Mobilizing Network praised California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Nov. 5 for his commutation of the death sentences of every prisoner on the state’s death row. In a publicly released letter, Newsom said he had “decided to exercise [his] constitutional clemency authority to commute all California death sentences to life without the possibility of parole.”The Democratic governor, who identifies as Catholic, said in the letter that he had come to “firmly believe that state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values,” that it “undermines the foundations of our legal system,” and that it “diminishes each of us.” The governor described life in prison without parole as “the most severe punishment I can lawfully impose.” The convicted criminals “will die in prison but not by our hand,” he said. The commutation covered all 548 prisoners condemned to death in the state. Newsom’s executive order in 2019 ensured executions would not occur while he remained governor.Responding to the news on Nov. 5, Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, executive director of Catholic Mobilizing Network, called the decision “an incredibly encouraging and historic witness for life and human dignity.” She described the order as “the largest commutation in world history.”The Catholic group regularly advocates death sentence commutations and the national abolition of the death penalty itself. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states bluntly that the death penalty is “inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.”Vaillancourt Murphy in her statement said the mass clemency “demonstrates how justice can be rooted in mercy and restoration instead of death and retribution.”Newsom “has given each of [the condemned criminals] a tangible sign of hope and a chance for rehabilitation,” she said.The decision “underscores the sacred value” of the lives of the prisoners, she said, though she stressed the need to “bear witness to the incomparable suffering that the families and loved ones of murder victims endure.” “We hear the cry for justice and accountability that grave harm rightly deserves, and we continue to hold them in prayer,” Vaillancourt Murphy said. Newsom in his statement noted that the state Supreme Court will have to weigh in on some of the commutations according to the state constitution, though the governor said he was “confident that this act of categorical clemency” was in line with state law.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom commuted the death sentences of nearly 550 prisoners on the state’s death row on Nov. 5.

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Texas bishops congratulate Democratic winners, reaffirm pro-life and family agenda #Catholic After Democrats won every major statewide office in Tuesday’s midterm elections and gained a majority in the Texas House of Representatives, Texas’ Catholic bishops offered prayers for the winners and continued to emphasize public policy priorities aligned with Catholic social teaching.In a Nov. 5 message, the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops congratulated the winners, telling them that the bishops are praying “that God grants them wisdom as they take on the responsibilities of public office.”The bishops reiterated their legislative priorities in a previously finalized agenda: “As we look ahead to the 90th Texas Legislative Session, the principles of Catholic social and moral teaching that guide our work remain unchanged,” the bishops wrote. They said they will continue to advocate for policies that “uphold human dignity, strengthen families, care for the vulnerable and creation, and promote the common good.”In the agenda, the bishops stated: “Human life is intrinsically valuable and should be protected by law from conception, which happens at fertilization, to natural death. Moreover, the natural family is the sanctuary of life in which parents teach children how they ought to live.”Specific policy positions the bishops took in their legislative agenda include supporting funding for abortion alternatives and assistance for parents (including kinship, foster, and adoptive families); opposing euthanasia, in vitro fertilization, and surrogacy; and opposing “the advancement of gender ideology, especially in places where young people are affected.” They also promoted safeguards for “the inviolable dignity of the human person through the ethical development of Artificial Intelligence (AI)” and reasonable steps to address gun-related violence.The bishops stated they continue to oppose “efforts to weaken the protection of unborn human life.”Newly elected attorney general says he won’t enforce Texas abortion lawsThese stances come as the incoming Democratic administration is expected to pursue pro-abortion measures. Attorney general-elect and pro-abortion Democrat Nathan Johnson has already said he will not continue outgoing Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuits against out-of-state providers who have illegally mailed abortion pills into Texas, saying he will respect other states’ shield laws but will not enforce Texas’ pro-life laws.John Seago, president of Texas Right to Life, a Christian pro-life advocacy group, called Johnson’s position “absolutely ridiculous.”“His new job as attorney general is to enforce the laws of Texas, regardless of his personal feelings about them,” Seago told EWTN News.“The abortion pill trafficking enables abusive men that are ordering pills from other states and sneaking them into the drinks of Texas mothers,” he said. “Nathan Johnson is taking a position that he will defend an industry that enables this type of assault on Texas’ pregnant women.”Johnson did not respond to a request for comment from EWTN News by the time of publication.‘Remain engaged in civic life’Separately, Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio issued his own postelection statement. He recalled the U.S. bishops’ preelection call for Catholics to place faith before politics and noted that Pope Leo XIV cast a mail-in ballot from the Vatican.The archbishop highlighted issues the Holy Father has emphasized: “protecting human life; protecting religious freedom and human rights; promoting the family; upholding the human dignity of all, including migrants and prisoners; and also promoting political dialogue and building consensus, so that we may find common ground among our diversity.”“Following [Tuesday’s] election results, I strongly encourage all to remain actively engaged in civic life,” García-Siller wrote. “Let us further the Biblical values of the Kingdom. We do not need more division after a particularly bruising campaign season, but rather, we need unity to be fostered in order to move forward in freedom to discuss difficult topics more deeply in light of the Gospel.”He ended his statement with prayers for peace and for all officeholders to receive “wisdom and discernment from the Holy Spirit,” invoking Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas and of the archdiocese, to help “build up a civilization of love.”Republicans retained control of the Texas Senate, a fact noted by some pro-life advocates as a potential check on legislative changes.
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Texas bishops congratulate Democratic winners, reaffirm pro-life and family agenda #Catholic After Democrats won every major statewide office in Tuesday’s midterm elections and gained a majority in the Texas House of Representatives, Texas’ Catholic bishops offered prayers for the winners and continued to emphasize public policy priorities aligned with Catholic social teaching.In a Nov. 5 message, the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops congratulated the winners, telling them that the bishops are praying “that God grants them wisdom as they take on the responsibilities of public office.”The bishops reiterated their legislative priorities in a previously finalized agenda: “As we look ahead to the 90th Texas Legislative Session, the principles of Catholic social and moral teaching that guide our work remain unchanged,” the bishops wrote. They said they will continue to advocate for policies that “uphold human dignity, strengthen families, care for the vulnerable and creation, and promote the common good.”In the agenda, the bishops stated: “Human life is intrinsically valuable and should be protected by law from conception, which happens at fertilization, to natural death. Moreover, the natural family is the sanctuary of life in which parents teach children how they ought to live.”Specific policy positions the bishops took in their legislative agenda include supporting funding for abortion alternatives and assistance for parents (including kinship, foster, and adoptive families); opposing euthanasia, in vitro fertilization, and surrogacy; and opposing “the advancement of gender ideology, especially in places where young people are affected.” They also promoted safeguards for “the inviolable dignity of the human person through the ethical development of Artificial Intelligence (AI)” and reasonable steps to address gun-related violence.The bishops stated they continue to oppose “efforts to weaken the protection of unborn human life.”Newly elected attorney general says he won’t enforce Texas abortion lawsThese stances come as the incoming Democratic administration is expected to pursue pro-abortion measures. Attorney general-elect and pro-abortion Democrat Nathan Johnson has already said he will not continue outgoing Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuits against out-of-state providers who have illegally mailed abortion pills into Texas, saying he will respect other states’ shield laws but will not enforce Texas’ pro-life laws.John Seago, president of Texas Right to Life, a Christian pro-life advocacy group, called Johnson’s position “absolutely ridiculous.”“His new job as attorney general is to enforce the laws of Texas, regardless of his personal feelings about them,” Seago told EWTN News.“The abortion pill trafficking enables abusive men that are ordering pills from other states and sneaking them into the drinks of Texas mothers,” he said. “Nathan Johnson is taking a position that he will defend an industry that enables this type of assault on Texas’ pregnant women.”Johnson did not respond to a request for comment from EWTN News by the time of publication.‘Remain engaged in civic life’Separately, Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio issued his own postelection statement. He recalled the U.S. bishops’ preelection call for Catholics to place faith before politics and noted that Pope Leo XIV cast a mail-in ballot from the Vatican.The archbishop highlighted issues the Holy Father has emphasized: “protecting human life; protecting religious freedom and human rights; promoting the family; upholding the human dignity of all, including migrants and prisoners; and also promoting political dialogue and building consensus, so that we may find common ground among our diversity.”“Following [Tuesday’s] election results, I strongly encourage all to remain actively engaged in civic life,” García-Siller wrote. “Let us further the Biblical values of the Kingdom. We do not need more division after a particularly bruising campaign season, but rather, we need unity to be fostered in order to move forward in freedom to discuss difficult topics more deeply in light of the Gospel.”He ended his statement with prayers for peace and for all officeholders to receive “wisdom and discernment from the Holy Spirit,” invoking Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas and of the archdiocese, to help “build up a civilization of love.”Republicans retained control of the Texas Senate, a fact noted by some pro-life advocates as a potential check on legislative changes.

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Texas’ Catholic bishops congratulated Democratic winners, who won every top office statewide, and prayed for their wisdom while reaffirming that Catholic principles remain unchanged.

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Justice Department Launches Criminal Investigation Into SCOTUS Dobbs Leak – The Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into the Dobbs Roe v. The post Justice Department Launches Criminal Investigation Into SCOTUS Dobbs Leak appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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Justice Department Launches Criminal Investigation Into SCOTUS Dobbs Leak – The Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into the Dobbs Roe v. The post Justice Department Launches Criminal Investigation Into SCOTUS Dobbs Leak appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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The Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into the Dobbs Roe v.

The post Justice Department Launches Criminal Investigation Into SCOTUS Dobbs Leak appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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WAYNE ROOT: Something Smells Rotten in Texas. And Kansas. And Mississippi. And Everywhere Else Too. Was This a 2020 Rigged Election All Over Again? Here are a Few Simple Questions About This Midterm Election. – By Wayne Allyn Root So, let’s ask a few simple questions. The post WAYNE ROOT: Something Smells Rotten in Texas. And Kansas. And Mississippi. And Everywhere Else Too. Was This a 2020 Rigged Election All Over Again? Here are a Few Simple Questions About This Midterm Election. appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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WAYNE ROOT: Something Smells Rotten in Texas. And Kansas. And Mississippi. And Everywhere Else Too. Was This a 2020 Rigged Election All Over Again? Here are a Few Simple Questions About This Midterm Election. – By Wayne Allyn Root So, let’s ask a few simple questions. The post WAYNE ROOT: Something Smells Rotten in Texas. And Kansas. And Mississippi. And Everywhere Else Too. Was This a 2020 Rigged Election All Over Again? Here are a Few Simple Questions About This Midterm Election. appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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By Wayne Allyn Root So, let’s ask a few simple questions.

The post WAYNE ROOT: Something Smells Rotten in Texas. And Kansas. And Mississippi. And Everywhere Else Too. Was This a 2020 Rigged Election All Over Again? Here are a Few Simple Questions About This Midterm Election. appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Vaticano: El Papa León, ‘entusiasmado’ y ‘clínicamente apto’ para su ajetreado viaje de regreso a América Latina #Catholic – (OSV News) — El Papa León XIV, quien viajará a Sudamérica poco más de tres semanas después de someterse a una cirugía por cáncer de pulmón, está “personalmente entusiasmado con este viaje” y contará con “la asistencia médica habitual”, confirmaron portavoces del Vaticano durante una rueda de prensa celebrada el 3 de noviembre en la Oficina de Prensa del Vaticano. El viaje, del 6 al 17 de noviembre, será la primera visita papal a América Latina del pontificado del Papa León. A lo largo de 12 días, celebrará nueve misas públicas, visitará siete catedrales y presidirá dos vigilias de oración en estadios. Matteo Bruni, director de la Oficina de Prensa de la Santa Sede, dijo que el Papa pronunciará “alrededor de 36 discursos” durante el viaje. María Montserrat Alvarado, quien asumió su cargo como prefecta del Dicasterio para la Comunicación el 1 de noviembre, dijo a los periodistas que “él les va a dar mucho material improvisado con el que trabajar” –algo que, señaló, es “hermoso”, ya que “él quiere compartir su corazón y nosotros queremos ayudarlo a hacerlo”. Para suscribirse a nuestro boletín electrónico semanal, haga click aquí. El Papa, dijo, “revelará su corazón en un lenguaje que le sea propio”, tal como lo hizo en España. “Lo verán de nuevo, pero de una manera totalmente diferente, porque conoce estas calles”. El Papa León llegó por primera vez a Perú en 1985 y la labor misionera moldeó su visión de la Iglesia universal. Allí fue nombrado obispo y allí experimentó los desafíos y las alegrías de pastorear a su rebaño. El Papa León está en condiciones de emprender el viaje sin necesidad de equipo especial En su primera intervención ante los periodistas, durante una conferencia de prensa tras asumir su cargo como la primera mujer laica en ocupar el puesto de prefecta de un dicasterio vaticano, Alvarado dijo que el Papa está “emocionado” ante el viaje más largo de su pontificado hasta la fecha, y que “confirmó que el viaje se realizaría sin cambios”, agregando que él está “agradecido” por las oraciones y la preocupación por su salud. “Cuando escucha esos mensajes de preocupación, las preguntas sobre los médicos, lo único que percibe es el amor de la gente y la esperanza que tienen en lo que este viaje traerá”, dijo Alvarado. Durante la rueda de prensa del 3 de noviembre, los periodistas preguntaron repetidamente sobre los retos para la salud que suponen los cambios de altitud y los vuelos en helicóptero a la región de los Andes para el Papa, aproximadamente un mes después de que cirujanos le extirparan parte de un pulmón durante la cirugía del 13 de octubre. Bruni confirmó que “no se está utilizando ninguna adaptación ni equipo especial” desde el punto de vista médico y que “el Papa fue bastante claro” en su comunicado del 26 de octubre al indicar que “el plan sigue siendo el mismo” y que no se prevén cambios en el itinerario inicial debido a su reciente hospitalización. La naturaleza de la cirugía, dijo Bruni, es que “no produce una limitación permanente”, y agregó que al Papa Francisco le faltaba parte de un pulmón y que viajaba sin inconvenientes. “¿Se necesitaron medidas médicas especiales para esos viajes? Tomemos como ejemplo nuestro viaje a Tierra Santa: concentramos los eventos de una semana en solo tres días. Es una condición que permite llevar una vida normal sin necesidad de precauciones especiales”, dijo Bruni. “Si algo cambia, me aseguraré de avisarles, pero tal como están las cosas –según lo que nos han dicho los médicos– no se requiere ningún tratamiento, y él está clínicamente apto para realizar este viaje”, dijo el director de prensa. Por su parte, Alvarado mencionó la Misa de los Difuntos del 2 de noviembre en el Cementerio de Campo Verano: “No sé si todos vieron la Misa de ayer. Su resistencia es fantástica”, señaló. “La forma en que canta es increíble. Y solo se puede cantar si los pulmones son realmente fuertes”, dijo Alvarado, y agregó que el Papa “ya había superado el período de recuperación necesario”. Sus médicos, dijo ella, “están muy seguros y dispondrá de atención médica adecuada a bordo en caso de que suceda algo. Pero no vemos eso en su pronóstico, por la forma en que se está comportando”. El viaje a América Latina comienza el 6 de noviembre con un vuelo de más de 14 horas y 6.900 millas desde Roma a Montevideo, Uruguay. El vuelo de regreso desde Lima, Perú, a Roma cubre 6.700 millas. Entre tanto, el Papa viajará a un nuevo destino casi todos los días, incluyendo un vuelo de 2.200 millas de Buenos Aires a Lima y un vuelo en helicóptero militar el 14 de noviembre hacia la localidad andina de Santa Cruz de Succhabamba, en Perú. A modo de comparación, el Papa León recorrió 11.000 millas en 11 días durante su viaje a Argelia, Camerún, Angola y Guinea Ecuatorial a principios de este año. El viaje a América Latina culmina con un regreso a Chiclayo, Perú, donde se desempeñó como obispo de 2015 a 2023. El Papa León regresa a casa con un mensaje de paz Al ser preguntado sobre los objetivos del viaje, Alvarado dijo que hay “dos aspectos realmente importantes de lo que él quiere que sea este viaje”. En primer lugar, está el regreso a América Latina de un Papa con ciudadanía peruana. “Él lo siente muy profundamente”, señaló, ya que “este es un lugar donde desarrolló su ministerio y lo forjó como pastor”. Dijo que el continente le enseñó al Papa “su manera de entender el encuentro y las… diversas necesidades de la Iglesia” y “le abrió los ojos de una manera nueva y diferente”. Al tomar su teléfono, Alvarado leyó el segundo objetivo y lo que, según ella, el Papa le pidió que compartiera con los periodistas: ayudar a “compartir su mensaje de paz y encuentro con el mundo”, algo que, según señaló, “se expresa en América Latina a través de su diversidad de pueblos y culturas”. Sanación, paz y diálogo: elementos importantes del viaje Dijo que el Papa espera “que todos puedan ver la importancia del encuentro, para la sanación y para la paz, y por qué el diálogo es tan importante, y que los distintos elementos del viaje realmente contribuyan a hacerlo realidad”. El Papa León comenzará su viaje en Uruguay, el país más secularizado de América Latina. Allí su recorrido lo llevará ante una pequeña imagen mariana que el proceso de secularización de Uruguay nunca pudo separar por completo de la identidad nacional del país: la Virgen de los Treinta y Tres. En Argentina, adonde llegará el 8 de noviembre, enfrentará el desafío de visitar la patria del pontífice argentino, el Papa Francisco –quien nunca visitó su patria como Papa– y un país que el arzobispo de Buenos Aires, Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva, describió recientemente como “una Argentina herida, una Argentina dividida”. En Perú, visitará Lima, Chiclayo, Santa Cruz de Succhabamba y Cusco en los Andes, así como Pucallpa en la Amazonía, sin pasar por Chulucanas ni Trujillo, donde se desempeñó como misionero. Bruni señaló que, si bien el programa del viaje incluye “algunos elementos de la historia personal del Papa”, también es “una oportunidad para llegar a esos lugares a los que normalmente no se llega”, lo que le brinda al Papa la oportunidad de “seguir los pasos de aquellos misioneros que quisieron llegar a lugares donde Cristo no había sido llevado antes”, expresando así un sentimiento “de gratitud hacia la enorme labor que se realizó en los inicios del cristianismo en América Latina”. “Se nota este equilibrio entre Prevost y el Papa León XIV” en el itinerario del viaje, señaló Alvarado, refiriéndose al apellido de nacimiento del Papa. “Él pertenece al mundo. Y por mucho que su corazón esté en ciertos lugares de Perú, también debe cumplir con los deberes pastorales de reunirse con las personas que dirigen estos países y que lo han invitado a visitarlos”, dijo, y agregó que “hay un verdadero equilibrio entre los lugares a los que le encantaría ir… y los deberes que debe cumplir como Santo Padre”. El primer viaje oficial de Alvarado en la comitiva papal Al ser preguntada sobre sus propias emociones antes del primer viaje oficial con el Papa, dijo: “Es un honor y un privilegio increíbles formar parte de su comitiva”. “Es increíblemente emotivo pensar en un viaje que nos va a revelar tanto sobre su corazón”, dijo. Refiriéndose a una de las preguntas anteriores sobre Uruguay –el país más secularizado del itinerario del viaje apostólico–, Alvarado dijo: “¿Por qué no? Todos necesitan escuchar el mensaje de Jesucristo, y eso es parte de quién es el Papa León”. Dijo que el pontífice “entiende que no solo va a hablar con los países y sus representantes, sino que va a encontrarse con la gente, a llegar a sus corazones y, con suerte, a inspirarlos a volver a buscar aquellos lugares donde la Iglesia tuvo una gran presencia y ahora es pequeña” y a “reconsiderar”. “Eso forma parte en gran medida de lo que siento en mi corazón y es la razón por la que acepté este trabajo”. Paulina Guzik es editora internacional de OSV News. Síguela en X @Guzik_Paulina.
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Vaticano: El Papa León, ‘entusiasmado’ y ‘clínicamente apto’ para su ajetreado viaje de regreso a América Latina #Catholic – (OSV News) — El Papa León XIV, quien viajará a Sudamérica poco más de tres semanas después de someterse a una cirugía por cáncer de pulmón, está “personalmente entusiasmado con este viaje” y contará con “la asistencia médica habitual”, confirmaron portavoces del Vaticano durante una rueda de prensa celebrada el 3 de noviembre en la Oficina de Prensa del Vaticano. El viaje, del 6 al 17 de noviembre, será la primera visita papal a América Latina del pontificado del Papa León. A lo largo de 12 días, celebrará nueve misas públicas, visitará siete catedrales y presidirá dos vigilias de oración en estadios. Matteo Bruni, director de la Oficina de Prensa de la Santa Sede, dijo que el Papa pronunciará “alrededor de 36 discursos” durante el viaje. María Montserrat Alvarado, quien asumió su cargo como prefecta del Dicasterio para la Comunicación el 1 de noviembre, dijo a los periodistas que “él les va a dar mucho material improvisado con el que trabajar” –algo que, señaló, es “hermoso”, ya que “él quiere compartir su corazón y nosotros queremos ayudarlo a hacerlo”. Para suscribirse a nuestro boletín electrónico semanal, haga click aquí. El Papa, dijo, “revelará su corazón en un lenguaje que le sea propio”, tal como lo hizo en España. “Lo verán de nuevo, pero de una manera totalmente diferente, porque conoce estas calles”. El Papa León llegó por primera vez a Perú en 1985 y la labor misionera moldeó su visión de la Iglesia universal. Allí fue nombrado obispo y allí experimentó los desafíos y las alegrías de pastorear a su rebaño. El Papa León está en condiciones de emprender el viaje sin necesidad de equipo especial En su primera intervención ante los periodistas, durante una conferencia de prensa tras asumir su cargo como la primera mujer laica en ocupar el puesto de prefecta de un dicasterio vaticano, Alvarado dijo que el Papa está “emocionado” ante el viaje más largo de su pontificado hasta la fecha, y que “confirmó que el viaje se realizaría sin cambios”, agregando que él está “agradecido” por las oraciones y la preocupación por su salud. “Cuando escucha esos mensajes de preocupación, las preguntas sobre los médicos, lo único que percibe es el amor de la gente y la esperanza que tienen en lo que este viaje traerá”, dijo Alvarado. Durante la rueda de prensa del 3 de noviembre, los periodistas preguntaron repetidamente sobre los retos para la salud que suponen los cambios de altitud y los vuelos en helicóptero a la región de los Andes para el Papa, aproximadamente un mes después de que cirujanos le extirparan parte de un pulmón durante la cirugía del 13 de octubre. Bruni confirmó que “no se está utilizando ninguna adaptación ni equipo especial” desde el punto de vista médico y que “el Papa fue bastante claro” en su comunicado del 26 de octubre al indicar que “el plan sigue siendo el mismo” y que no se prevén cambios en el itinerario inicial debido a su reciente hospitalización. La naturaleza de la cirugía, dijo Bruni, es que “no produce una limitación permanente”, y agregó que al Papa Francisco le faltaba parte de un pulmón y que viajaba sin inconvenientes. “¿Se necesitaron medidas médicas especiales para esos viajes? Tomemos como ejemplo nuestro viaje a Tierra Santa: concentramos los eventos de una semana en solo tres días. Es una condición que permite llevar una vida normal sin necesidad de precauciones especiales”, dijo Bruni. “Si algo cambia, me aseguraré de avisarles, pero tal como están las cosas –según lo que nos han dicho los médicos– no se requiere ningún tratamiento, y él está clínicamente apto para realizar este viaje”, dijo el director de prensa. Por su parte, Alvarado mencionó la Misa de los Difuntos del 2 de noviembre en el Cementerio de Campo Verano: “No sé si todos vieron la Misa de ayer. Su resistencia es fantástica”, señaló. “La forma en que canta es increíble. Y solo se puede cantar si los pulmones son realmente fuertes”, dijo Alvarado, y agregó que el Papa “ya había superado el período de recuperación necesario”. Sus médicos, dijo ella, “están muy seguros y dispondrá de atención médica adecuada a bordo en caso de que suceda algo. Pero no vemos eso en su pronóstico, por la forma en que se está comportando”. El viaje a América Latina comienza el 6 de noviembre con un vuelo de más de 14 horas y 6.900 millas desde Roma a Montevideo, Uruguay. El vuelo de regreso desde Lima, Perú, a Roma cubre 6.700 millas. Entre tanto, el Papa viajará a un nuevo destino casi todos los días, incluyendo un vuelo de 2.200 millas de Buenos Aires a Lima y un vuelo en helicóptero militar el 14 de noviembre hacia la localidad andina de Santa Cruz de Succhabamba, en Perú. A modo de comparación, el Papa León recorrió 11.000 millas en 11 días durante su viaje a Argelia, Camerún, Angola y Guinea Ecuatorial a principios de este año. El viaje a América Latina culmina con un regreso a Chiclayo, Perú, donde se desempeñó como obispo de 2015 a 2023. El Papa León regresa a casa con un mensaje de paz Al ser preguntado sobre los objetivos del viaje, Alvarado dijo que hay “dos aspectos realmente importantes de lo que él quiere que sea este viaje”. En primer lugar, está el regreso a América Latina de un Papa con ciudadanía peruana. “Él lo siente muy profundamente”, señaló, ya que “este es un lugar donde desarrolló su ministerio y lo forjó como pastor”. Dijo que el continente le enseñó al Papa “su manera de entender el encuentro y las… diversas necesidades de la Iglesia” y “le abrió los ojos de una manera nueva y diferente”. Al tomar su teléfono, Alvarado leyó el segundo objetivo y lo que, según ella, el Papa le pidió que compartiera con los periodistas: ayudar a “compartir su mensaje de paz y encuentro con el mundo”, algo que, según señaló, “se expresa en América Latina a través de su diversidad de pueblos y culturas”. Sanación, paz y diálogo: elementos importantes del viaje Dijo que el Papa espera “que todos puedan ver la importancia del encuentro, para la sanación y para la paz, y por qué el diálogo es tan importante, y que los distintos elementos del viaje realmente contribuyan a hacerlo realidad”. El Papa León comenzará su viaje en Uruguay, el país más secularizado de América Latina. Allí su recorrido lo llevará ante una pequeña imagen mariana que el proceso de secularización de Uruguay nunca pudo separar por completo de la identidad nacional del país: la Virgen de los Treinta y Tres. En Argentina, adonde llegará el 8 de noviembre, enfrentará el desafío de visitar la patria del pontífice argentino, el Papa Francisco –quien nunca visitó su patria como Papa– y un país que el arzobispo de Buenos Aires, Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva, describió recientemente como “una Argentina herida, una Argentina dividida”. En Perú, visitará Lima, Chiclayo, Santa Cruz de Succhabamba y Cusco en los Andes, así como Pucallpa en la Amazonía, sin pasar por Chulucanas ni Trujillo, donde se desempeñó como misionero. Bruni señaló que, si bien el programa del viaje incluye “algunos elementos de la historia personal del Papa”, también es “una oportunidad para llegar a esos lugares a los que normalmente no se llega”, lo que le brinda al Papa la oportunidad de “seguir los pasos de aquellos misioneros que quisieron llegar a lugares donde Cristo no había sido llevado antes”, expresando así un sentimiento “de gratitud hacia la enorme labor que se realizó en los inicios del cristianismo en América Latina”. “Se nota este equilibrio entre Prevost y el Papa León XIV” en el itinerario del viaje, señaló Alvarado, refiriéndose al apellido de nacimiento del Papa. “Él pertenece al mundo. Y por mucho que su corazón esté en ciertos lugares de Perú, también debe cumplir con los deberes pastorales de reunirse con las personas que dirigen estos países y que lo han invitado a visitarlos”, dijo, y agregó que “hay un verdadero equilibrio entre los lugares a los que le encantaría ir… y los deberes que debe cumplir como Santo Padre”. El primer viaje oficial de Alvarado en la comitiva papal Al ser preguntada sobre sus propias emociones antes del primer viaje oficial con el Papa, dijo: “Es un honor y un privilegio increíbles formar parte de su comitiva”. “Es increíblemente emotivo pensar en un viaje que nos va a revelar tanto sobre su corazón”, dijo. Refiriéndose a una de las preguntas anteriores sobre Uruguay –el país más secularizado del itinerario del viaje apostólico–, Alvarado dijo: “¿Por qué no? Todos necesitan escuchar el mensaje de Jesucristo, y eso es parte de quién es el Papa León”. Dijo que el pontífice “entiende que no solo va a hablar con los países y sus representantes, sino que va a encontrarse con la gente, a llegar a sus corazones y, con suerte, a inspirarlos a volver a buscar aquellos lugares donde la Iglesia tuvo una gran presencia y ahora es pequeña” y a “reconsiderar”. “Eso forma parte en gran medida de lo que siento en mi corazón y es la razón por la que acepté este trabajo”. Paulina Guzik es editora internacional de OSV News. Síguela en X @Guzik_Paulina.

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Vaticano: El Papa León, ‘entusiasmado’ y ‘clínicamente apto’ para su ajetreado viaje de regreso a América Latina #Catholic –

(OSV News) — El Papa León XIV, quien viajará a Sudamérica poco más de tres semanas después de someterse a una cirugía por cáncer de pulmón, está “personalmente entusiasmado con este viaje” y contará con “la asistencia médica habitual”, confirmaron portavoces del Vaticano durante una rueda de prensa celebrada el 3 de noviembre en la Oficina de Prensa del Vaticano.

El viaje, del 6 al 17 de noviembre, será la primera visita papal a América Latina del pontificado del Papa León. A lo largo de 12 días, celebrará nueve misas públicas, visitará siete catedrales y presidirá dos vigilias de oración en estadios.

Matteo Bruni, director de la Oficina de Prensa de la Santa Sede, dijo que el Papa pronunciará “alrededor de 36 discursos” durante el viaje.

María Montserrat Alvarado, quien asumió su cargo como prefecta del Dicasterio para la Comunicación el 1 de noviembre, dijo a los periodistas que “él les va a dar mucho material improvisado con el que trabajar” –algo que, señaló, es “hermoso”, ya que “él quiere compartir su corazón y nosotros queremos ayudarlo a hacerlo”.

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El Papa, dijo, “revelará su corazón en un lenguaje que le sea propio”, tal como lo hizo en España. “Lo verán de nuevo, pero de una manera totalmente diferente, porque conoce estas calles”.

El Papa León llegó por primera vez a Perú en 1985 y la labor misionera moldeó su visión de la Iglesia universal. Allí fue nombrado obispo y allí experimentó los desafíos y las alegrías de pastorear a su rebaño.

El Papa León está en condiciones de emprender el viaje sin necesidad de equipo especial

En su primera intervención ante los periodistas, durante una conferencia de prensa tras asumir su cargo como la primera mujer laica en ocupar el puesto de prefecta de un dicasterio vaticano, Alvarado dijo que el Papa está “emocionado” ante el viaje más largo de su pontificado hasta la fecha, y que “confirmó que el viaje se realizaría sin cambios”, agregando que él está “agradecido” por las oraciones y la preocupación por su salud.

“Cuando escucha esos mensajes de preocupación, las preguntas sobre los médicos, lo único que percibe es el amor de la gente y la esperanza que tienen en lo que este viaje traerá”, dijo Alvarado.

Durante la rueda de prensa del 3 de noviembre, los periodistas preguntaron repetidamente sobre los retos para la salud que suponen los cambios de altitud y los vuelos en helicóptero a la región de los Andes para el Papa, aproximadamente un mes después de que cirujanos le extirparan parte de un pulmón durante la cirugía del 13 de octubre.

Bruni confirmó que “no se está utilizando ninguna adaptación ni equipo especial” desde el punto de vista médico y que “el Papa fue bastante claro” en su comunicado del 26 de octubre al indicar que “el plan sigue siendo el mismo” y que no se prevén cambios en el itinerario inicial debido a su reciente hospitalización.

La naturaleza de la cirugía, dijo Bruni, es que “no produce una limitación permanente”, y agregó que al Papa Francisco le faltaba parte de un pulmón y que viajaba sin inconvenientes.

“¿Se necesitaron medidas médicas especiales para esos viajes? Tomemos como ejemplo nuestro viaje a Tierra Santa: concentramos los eventos de una semana en solo tres días. Es una condición que permite llevar una vida normal sin necesidad de precauciones especiales”, dijo Bruni.

“Si algo cambia, me aseguraré de avisarles, pero tal como están las cosas –según lo que nos han dicho los médicos– no se requiere ningún tratamiento, y él está clínicamente apto para realizar este viaje”, dijo el director de prensa.

Por su parte, Alvarado mencionó la Misa de los Difuntos del 2 de noviembre en el Cementerio de Campo Verano: “No sé si todos vieron la Misa de ayer. Su resistencia es fantástica”, señaló.

“La forma en que canta es increíble. Y solo se puede cantar si los pulmones son realmente fuertes”, dijo Alvarado, y agregó que el Papa “ya había superado el período de recuperación necesario”.

Sus médicos, dijo ella, “están muy seguros y dispondrá de atención médica adecuada a bordo en caso de que suceda algo. Pero no vemos eso en su pronóstico, por la forma en que se está comportando”.

El viaje a América Latina comienza el 6 de noviembre con un vuelo de más de 14 horas y 6.900 millas desde Roma a Montevideo, Uruguay. El vuelo de regreso desde Lima, Perú, a Roma cubre 6.700 millas. Entre tanto, el Papa viajará a un nuevo destino casi todos los días, incluyendo un vuelo de 2.200 millas de Buenos Aires a Lima y un vuelo en helicóptero militar el 14 de noviembre hacia la localidad andina de Santa Cruz de Succhabamba, en Perú.

A modo de comparación, el Papa León recorrió 11.000 millas en 11 días durante su viaje a Argelia, Camerún, Angola y Guinea Ecuatorial a principios de este año. El viaje a América Latina culmina con un regreso a Chiclayo, Perú, donde se desempeñó como obispo de 2015 a 2023.

El Papa León regresa a casa con un mensaje de paz

Al ser preguntado sobre los objetivos del viaje, Alvarado dijo que hay “dos aspectos realmente importantes de lo que él quiere que sea este viaje”.

En primer lugar, está el regreso a América Latina de un Papa con ciudadanía peruana. “Él lo siente muy profundamente”, señaló, ya que “este es un lugar donde desarrolló su ministerio y lo forjó como pastor”.

Dijo que el continente le enseñó al Papa “su manera de entender el encuentro y las… diversas necesidades de la Iglesia” y “le abrió los ojos de una manera nueva y diferente”.

Al tomar su teléfono, Alvarado leyó el segundo objetivo y lo que, según ella, el Papa le pidió que compartiera con los periodistas: ayudar a “compartir su mensaje de paz y encuentro con el mundo”, algo que, según señaló, “se expresa en América Latina a través de su diversidad de pueblos y culturas”.

Sanación, paz y diálogo: elementos importantes del viaje

Dijo que el Papa espera “que todos puedan ver la importancia del encuentro, para la sanación y para la paz, y por qué el diálogo es tan importante, y que los distintos elementos del viaje realmente contribuyan a hacerlo realidad”.

El Papa León comenzará su viaje en Uruguay, el país más secularizado de América Latina. Allí su recorrido lo llevará ante una pequeña imagen mariana que el proceso de secularización de Uruguay nunca pudo separar por completo de la identidad nacional del país: la Virgen de los Treinta y Tres.

En Argentina, adonde llegará el 8 de noviembre, enfrentará el desafío de visitar la patria del pontífice argentino, el Papa Francisco –quien nunca visitó su patria como Papa– y un país que el arzobispo de Buenos Aires, Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva, describió recientemente como “una Argentina herida, una Argentina dividida”.

En Perú, visitará Lima, Chiclayo, Santa Cruz de Succhabamba y Cusco en los Andes, así como Pucallpa en la Amazonía, sin pasar por Chulucanas ni Trujillo, donde se desempeñó como misionero.

Bruni señaló que, si bien el programa del viaje incluye “algunos elementos de la historia personal del Papa”, también es “una oportunidad para llegar a esos lugares a los que normalmente no se llega”, lo que le brinda al Papa la oportunidad de “seguir los pasos de aquellos misioneros que quisieron llegar a lugares donde Cristo no había sido llevado antes”, expresando así un sentimiento “de gratitud hacia la enorme labor que se realizó en los inicios del cristianismo en América Latina”.

“Se nota este equilibrio entre Prevost y el Papa León XIV” en el itinerario del viaje, señaló Alvarado, refiriéndose al apellido de nacimiento del Papa.

“Él pertenece al mundo. Y por mucho que su corazón esté en ciertos lugares de Perú, también debe cumplir con los deberes pastorales de reunirse con las personas que dirigen estos países y que lo han invitado a visitarlos”, dijo, y agregó que “hay un verdadero equilibrio entre los lugares a los que le encantaría ir… y los deberes que debe cumplir como Santo Padre”.

El primer viaje oficial de Alvarado en la comitiva papal

Al ser preguntada sobre sus propias emociones antes del primer viaje oficial con el Papa, dijo: “Es un honor y un privilegio increíbles formar parte de su comitiva”.

“Es increíblemente emotivo pensar en un viaje que nos va a revelar tanto sobre su corazón”, dijo.

Refiriéndose a una de las preguntas anteriores sobre Uruguay –el país más secularizado del itinerario del viaje apostólico–, Alvarado dijo: “¿Por qué no? Todos necesitan escuchar el mensaje de Jesucristo, y eso es parte de quién es el Papa León”.

Dijo que el pontífice “entiende que no solo va a hablar con los países y sus representantes, sino que va a encontrarse con la gente, a llegar a sus corazones y, con suerte, a inspirarlos a volver a buscar aquellos lugares donde la Iglesia tuvo una gran presencia y ahora es pequeña” y a “reconsiderar”.

“Eso forma parte en gran medida de lo que siento en mi corazón y es la razón por la que acepté este trabajo”.

Paulina Guzik es editora internacional de OSV News. Síguela en X @Guzik_Paulina.

– (OSV News) — El Papa León XIV, quien viajará a Sudamérica poco más de tres semanas después de someterse a una cirugía por cáncer de pulmón, está “personalmente entusiasmado con este viaje” y contará con “la asistencia médica habitual”, confirmaron portavoces del Vaticano durante una rueda de prensa celebrada el 3 de noviembre en la Oficina de Prensa del Vaticano. El viaje, del 6 al 17 de noviembre, será la primera visita papal a América Latina del pontificado del Papa León. A lo largo de 12 días, celebrará nueve misas públicas, visitará siete catedrales y presidirá dos vigilias de oración

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Pope Leo XIV praises Chinese Catholics for unity 100 years after consecration of their first bishops – #Catholic – A century after the consecration of the first Chinese bishops, Pope Leo XIV praised the Church in China for remaining in communion with Rome.On Nov. 5, the Vatican published a video message from the pontiff during a conference titled “The Universal Face of the Church in China,” held at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome. The meeting not only marked the 1926 consecration of China’s first bishops but also reflected on the state of the Chinese church today, particularly regarding the ongoing Vatican-China deal.Among those present were Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin; Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, dean of the College of Cardinals; Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan, SJ, bishop of Hong Kong; and Ignazio Ding Zuyao, bishop of Haimen.Communion with Peter, not colonialismIn his message, Leo noted Chinese Catholics’ long history of fidelity to the papacy, quoting Pope Benedict XVI, who said that they have always had “legitimate pastors who have preserved intact apostolic succession.”“No shepherd in the Church can claim the mission as his own,” Leo said. “Rather, he receives and exercises it in communion with the successor of Peter and with all the other successors of the apostles, the bishops.” Pope Leo XIV passes in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in the popemobile during his weekly ride through the crowds in St. Peter’s Square for the general audience on Oct. 28, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media The pope also noted the significance of six Chinese priests traveling from Shanghai to Rome in 1926 to receive consecration from Pope Pius XI.“They crossed the world to bear witness to the communion that springs from the faith of the apostles,” Leo said.Quoting Pope Benedict XV, Leo affirmed that the Church’s missionary work “cannot be confused with processes of colonization” but is “born of mission” to “bear witness to Christ in charity.”China-Holy See relations: A relationship marked by suspicion?The Holy See and China have not maintained official diplomatic relations since 1951. Their provisional, undisclosed 2018 agreement on the selection of bishops has been challenged, with concerns that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is suppressing the Church.Parolin, speaking on the sidelines of the conference, acknowledged that the deal still has its imperfections. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin speaks during the conference “The Universal Face of the Church in China” at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome on Nov. 5, 2026. | Credit: Ishmael Adibuah/EWTN News “All agreements are imperfect, including the one on China,” Parolin said to reporters. “However, the path is open. So we move forward trying to perfect what is imperfect.”Chow noted the suspicion with which Catholics are sometimes viewed in China, out of fear that their religion could be used as a tool of foreign influence.“We wonder how come the Church, our Church, in China for so many years is still seen as a foreign Church,” he said. “I think that in China, a major concern is that, for example, religion will not be used as a vehicle for foreign intervention.” The conference “The Universal Face of the Church in China” took place at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome on Nov. 5, 2026. | Credit: Ishmael Adibuah/EWTN News Others, however, expressed support for the so-called “Sinicization” of the Church, which is a state-led campaign to subordinate religious institutions to its Chinese Communist Party agenda.“The ‘Sinicization of Catholicism’ is not a departure from Catholic tradition but an expression of authentic catholicity,” Joseph Li Shan, bishop of Beijing, said.Zuyao, made a bishop in October under the Vatican-China deal, added that Sinicization is “not a departure from communion with the universal faith” but rather “a natural expression of inner faith and a faithful implementation of Christ’s command ‘Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s.’”
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Pope Leo XIV praises Chinese Catholics for unity 100 years after consecration of their first bishops – #Catholic – A century after the consecration of the first Chinese bishops, Pope Leo XIV praised the Church in China for remaining in communion with Rome.On Nov. 5, the Vatican published a video message from the pontiff during a conference titled “The Universal Face of the Church in China,” held at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome. The meeting not only marked the 1926 consecration of China’s first bishops but also reflected on the state of the Chinese church today, particularly regarding the ongoing Vatican-China deal.Among those present were Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin; Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, dean of the College of Cardinals; Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan, SJ, bishop of Hong Kong; and Ignazio Ding Zuyao, bishop of Haimen.Communion with Peter, not colonialismIn his message, Leo noted Chinese Catholics’ long history of fidelity to the papacy, quoting Pope Benedict XVI, who said that they have always had “legitimate pastors who have preserved intact apostolic succession.”“No shepherd in the Church can claim the mission as his own,” Leo said. “Rather, he receives and exercises it in communion with the successor of Peter and with all the other successors of the apostles, the bishops.” Pope Leo XIV passes in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in the popemobile during his weekly ride through the crowds in St. Peter’s Square for the general audience on Oct. 28, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media The pope also noted the significance of six Chinese priests traveling from Shanghai to Rome in 1926 to receive consecration from Pope Pius XI.“They crossed the world to bear witness to the communion that springs from the faith of the apostles,” Leo said.Quoting Pope Benedict XV, Leo affirmed that the Church’s missionary work “cannot be confused with processes of colonization” but is “born of mission” to “bear witness to Christ in charity.”China-Holy See relations: A relationship marked by suspicion?The Holy See and China have not maintained official diplomatic relations since 1951. Their provisional, undisclosed 2018 agreement on the selection of bishops has been challenged, with concerns that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is suppressing the Church.Parolin, speaking on the sidelines of the conference, acknowledged that the deal still has its imperfections. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin speaks during the conference “The Universal Face of the Church in China” at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome on Nov. 5, 2026. | Credit: Ishmael Adibuah/EWTN News “All agreements are imperfect, including the one on China,” Parolin said to reporters. “However, the path is open. So we move forward trying to perfect what is imperfect.”Chow noted the suspicion with which Catholics are sometimes viewed in China, out of fear that their religion could be used as a tool of foreign influence.“We wonder how come the Church, our Church, in China for so many years is still seen as a foreign Church,” he said. “I think that in China, a major concern is that, for example, religion will not be used as a vehicle for foreign intervention.” The conference “The Universal Face of the Church in China” took place at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome on Nov. 5, 2026. | Credit: Ishmael Adibuah/EWTN News Others, however, expressed support for the so-called “Sinicization” of the Church, which is a state-led campaign to subordinate religious institutions to its Chinese Communist Party agenda.“The ‘Sinicization of Catholicism’ is not a departure from Catholic tradition but an expression of authentic catholicity,” Joseph Li Shan, bishop of Beijing, said.Zuyao, made a bishop in October under the Vatican-China deal, added that Sinicization is “not a departure from communion with the universal faith” but rather “a natural expression of inner faith and a faithful implementation of Christ’s command ‘Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s.’”

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The pope sent a message to a conference in Rome marking the anniversary, where attendees discussed the Vatican’s complex relations with China.

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Bishop Sweeney challenges Delbarton students to become inspiring leaders #Catholic – On Oct. 3, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney visited Delbarton School in Morristown, N.J., where the school community gathered for its annual Bishop’s Mass. Bishop Sweeney celebrated the Mass, which was concelebrated by Benedictine Father Michael Tidd, Delbarton’s headmaster. Several students participated in the Mass, including as extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, lectors, and liturgical musicians. The bishop’s visit also included meeting with a group of students. Bishop Sweeney spoke with students about leading by example and how our actions can speak louder than words and inspire those around them. Delbarton is a Benedictine Catholic college preparatory school that educates young men in grades 7 to 12 in mind, body, and spirit. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org] Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
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Bishop Sweeney challenges Delbarton students to become inspiring leaders #Catholic – On Oct. 3, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney visited Delbarton School in Morristown, N.J., where the school community gathered for its annual Bishop’s Mass. Bishop Sweeney celebrated the Mass, which was concelebrated by Benedictine Father Michael Tidd, Delbarton’s headmaster. Several students participated in the Mass, including as extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, lectors, and liturgical musicians. The bishop’s visit also included meeting with a group of students. Bishop Sweeney spoke with students about leading by example and how our actions can speak louder than words and inspire those around them. Delbarton is a Benedictine Catholic college preparatory school that educates young men in grades 7 to 12 in mind, body, and spirit. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org] Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

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Bishop Sweeney challenges Delbarton students to become inspiring leaders #Catholic –

On Oct. 3, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney visited Delbarton School in Morristown, N.J., where the school community gathered for its annual Bishop’s Mass.

Bishop Sweeney celebrated the Mass, which was concelebrated by Benedictine Father Michael Tidd, Delbarton’s headmaster. Several students participated in the Mass, including as extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, lectors, and liturgical musicians. The bishop’s visit also included meeting with a group of students.

Bishop Sweeney spoke with students about leading by example and how our actions can speak louder than words and inspire those around them.

Delbarton is a Benedictine Catholic college preparatory school that educates young men in grades 7 to 12 in mind, body, and spirit.

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

– On Oct. 3, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney visited Delbarton School in Morristown, N.J., where the school community gathered for its annual Bishop’s Mass. Bishop Sweeney celebrated the Mass, which was concelebrated by Benedictine Father Michael Tidd, Delbarton’s headmaster. Several students participated in the Mass, including as extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, lectors, and liturgical musicians. The bishop’s visit also included meeting with a group of students. Bishop Sweeney spoke with students about leading by example and how our actions can speak louder than words and inspire those around them. Delbarton is a Benedictine Catholic college preparatory school that educates young

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Catholic priest pleads guilty to 1970s sexual assault of Baltimore boy – #Catholic – A Catholic priest has admitted to sexually abusing a boy in Baltimore in the mid-1970s, authorities said this week. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said Father Laurence LaPointe, 81, admitted to the abuse after an investigation led by the attorney general’s office. The prosecutor’s office said in a release that LaPointe pleaded guilty on Nov. 4 to a fourth-degree sex offense and common-law assault.Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Charles Dorsey III sentenced the priest to three years in prison, which the judge immediately suspended; LaPointe was also sentenced to five years of supervised probation.Among the terms of his probation is the stipulation that LaPointe “have no direct contact with minors under the age of 18” and that he “not volunteer or work in any educational setting involving individuals under the age of 18.”LaPointe’s victim offered a victim impact statement during the court proceedings, according to the attorney general’s office; the victim said that with the guilty plea, the “heavy burden” of the priest’s abuse “passes from me to [LaPointe].”“I hope he will find the courage to acknowledge any other misconduct, voluntarily and fully, without requiring other victims to endure years of investigation, the prospect of a trial, and the emotional burden of having to prove what happened to them,” the victim said. “Those who were sexually assaulted as children continue to carry the burden of that trauma long after they reach adulthood,” Brown said in the press release. “No matter how much time passes, we will help lift that weight off survivors’ shoulders and hold accountable anyone who abuses a position of trust to inflict such devastating harm on our children.”LaPointe is currently a priest in the Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut. The diocese did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his status there. The Norwich Diocese had announced that LaPointe had been placed on ministry leave in March when the allegations surfaced. He had been serving as pastor of Corpus Christi Parish at the time.
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Catholic priest pleads guilty to 1970s sexual assault of Baltimore boy – #Catholic – A Catholic priest has admitted to sexually abusing a boy in Baltimore in the mid-1970s, authorities said this week. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said Father Laurence LaPointe, 81, admitted to the abuse after an investigation led by the attorney general’s office. The prosecutor’s office said in a release that LaPointe pleaded guilty on Nov. 4 to a fourth-degree sex offense and common-law assault.Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Charles Dorsey III sentenced the priest to three years in prison, which the judge immediately suspended; LaPointe was also sentenced to five years of supervised probation.Among the terms of his probation is the stipulation that LaPointe “have no direct contact with minors under the age of 18” and that he “not volunteer or work in any educational setting involving individuals under the age of 18.”LaPointe’s victim offered a victim impact statement during the court proceedings, according to the attorney general’s office; the victim said that with the guilty plea, the “heavy burden” of the priest’s abuse “passes from me to [LaPointe].”“I hope he will find the courage to acknowledge any other misconduct, voluntarily and fully, without requiring other victims to endure years of investigation, the prospect of a trial, and the emotional burden of having to prove what happened to them,” the victim said. “Those who were sexually assaulted as children continue to carry the burden of that trauma long after they reach adulthood,” Brown said in the press release. “No matter how much time passes, we will help lift that weight off survivors’ shoulders and hold accountable anyone who abuses a position of trust to inflict such devastating harm on our children.”LaPointe is currently a priest in the Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut. The diocese did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his status there. The Norwich Diocese had announced that LaPointe had been placed on ministry leave in March when the allegations surfaced. He had been serving as pastor of Corpus Christi Parish at the time.

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The Maryland attorney general’s office said Father Laurence LaPointe admitted to abusing a boy at Gilman School.

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Chiclayo priest eagerly awaits his friend, Pope Leo XIV, in Peru – #Catholic – The last time Father Hugo Gabriel Sánchez met Robert Prevost in Chiclayo, Peru, the future pope had just been created a cardinal. In just a few days, that friend, who wishes Sánchez a happy birthday every year and with whom he shared “hearty laughter” when he was Sánchez’s bishop, will return to Peru as pontiff.A historic visitPope Leo will be in Peru from Nov. 11–16, a historic visit that Sánchez described as “a gift from God.” For him, Prevost’s election has meant “a change in the color of his cassock: He remains the same close friend as always, attentive to us and concerned for our well-being.”Serenity, trust in providence, clarity, and firmness are, in the priest’s view, some of the traits that best define Leo XIV.Speaking with EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, he also recalled that “Bishop Roberto reflected very well the image of Christ the good shepherd: a shepherd who was always close to his people, whose doors were always open and, above all, whose heart was ready and whose time was available to listen to you patiently and calmly. He knew how to offer wise answers that did not remain merely words but were translated into concrete actions.”‘The roots of his ministry are here’Although the two have met on more than one occasion in the Vatican since Leo was elected successor of St. Peter, the young priest acknowledged that this occasion will be different.“This visit is very important because it was here that he was able to fully develop his vocation and found a way of exercising his ministry first as a priest and then as a bishop. He grew deeply attached to Chiclayo, and having him here again after eight years will be very important for him and for us. The roots of his ministry are here,” Sánchez emphasized.Recalling the pope’s missionary journey, the priest highlighted the enthusiasm with which “Bishop Roberto” approached major projects and pastoral challenges.“One of the things that excited him most was launching major initiatives for evangelization, proclaiming the Gospel, and passing on the faith, while never neglecting social assistance,” he said.A source of encouragementSánchez said he has no doubt that Leo XIV is preparing for this trip “with much prayer,” just as the Church in Peru is doing. He is also convinced that this encounter will be a source of encouragement for the Holy Father, especially “after recovering from his operation.”The priest revealed that the Holy Father expressed a desire to visit the most remote communities. However, difficulties in access, especially because of weather conditions, ultimately prevented their inclusion in the official itinerary.Even so, he explained, “the pope wanted these people to be the guests of honor at the gathering that will take place in Zaña, in the Chiclayo district.” There, the pontiff will preside over the closing of the jubilee year marking the 300th anniversary of the canonization of St. Turibius of Mogrovejo.Expectations in the country that holds a special place in Leo XIV’s heart are immense. The Chiclayo priest noted that despite the pope’s simple, humble, and reserved character, “he is someone who, when he stands before a large crowd, seems to come alive even more, with greater joy, enthusiasm, and excitement. You could say that his heart grows larger, and for that reason he will enjoy it very much.”Sánchez, a member of the organizing committee for the papal trip, said that despite the diocese’s lack of experience and the enormous challenge of preparing a visit of this magnitude, special effort has been made to attend to every detail of the events and warmly welcome all pilgrims.Asked what Peru would like Leo XIV to find upon his arrival, the priest’s answer was clear: “It is reflected in his own Petrine motto, ‘In Illo uno unum’ — a united Church that knows how to walk together in fraternity.”This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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Chiclayo priest eagerly awaits his friend, Pope Leo XIV, in Peru – #Catholic – The last time Father Hugo Gabriel Sánchez met Robert Prevost in Chiclayo, Peru, the future pope had just been created a cardinal. In just a few days, that friend, who wishes Sánchez a happy birthday every year and with whom he shared “hearty laughter” when he was Sánchez’s bishop, will return to Peru as pontiff.A historic visitPope Leo will be in Peru from Nov. 11–16, a historic visit that Sánchez described as “a gift from God.” For him, Prevost’s election has meant “a change in the color of his cassock: He remains the same close friend as always, attentive to us and concerned for our well-being.”Serenity, trust in providence, clarity, and firmness are, in the priest’s view, some of the traits that best define Leo XIV.Speaking with EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, he also recalled that “Bishop Roberto reflected very well the image of Christ the good shepherd: a shepherd who was always close to his people, whose doors were always open and, above all, whose heart was ready and whose time was available to listen to you patiently and calmly. He knew how to offer wise answers that did not remain merely words but were translated into concrete actions.”‘The roots of his ministry are here’Although the two have met on more than one occasion in the Vatican since Leo was elected successor of St. Peter, the young priest acknowledged that this occasion will be different.“This visit is very important because it was here that he was able to fully develop his vocation and found a way of exercising his ministry first as a priest and then as a bishop. He grew deeply attached to Chiclayo, and having him here again after eight years will be very important for him and for us. The roots of his ministry are here,” Sánchez emphasized.Recalling the pope’s missionary journey, the priest highlighted the enthusiasm with which “Bishop Roberto” approached major projects and pastoral challenges.“One of the things that excited him most was launching major initiatives for evangelization, proclaiming the Gospel, and passing on the faith, while never neglecting social assistance,” he said.A source of encouragementSánchez said he has no doubt that Leo XIV is preparing for this trip “with much prayer,” just as the Church in Peru is doing. He is also convinced that this encounter will be a source of encouragement for the Holy Father, especially “after recovering from his operation.”The priest revealed that the Holy Father expressed a desire to visit the most remote communities. However, difficulties in access, especially because of weather conditions, ultimately prevented their inclusion in the official itinerary.Even so, he explained, “the pope wanted these people to be the guests of honor at the gathering that will take place in Zaña, in the Chiclayo district.” There, the pontiff will preside over the closing of the jubilee year marking the 300th anniversary of the canonization of St. Turibius of Mogrovejo.Expectations in the country that holds a special place in Leo XIV’s heart are immense. The Chiclayo priest noted that despite the pope’s simple, humble, and reserved character, “he is someone who, when he stands before a large crowd, seems to come alive even more, with greater joy, enthusiasm, and excitement. You could say that his heart grows larger, and for that reason he will enjoy it very much.”Sánchez, a member of the organizing committee for the papal trip, said that despite the diocese’s lack of experience and the enormous challenge of preparing a visit of this magnitude, special effort has been made to attend to every detail of the events and warmly welcome all pilgrims.Asked what Peru would like Leo XIV to find upon his arrival, the priest’s answer was clear: “It is reflected in his own Petrine motto, ‘In Illo uno unum’ — a united Church that knows how to walk together in fraternity.”This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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For Father Hugo Gabriel Sánchez, Pope Leo “remains the same close friend as always, attentive to us and concerned for our well-being.”

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Pope Leo heads to a divided Argentina still reckoning with Francis’ legacy #Catholic – ROSARIO, Argentina (OSV News) — When Pope Leo XIV arrives in Argentina Nov. 8, he will become the first pope to set foot in the country in nearly four decades — and the first to encounter a nation still wrestling with the legacy of the Argentine who preceded him. Pope Francis remained deeply loved by many Argentines, particularly for his closeness to the poor. But he also became entangled in the country’s political divisions, criticized from the right as Peronist and from other sectors for positions they considered conservative. His decision never to return home during his 12-year pontificate remained a source of disappointment and speculation. Pope Leo will arrive in a country that Archbishop Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva of Buenos Aires recently described as “a wounded Argentina, a divided Argentina,” marked for decades by poverty, intolerance and the political fracture Argentines call la grieta, or “the rift.” But the four-day visit also offers an unusual opportunity: to gather Argentines around a figure who does not yet belong to either side of their disputes. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. As is often the case with a papal trip, it begins in the most political setting. After arriving from Uruguay, the pope will visit the monument to Gen. José de San Martín, father of Argentina’s independence, attend a welcoming ceremony at the Casa Rosada presidential palace, meet President Javier Milei and address government officials, civil society and the diplomatic corps. Milei directed fierce criticism at Pope Francis before becoming president. Once elected, however, he invited the pope to Argentina and met with him at the Vatican in February 2024, and his government later initiated the diplomatic process that led to Pope Leo’s visit. Relations between Milei’s government and the Argentine bishops have nonetheless remained tense. Church leaders have regularly warned about poverty, unemployment and the effects of fiscal austerity, while the president has argued that Argentina must abandon economic policies that perpetuate dependency on state assistance. Expectations from the papal visit The economic picture resists a simple political reading. Official poverty figures fell sharply from 52.9% in the first half of 2024 to 28.2% in the second half of 2025, but rose again to 32.3% in the first half of 2026. In August, economic activity was down 1.7% from a year earlier. Those pressures are shaping what Argentines expect from the pope. A survey by the Observatory of Beliefs and Religions in Argentina, or OCREAR, found that 43% of respondents believed poverty should be the principal priority of Pope Leo’s pontificate. Peace came second, while doctrinal issues, Church transparency and sexual abuse ranked lower. Only 49% considered the visit very or somewhat important, and 65% expected it to have little or no effect on their own religious practice — though approximately 57% of Argentines continue to identify as Catholic, and another 17% as evangelical. Roberto Bosca, a scholar of religion and public life and former dean of the law school at Austral University, said the bishops’ attention to social questions is sometimes read as populist, Peronist or left-wing, particularly by a largely secularized middle class that believes they have displaced God with social activism. “If the bishops’ teaching is read without ideological blinders, it is Christ-centered,” he told OSV News in Spanish. But in Argentina, he said, even Christian language about placing the needy at the center is frequently translated into partisan categories. On Nov. 9, Pope Leo will visit residents and caregivers at the Don Orione “Little Cottolengo” in Claypole, a center serving people with disabilities. He will celebrate Mass in Buenos Aires for a crowd expected to surpass 1.5 million people, meet representatives of the world of work, address Christian and interreligious leaders, and celebrate vespers with the Argentine bishops and diocesan synodal teams. The following morning he will travel to Córdoba, before returning to Buenos Aires for a youth vigil on Nov. 10. On his final day, before heading to Peru, he will visit the federal prison of Devoto and celebrate what organizers are calling the “Mass of Charity” at the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján, the country’s national Marian shrine. Unlike in neighboring Uruguay, where Pope Leo will enter the disadvantaged Montevideo neighborhood of Casavalle, the Argentine schedule includes no visit to one of Buenos Aires’ villas, or informal settlements — places closely associated with Pope Francis’ ministry. Instead, its encounters with vulnerability are distributed across a disability center, a prison, a meeting focused on labor and the Luján Mass, where organizations including Caritas and the Hogar de Cristo network for people struggling with addiction will receive priority among approximately 8,000 invited guests. Meeting with abuse survivors The Vatican also has announced that Pope Leo will hold private meetings with survivors of abuse by clergy or other Church personnel during his three-country journey, without disclosing where. The announcement is particularly relevant in Argentina, where survivors continue to demand transparency and canonical accountability in cases including the abuse of deaf children at Mendoza’s Antonio Próvolo Institute and that of Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta, convicted by an Argentine court of abusing seminarians. OSV News confirmed that in October 2024 he was seen in his former Diocese of Orán riding a fire truck while wearing clerical attire. There has been no public update on his canonical status. Inés Franck, a member of Argentina’s commission for the protection of minors and a former Vatican consultant on the issue, said the region “is developing its tools for prevention and care with little resources, because these are also countries going through financial and development crisis.” There is still “plenty of work to do, resistances to overcome, resources to optimize and practices to implement,” she told OSV News, “but the meetings of the pope with the victims speak to us about the will of the Church not to look the other way and to be there where there was pain and there still is.” Córdoba will give the visit a more federal character. Located near Argentina’s geographical center, the city is more accessible for pilgrims from the northern and interior provinces. It is also the land of St. José Gabriel del Rosario Brochero, the “gaucho priest” who traveled the Sierras of Córdoba by mule, evangelizing isolated communities. Papal visit to the ‘blessed land’ Pope Leo will celebrate Mass at the Military Aviation School and meet clergy, religious, seminarians and lay pastoral workers at Córdoba’s cathedral. Cardinal Ángel Sixto Rossi of Córdoba, described the visit as both a source of immense joy and of “healthy fear” because of the responsibility involved in receiving the pope and pilgrims from throughout the country. “Córdoba is not only ‘La Docta,’” Cardinal Rossi said, using the city’s traditional title as Argentina’s historic center of learning. “It is a blessed land, walked by saints who knew how to transform faith into service, closeness and self-giving.” In a reflection submitted to OSV News, Cardinal Rossi described the visit as a sign of continuity with Pope Francis, but said the new pope would give it “his own imprint.” “The shepherd comes to meet his people, to confirm us in faith, renew our hope and give us a pat on the back so that we do not lose heart,” he wrote. The visit will conclude at Luján, the shrine of Argentina’s national patroness and one of the few religious spaces capable of gathering Argentines across social and political divisions. Authorities are preparing for as many as 1.7 million people in a city of approximately 95,000 residents. Access roads will begin closing the day before the Mass, 1,500 extraordinary ministers are expected to distribute Communion, and Buenos Aires province plans to deploy about 11,000 police officers and cadets. The original 17th-century image of Our Lady of Luján will be brought out of the basilica for the celebration. Political rivals working hand in hand on papal visit organization Organizing the event required cooperation among Milei’s national government, the provincial administration of Axel Kicillof — one of the president’s principal political opponents and Peronist governor of Buenos Aires — the local municipality and church authorities. The papal visit has obliged competing political sectors to work together before Pope Leo has spoken a word. If anything connects people divided by harsh polarization, it’s the local Church’s most revered shrine. Father Lucas García, rector of Argentina’s major Marian shrine, said devotion to Our Lady of Luján reaches Argentines who rarely take part in Church life but may still carry a family photograph, a promise or a prayer inherited from their grandparents. “In an Argentina that often experiences divisions, differences and difficulty encountering one another, the Virgin remains a point of unity,” he told OSV News. “Luján is much more than a place of pilgrimage,” he said. “It is a home where Argentines can recognize one another as brothers and sisters.” Different sectors will inevitably try to fit the pope’s words and gestures into their familiar divisions. But for four days, his itinerary will also invite the country to meet outside those categories: alongside people with disabilities, workers, prisoners, young people, pilgrims and the Virgin whom Argentines call their mother. Whether that encounter lasts beyond the crowds will determine whether the visit becomes merely a historic event — or, as Cardinal Rossi hopes, leaves Argentina with “tasks for the heart.” Ines San Martin writes for OSV News from Rosario, Argentina.  
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Pope Leo heads to a divided Argentina still reckoning with Francis’ legacy #Catholic – ROSARIO, Argentina (OSV News) — When Pope Leo XIV arrives in Argentina Nov. 8, he will become the first pope to set foot in the country in nearly four decades — and the first to encounter a nation still wrestling with the legacy of the Argentine who preceded him. Pope Francis remained deeply loved by many Argentines, particularly for his closeness to the poor. But he also became entangled in the country’s political divisions, criticized from the right as Peronist and from other sectors for positions they considered conservative. His decision never to return home during his 12-year pontificate remained a source of disappointment and speculation. Pope Leo will arrive in a country that Archbishop Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva of Buenos Aires recently described as “a wounded Argentina, a divided Argentina,” marked for decades by poverty, intolerance and the political fracture Argentines call la grieta, or “the rift.” But the four-day visit also offers an unusual opportunity: to gather Argentines around a figure who does not yet belong to either side of their disputes. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. As is often the case with a papal trip, it begins in the most political setting. After arriving from Uruguay, the pope will visit the monument to Gen. José de San Martín, father of Argentina’s independence, attend a welcoming ceremony at the Casa Rosada presidential palace, meet President Javier Milei and address government officials, civil society and the diplomatic corps. Milei directed fierce criticism at Pope Francis before becoming president. Once elected, however, he invited the pope to Argentina and met with him at the Vatican in February 2024, and his government later initiated the diplomatic process that led to Pope Leo’s visit. Relations between Milei’s government and the Argentine bishops have nonetheless remained tense. Church leaders have regularly warned about poverty, unemployment and the effects of fiscal austerity, while the president has argued that Argentina must abandon economic policies that perpetuate dependency on state assistance. Expectations from the papal visit The economic picture resists a simple political reading. Official poverty figures fell sharply from 52.9% in the first half of 2024 to 28.2% in the second half of 2025, but rose again to 32.3% in the first half of 2026. In August, economic activity was down 1.7% from a year earlier. Those pressures are shaping what Argentines expect from the pope. A survey by the Observatory of Beliefs and Religions in Argentina, or OCREAR, found that 43% of respondents believed poverty should be the principal priority of Pope Leo’s pontificate. Peace came second, while doctrinal issues, Church transparency and sexual abuse ranked lower. Only 49% considered the visit very or somewhat important, and 65% expected it to have little or no effect on their own religious practice — though approximately 57% of Argentines continue to identify as Catholic, and another 17% as evangelical. Roberto Bosca, a scholar of religion and public life and former dean of the law school at Austral University, said the bishops’ attention to social questions is sometimes read as populist, Peronist or left-wing, particularly by a largely secularized middle class that believes they have displaced God with social activism. “If the bishops’ teaching is read without ideological blinders, it is Christ-centered,” he told OSV News in Spanish. But in Argentina, he said, even Christian language about placing the needy at the center is frequently translated into partisan categories. On Nov. 9, Pope Leo will visit residents and caregivers at the Don Orione “Little Cottolengo” in Claypole, a center serving people with disabilities. He will celebrate Mass in Buenos Aires for a crowd expected to surpass 1.5 million people, meet representatives of the world of work, address Christian and interreligious leaders, and celebrate vespers with the Argentine bishops and diocesan synodal teams. The following morning he will travel to Córdoba, before returning to Buenos Aires for a youth vigil on Nov. 10. On his final day, before heading to Peru, he will visit the federal prison of Devoto and celebrate what organizers are calling the “Mass of Charity” at the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján, the country’s national Marian shrine. Unlike in neighboring Uruguay, where Pope Leo will enter the disadvantaged Montevideo neighborhood of Casavalle, the Argentine schedule includes no visit to one of Buenos Aires’ villas, or informal settlements — places closely associated with Pope Francis’ ministry. Instead, its encounters with vulnerability are distributed across a disability center, a prison, a meeting focused on labor and the Luján Mass, where organizations including Caritas and the Hogar de Cristo network for people struggling with addiction will receive priority among approximately 8,000 invited guests. Meeting with abuse survivors The Vatican also has announced that Pope Leo will hold private meetings with survivors of abuse by clergy or other Church personnel during his three-country journey, without disclosing where. The announcement is particularly relevant in Argentina, where survivors continue to demand transparency and canonical accountability in cases including the abuse of deaf children at Mendoza’s Antonio Próvolo Institute and that of Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta, convicted by an Argentine court of abusing seminarians. OSV News confirmed that in October 2024 he was seen in his former Diocese of Orán riding a fire truck while wearing clerical attire. There has been no public update on his canonical status. Inés Franck, a member of Argentina’s commission for the protection of minors and a former Vatican consultant on the issue, said the region “is developing its tools for prevention and care with little resources, because these are also countries going through financial and development crisis.” There is still “plenty of work to do, resistances to overcome, resources to optimize and practices to implement,” she told OSV News, “but the meetings of the pope with the victims speak to us about the will of the Church not to look the other way and to be there where there was pain and there still is.” Córdoba will give the visit a more federal character. Located near Argentina’s geographical center, the city is more accessible for pilgrims from the northern and interior provinces. It is also the land of St. José Gabriel del Rosario Brochero, the “gaucho priest” who traveled the Sierras of Córdoba by mule, evangelizing isolated communities. Papal visit to the ‘blessed land’ Pope Leo will celebrate Mass at the Military Aviation School and meet clergy, religious, seminarians and lay pastoral workers at Córdoba’s cathedral. Cardinal Ángel Sixto Rossi of Córdoba, described the visit as both a source of immense joy and of “healthy fear” because of the responsibility involved in receiving the pope and pilgrims from throughout the country. “Córdoba is not only ‘La Docta,’” Cardinal Rossi said, using the city’s traditional title as Argentina’s historic center of learning. “It is a blessed land, walked by saints who knew how to transform faith into service, closeness and self-giving.” In a reflection submitted to OSV News, Cardinal Rossi described the visit as a sign of continuity with Pope Francis, but said the new pope would give it “his own imprint.” “The shepherd comes to meet his people, to confirm us in faith, renew our hope and give us a pat on the back so that we do not lose heart,” he wrote. The visit will conclude at Luján, the shrine of Argentina’s national patroness and one of the few religious spaces capable of gathering Argentines across social and political divisions. Authorities are preparing for as many as 1.7 million people in a city of approximately 95,000 residents. Access roads will begin closing the day before the Mass, 1,500 extraordinary ministers are expected to distribute Communion, and Buenos Aires province plans to deploy about 11,000 police officers and cadets. The original 17th-century image of Our Lady of Luján will be brought out of the basilica for the celebration. Political rivals working hand in hand on papal visit organization Organizing the event required cooperation among Milei’s national government, the provincial administration of Axel Kicillof — one of the president’s principal political opponents and Peronist governor of Buenos Aires — the local municipality and church authorities. The papal visit has obliged competing political sectors to work together before Pope Leo has spoken a word. If anything connects people divided by harsh polarization, it’s the local Church’s most revered shrine. Father Lucas García, rector of Argentina’s major Marian shrine, said devotion to Our Lady of Luján reaches Argentines who rarely take part in Church life but may still carry a family photograph, a promise or a prayer inherited from their grandparents. “In an Argentina that often experiences divisions, differences and difficulty encountering one another, the Virgin remains a point of unity,” he told OSV News. “Luján is much more than a place of pilgrimage,” he said. “It is a home where Argentines can recognize one another as brothers and sisters.” Different sectors will inevitably try to fit the pope’s words and gestures into their familiar divisions. But for four days, his itinerary will also invite the country to meet outside those categories: alongside people with disabilities, workers, prisoners, young people, pilgrims and the Virgin whom Argentines call their mother. Whether that encounter lasts beyond the crowds will determine whether the visit becomes merely a historic event — or, as Cardinal Rossi hopes, leaves Argentina with “tasks for the heart.” Ines San Martin writes for OSV News from Rosario, Argentina.  

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Pope Leo heads to a divided Argentina still reckoning with Francis’ legacy #Catholic –

ROSARIO, Argentina (OSV News) — When Pope Leo XIV arrives in Argentina Nov. 8, he will become the first pope to set foot in the country in nearly four decades — and the first to encounter a nation still wrestling with the legacy of the Argentine who preceded him.

Pope Francis remained deeply loved by many Argentines, particularly for his closeness to the poor. But he also became entangled in the country’s political divisions, criticized from the right as Peronist and from other sectors for positions they considered conservative. His decision never to return home during his 12-year pontificate remained a source of disappointment and speculation.

Pope Leo will arrive in a country that Archbishop Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva of Buenos Aires recently described as “a wounded Argentina, a divided Argentina,” marked for decades by poverty, intolerance and the political fracture Argentines call la grieta, or “the rift.”

But the four-day visit also offers an unusual opportunity: to gather Argentines around a figure who does not yet belong to either side of their disputes.

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

As is often the case with a papal trip, it begins in the most political setting. After arriving from Uruguay, the pope will visit the monument to Gen. José de San Martín, father of Argentina’s independence, attend a welcoming ceremony at the Casa Rosada presidential palace, meet President Javier Milei and address government officials, civil society and the diplomatic corps.

Milei directed fierce criticism at Pope Francis before becoming president. Once elected, however, he invited the pope to Argentina and met with him at the Vatican in February 2024, and his government later initiated the diplomatic process that led to Pope Leo’s visit.

Relations between Milei’s government and the Argentine bishops have nonetheless remained tense. Church leaders have regularly warned about poverty, unemployment and the effects of fiscal austerity, while the president has argued that Argentina must abandon economic policies that perpetuate dependency on state assistance.

Expectations from the papal visit

The economic picture resists a simple political reading. Official poverty figures fell sharply from 52.9% in the first half of 2024 to 28.2% in the second half of 2025, but rose again to 32.3% in the first half of 2026. In August, economic activity was down 1.7% from a year earlier.

Those pressures are shaping what Argentines expect from the pope. A survey by the Observatory of Beliefs and Religions in Argentina, or OCREAR, found that 43% of respondents believed poverty should be the principal priority of Pope Leo’s pontificate.

Peace came second, while doctrinal issues, Church transparency and sexual abuse ranked lower. Only 49% considered the visit very or somewhat important, and 65% expected it to have little or no effect on their own religious practice — though approximately 57% of Argentines continue to identify as Catholic, and another 17% as evangelical.

Roberto Bosca, a scholar of religion and public life and former dean of the law school at Austral University, said the bishops’ attention to social questions is sometimes read as populist, Peronist or left-wing, particularly by a largely secularized middle class that believes they have displaced God with social activism.

“If the bishops’ teaching is read without ideological blinders, it is Christ-centered,” he told OSV News in Spanish. But in Argentina, he said, even Christian language about placing the needy at the center is frequently translated into partisan categories.

On Nov. 9, Pope Leo will visit residents and caregivers at the Don Orione “Little Cottolengo” in Claypole, a center serving people with disabilities. He will celebrate Mass in Buenos Aires for a crowd expected to surpass 1.5 million people, meet representatives of the world of work, address Christian and interreligious leaders, and celebrate vespers with the Argentine bishops and diocesan synodal teams.

The following morning he will travel to Córdoba, before returning to Buenos Aires for a youth vigil on Nov. 10. On his final day, before heading to Peru, he will visit the federal prison of Devoto and celebrate what organizers are calling the “Mass of Charity” at the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján, the country’s national Marian shrine.

Unlike in neighboring Uruguay, where Pope Leo will enter the disadvantaged Montevideo neighborhood of Casavalle, the Argentine schedule includes no visit to one of Buenos Aires’ villas, or informal settlements — places closely associated with Pope Francis’ ministry.

Instead, its encounters with vulnerability are distributed across a disability center, a prison, a meeting focused on labor and the Luján Mass, where organizations including Caritas and the Hogar de Cristo network for people struggling with addiction will receive priority among approximately 8,000 invited guests.

Meeting with abuse survivors

The Vatican also has announced that Pope Leo will hold private meetings with survivors of abuse by clergy or other Church personnel during his three-country journey, without disclosing where.

The announcement is particularly relevant in Argentina, where survivors continue to demand transparency and canonical accountability in cases including the abuse of deaf children at Mendoza’s Antonio Próvolo Institute and that of Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta, convicted by an Argentine court of abusing seminarians.

OSV News confirmed that in October 2024 he was seen in his former Diocese of Orán riding a fire truck while wearing clerical attire. There has been no public update on his canonical status.

Inés Franck, a member of Argentina’s commission for the protection of minors and a former Vatican consultant on the issue, said the region “is developing its tools for prevention and care with little resources, because these are also countries going through financial and development crisis.”

There is still “plenty of work to do, resistances to overcome, resources to optimize and practices to implement,” she told OSV News, “but the meetings of the pope with the victims speak to us about the will of the Church not to look the other way and to be there where there was pain and there still is.”

Córdoba will give the visit a more federal character. Located near Argentina’s geographical center, the city is more accessible for pilgrims from the northern and interior provinces. It is also the land of St. José Gabriel del Rosario Brochero, the “gaucho priest” who traveled the Sierras of Córdoba by mule, evangelizing isolated communities.

Papal visit to the ‘blessed land’

Pope Leo will celebrate Mass at the Military Aviation School and meet clergy, religious, seminarians and lay pastoral workers at Córdoba’s cathedral.

Cardinal Ángel Sixto Rossi of Córdoba, described the visit as both a source of immense joy and of “healthy fear” because of the responsibility involved in receiving the pope and pilgrims from throughout the country.

“Córdoba is not only ‘La Docta,’” Cardinal Rossi said, using the city’s traditional title as Argentina’s historic center of learning. “It is a blessed land, walked by saints who knew how to transform faith into service, closeness and self-giving.”

In a reflection submitted to OSV News, Cardinal Rossi described the visit as a sign of continuity with Pope Francis, but said the new pope would give it “his own imprint.”

“The shepherd comes to meet his people, to confirm us in faith, renew our hope and give us a pat on the back so that we do not lose heart,” he wrote.

The visit will conclude at Luján, the shrine of Argentina’s national patroness and one of the few religious spaces capable of gathering Argentines across social and political divisions.

Authorities are preparing for as many as 1.7 million people in a city of approximately 95,000 residents. Access roads will begin closing the day before the Mass, 1,500 extraordinary ministers are expected to distribute Communion, and Buenos Aires province plans to deploy about 11,000 police officers and cadets. The original 17th-century image of Our Lady of Luján will be brought out of the basilica for the celebration.

Political rivals working hand in hand on papal visit organization

Organizing the event required cooperation among Milei’s national government, the provincial administration of Axel Kicillof — one of the president’s principal political opponents and Peronist governor of Buenos Aires — the local municipality and church authorities.

The papal visit has obliged competing political sectors to work together before Pope Leo has spoken a word.

If anything connects people divided by harsh polarization, it’s the local Church’s most revered shrine.

Father Lucas García, rector of Argentina’s major Marian shrine, said devotion to Our Lady of Luján reaches Argentines who rarely take part in Church life but may still carry a family photograph, a promise or a prayer inherited from their grandparents.

“In an Argentina that often experiences divisions, differences and difficulty encountering one another, the Virgin remains a point of unity,” he told OSV News.

“Luján is much more than a place of pilgrimage,” he said. “It is a home where Argentines can recognize one another as brothers and sisters.”

Different sectors will inevitably try to fit the pope’s words and gestures into their familiar divisions. But for four days, his itinerary will also invite the country to meet outside those categories: alongside people with disabilities, workers, prisoners, young people, pilgrims and the Virgin whom Argentines call their mother.

Whether that encounter lasts beyond the crowds will determine whether the visit becomes merely a historic event — or, as Cardinal Rossi hopes, leaves Argentina with “tasks for the heart.”

Ines San Martin writes for OSV News from Rosario, Argentina.

 

– ROSARIO, Argentina (OSV News) — When Pope Leo XIV arrives in Argentina Nov. 8, he will become the first pope to set foot in the country in nearly four decades — and the first to encounter a nation still wrestling with the legacy of the Argentine who preceded him. Pope Francis remained deeply loved by many Argentines, particularly for his closeness to the poor. But he also became entangled in the country’s political divisions, criticized from the right as Peronist and from other sectors for positions they considered conservative. His decision never to return home during his 12-year pontificate remained

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Idaho defies trend, rejects abortion protections ballot measure #Catholic – WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Voters in four states considered ballot measures related to abortion policy Nov. 3, with only one state rejecting a measure to expand access to the procedure, and the others approving proposals to codify a right to an abortion or rejecting further limits. Voters in Idaho rejected a ballot measure that would have established abortion as a state right, but voters in Nevada and Virginia approved similar measures. Lila Rose, president and founder of Live Action, said in a Nov. 4 statement that “the results of this election bring serious challenges for the fight for life, but also a tremendous victory in Idaho, where voters rejected an extreme abortion measure and preserved protections for preborn children.” “Voters in Virginia and Nevada approved sweeping pro-abortion amendments, while Missouri voters rejected an effort to restore protections for preborn children. These are devastating setbacks for innocent children who deserve the protection of the law. We will continue working to defend every child whose life is threatened by abortion,” Rose said. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. The results of the ballot measures came in the same election cycle that saw Democrats win control of both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives by wide margins. Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, previously urged Catholics in that state to reject Virginia’s ballot measure, which he described as “dangerous,” as well as another that would amend the Virginia Constitution to remove a ban on same-sex marriage. In a Nov. 4 statement, Bishop Burbidge said, “Tragically, a majority of Virginians voted this election season to insert an extreme and limitless legal right to abortion into our Commonwealth’s constitution. A majority also lamentably voted to strip objectively good and true language from our state’s constitution that upheld the truth that marriage is a sacred institution uniting one man and one woman.” “Despite this defeat, faithful Catholics may be consoled by the certainty that each one of us gave God our best efforts, and that he will not allow those efforts to be in vain,” he said. “We know the truth, and no temporary political defeat changes this reality. Thus, we do not despair. We resolve to continue speaking the truth with love and, together, we persevere in faith and hope.” Bans on same-sex marriage in Virginia and other states have effectively been defunct since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015. In Missouri, voters rejected Amendment 3, which would have limited both abortion and certain types of medical or surgical gender reassignment procedures for minors who identify as transgender. Since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in June 2022, resulting in each state determining its abortion laws, voters in most states with ballot measures on abortion in 2022, 2023 and 2024 have supported abortion protections or rejected abortion bans. More broadly, state ballot measures ask voters to weigh in directly on a policy item, law or regulation, sometimes in lieu of or alongside the legislative process. Rules and procedures for their inclusion on ballots vary by state, as do the topics each state may consider. Voters in Arizona and Nebraska approved ballot measures that would implement requirements for student athletes to participate on teams that correspond to their biological sex. The outcome of similar ballot measures in Colorado and Washington were still too close to call as of 1:30 p.m. (EST) on Nov. 4. Another Colorado measure that would prohibit certain types of medical or surgical gender reassignment procedures for minors who identify as transgender was also too early to call. Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.  
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Idaho defies trend, rejects abortion protections ballot measure #Catholic – WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Voters in four states considered ballot measures related to abortion policy Nov. 3, with only one state rejecting a measure to expand access to the procedure, and the others approving proposals to codify a right to an abortion or rejecting further limits. Voters in Idaho rejected a ballot measure that would have established abortion as a state right, but voters in Nevada and Virginia approved similar measures. Lila Rose, president and founder of Live Action, said in a Nov. 4 statement that “the results of this election bring serious challenges for the fight for life, but also a tremendous victory in Idaho, where voters rejected an extreme abortion measure and preserved protections for preborn children.” “Voters in Virginia and Nevada approved sweeping pro-abortion amendments, while Missouri voters rejected an effort to restore protections for preborn children. These are devastating setbacks for innocent children who deserve the protection of the law. We will continue working to defend every child whose life is threatened by abortion,” Rose said. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. The results of the ballot measures came in the same election cycle that saw Democrats win control of both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives by wide margins. Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, previously urged Catholics in that state to reject Virginia’s ballot measure, which he described as “dangerous,” as well as another that would amend the Virginia Constitution to remove a ban on same-sex marriage. In a Nov. 4 statement, Bishop Burbidge said, “Tragically, a majority of Virginians voted this election season to insert an extreme and limitless legal right to abortion into our Commonwealth’s constitution. A majority also lamentably voted to strip objectively good and true language from our state’s constitution that upheld the truth that marriage is a sacred institution uniting one man and one woman.” “Despite this defeat, faithful Catholics may be consoled by the certainty that each one of us gave God our best efforts, and that he will not allow those efforts to be in vain,” he said. “We know the truth, and no temporary political defeat changes this reality. Thus, we do not despair. We resolve to continue speaking the truth with love and, together, we persevere in faith and hope.” Bans on same-sex marriage in Virginia and other states have effectively been defunct since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015. In Missouri, voters rejected Amendment 3, which would have limited both abortion and certain types of medical or surgical gender reassignment procedures for minors who identify as transgender. Since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in June 2022, resulting in each state determining its abortion laws, voters in most states with ballot measures on abortion in 2022, 2023 and 2024 have supported abortion protections or rejected abortion bans. More broadly, state ballot measures ask voters to weigh in directly on a policy item, law or regulation, sometimes in lieu of or alongside the legislative process. Rules and procedures for their inclusion on ballots vary by state, as do the topics each state may consider. Voters in Arizona and Nebraska approved ballot measures that would implement requirements for student athletes to participate on teams that correspond to their biological sex. The outcome of similar ballot measures in Colorado and Washington were still too close to call as of 1:30 p.m. (EST) on Nov. 4. Another Colorado measure that would prohibit certain types of medical or surgical gender reassignment procedures for minors who identify as transgender was also too early to call. Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.  

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Idaho defies trend, rejects abortion protections ballot measure #Catholic –

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Voters in four states considered ballot measures related to abortion policy Nov. 3, with only one state rejecting a measure to expand access to the procedure, and the others approving proposals to codify a right to an abortion or rejecting further limits.

Voters in Idaho rejected a ballot measure that would have established abortion as a state right, but voters in Nevada and Virginia approved similar measures.

Lila Rose, president and founder of Live Action, said in a Nov. 4 statement that “the results of this election bring serious challenges for the fight for life, but also a tremendous victory in Idaho, where voters rejected an extreme abortion measure and preserved protections for preborn children.”

“Voters in Virginia and Nevada approved sweeping pro-abortion amendments, while Missouri voters rejected an effort to restore protections for preborn children. These are devastating setbacks for innocent children who deserve the protection of the law. We will continue working to defend every child whose life is threatened by abortion,” Rose said.

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

The results of the ballot measures came in the same election cycle that saw Democrats win control of both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives by wide margins.

Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, previously urged Catholics in that state to reject Virginia’s ballot measure, which he described as “dangerous,” as well as another that would amend the Virginia Constitution to remove a ban on same-sex marriage.

In a Nov. 4 statement, Bishop Burbidge said, “Tragically, a majority of Virginians voted this election season to insert an extreme and limitless legal right to abortion into our Commonwealth’s constitution. A majority also lamentably voted to strip objectively good and true language from our state’s constitution that upheld the truth that marriage is a sacred institution uniting one man and one woman.”

“Despite this defeat, faithful Catholics may be consoled by the certainty that each one of us gave God our best efforts, and that he will not allow those efforts to be in vain,” he said. “We know the truth, and no temporary political defeat changes this reality. Thus, we do not despair. We resolve to continue speaking the truth with love and, together, we persevere in faith and hope.”

Bans on same-sex marriage in Virginia and other states have effectively been defunct since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015.

In Missouri, voters rejected Amendment 3, which would have limited both abortion and certain types of medical or surgical gender reassignment procedures for minors who identify as transgender.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in June 2022, resulting in each state determining its abortion laws, voters in most states with ballot measures on abortion in 2022, 2023 and 2024 have supported abortion protections or rejected abortion bans.

More broadly, state ballot measures ask voters to weigh in directly on a policy item, law or regulation, sometimes in lieu of or alongside the legislative process. Rules and procedures for their inclusion on ballots vary by state, as do the topics each state may consider.

Voters in Arizona and Nebraska approved ballot measures that would implement requirements for student athletes to participate on teams that correspond to their biological sex. The outcome of similar ballot measures in Colorado and Washington were still too close to call as of 1:30 p.m. (EST) on Nov. 4. Another Colorado measure that would prohibit certain types of medical or surgical gender reassignment procedures for minors who identify as transgender was also too early to call.

Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.

 

– WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Voters in four states considered ballot measures related to abortion policy Nov. 3, with only one state rejecting a measure to expand access to the procedure, and the others approving proposals to codify a right to an abortion or rejecting further limits. Voters in Idaho rejected a ballot measure that would have established abortion as a state right, but voters in Nevada and Virginia approved similar measures. Lila Rose, president and founder of Live Action, said in a Nov. 4 statement that “the results of this election bring serious challenges for the fight for life, but

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Hubble Reveals Cosmic Mystery – This is an image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope of NGC 4449, one of the dwarf galaxies in the Galaxies Losing Oxygen via Winds (GLOW) study. Researchers found that dwarf galaxies can hold onto only a small fraction of the oxygen made by their stars.

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This is an image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope of NGC 4449, one of the dwarf galaxies in the Galaxies Losing Oxygen via Winds (GLOW) study. Researchers found that dwarf galaxies can hold onto only a small fraction of the oxygen made by their stars.

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Texas Democrats sweep statewide offices; Catholics, pro-lifers respond #Catholic Democrats captured every major statewide office in Texas on Tuesday, ending more than three decades of Republican dominance in the Lone Star State. Catholics and other Christians are warning that the results threaten hard-won gains on the protection of unborn life and parental rights in education.In a surprise defeat in the governor’s race, former state legislator Gina Hinojosa defeated three-time incumbent Greg Abbott, who was first elected in 2014. In 2021, he signed into law the Texas Heartbeat Act, which banned abortions once fetal cardiac activity is detectable (around six weeks).While both Hinojosa and Abbott are Catholic, Hinojosa is pro-abortion, voting against the Heartbeat Act and saying she would sign a bill repealing Texas’ abortion law if it came to her desk, though she has expressed that would be unlikely due to the Republican-majority Legislature. Republicans retained the state Senate but lost their majority in the House.She said in September that expanding abortion access will not be a priority for her as governor because it will take more than her election to get Texas out of the “deep hole” itʼs in regarding what she calls “reproductive rights.”Pro-life advocates warn of setbacks, see opportunitiesJohn Seago, president of Texas Right to Life, a Christian pro-life advocacy group, told EWTN News the election results dealt a “devastating blow” to the pro-life movement in Texas, though he said it was not an “utter disaster” because Republicans, many of whom are pro-life, hung on to the state Senate. He said that will provide “a backstop to kill legislation that would move the pro-life movement backwards.”Seago said the major political change is an opportunity for those who defend life to explain “even more passionately and articulately” why it is so important to do so.In a message to its supporters, the organization wrote: “We cannot simply focus on elections and expect our culture to change by itself. We must make the case for life in our churches, our communities, and our everyday conversations.”Seago said the Republican Party is to blame for the massive electoral shift, saying “the only discussion about abortion in Texas in this election came from [U.S. Senate candidate] James Talarico, who claimed God gave Mary the choice to abort Jesus and said the Bible is silent on abortion.” “Democrats appeared moderate, while Republicans stayed silent,” he said. “That sent a message to pro-lifers that they had a choice between two equal candidates.”He said Texas Right to Life will now focus its efforts on making sure the Republican-majority state Senate blocks “bad” bills, emphasizing the group will be “vigilant” in working with senators. He said even in the Democrat-controlled house, the organization will try to make progress on other pro-life issues where there is bipartisan support and “where the Democrats are usually right there with us,” including protecting patients’ rights, improving foster care and adoption services, and supporting nonprofits that help women.Anthony Joseph, a history professor at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, told EWTN News that Catholics “who’ve been buoyed by the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision are being painfully reminded yet again that the democratic process often morally misfires and creates innocent human casualties.”“Voters often are simply unaware of the harm they are doing,” he said.Joseph said “one consolation for pro-lifers is that Dobbs allowed states to protect unborn children, and the protective laws that resulted in some states will not easily be repealed.”“In Texas, the state Senate will likely continue to have a pro-life majority but Catholics must continue to urge these legislators to uphold current Texas law,” he said.Catholics in those states need “to double and triple their outreach” to state legislators to ensure that these laws stay on the books, he said.Parental rights and education policy at riskHinojosa opposes Abbott’s Texas Freedom of Education Act, which expanded school choice through vouchers parents can use at private schools, calling it a “payout for the privileged” because she says it takes money away from public schools and favors the rich.Joseph said school vouchers encourage religious freedom and empower parents, who, as the Church teaches, bear the primary responsibility for the education of their children.“Parents should have more say in where and how their children are educated,” Joseph said, highlighting that low-income parents who live in neighborhoods with failing public schools especially benefit from the program.Susan Hanssen, a history professor at the University of Dallas, agreed, telling EWTN News that Hinojosaʼs election is “a big loss for a key principle of Catholic social doctrine — the rights of parents over their childrenʼs education.”“The school voucher program frees parents from the stranglehold of the teacherʼs unions, which consistently oppose parental rights in education legislation. It will now be up to the Republicans in the state Senate to defend parental rights,” Hanssen said.“The Church urges Catholics to participate in civic life,” Joseph noted, saying they should remain engaged between elections as much as during election seasons. “Our duty to seek the common good is not episodic but ongoing. It neither begins nor ends with voting, and continues whether our preferred party wins or not.”
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Texas Democrats sweep statewide offices; Catholics, pro-lifers respond #Catholic Democrats captured every major statewide office in Texas on Tuesday, ending more than three decades of Republican dominance in the Lone Star State. Catholics and other Christians are warning that the results threaten hard-won gains on the protection of unborn life and parental rights in education.In a surprise defeat in the governor’s race, former state legislator Gina Hinojosa defeated three-time incumbent Greg Abbott, who was first elected in 2014. In 2021, he signed into law the Texas Heartbeat Act, which banned abortions once fetal cardiac activity is detectable (around six weeks).While both Hinojosa and Abbott are Catholic, Hinojosa is pro-abortion, voting against the Heartbeat Act and saying she would sign a bill repealing Texas’ abortion law if it came to her desk, though she has expressed that would be unlikely due to the Republican-majority Legislature. Republicans retained the state Senate but lost their majority in the House.She said in September that expanding abortion access will not be a priority for her as governor because it will take more than her election to get Texas out of the “deep hole” itʼs in regarding what she calls “reproductive rights.”Pro-life advocates warn of setbacks, see opportunitiesJohn Seago, president of Texas Right to Life, a Christian pro-life advocacy group, told EWTN News the election results dealt a “devastating blow” to the pro-life movement in Texas, though he said it was not an “utter disaster” because Republicans, many of whom are pro-life, hung on to the state Senate. He said that will provide “a backstop to kill legislation that would move the pro-life movement backwards.”Seago said the major political change is an opportunity for those who defend life to explain “even more passionately and articulately” why it is so important to do so.In a message to its supporters, the organization wrote: “We cannot simply focus on elections and expect our culture to change by itself. We must make the case for life in our churches, our communities, and our everyday conversations.”Seago said the Republican Party is to blame for the massive electoral shift, saying “the only discussion about abortion in Texas in this election came from [U.S. Senate candidate] James Talarico, who claimed God gave Mary the choice to abort Jesus and said the Bible is silent on abortion.” “Democrats appeared moderate, while Republicans stayed silent,” he said. “That sent a message to pro-lifers that they had a choice between two equal candidates.”He said Texas Right to Life will now focus its efforts on making sure the Republican-majority state Senate blocks “bad” bills, emphasizing the group will be “vigilant” in working with senators. He said even in the Democrat-controlled house, the organization will try to make progress on other pro-life issues where there is bipartisan support and “where the Democrats are usually right there with us,” including protecting patients’ rights, improving foster care and adoption services, and supporting nonprofits that help women.Anthony Joseph, a history professor at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, told EWTN News that Catholics “who’ve been buoyed by the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision are being painfully reminded yet again that the democratic process often morally misfires and creates innocent human casualties.”“Voters often are simply unaware of the harm they are doing,” he said.Joseph said “one consolation for pro-lifers is that Dobbs allowed states to protect unborn children, and the protective laws that resulted in some states will not easily be repealed.”“In Texas, the state Senate will likely continue to have a pro-life majority but Catholics must continue to urge these legislators to uphold current Texas law,” he said.Catholics in those states need “to double and triple their outreach” to state legislators to ensure that these laws stay on the books, he said.Parental rights and education policy at riskHinojosa opposes Abbott’s Texas Freedom of Education Act, which expanded school choice through vouchers parents can use at private schools, calling it a “payout for the privileged” because she says it takes money away from public schools and favors the rich.Joseph said school vouchers encourage religious freedom and empower parents, who, as the Church teaches, bear the primary responsibility for the education of their children.“Parents should have more say in where and how their children are educated,” Joseph said, highlighting that low-income parents who live in neighborhoods with failing public schools especially benefit from the program.Susan Hanssen, a history professor at the University of Dallas, agreed, telling EWTN News that Hinojosaʼs election is “a big loss for a key principle of Catholic social doctrine — the rights of parents over their childrenʼs education.”“The school voucher program frees parents from the stranglehold of the teacherʼs unions, which consistently oppose parental rights in education legislation. It will now be up to the Republicans in the state Senate to defend parental rights,” Hanssen said.“The Church urges Catholics to participate in civic life,” Joseph noted, saying they should remain engaged between elections as much as during election seasons. “Our duty to seek the common good is not episodic but ongoing. It neither begins nor ends with voting, and continues whether our preferred party wins or not.”

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Pro-life activists note that Republicans, many of whom are pro-life, retain control of the state Senate, which will be “a backstop to kill legislation that would move the pro-life movement backwards.”

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Pope Leo meets with renowned singer Bob Dylan #Catholic Pope Leo XIV welcomed legendary American singer-songwriter and 2016 Nobel Prize in literature laureate Bob Dylan to the Vatican on Wednesday, Nov. 4.During the meeting, for which Dylan wore a black-hooded jacket, the Holy Father presented him with a rosary, while the 85-year-old singer gifted the pontiff a copy of his autobiography, “Chronicles: Volume One,” according to Vatican News.Dylan is in Rome for a Thursday, Nov. 5, concert at the Palazzo dello Sport as part of his “Rough and Rowdy Ways” tour, which also includes stops in Milan and Bologna.Pope Leo XIV has quoted DylanIn July, Pope Leo XIV quoted Dylan to criticize the arms race, which he described as something that “frightens and terrifies us today.”"As singer-songwriter and poet Bob Dylan wrote, figuratively addressing the atomic bomb, in one of his poetic compositions: ‘I hate you cause yer man-made and man-owned an’ man-handled,’" the pope wrote, referring to the song "Go Away You Bomb" (1963).The quote appears in an unpublished text from the book “Unarmed and Disarming: Peace Is a Gift,” published by the Vatican Publishing House. It is the first anthology to collect various statements by Pope Leo XIV on the subject of peace, dating from his election on May 8, 2025.A performance before St. John Paul II and a multitude of young peopleDylan’s audience with Pope Leo XIV was not the first time the singer-songwriter had met a pope.In September 1997, Dylan was invited to perform at the 23rd National Eucharistic Congress in Bologna, Italy, before St. John Paul II and a crowd of approximately 300,000 young people.The singer performed some of his hits, such as "Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door" — a song also popularized by Guns N’ Roses and Eric Clapton.Although Dylan did not perform "Blowin’ in the Wind," the song’s theme was referenced by Pope John Paul II in his address to the gathering. In the song, the singer-songwriter asks, “How many roads must a man walk down before he can truly call himself a man?” — to which he himself provides the answer, in the song’s title: “The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.”In his address, John Paul II revisited Dylan’s question, gave it a masterful twist, and offered an answer imbued with Christian realism: “One of your representatives has said, on your behalf, that the answer to the questions in your life ‘is blowin’ in the wind.’ That is true. But it is not the wind that scatters everything into the whirlpools of nothingness; rather, it is the wind that is the breath and voice of the Spirit.”And he added: “You have asked me: ‘How many paths must a man travel to be able to recognize himself as a man?’ I answer you: one. There is only one path for man; it is Christ, who said: ‘I am the way’ (Jn 14:6). He is the way of truth, the way of life.”This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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Pope Leo meets with renowned singer Bob Dylan #Catholic Pope Leo XIV welcomed legendary American singer-songwriter and 2016 Nobel Prize in literature laureate Bob Dylan to the Vatican on Wednesday, Nov. 4.During the meeting, for which Dylan wore a black-hooded jacket, the Holy Father presented him with a rosary, while the 85-year-old singer gifted the pontiff a copy of his autobiography, “Chronicles: Volume One,” according to Vatican News.Dylan is in Rome for a Thursday, Nov. 5, concert at the Palazzo dello Sport as part of his “Rough and Rowdy Ways” tour, which also includes stops in Milan and Bologna.Pope Leo XIV has quoted DylanIn July, Pope Leo XIV quoted Dylan to criticize the arms race, which he described as something that “frightens and terrifies us today.”"As singer-songwriter and poet Bob Dylan wrote, figuratively addressing the atomic bomb, in one of his poetic compositions: ‘I hate you cause yer man-made and man-owned an’ man-handled,’" the pope wrote, referring to the song "Go Away You Bomb" (1963).The quote appears in an unpublished text from the book “Unarmed and Disarming: Peace Is a Gift,” published by the Vatican Publishing House. It is the first anthology to collect various statements by Pope Leo XIV on the subject of peace, dating from his election on May 8, 2025.A performance before St. John Paul II and a multitude of young peopleDylan’s audience with Pope Leo XIV was not the first time the singer-songwriter had met a pope.In September 1997, Dylan was invited to perform at the 23rd National Eucharistic Congress in Bologna, Italy, before St. John Paul II and a crowd of approximately 300,000 young people.The singer performed some of his hits, such as "Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door" — a song also popularized by Guns N’ Roses and Eric Clapton.Although Dylan did not perform "Blowin’ in the Wind," the song’s theme was referenced by Pope John Paul II in his address to the gathering. In the song, the singer-songwriter asks, “How many roads must a man walk down before he can truly call himself a man?” — to which he himself provides the answer, in the song’s title: “The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.”In his address, John Paul II revisited Dylan’s question, gave it a masterful twist, and offered an answer imbued with Christian realism: “One of your representatives has said, on your behalf, that the answer to the questions in your life ‘is blowin’ in the wind.’ That is true. But it is not the wind that scatters everything into the whirlpools of nothingness; rather, it is the wind that is the breath and voice of the Spirit.”And he added: “You have asked me: ‘How many paths must a man travel to be able to recognize himself as a man?’ I answer you: one. There is only one path for man; it is Christ, who said: ‘I am the way’ (Jn 14:6). He is the way of truth, the way of life.”This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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During the meeting, the Holy Father presented Dylan with a rosary.

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Bishops, pro-life movement react to abortion referendums, election results – #Catholic – Pro-abortion advocates prevailed in three of four ballot referendums, while Democrats won control of both the House and Senate in the Nov. 3 elections, prompting responses from some U.S. Catholic bishops and pro-life groups.Voters in Virginia and Nevada adopted amendments to their state constitutions to create a legal right to abortion, with more than 62% support in both states. Voters in Missouri easily defeated a pro-life referendum that would have repealed their state constitution’s legal right to abortion, with 55.5% voting against it.Alternatively, voters in Idaho decisively rejected a referendum that would have changed state law to create a legal right to abortion, with 56% of voters casting their ballots for “no.”The balance of power in Congress shifted significantly. Democrats have flipped at least seven Republican Senate seats (two Republican-held seats are still too close to call). Democrats won control of the House and are on pace to have more than a 70-seat majority.Reactions to abortion referendumsCatholic bishops were heavily involved in the four abortion referendum battles, seeking to rally the faithful behind the Church’s teaching about the sanctity of life and cast their ballots in line with the pro-life causes.After a resounding 25-point victory for abortion in Virginia, the bishops in both Catholic dioceses in the commonwealth called the results “profoundly tragic.”“Unless a court intervenes, this decision will embed virtually limitless abortion into the constitution,” Diocese of Richmond Bishop Barry C. Knestout and Diocese of Arlington Bishop Michael F. Burbidge said in a joint statement.“It will put women’s health and safety at severe risk and leave parents out of life-altering and irreversible decisions involving their minor daughters,” they said. “Most fundamentally, this extreme, radical, dangerous and deadly constitutional amendment is a complete rejection of the immeasurable value of human life, created in God’s image and likeness.”Olivia Gans Turner, president of Virginia Society for Human Life, expressed concern about how far-reaching the referendum would go and said: “The winners of this vote will be abortion businesses who will be able to operate unregulated and without any serious accountability in the commonwealth. The losers of tonight’s vote are the women and unborn children who will now be without any legal protections going forward.”The Nevada Catholic Conference — which represents the state’s two dioceses, the Diocese of Reno and the Archdiocese of Las Vegas — also issued a statement following the 26-point win for abortion rights in their state.“A vote can change Nevadaʼs constitution, but it cannot change the dignity and value of every human life,” the statement read. “We are deeply disappointed by the passage of Question 6. However, this election does not end our responsibility to the unborn or to mothers who need our help.”“The Nevada Catholic Conference remains committed to protecting human life and supporting women and families,” it added. “We will keep speaking up for the unborn and all human life from conception to natural death.”The Missouri Catholic Conference also issued a statement — signed by the bishops of all four dioceses — which said it is “profoundly saddened” voters rejected the pro-life amendment.“This result, however, does not mark the end of our work,” the statement read. “The Catholic Church in Missouri will continue to advocate for policies that uphold the dignity of every person, protect the most vulnerable among us, and provide compassionate support to those in need, as she has always done.”“We remain steadfast in our commitment to accompany mothers and fathers facing hardship in their pregnancies and to offer hope and healing to those who have been wounded by the scourge of abortion,” the bishops added.Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, said the pro-life defeat “will continue to open the door to abortion throughout pregnancy” but that “tonight’s results are a setback, but it’s not the final word.”“An election cannot diminish the humanity of an unborn child or end our responsibility to speak for those whose lives are at risk,” Tobias said.The Diocese of Boise, the only Catholic diocese in Idaho, has not yet issued a statement on the pro-life victory in the state. The diocese did not immediately respond to a request for comment, though Bishop Peter Christensen had been encouraging priests to emphasize the teaching on the sanctity of human life at every Mass leading up to the vote.Emily Naugle, president of Right to Life of Idaho, said in a statement that “Idaho voters saw through a campaign designed to pit women against their unborn babies and recognized that our current laws protect both.”“Pro-Life advocates came together and fought as though lives depended on it, because they do. They worked tirelessly to expose the truth about Proposition 1,” Naugle said. “We are relishing this victory and are proud to stand among the many voices who spoke up for the most vulnerable in our society this election.”Reaction to election resultsThere have not been many reactions from bishops about the congressional results, although the Colorado Catholic Conference — which represents all of the state’s bishops — put out a statement congratulating all winners and urging them to support the common good.“We call upon our elected leaders to implement policies that defend and uplift the most vulnerable members of our human family,” the statement read, according to the Denver Catholic.“We also urge you to firmly protect the religious liberty of all individuals and faith-based organizations, safeguarding their right to serve the community according to their convictions,” it added. “May your governance be guided by a steadfast commitment to justice, peace and the flourishing of our entire state.”Some pro-life organizations have expressed concern about the Democrats’ congressional wins due to the pro-abortion stances of the bulk of the party’s candidates.Tobias said in a statement that many pro-life politicians were “replaced with rabidly anti-life candidates” but noted “we’ve faced difficult times before — and we’re still here.”“We will continue to push for laws that protect babies and help their moms, while looking for new and innovative ways to love them both,” she said. “We will work to make sure that every pregnant woman knows she is not alone. And we will continue to promote the value of innocent human life so that, even if abortion is legal, no woman will want one.”Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser asserted in a statement that Republican turnout was low because the Republican Party has watered down its pro-life stances.“Republican consultants got the campaign they wanted — and the defeat they earned,” she said. “You cannot spend years telling your base to sit down and shut up, then act surprised when they don’t stand up for you on Election Day. Republicans must stop running from the pro-life fight and start giving voters a reason to fight for them.”A poll released by the Pew Research Center in October found that 43% of Republicans listed abortion as a “very important” factor in their vote. However, 82% listed the economy as “very important” and many other issues surpassed abortion in terms of importance for Republican voters, such as immigration, foreign policy, and violent crime.
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Bishops, pro-life movement react to abortion referendums, election results – #Catholic – Pro-abortion advocates prevailed in three of four ballot referendums, while Democrats won control of both the House and Senate in the Nov. 3 elections, prompting responses from some U.S. Catholic bishops and pro-life groups.Voters in Virginia and Nevada adopted amendments to their state constitutions to create a legal right to abortion, with more than 62% support in both states. Voters in Missouri easily defeated a pro-life referendum that would have repealed their state constitution’s legal right to abortion, with 55.5% voting against it.Alternatively, voters in Idaho decisively rejected a referendum that would have changed state law to create a legal right to abortion, with 56% of voters casting their ballots for “no.”The balance of power in Congress shifted significantly. Democrats have flipped at least seven Republican Senate seats (two Republican-held seats are still too close to call). Democrats won control of the House and are on pace to have more than a 70-seat majority.Reactions to abortion referendumsCatholic bishops were heavily involved in the four abortion referendum battles, seeking to rally the faithful behind the Church’s teaching about the sanctity of life and cast their ballots in line with the pro-life causes.After a resounding 25-point victory for abortion in Virginia, the bishops in both Catholic dioceses in the commonwealth called the results “profoundly tragic.”“Unless a court intervenes, this decision will embed virtually limitless abortion into the constitution,” Diocese of Richmond Bishop Barry C. Knestout and Diocese of Arlington Bishop Michael F. Burbidge said in a joint statement.“It will put women’s health and safety at severe risk and leave parents out of life-altering and irreversible decisions involving their minor daughters,” they said. “Most fundamentally, this extreme, radical, dangerous and deadly constitutional amendment is a complete rejection of the immeasurable value of human life, created in God’s image and likeness.”Olivia Gans Turner, president of Virginia Society for Human Life, expressed concern about how far-reaching the referendum would go and said: “The winners of this vote will be abortion businesses who will be able to operate unregulated and without any serious accountability in the commonwealth. The losers of tonight’s vote are the women and unborn children who will now be without any legal protections going forward.”The Nevada Catholic Conference — which represents the state’s two dioceses, the Diocese of Reno and the Archdiocese of Las Vegas — also issued a statement following the 26-point win for abortion rights in their state.“A vote can change Nevadaʼs constitution, but it cannot change the dignity and value of every human life,” the statement read. “We are deeply disappointed by the passage of Question 6. However, this election does not end our responsibility to the unborn or to mothers who need our help.”“The Nevada Catholic Conference remains committed to protecting human life and supporting women and families,” it added. “We will keep speaking up for the unborn and all human life from conception to natural death.”The Missouri Catholic Conference also issued a statement — signed by the bishops of all four dioceses — which said it is “profoundly saddened” voters rejected the pro-life amendment.“This result, however, does not mark the end of our work,” the statement read. “The Catholic Church in Missouri will continue to advocate for policies that uphold the dignity of every person, protect the most vulnerable among us, and provide compassionate support to those in need, as she has always done.”“We remain steadfast in our commitment to accompany mothers and fathers facing hardship in their pregnancies and to offer hope and healing to those who have been wounded by the scourge of abortion,” the bishops added.Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, said the pro-life defeat “will continue to open the door to abortion throughout pregnancy” but that “tonight’s results are a setback, but it’s not the final word.”“An election cannot diminish the humanity of an unborn child or end our responsibility to speak for those whose lives are at risk,” Tobias said.The Diocese of Boise, the only Catholic diocese in Idaho, has not yet issued a statement on the pro-life victory in the state. The diocese did not immediately respond to a request for comment, though Bishop Peter Christensen had been encouraging priests to emphasize the teaching on the sanctity of human life at every Mass leading up to the vote.Emily Naugle, president of Right to Life of Idaho, said in a statement that “Idaho voters saw through a campaign designed to pit women against their unborn babies and recognized that our current laws protect both.”“Pro-Life advocates came together and fought as though lives depended on it, because they do. They worked tirelessly to expose the truth about Proposition 1,” Naugle said. “We are relishing this victory and are proud to stand among the many voices who spoke up for the most vulnerable in our society this election.”Reaction to election resultsThere have not been many reactions from bishops about the congressional results, although the Colorado Catholic Conference — which represents all of the state’s bishops — put out a statement congratulating all winners and urging them to support the common good.“We call upon our elected leaders to implement policies that defend and uplift the most vulnerable members of our human family,” the statement read, according to the Denver Catholic.“We also urge you to firmly protect the religious liberty of all individuals and faith-based organizations, safeguarding their right to serve the community according to their convictions,” it added. “May your governance be guided by a steadfast commitment to justice, peace and the flourishing of our entire state.”Some pro-life organizations have expressed concern about the Democrats’ congressional wins due to the pro-abortion stances of the bulk of the party’s candidates.Tobias said in a statement that many pro-life politicians were “replaced with rabidly anti-life candidates” but noted “we’ve faced difficult times before — and we’re still here.”“We will continue to push for laws that protect babies and help their moms, while looking for new and innovative ways to love them both,” she said. “We will work to make sure that every pregnant woman knows she is not alone. And we will continue to promote the value of innocent human life so that, even if abortion is legal, no woman will want one.”Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser asserted in a statement that Republican turnout was low because the Republican Party has watered down its pro-life stances.“Republican consultants got the campaign they wanted — and the defeat they earned,” she said. “You cannot spend years telling your base to sit down and shut up, then act surprised when they don’t stand up for you on Election Day. Republicans must stop running from the pro-life fight and start giving voters a reason to fight for them.”A poll released by the Pew Research Center in October found that 43% of Republicans listed abortion as a “very important” factor in their vote. However, 82% listed the economy as “very important” and many other issues surpassed abortion in terms of importance for Republican voters, such as immigration, foreign policy, and violent crime.

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Catholic bishops reacted to three pro-life losses in referendum battles, and pro-life groups have weighed in on the referendum results and the impact of the decisive Democratic congressional wins.

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Pilgrimage follows St. Paul’s footsteps under Hanover pastor’s lead #Catholic – On Oct. 4, 27 pilgrims departed New Jersey for a pilgrimage to Turkey and Greece, following in the footsteps of St. Paul through Greece and Turkey, which continued through Oct. 14. As their spiritual guide, Father Vidal Gonzales, pastor of Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Parish in the Cedar Knolls neighborhood of Hanover Township, N.J., reminded pilgrims that this was more than a journey to places of historical and religious significance. Above all, it was a journey of faith, reflection, and a deeper relationship with God. Walking through the ancient cities where St. Paul preached the Gospel, the group imagined his courage, perseverance, and unwavering faith despite the hardships he endured. Visiting Ephesus, Thessalonica, Corinth, and Athens reminded them that their faith was built not on comfort or convenience, but on trust in God, perseverance through difficulties, and a willingness to surrender ourselves to his will, Father Gonzales said. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Although each of person experienced the pilgrimage uniquely, the pilgrimage group shared a common realization: Jesus’ promise, “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matt 28:20), which remains alive and true in our lives today. Through the sacred places pilgrims visited, the Scriptures they reflected upon, the Eucharist they celebrated, and the fellowship they shared, they were reminded that Christ continues to accompany us on our journey, Father Gonzales said. As a priest, St. Paul’s example especially inspired Father Gonzales. “His courage and perseverance challenged me to reflect on how faithfully I trust God, how I respond to difficulties, and how willing I am to step outside my comfort zone to serve others. His life reminds me that faith must be lived, not simply professed, and that I am called to share God’s love through my words and actions.” Father Gonzales said. Also reflecting on the experience, pilgrim Debra Hanley said, “The Scriptures came alive as we walked through the places where St. Paul proclaimed the Gospel and celebrated the Eucharist.” Hanley said she was especially moved by the island of Patmos and the cave where St. John received the Book of Revelation. “Beyond the sacred places, I treasured the bonds of love and friendship we formed and the opportunity to encounter people of different cultures and faiths,” Hanley said. “I was reminded that, in our common humanity, we are all God’s precious children,” she said. Remy Nshuti, another pilgrim, called the devotional experience “life-changing,” especially at historic places connected to St. Paul, the early Church, St. John, and the Virgin Mary. “I returned home with a deeper appreciation for Scripture, a strengthened faith, and a grateful heart. Most importantly, I was reminded that a pilgrimage does not end when we return home — it continues in how we live our faith, serve others, and grow closer to God each day,” Nshuti said. This was her first pilgrimage for Denise Denk, who added, “and it certainly will not be my last.” “The daily rhythm of waking early, walking, and praying opened a special space in my heart. I experienced a deep sense of peace and holiness at Mary’s house in Ephesus and St. John’s cave in Patmos,” Denk said. “I returned home with a lighter heart, a deeper sense of gratitude, and a renewed understanding that life itself is a pilgrimage and that every step is guided,” she said. Shaila D’Souza, a pilgrim, enjoyed the Catholic fellowship they shared and was filled with “wonder and awe” by the ancient churches, monasteries, and Byzantine artwork that have endured for centuries. The art, culture, sights, stories, food, and prayer all stirred my soul and reminded me of St. Paul’s words to focus on whatever is good, true, noble, and lovely. I came home with so many beautiful things to think about after our amazing journey!” Further reflecting on the experience, Father Gonzales added, “The pilgrimage also renewed my appreciation for the Holy Mass and the Eucharist’s central role in my spiritual life. The Eucharist nourishes my soul, strengthens my faith, renews my hope, and reminds me that I do not have to rely on my own strength. Christ is always present to guide, sustain, and strengthen me. As a priest, I am deeply grateful for the privilege of celebrating the Holy Mass and accompanying others on their journey of faith.”  
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Pilgrimage follows St. Paul’s footsteps under Hanover pastor’s lead #Catholic – On Oct. 4, 27 pilgrims departed New Jersey for a pilgrimage to Turkey and Greece, following in the footsteps of St. Paul through Greece and Turkey, which continued through Oct. 14. As their spiritual guide, Father Vidal Gonzales, pastor of Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Parish in the Cedar Knolls neighborhood of Hanover Township, N.J., reminded pilgrims that this was more than a journey to places of historical and religious significance. Above all, it was a journey of faith, reflection, and a deeper relationship with God. Walking through the ancient cities where St. Paul preached the Gospel, the group imagined his courage, perseverance, and unwavering faith despite the hardships he endured. Visiting Ephesus, Thessalonica, Corinth, and Athens reminded them that their faith was built not on comfort or convenience, but on trust in God, perseverance through difficulties, and a willingness to surrender ourselves to his will, Father Gonzales said. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Although each of person experienced the pilgrimage uniquely, the pilgrimage group shared a common realization: Jesus’ promise, “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matt 28:20), which remains alive and true in our lives today. Through the sacred places pilgrims visited, the Scriptures they reflected upon, the Eucharist they celebrated, and the fellowship they shared, they were reminded that Christ continues to accompany us on our journey, Father Gonzales said. As a priest, St. Paul’s example especially inspired Father Gonzales. “His courage and perseverance challenged me to reflect on how faithfully I trust God, how I respond to difficulties, and how willing I am to step outside my comfort zone to serve others. His life reminds me that faith must be lived, not simply professed, and that I am called to share God’s love through my words and actions.” Father Gonzales said. Also reflecting on the experience, pilgrim Debra Hanley said, “The Scriptures came alive as we walked through the places where St. Paul proclaimed the Gospel and celebrated the Eucharist.” Hanley said she was especially moved by the island of Patmos and the cave where St. John received the Book of Revelation. “Beyond the sacred places, I treasured the bonds of love and friendship we formed and the opportunity to encounter people of different cultures and faiths,” Hanley said. “I was reminded that, in our common humanity, we are all God’s precious children,” she said. Remy Nshuti, another pilgrim, called the devotional experience “life-changing,” especially at historic places connected to St. Paul, the early Church, St. John, and the Virgin Mary. “I returned home with a deeper appreciation for Scripture, a strengthened faith, and a grateful heart. Most importantly, I was reminded that a pilgrimage does not end when we return home — it continues in how we live our faith, serve others, and grow closer to God each day,” Nshuti said. This was her first pilgrimage for Denise Denk, who added, “and it certainly will not be my last.” “The daily rhythm of waking early, walking, and praying opened a special space in my heart. I experienced a deep sense of peace and holiness at Mary’s house in Ephesus and St. John’s cave in Patmos,” Denk said. “I returned home with a lighter heart, a deeper sense of gratitude, and a renewed understanding that life itself is a pilgrimage and that every step is guided,” she said. Shaila D’Souza, a pilgrim, enjoyed the Catholic fellowship they shared and was filled with “wonder and awe” by the ancient churches, monasteries, and Byzantine artwork that have endured for centuries. The art, culture, sights, stories, food, and prayer all stirred my soul and reminded me of St. Paul’s words to focus on whatever is good, true, noble, and lovely. I came home with so many beautiful things to think about after our amazing journey!” Further reflecting on the experience, Father Gonzales added, “The pilgrimage also renewed my appreciation for the Holy Mass and the Eucharist’s central role in my spiritual life. The Eucharist nourishes my soul, strengthens my faith, renews my hope, and reminds me that I do not have to rely on my own strength. Christ is always present to guide, sustain, and strengthen me. As a priest, I am deeply grateful for the privilege of celebrating the Holy Mass and accompanying others on their journey of faith.”  

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Pilgrimage follows St. Paul’s footsteps under Hanover pastor’s lead #Catholic –

On Oct. 4, 27 pilgrims departed New Jersey for a pilgrimage to Turkey and Greece, following in the footsteps of St. Paul through Greece and Turkey, which continued through Oct. 14.

As their spiritual guide, Father Vidal Gonzales, pastor of Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Parish in the Cedar Knolls neighborhood of Hanover Township, N.J., reminded pilgrims that this was more than a journey to places of historical and religious significance. Above all, it was a journey of faith, reflection, and a deeper relationship with God.

Walking through the ancient cities where St. Paul preached the Gospel, the group imagined his courage, perseverance, and unwavering faith despite the hardships he endured. Visiting Ephesus, Thessalonica, Corinth, and Athens reminded them that their faith was built not on comfort or convenience, but on trust in God, perseverance through difficulties, and a willingness to surrender ourselves to his will, Father Gonzales said.

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Although each of person experienced the pilgrimage uniquely, the pilgrimage group shared a common realization: Jesus’ promise, “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matt 28:20), which remains alive and true in our lives today. Through the sacred places pilgrims visited, the Scriptures they reflected upon, the Eucharist they celebrated, and the fellowship they shared, they were reminded that Christ continues to accompany us on our journey, Father Gonzales said.

As a priest, St. Paul’s example especially inspired Father Gonzales.

“His courage and perseverance challenged me to reflect on how faithfully I trust God, how I respond to difficulties, and how willing I am to step outside my comfort zone to serve others. His life reminds me that faith must be lived, not simply professed, and that I am called to share God’s love through my words and actions.” Father Gonzales said.

Also reflecting on the experience, pilgrim Debra Hanley said, “The Scriptures came alive as we walked through the places where St. Paul proclaimed the Gospel and celebrated the Eucharist.”

Hanley said she was especially moved by the island of Patmos and the cave where St. John received the Book of Revelation.

“Beyond the sacred places, I treasured the bonds of love and friendship we formed and the opportunity to encounter people of different cultures and faiths,” Hanley said. “I was reminded that, in our common humanity, we are all God’s precious children,” she said.

Remy Nshuti, another pilgrim, called the devotional experience “life-changing,” especially at historic places connected to St. Paul, the early Church, St. John, and the Virgin Mary.

“I returned home with a deeper appreciation for Scripture, a strengthened faith, and a grateful heart. Most importantly, I was reminded that a pilgrimage does not end when we return home — it continues in how we live our faith, serve others, and grow closer to God each day,” Nshuti said.

This was her first pilgrimage for Denise Denk, who added, “and it certainly will not be my last.”

“The daily rhythm of waking early, walking, and praying opened a special space in my heart. I experienced a deep sense of peace and holiness at Mary’s house in Ephesus and St. John’s cave in Patmos,” Denk said. “I returned home with a lighter heart, a deeper sense of gratitude, and a renewed understanding that life itself is a pilgrimage and that every step is guided,” she said.

Shaila D’Souza, a pilgrim, enjoyed the Catholic fellowship they shared and was filled with “wonder and awe” by the ancient churches, monasteries, and Byzantine artwork that have endured for centuries. The art, culture, sights, stories, food, and prayer all stirred my soul and reminded me of St. Paul’s words to focus on whatever is good, true, noble, and lovely. I came home with so many beautiful things to think about after our amazing journey!”

Further reflecting on the experience, Father Gonzales added, “The pilgrimage also renewed my appreciation for the Holy Mass and the Eucharist’s central role in my spiritual life. The Eucharist nourishes my soul, strengthens my faith, renews my hope, and reminds me that I do not have to rely on my own strength. Christ is always present to guide, sustain, and strengthen me. As a priest, I am deeply grateful for the privilege of celebrating the Holy Mass and accompanying others on their journey of faith.”

 

– On Oct. 4, 27 pilgrims departed New Jersey for a pilgrimage to Turkey and Greece, following in the footsteps of St. Paul through Greece and Turkey, which continued through Oct. 14. As their spiritual guide, Father Vidal Gonzales, pastor of Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Parish in the Cedar Knolls neighborhood of Hanover Township, N.J., reminded pilgrims that this was more than a journey to places of historical and religious significance. Above all, it was a journey of faith, reflection, and a deeper relationship with God. Walking through the ancient cities where St. Paul preached the Gospel, the group imagined

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Van Gogh’s Starry Night shows a real night sky, study suggests

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For decades, art historians and astronomers have wondered whether the sky of Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night shows real stars or imagined ones. A new study argues the stars are real — and that Van Gogh likely saw them a month later than most scholars thought. The study, published Oct. 22 in Scientific Reports,Continue reading “Van Gogh’s Starry Night shows a real night sky, study suggests”

The post Van Gogh’s Starry Night shows a real night sky, study suggests appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

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Vatican publishes digital atlas honoring Pope Francis’ ecological vision – #Catholic – Ten years after the publication of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, the Vatican has launched a new digital atlas to advance his ecological vision.The Laudato Si’ Platform launched the Atlas of Laudato Si’ at a press conference Wednesday at the Holy See Press Office in Rome. The organization also presented its fifth annual report at the conference, highlighting 13,600 participants since 2021 and new tools to implement integral ecology within the Church.Presenters included Sister Alessandra Smerilli, FMA, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and Bishop Allwyn D’Silva, auxiliary bishop emeritus of the Archdiocese of Bombay, India.Care for creation is not optionalAmong the themes discussed at the conference was the need to continue concrete actions toward care for the environment.In her presentation, Smerilli said Catholic commitment to caring for creation is “not optional.” The Atlas of Laudato Si’. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Molly Burhans “Living our vocation as guardians of Godʼs work is ‘not something optional nor a secondary aspect of Christian experience,’” Smerilli said. “Caring for creation and caring for humanity are one and the same task.”Participants also reflected on the impact of Laudato Si’ since its publication."The seeds sown by Laudato Si' have borne much fruit in different parts of the world,” DʼSilva said.A new digital Catholic atlasThe press conference also presented a new digital atlas to demonstrate the Church’s commitment to integral ecology worldwide. The atlas uses data from the Leonum Institute of the Catholic University of America and the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome.The Atlas of Laudato Si’ will allow users to explore ecological initiatives by institutions and dioceses, and also access data on natural disasters.Molly Burhans, an American cartographer who pioneered the data collection and curation for the project, explained the importance of atlases and defended the integral ecology’s importance for Catholics. Molly Burhans is an American cartographer who pioneered the data collection and curation of the Atlas of Laudato Si’. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Molly Burhans “If you want to make environmental action, you should understand the environment,” Burhans told EWTN News. “And the best way to understand the environment is maps.”“We are here to care for the garden. That’s in Genesis. If someone believes there’s a political agenda behind caring for the environment, I think they should go back and read the Bible.”
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Vatican publishes digital atlas honoring Pope Francis’ ecological vision – #Catholic – Ten years after the publication of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, the Vatican has launched a new digital atlas to advance his ecological vision.The Laudato Si’ Platform launched the Atlas of Laudato Si’ at a press conference Wednesday at the Holy See Press Office in Rome. The organization also presented its fifth annual report at the conference, highlighting 13,600 participants since 2021 and new tools to implement integral ecology within the Church.Presenters included Sister Alessandra Smerilli, FMA, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and Bishop Allwyn D’Silva, auxiliary bishop emeritus of the Archdiocese of Bombay, India.Care for creation is not optionalAmong the themes discussed at the conference was the need to continue concrete actions toward care for the environment.In her presentation, Smerilli said Catholic commitment to caring for creation is “not optional.” The Atlas of Laudato Si’. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Molly Burhans “Living our vocation as guardians of Godʼs work is ‘not something optional nor a secondary aspect of Christian experience,’” Smerilli said. “Caring for creation and caring for humanity are one and the same task.”Participants also reflected on the impact of Laudato Si’ since its publication."The seeds sown by Laudato Si' have borne much fruit in different parts of the world,” DʼSilva said.A new digital Catholic atlasThe press conference also presented a new digital atlas to demonstrate the Church’s commitment to integral ecology worldwide. The atlas uses data from the Leonum Institute of the Catholic University of America and the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome.The Atlas of Laudato Si’ will allow users to explore ecological initiatives by institutions and dioceses, and also access data on natural disasters.Molly Burhans, an American cartographer who pioneered the data collection and curation for the project, explained the importance of atlases and defended the integral ecology’s importance for Catholics. Molly Burhans is an American cartographer who pioneered the data collection and curation of the Atlas of Laudato Si’. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Molly Burhans “If you want to make environmental action, you should understand the environment,” Burhans told EWTN News. “And the best way to understand the environment is maps.”“We are here to care for the garden. That’s in Genesis. If someone believes there’s a political agenda behind caring for the environment, I think they should go back and read the Bible.”

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The Laudato Si’ Platform launched the map during a press conference at the Holy See Press Office on Wednesday.

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Pope Leo XIV appoints youngest bishop in France – #Catholic – Pope Leo XIV has appointed Father Martial Bernard as the new bishop of Soissons in France. At 48 years of age, he will become the youngest bishop in France on Dec. 20, when he receives his episcopal consecration.According to the website Catholic-Hierarchy, which specializes in information about bishops worldwide, the previous youngest bishop in France was Étienne Guillet, bishop of Saint-Denis, a 50-year-old prelate who was also 48 when he was appointed bishop.“I accept this appointment with confidence. I have always trusted the Church, and so I say that if it calls me to this mission, I respond ‘yes’ with confidence,” the bishop-designate stated in an interview with KTO.Bernard shared that over the last eight years as vicar general he has had the “joy of accompanying his brother priests,” and he expressed his desire to get to know and to “journey together,” guided by the Gospel with “the people of God who have been entrusted to me.”Bernard will receive episcopal consecration and take possession of the Diocese of Soissons on Dec. 20 at 3 p.m. local time at Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais Cathedral in Soissons.Who is the youngest bishop in France?Bernard was born on Jan. 26, 1978, in Bourg-la-Reine in the Diocese of Nanterre. According to an Oct. 31 statement from the Vatican Press Office, he studied at the Saint-Sulpice Seminary in Issy-lès-Moulineaux and completed an internship at the Municipal Conservatory of Viry-Châtillon.After studying at the Saint-Paul Seminary in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, he earned a licentiate degree in theology, specializing in catechetical and practical theology at the Catholic Institute of Paris. He was ordained a priest on June 25, 2005, for the Diocese of Évry-Corbeil-Essonnes.Within that particular Church, he held several positions, including: diocesan delegate for the pastoral care of altar servers (2005–2009); “parochus in solidum” (sharing responsibility for more than one parish) in the deanery of Brétigny (2006–2008); and diocesan delegate for vocations, as well as a member of the Council for the Protection of Catholic Education (2008–2011).He also served as parish priest and dean of Brétigny (2009–2014); “parochus in solidum” and dean of Évry-Corbeil-Essonnes, as well as rector of the cathedral of Évry (2014–2018); and episcopal vicar for Catholic education and diocesan delegate for the formation of seminarians (2015–2018).Furthermore, he has served as vicar general and moderator of the Évry curia; as a member of the Diocesan Council for Financial Affairs, the Parish Mutual Aid Fund, the Board of Directors, the General Assembly, and the Association of Friends of the Cathedral (since 2018); as coordinator of pastoral sector leaders (since 2021); and as head of the Fidei Donum program for foreign priests (2021–2022).Until now he was responsible for the permanent diaconate, childrenʼs catechesis, ecumenism, pilgrimages, relations with Judaism, and prison and hospital chaplaincies.This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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Pope Leo XIV appoints youngest bishop in France – #Catholic – Pope Leo XIV has appointed Father Martial Bernard as the new bishop of Soissons in France. At 48 years of age, he will become the youngest bishop in France on Dec. 20, when he receives his episcopal consecration.According to the website Catholic-Hierarchy, which specializes in information about bishops worldwide, the previous youngest bishop in France was Étienne Guillet, bishop of Saint-Denis, a 50-year-old prelate who was also 48 when he was appointed bishop.“I accept this appointment with confidence. I have always trusted the Church, and so I say that if it calls me to this mission, I respond ‘yes’ with confidence,” the bishop-designate stated in an interview with KTO.Bernard shared that over the last eight years as vicar general he has had the “joy of accompanying his brother priests,” and he expressed his desire to get to know and to “journey together,” guided by the Gospel with “the people of God who have been entrusted to me.”Bernard will receive episcopal consecration and take possession of the Diocese of Soissons on Dec. 20 at 3 p.m. local time at Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais Cathedral in Soissons.Who is the youngest bishop in France?Bernard was born on Jan. 26, 1978, in Bourg-la-Reine in the Diocese of Nanterre. According to an Oct. 31 statement from the Vatican Press Office, he studied at the Saint-Sulpice Seminary in Issy-lès-Moulineaux and completed an internship at the Municipal Conservatory of Viry-Châtillon.After studying at the Saint-Paul Seminary in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, he earned a licentiate degree in theology, specializing in catechetical and practical theology at the Catholic Institute of Paris. He was ordained a priest on June 25, 2005, for the Diocese of Évry-Corbeil-Essonnes.Within that particular Church, he held several positions, including: diocesan delegate for the pastoral care of altar servers (2005–2009); “parochus in solidum” (sharing responsibility for more than one parish) in the deanery of Brétigny (2006–2008); and diocesan delegate for vocations, as well as a member of the Council for the Protection of Catholic Education (2008–2011).He also served as parish priest and dean of Brétigny (2009–2014); “parochus in solidum” and dean of Évry-Corbeil-Essonnes, as well as rector of the cathedral of Évry (2014–2018); and episcopal vicar for Catholic education and diocesan delegate for the formation of seminarians (2015–2018).Furthermore, he has served as vicar general and moderator of the Évry curia; as a member of the Diocesan Council for Financial Affairs, the Parish Mutual Aid Fund, the Board of Directors, the General Assembly, and the Association of Friends of the Cathedral (since 2018); as coordinator of pastoral sector leaders (since 2021); and as head of the Fidei Donum program for foreign priests (2021–2022).Until now he was responsible for the permanent diaconate, childrenʼs catechesis, ecumenism, pilgrimages, relations with Judaism, and prison and hospital chaplaincies.This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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Pope Leo XIV has appointed Martial Bernard as the new bishop of Soissons. At 48 years of age at his Dec. 20 episcopal ordination, he will become the youngest bishop in France.

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Paterson youth change world one pet at a time #Catholic – The Youth Ministry of St. Gerard Majella Parish in Paterson, N.J., turned this year’s annual Blessing of the Animals into an opportunity to do a little more than bless the beloved pets. Held in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, the parish’s annual Blessing of the Animals became the starting point for a pet supply donation drive. Parishioners were invited to bring gently used towels, sheets, blankets, and other supplies for local veterinarians, animal hospitals, shelters, rescue organizations, and others who care for animals in need. The family of St. Gerard Majella rose to the occasion, again. The blessing was celebrated bilingually, with Msgr. George Hundt, pastor of St. Gerrard’s, and Father Sebastian Muñoz, the parish’s newly appointed parochial vicar. Seminarian Jairo Jaramillo assisted with the blessing. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Youth Ministry leaders Mike Stracco and Kathleen Lockard, along with a few parents, collected donations after every Sunday Mass and continued after the blessing. What started as a simple request for a towel, blanket, or sheet quickly became something much bigger. Parishioners’ generosity was incredible. Donations came in, and before long, the Youth Ministry realized it had a lot to sort. “Our love at the parish extends not only for the people of our parish, but to our animal friends as well,” said Msgr. Hundt, summing up the effort. That love was certainly evident. After everything was collected and sorted, the Youth Ministry prepared and delivered 15 40-gallon bags of towels, sheets, blankets, and other supplies to local veterinarians and animal hospitals. Those bags represent parishioners who saw a need and decided to help. They represent young people who didn’t just talk about service but actually rolled up their sleeves and did something. They represent the truth that sometimes a small act of kindness can make a very real difference. That spirit of service is at the heart of the St. Gerard Majella Youth Ministry. Its guiding theme reflects the parish’s newly developed motto: “One Family in Christ, Growing in Faith, Rejoicing in Hope, and Changing the World with Love.” Sometimes, it starts with a towel. The Youth Ministry has become very active since its inception. Over the next several months, the young people will gather for a gratitude-filled Friendsgiving, share a prayerful reflection on the Christmas story, conduct their annual Souper Bowl collection, and, in the spring, host a “Senior” Prom designed to bring some joy, laughter, and fellowship to the senior members of our community. The young people of St. Gerard’s are learning that being a disciple isn’t simply about coming to church. It is about believing, gathering, growing, loving, and leading — and then taking what we have received and sharing it with others. Perhaps that is the best lesson from the pet supply drive.  
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Paterson youth change world one pet at a time #Catholic – The Youth Ministry of St. Gerard Majella Parish in Paterson, N.J., turned this year’s annual Blessing of the Animals into an opportunity to do a little more than bless the beloved pets. Held in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, the parish’s annual Blessing of the Animals became the starting point for a pet supply donation drive. Parishioners were invited to bring gently used towels, sheets, blankets, and other supplies for local veterinarians, animal hospitals, shelters, rescue organizations, and others who care for animals in need. The family of St. Gerard Majella rose to the occasion, again. The blessing was celebrated bilingually, with Msgr. George Hundt, pastor of St. Gerrard’s, and Father Sebastian Muñoz, the parish’s newly appointed parochial vicar. Seminarian Jairo Jaramillo assisted with the blessing. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Youth Ministry leaders Mike Stracco and Kathleen Lockard, along with a few parents, collected donations after every Sunday Mass and continued after the blessing. What started as a simple request for a towel, blanket, or sheet quickly became something much bigger. Parishioners’ generosity was incredible. Donations came in, and before long, the Youth Ministry realized it had a lot to sort. “Our love at the parish extends not only for the people of our parish, but to our animal friends as well,” said Msgr. Hundt, summing up the effort. That love was certainly evident. After everything was collected and sorted, the Youth Ministry prepared and delivered 15 40-gallon bags of towels, sheets, blankets, and other supplies to local veterinarians and animal hospitals. Those bags represent parishioners who saw a need and decided to help. They represent young people who didn’t just talk about service but actually rolled up their sleeves and did something. They represent the truth that sometimes a small act of kindness can make a very real difference. That spirit of service is at the heart of the St. Gerard Majella Youth Ministry. Its guiding theme reflects the parish’s newly developed motto: “One Family in Christ, Growing in Faith, Rejoicing in Hope, and Changing the World with Love.” Sometimes, it starts with a towel. The Youth Ministry has become very active since its inception. Over the next several months, the young people will gather for a gratitude-filled Friendsgiving, share a prayerful reflection on the Christmas story, conduct their annual Souper Bowl collection, and, in the spring, host a “Senior” Prom designed to bring some joy, laughter, and fellowship to the senior members of our community. The young people of St. Gerard’s are learning that being a disciple isn’t simply about coming to church. It is about believing, gathering, growing, loving, and leading — and then taking what we have received and sharing it with others. Perhaps that is the best lesson from the pet supply drive.  

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Paterson youth change world one pet at a time #Catholic –

The Youth Ministry of St. Gerard Majella Parish in Paterson, N.J., turned this year’s annual Blessing of the Animals into an opportunity to do a little more than bless the beloved pets.

Held in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, the parish’s annual Blessing of the Animals became the starting point for a pet supply donation drive. Parishioners were invited to bring gently used towels, sheets, blankets, and other supplies for local veterinarians, animal hospitals, shelters, rescue organizations, and others who care for animals in need.

The family of St. Gerard Majella rose to the occasion, again.

The blessing was celebrated bilingually, with Msgr. George Hundt, pastor of St. Gerrard’s, and Father Sebastian Muñoz, the parish’s newly appointed parochial vicar. Seminarian Jairo Jaramillo assisted with the blessing.

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Youth Ministry leaders Mike Stracco and Kathleen Lockard, along with a few parents, collected donations after every Sunday Mass and continued after the blessing.

What started as a simple request for a towel, blanket, or sheet quickly became something much bigger. Parishioners’ generosity was incredible. Donations came in, and before long, the Youth Ministry realized it had a lot to sort.

“Our love at the parish extends not only for the people of our parish, but to our animal friends as well,” said Msgr. Hundt, summing up the effort.

That love was certainly evident.

After everything was collected and sorted, the Youth Ministry prepared and delivered 15 40-gallon bags of towels, sheets, blankets, and other supplies to local veterinarians and animal hospitals.

Those bags represent parishioners who saw a need and decided to help. They represent young people who didn’t just talk about service but actually rolled up their sleeves and did something. They represent the truth that sometimes a small act of kindness can make a very real difference.

That spirit of service is at the heart of the St. Gerard Majella Youth Ministry. Its guiding theme reflects the parish’s newly developed motto: “One Family in Christ, Growing in Faith, Rejoicing in Hope, and Changing the World with Love.”

Sometimes, it starts with a towel.

The Youth Ministry has become very active since its inception. Over the next several months, the young people will gather for a gratitude-filled Friendsgiving, share a prayerful reflection on the Christmas story, conduct their annual Souper Bowl collection, and, in the spring, host a “Senior” Prom designed to bring some joy, laughter, and fellowship to the senior members of our community.

The young people of St. Gerard’s are learning that being a disciple isn’t simply about coming to church. It is about believing, gathering, growing, loving, and leading — and then taking what we have received and sharing it with others. Perhaps that is the best lesson from the pet supply drive.

 

– The Youth Ministry of St. Gerard Majella Parish in Paterson, N.J., turned this year’s annual Blessing of the Animals into an opportunity to do a little more than bless the beloved pets. Held in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, the parish’s annual Blessing of the Animals became the starting point for a pet supply donation drive. Parishioners were invited to bring gently used towels, sheets, blankets, and other supplies for local veterinarians, animal hospitals, shelters, rescue organizations, and others who care for animals in need. The family of St. Gerard Majella rose to the occasion, again. The blessing was

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Virginia adopts abortion rights referendum, three other states await results #Catholic Voters in Virginia adopted a referendum to enshrine a right to abortion in their state constitution, while voters in Missouri, Nevada, and Idaho await the final results for referendums that would change abortion policies.With more than 87% of the vote counted in Virginia as of 11 p.m. ET, 61.5% of people voted for the referendum and 38.5% voted against it.The people of Missouri are voting on a pro-life referendum to repeal a state constitutional right to abortion. The outcome is too early to call with more than 85% of the vote counted, but the referendum is currently losing, with 55.5% of people voting against it and 44.5% in favor.Votes have yet to be counted in Nevada or Idaho, where polls closed later.Catholic bishops in all four states were heavily involved throughout the races, emphasizing the Church’s teaching on the sanctity of life and asking the faithful to cast pro-life votes on the state referendums.The state referendumsThe referendum in Virginia will establish a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom” in the state constitution, which includes “abortion care.” The amendment extends this right to “every individual,” rather than restricting it to just adults.Although the amendment allows abortion restrictions in the third trimester, it does not allow any restrictions when necessary to protect “the life or physical or mental health” of the mother at any point in the pregnancy. It does not define what constitutes a threat to one’s “mental health,” but rather leaves this up to the discretion of the treating physician, who is often the abortionist.The referendum in Missouri would repeal the state constitutional right to abortion and it would allow state lawmakers to restrict abortion. If it fails, the constitution will continue to maintain a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom," which includes “abortion care.”Missouri’s constitution allows lawmakers to restrict abortions after fetal viability, which is when the unborn child can survive outside the womb. However, lawmakers cannot restrict abortion at any point in the pregnancy when necessary to “protect the life or physical or mental health” of the mother. Fetal viability and whether the mother’s health is at risk is determined by the treating physician, who is often the abortionist.The referendum in Nevada, if it passes, would establish “a fundamental right to abortion” in the state constitution. It would allow lawmakers to impose restrictions after the point of fetal viability, which are determined by the “treating health care practitioner,” which is often the abortionist.The right would extend through the entire pregnancy when needed to “protect the life or health” of the mother, but “health” is not defined. The right would extend to all individuals, not just adults.Idaho’s referendum would not amend the state constitution, but it would change state law to establish a right to “reproductive freedom,” which includes “abortion.” It would supersede the current state law, which prohibits abortion except to prevent the death of the mother and, in the first trimester, in reported cases of rape or incest.The referendum would allow lawmakers to restrict abortion at the point of fetal viability, but this would be determined by the treating physician, who is often the abortionist. It would not allow lawmakers to restrict abortion at any point in the pregnancy when there is a medical emergency. The right would be extended to all individuals, not just adults.
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Virginia adopts abortion rights referendum, three other states await results #Catholic Voters in Virginia adopted a referendum to enshrine a right to abortion in their state constitution, while voters in Missouri, Nevada, and Idaho await the final results for referendums that would change abortion policies.With more than 87% of the vote counted in Virginia as of 11 p.m. ET, 61.5% of people voted for the referendum and 38.5% voted against it.The people of Missouri are voting on a pro-life referendum to repeal a state constitutional right to abortion. The outcome is too early to call with more than 85% of the vote counted, but the referendum is currently losing, with 55.5% of people voting against it and 44.5% in favor.Votes have yet to be counted in Nevada or Idaho, where polls closed later.Catholic bishops in all four states were heavily involved throughout the races, emphasizing the Church’s teaching on the sanctity of life and asking the faithful to cast pro-life votes on the state referendums.The state referendumsThe referendum in Virginia will establish a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom” in the state constitution, which includes “abortion care.” The amendment extends this right to “every individual,” rather than restricting it to just adults.Although the amendment allows abortion restrictions in the third trimester, it does not allow any restrictions when necessary to protect “the life or physical or mental health” of the mother at any point in the pregnancy. It does not define what constitutes a threat to one’s “mental health,” but rather leaves this up to the discretion of the treating physician, who is often the abortionist.The referendum in Missouri would repeal the state constitutional right to abortion and it would allow state lawmakers to restrict abortion. If it fails, the constitution will continue to maintain a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom," which includes “abortion care.”Missouri’s constitution allows lawmakers to restrict abortions after fetal viability, which is when the unborn child can survive outside the womb. However, lawmakers cannot restrict abortion at any point in the pregnancy when necessary to “protect the life or physical or mental health” of the mother. Fetal viability and whether the mother’s health is at risk is determined by the treating physician, who is often the abortionist.The referendum in Nevada, if it passes, would establish “a fundamental right to abortion” in the state constitution. It would allow lawmakers to impose restrictions after the point of fetal viability, which are determined by the “treating health care practitioner,” which is often the abortionist.The right would extend through the entire pregnancy when needed to “protect the life or health” of the mother, but “health” is not defined. The right would extend to all individuals, not just adults.Idaho’s referendum would not amend the state constitution, but it would change state law to establish a right to “reproductive freedom,” which includes “abortion.” It would supersede the current state law, which prohibits abortion except to prevent the death of the mother and, in the first trimester, in reported cases of rape or incest.The referendum would allow lawmakers to restrict abortion at the point of fetal viability, but this would be determined by the treating physician, who is often the abortionist. It would not allow lawmakers to restrict abortion at any point in the pregnancy when there is a medical emergency. The right would be extended to all individuals, not just adults.

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A referendum to establish a constitutional right to abortion in the Virginia constitution was adopted. Abortion-related referendums in three other states are too early to call.

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Astronaut and Earth – CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Joshua Kutryk is pictured during a spacewalk with his spacesuit’s helmet visor down to install a new roll-out solar array on the International Space Station’s port side truss structure.
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Astronaut and Earth – CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Joshua Kutryk is pictured during a spacewalk with his spacesuit’s helmet visor down to install a new roll-out solar array on the International Space Station’s port side truss structure.

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CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Joshua Kutryk is pictured during a spacewalk with his spacesuit’s helmet visor down to install a new roll-out solar array on the International Space Station’s port side truss structure.

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Gospel and Word of the Day – 4 November 2026 – A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Phiippians 2:12-18 My beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work. Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world, as you hold on to the word of life, so that my boast for the day of Christ may be that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. But, even if I am poured out as a libation upon the sacrificial service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with all of you. In the same way you also should rejoice and share your joy with me.From the Gospel according to Luke 14:25-33 Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,  wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion?  Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’  Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?  But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.  In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.”Jesus, too, in the Gospel, speaks to us of a plan to which we must commit wholeheartedly. He says: “Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Lk 14:27); and again: “none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions” (v. 33). He calls us to abandon ourselves without hesitation to the adventure that he offers us, with the intelligence and strength that comes from his Spirit, that we can receive to the extent that we empty ourselves of the things and ideas to which we are attached, in order to listen to his word. Many young people, over the centuries, have had to face this crossroad in their lives. Think of Saint Francis of Assisi (…) How many similar saints we could recall! Sometimes we portray them as great figures, forgetting that for them it all began when, while still young, they said “yes” to God and gave themselves to him completely, keeping nothing for themselves. Saint Augustine recounts that, in the “tortuous and tangled knot” of his life, a voice deep within him said: “I want you” (Confessions, II, 10,18). God gave him a new direction, a new path, a new reason, in which nothing of his life was lost (Pope Leo XIV, Homily, 7 September 2025)  

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A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Phiippians
2:12-18

My beloved, obedient as you have always been,
not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent,
work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
For God is the one who, for his good purpose,
works in you both to desire and to work.
Do everything without grumbling or questioning,
that you may be blameless and innocent,
children of God without blemish
in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,
among whom you shine like lights in the world,
as you hold on to the word of life,
so that my boast for the day of Christ may be
that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
But, even if I am poured out as a libation
upon the sacrificial service of your faith,
I rejoice and share my joy with all of you.
In the same way you also should rejoice and share your joy with me.

From the Gospel according to Luke
14:25-33

Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, 
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion? 
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’ 
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? 
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. 
In the same way,
everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”

Jesus, too, in the Gospel, speaks to us of a plan to which we must commit wholeheartedly. He says: “Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Lk 14:27); and again: “none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions” (v. 33). He calls us to abandon ourselves without hesitation to the adventure that he offers us, with the intelligence and strength that comes from his Spirit, that we can receive to the extent that we empty ourselves of the things and ideas to which we are attached, in order to listen to his word.

Many young people, over the centuries, have had to face this crossroad in their lives. Think of Saint Francis of Assisi (…)

How many similar saints we could recall! Sometimes we portray them as great figures, forgetting that for them it all began when, while still young, they said “yes” to God and gave themselves to him completely, keeping nothing for themselves. Saint Augustine recounts that, in the “tortuous and tangled knot” of his life, a voice deep within him said: “I want you” (Confessions, II, 10,18). God gave him a new direction, a new path, a new reason, in which nothing of his life was lost

(Pope Leo XIV, Homily, 7 September 2025)

 

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U.S. Supreme Court leans toward Catholic schools in clash over pre-K funding #Catholic A majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices sounded ready to require that Colorado provide Catholic schools government funding for preschool even if the schools refuse to guarantee admission for children of same-sex couples, during oral arguments Tuesday in a case involving a school in the Archdiocese of Denver.The case, St. Mary School v. Roy, centers on a preschool-through-grade-8 Catholic school in Littleton that wants to participate in the state’s universal preschool program.Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a member of the court’s conservative majority, described the case as a clash between the free exercise of religion and the right to same-sex marriage the court found in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015. But he suggested the clash is unnecessary because parents in Colorado have so many options for prekindergarten, since there are more than 2,000 providers in the state, while the Archdiocese of Denver has only 34 schools that provide the service.“Why has this been provoked when there’s an ability for everyone to go to the school, a good school, that’s a fit for them, and to respect religious rights?” he asked.Helen Norton, deputy solicitor general for the state of Colorado, said parents often choose prekindergarten programs based on their location and their hours rather than their curriculum.“Colorado has an interest in ensuring that its public funds go to schools that ensure equal opportunity — not some opportunity, that ensure equal opportunity to public-funded options, regardless of protected-class status,” Norton said, replying to Kavanaugh’s question. “Families are harmed when they’re turned away from the publicly funded school that makes their lives work because of their protected-class status.”‘Creating a Catholic community’In 2020, Colorado voters approved a state-funded universal prekindergarten program, using increases in tobacco-related taxes to pay for it. The state government is planning to spend about $360 million for the program during the 2026-2027 school year. The state pays preschool providers about $6,100 per year for 15 hours a week of instruction for 4-year-olds during the 2026-2027 school year, according to state standards.Catholic schools want to participate in the program, but the Archdiocese of Denver objects to a state mandate concerning admissions.A Colorado state statute requires that preschools participating in the funding program provide children “an equal opportunity to enroll and receive preschool services” regardless of eight protected classes — including “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” — “as such characteristics and circumstances apply to the child or the child’s family.”A lawyer for the Catholic schools told justices Tuesday that Church and school officials want to make admissions decisions on a case-by-case basis in alignment with Catholic teachings instead of simply allowing all comers because of a state mandate.“I think it’s their thoughtful attempt to say, ‘We’re creating a Catholic community,’” said Nicholas Reaves, senior counsel for the Becket law group, which is representing the Catholic schools.Reaves got hostile questions from the court’s three liberals (Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson) and either friendly or neutral questions from the court’s five conservatives (Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett), which suggests how the decision might ultimately go. (The chief justice, John Roberts, often seen as a swing vote, mostly moderated the discussion.)Sarah Harris, principal deputy solicitor general in the Trump administration, also argued on the Catholic schools’ side during oral presentations Tuesday.Many optionsThe history of Catholic schools in the 19th century came up during oral arguments, including their origin in concerns among Catholic clerics and parents that government-run public schools were providing a Protestant point of view to the exclusion of Catholicism. Kavanaugh, a Catholic, at one point asked the lawyer for the state of Colorado about a moment in the trial record when the administrator of the state’s universal prekindergarten program was asked about Catholic history.“The director of the program, by all accounts a dutiful public servant, … was asked at the trial, ‘Are you aware that Catholics have historically been discriminated against?’ And she answered, ‘No,’” Kavanaugh said. “I was surprised by that answer and curious if that’s Colorado’s position.”“Not at all, Your Honor,” Norton replied. “And it’s Colorado’s position that the equal-opportunity requirements help religious families. They ensure that Catholic families are not turned away from the UPK [universal prekindergarten] school that best meets their needs because of their faith or because of any other protected characteristic. And a history of discrimination against Catholics is among the reasons that requirement is so important.”Some legal observers have suggested that a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court may use the Colorado case as a vehicle to overturn the Smith decision in 1990, which, although written by the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, is disliked by many religious-liberty advocates who argue it doesn’t respect free-exercise rights enough.Yet the lawyer representing the Catholic schools on Tuesday offered narrower grounds for the justices to overturn Colorado’s admissions requirements, noting that for every Catholic preschool program in the Archdiocese of Denver, there are two universal prekindergarten programs already in the state’s program within three miles of it.Said Reaves: “This is just not really a problem in real life.”This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted by EWTN News.
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U.S. Supreme Court leans toward Catholic schools in clash over pre-K funding #Catholic A majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices sounded ready to require that Colorado provide Catholic schools government funding for preschool even if the schools refuse to guarantee admission for children of same-sex couples, during oral arguments Tuesday in a case involving a school in the Archdiocese of Denver.The case, St. Mary School v. Roy, centers on a preschool-through-grade-8 Catholic school in Littleton that wants to participate in the state’s universal preschool program.Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a member of the court’s conservative majority, described the case as a clash between the free exercise of religion and the right to same-sex marriage the court found in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015. But he suggested the clash is unnecessary because parents in Colorado have so many options for prekindergarten, since there are more than 2,000 providers in the state, while the Archdiocese of Denver has only 34 schools that provide the service.“Why has this been provoked when there’s an ability for everyone to go to the school, a good school, that’s a fit for them, and to respect religious rights?” he asked.Helen Norton, deputy solicitor general for the state of Colorado, said parents often choose prekindergarten programs based on their location and their hours rather than their curriculum.“Colorado has an interest in ensuring that its public funds go to schools that ensure equal opportunity — not some opportunity, that ensure equal opportunity to public-funded options, regardless of protected-class status,” Norton said, replying to Kavanaugh’s question. “Families are harmed when they’re turned away from the publicly funded school that makes their lives work because of their protected-class status.”‘Creating a Catholic community’In 2020, Colorado voters approved a state-funded universal prekindergarten program, using increases in tobacco-related taxes to pay for it. The state government is planning to spend about $360 million for the program during the 2026-2027 school year. The state pays preschool providers about $6,100 per year for 15 hours a week of instruction for 4-year-olds during the 2026-2027 school year, according to state standards.Catholic schools want to participate in the program, but the Archdiocese of Denver objects to a state mandate concerning admissions.A Colorado state statute requires that preschools participating in the funding program provide children “an equal opportunity to enroll and receive preschool services” regardless of eight protected classes — including “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” — “as such characteristics and circumstances apply to the child or the child’s family.”A lawyer for the Catholic schools told justices Tuesday that Church and school officials want to make admissions decisions on a case-by-case basis in alignment with Catholic teachings instead of simply allowing all comers because of a state mandate.“I think it’s their thoughtful attempt to say, ‘We’re creating a Catholic community,’” said Nicholas Reaves, senior counsel for the Becket law group, which is representing the Catholic schools.Reaves got hostile questions from the court’s three liberals (Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson) and either friendly or neutral questions from the court’s five conservatives (Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett), which suggests how the decision might ultimately go. (The chief justice, John Roberts, often seen as a swing vote, mostly moderated the discussion.)Sarah Harris, principal deputy solicitor general in the Trump administration, also argued on the Catholic schools’ side during oral presentations Tuesday.Many optionsThe history of Catholic schools in the 19th century came up during oral arguments, including their origin in concerns among Catholic clerics and parents that government-run public schools were providing a Protestant point of view to the exclusion of Catholicism. Kavanaugh, a Catholic, at one point asked the lawyer for the state of Colorado about a moment in the trial record when the administrator of the state’s universal prekindergarten program was asked about Catholic history.“The director of the program, by all accounts a dutiful public servant, … was asked at the trial, ‘Are you aware that Catholics have historically been discriminated against?’ And she answered, ‘No,’” Kavanaugh said. “I was surprised by that answer and curious if that’s Colorado’s position.”“Not at all, Your Honor,” Norton replied. “And it’s Colorado’s position that the equal-opportunity requirements help religious families. They ensure that Catholic families are not turned away from the UPK [universal prekindergarten] school that best meets their needs because of their faith or because of any other protected characteristic. And a history of discrimination against Catholics is among the reasons that requirement is so important.”Some legal observers have suggested that a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court may use the Colorado case as a vehicle to overturn the Smith decision in 1990, which, although written by the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, is disliked by many religious-liberty advocates who argue it doesn’t respect free-exercise rights enough.Yet the lawyer representing the Catholic schools on Tuesday offered narrower grounds for the justices to overturn Colorado’s admissions requirements, noting that for every Catholic preschool program in the Archdiocese of Denver, there are two universal prekindergarten programs already in the state’s program within three miles of it.Said Reaves: “This is just not really a problem in real life.”This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

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A Colorado case pits sexual orientation and gender-identity protections against religious standards for school admissions.

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Bishops urge religious liberty language in IRS school discrimination rule – #Catholic – The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is urging the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to include stronger language to safeguard the religious missions of private religious schools in a proposed antidiscrimination regulation.The IRS just concluded the public comment period for a rule that would remove the tax-exempt status of private K-12 schools, colleges, and universities that consider a person’s race or ethnic background in admissions, financial aid, scholarships, or other opportunities.Although the preamble of the proposed regulation states it would not prevent private religious schools from maintaining their religious missions and can have selection criteria based on the person’s religious affiliation, the USCCB warned that this language is not included in the rule itself.In a public comment submitted Nov. 2 by the USCCB, the bishops also warned the proposed language could prohibit “religiously motivated programs addressing ethnoreligious identity and community needs” as well. This concern is because the preamble text only permits selection criteria if it “is based solely on religion and not on shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics.”The bishops requested the IRS add religious liberty language to the regulation itself and remove the word “solely” from that text before approving a final rule. The bishops also encouraged the IRS to address federal legal protections for religious schools — including the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act — in both the preamble and the rule itself.Additionally, the bishops requested that the IRS direct its personnel not to “second-guess” a religious school’s doctrine and to include explicit language that sincerely held religious belief does not violate the rule. They are also asking that private schools get a period to correct any violation before enforcement action is taken.The USCCB was joined in its public comment by the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities and The Catholic University of America.University of Providence to shut downThe University of Providence — a Catholic higher education institution in Great Falls, Montana — announced it will shut down operations at the end of the 2026-2027 academic year, citing financial struggles that cannot be overcome.According to a news release, the university suffered enrollment decline and financial pressures, which led officials to restructure academic programs, reduce operating expenses, and pursue new enrollment and revenue strategies. Although this softened the financial struggles, it did not create a long-term sustainable operating model, it stated.“We recognize the grief and uncertainty this decision will bring to students, families, employees, alumni and the Great Falls community,” Caroline Goulet, the university president, said in a statement.“Our responsibility now is to care for the people who make up this University community, maintain the quality of their educational experience, and provide clear guidance and support as they prepare for what comes next,” she said.The university promised to help students transfer to other institutions to complete their degrees.Notre Dame announces Global Saints InitiativeThe University of Notre Dame announced the start of the Global Saints Initiative in 2027, which will focus on adding iconography of more saints at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, which sits at the center of the campus.The iconography will include saints from five continents and nine countries to reflect the broad cultural dimensions of the Catholic Church, according to a news release from the university.“Just as university founder Father Edward Sorin carefully selected saints for the Basilica that spoke to the Notre Dame students of his day, these new icons reflect the diverse vocations, cultures, and backgrounds of today’s campus community and the wider Church,” Father Pete McCormick, CSC, assistant vice president for campus ministry, said in a statement.“I am incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to share these stories of holiness with all who visit the Basilica and especially with our students who I’m hopeful will be able to identify with and learn from these witnesses of faith,” he said.The announcement states that the iconography will be installed in January 2027, before the spring semester begins.Study shows concerns with SATsA study conducted by Johns Hopkins University’s Institute for Education Policy — sponsored by Thomas Aquinas College, a Catholic institution — found concerns with changes to SAT tests, which many students take before applying to college.When comparing the SAT tests from 1980 and 1987 to tests today, the study found changes that diminish the emphasis on the students’ ability to read and analyze difficult text, according to a news release from Thomas Aquinas College.“The makers of the SAT seem to believe that the ability to tackle long and complex literary works isn’t an important skill for college students anymore,” Thomas Aquinas College Vice President John J. Goyette said in a statement.“Sadly, given the state of modern higher education, they’re probably right,” he said.The study notes that passages are shorter, sometimes one-third of the former length, and there was a drop in vocabulary questions that require independent word knowledge, from 60 to 10.It notes that newer tests nearly eliminated argumentative and persuasive readings and replaced reading passages that assumed prior knowledge and understanding with texts that reveal the meaning through context clues.
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Bishops urge religious liberty language in IRS school discrimination rule – #Catholic – The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is urging the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to include stronger language to safeguard the religious missions of private religious schools in a proposed antidiscrimination regulation.The IRS just concluded the public comment period for a rule that would remove the tax-exempt status of private K-12 schools, colleges, and universities that consider a person’s race or ethnic background in admissions, financial aid, scholarships, or other opportunities.Although the preamble of the proposed regulation states it would not prevent private religious schools from maintaining their religious missions and can have selection criteria based on the person’s religious affiliation, the USCCB warned that this language is not included in the rule itself.In a public comment submitted Nov. 2 by the USCCB, the bishops also warned the proposed language could prohibit “religiously motivated programs addressing ethnoreligious identity and community needs” as well. This concern is because the preamble text only permits selection criteria if it “is based solely on religion and not on shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics.”The bishops requested the IRS add religious liberty language to the regulation itself and remove the word “solely” from that text before approving a final rule. The bishops also encouraged the IRS to address federal legal protections for religious schools — including the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act — in both the preamble and the rule itself.Additionally, the bishops requested that the IRS direct its personnel not to “second-guess” a religious school’s doctrine and to include explicit language that sincerely held religious belief does not violate the rule. They are also asking that private schools get a period to correct any violation before enforcement action is taken.The USCCB was joined in its public comment by the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities and The Catholic University of America.University of Providence to shut downThe University of Providence — a Catholic higher education institution in Great Falls, Montana — announced it will shut down operations at the end of the 2026-2027 academic year, citing financial struggles that cannot be overcome.According to a news release, the university suffered enrollment decline and financial pressures, which led officials to restructure academic programs, reduce operating expenses, and pursue new enrollment and revenue strategies. Although this softened the financial struggles, it did not create a long-term sustainable operating model, it stated.“We recognize the grief and uncertainty this decision will bring to students, families, employees, alumni and the Great Falls community,” Caroline Goulet, the university president, said in a statement.“Our responsibility now is to care for the people who make up this University community, maintain the quality of their educational experience, and provide clear guidance and support as they prepare for what comes next,” she said.The university promised to help students transfer to other institutions to complete their degrees.Notre Dame announces Global Saints InitiativeThe University of Notre Dame announced the start of the Global Saints Initiative in 2027, which will focus on adding iconography of more saints at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, which sits at the center of the campus.The iconography will include saints from five continents and nine countries to reflect the broad cultural dimensions of the Catholic Church, according to a news release from the university.“Just as university founder Father Edward Sorin carefully selected saints for the Basilica that spoke to the Notre Dame students of his day, these new icons reflect the diverse vocations, cultures, and backgrounds of today’s campus community and the wider Church,” Father Pete McCormick, CSC, assistant vice president for campus ministry, said in a statement.“I am incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to share these stories of holiness with all who visit the Basilica and especially with our students who I’m hopeful will be able to identify with and learn from these witnesses of faith,” he said.The announcement states that the iconography will be installed in January 2027, before the spring semester begins.Study shows concerns with SATsA study conducted by Johns Hopkins University’s Institute for Education Policy — sponsored by Thomas Aquinas College, a Catholic institution — found concerns with changes to SAT tests, which many students take before applying to college.When comparing the SAT tests from 1980 and 1987 to tests today, the study found changes that diminish the emphasis on the students’ ability to read and analyze difficult text, according to a news release from Thomas Aquinas College.“The makers of the SAT seem to believe that the ability to tackle long and complex literary works isn’t an important skill for college students anymore,” Thomas Aquinas College Vice President John J. Goyette said in a statement.“Sadly, given the state of modern higher education, they’re probably right,” he said.The study notes that passages are shorter, sometimes one-third of the former length, and there was a drop in vocabulary questions that require independent word knowledge, from 60 to 10.It notes that newer tests nearly eliminated argumentative and persuasive readings and replaced reading passages that assumed prior knowledge and understanding with texts that reveal the meaning through context clues.

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Here is a roundup of the latest news related to Catholic education.

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Paterson parish renews its mission during feast day Mass #Catholic – Some celebrations mark a moment in a parish’s life; others remind us who we are, where we have been, and where God is calling us to go. St. Gerard Majella Parish in Paterson, N.J. had one of those moments during a Mass for the feast day of its patron saint on Oct. 16. With about 150 members of the parish community gathered for the liturgy, the celebration brought together St. Gerard Majella’s rich spiritual heritage, the unveiling of a new parish logo, and the introduction of a renewed mission statement. Together, these elements tell a story of a parish honoring its past while looking toward the future with hope. The new parish motto is: “One Family in Christ, Growing in Faith, Rejoicing in Hope and Changing the World with Love.” Over the past 18 months, the parish has been engaged in a synodal process of renewal, listening, reflection, and discernment. At the heart of this journey has been a desire to articulate more clearly not simply what the parish does, but who it is called to be as a community of faith. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. That distinction matters. A parish is more than a church building, a calendar of activities, or a collection of ministries. It is a community of people called together by Christ, nourished by the Eucharist, and sent forth to bring the Gospel into others’ lives. The new mission statement grew out of this spirit of listening and discernment. Its introduction over four weeks, in both English and Spanish, allowed the parish community to reflect together on its identity, purpose, and hopes for the future. The new logo, developed by Father Sebastian Munoz, parochial vicar of St. Gerard’s, gives visual expression to that same sense of identity and purpose. More than a new image, it reminds us that the parish’s outward expression should reflect the faith, values, and mission that animate its life. As Msgr. George Hundt, pastor of St. Gerard’s, continues to guide the parish through his pastoral vision, these developments offer an opportunity to renew our focus on evangelization, community building, and service. Renewal, after all, is not simply about introducing something new. It is about rediscovering what is essential and letting it shape how the parish lives its faith.
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Paterson parish renews its mission during feast day Mass #Catholic – Some celebrations mark a moment in a parish’s life; others remind us who we are, where we have been, and where God is calling us to go. St. Gerard Majella Parish in Paterson, N.J. had one of those moments during a Mass for the feast day of its patron saint on Oct. 16. With about 150 members of the parish community gathered for the liturgy, the celebration brought together St. Gerard Majella’s rich spiritual heritage, the unveiling of a new parish logo, and the introduction of a renewed mission statement. Together, these elements tell a story of a parish honoring its past while looking toward the future with hope. The new parish motto is: “One Family in Christ, Growing in Faith, Rejoicing in Hope and Changing the World with Love.” Over the past 18 months, the parish has been engaged in a synodal process of renewal, listening, reflection, and discernment. At the heart of this journey has been a desire to articulate more clearly not simply what the parish does, but who it is called to be as a community of faith. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. That distinction matters. A parish is more than a church building, a calendar of activities, or a collection of ministries. It is a community of people called together by Christ, nourished by the Eucharist, and sent forth to bring the Gospel into others’ lives. The new mission statement grew out of this spirit of listening and discernment. Its introduction over four weeks, in both English and Spanish, allowed the parish community to reflect together on its identity, purpose, and hopes for the future. The new logo, developed by Father Sebastian Munoz, parochial vicar of St. Gerard’s, gives visual expression to that same sense of identity and purpose. More than a new image, it reminds us that the parish’s outward expression should reflect the faith, values, and mission that animate its life. As Msgr. George Hundt, pastor of St. Gerard’s, continues to guide the parish through his pastoral vision, these developments offer an opportunity to renew our focus on evangelization, community building, and service. Renewal, after all, is not simply about introducing something new. It is about rediscovering what is essential and letting it shape how the parish lives its faith.

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Paterson parish renews its mission during feast day Mass #Catholic –

Some celebrations mark a moment in a parish’s life; others remind us who we are, where we have been, and where God is calling us to go. St. Gerard Majella Parish in Paterson, N.J. had one of those moments during a Mass for the feast day of its patron saint on Oct. 16.

With about 150 members of the parish community gathered for the liturgy, the celebration brought together St. Gerard Majella’s rich spiritual heritage, the unveiling of a new parish logo, and the introduction of a renewed mission statement. Together, these elements tell a story of a parish honoring its past while looking toward the future with hope. The new parish motto is: “One Family in Christ, Growing in Faith, Rejoicing in Hope and Changing the World with Love.”

Over the past 18 months, the parish has been engaged in a synodal process of renewal, listening, reflection, and discernment. At the heart of this journey has been a desire to articulate more clearly not simply what the parish does, but who it is called to be as a community of faith.

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

That distinction matters. A parish is more than a church building, a calendar of activities, or a collection of ministries. It is a community of people called together by Christ, nourished by the Eucharist, and sent forth to bring the Gospel into others’ lives.

The new mission statement grew out of this spirit of listening and discernment. Its introduction over four weeks, in both English and Spanish, allowed the parish community to reflect together on its identity, purpose, and hopes for the future.

The new logo, developed by Father Sebastian Munoz, parochial vicar of St. Gerard’s, gives visual expression to that same sense of identity and purpose. More than a new image, it reminds us that the parish’s outward expression should reflect the faith, values, and mission that animate its life.

As Msgr. George Hundt, pastor of St. Gerard’s, continues to guide the parish through his pastoral vision, these developments offer an opportunity to renew our focus on evangelization, community building, and service. Renewal, after all, is not simply about introducing something new. It is about rediscovering what is essential and letting it shape how the parish lives its faith.

– Some celebrations mark a moment in a parish’s life; others remind us who we are, where we have been, and where God is calling us to go. St. Gerard Majella Parish in Paterson, N.J. had one of those moments during a Mass for the feast day of its patron saint on Oct. 16. With about 150 members of the parish community gathered for the liturgy, the celebration brought together St. Gerard Majella’s rich spiritual heritage, the unveiling of a new parish logo, and the introduction of a renewed mission statement. Together, these elements tell a story of a parish honoring

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Active-duty military service members have new pathway to become chaplains – #Catholic – Acting Secretary of the U.S. Navy Hung Cao announced the Chaplain In-Service Procurement Program on Oct. 30, describing it as a new pathway for active-duty Navy and Marine Corps personnel to become Navy chaplains.The first initiative to come from the Department of War’s recently established Office of Religious Affairs, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth called the program that office’s “first win.”Under the funded option of the new program, the service covers tuition for a qualifying graduate theological degree at an accredited U.S. institution while service members remain on active duty. After graduation, they will transition temporarily to inactive status through the Career Intermission Program to gain a minimum of two (and not more than three) years of full-time religious leadership experience as a religious ministry professional with their endorsing organization, after which they may then be commissioned as active-duty Navy Chaplain Corps officers.Previously, active-duty Sailors or Marines who felt called to the chaplaincy usually had to leave military service, losing pay and benefits, to complete seminary and professional ministry experience as civilians, at their own expense, and then reapply. No dedicated in-service pipeline existed for this purpose.Cao urged leaders to identify Navy and Marine Corps members “from every faith tradition,” both officers and enlisted, “who possess the character, calling, and commitment” required for the program, which was authorized under the National Defense Authorization Act.“Spiritual readiness is combat readiness,” he wrote in the announcement.Hegseth said the same day that previously, when service members had to leave the military to pursue theological studies, it lost many “good warriors who wanted to answer Godʼs call. But not anymore.”He said he established the Office of Religious Affairs “to champion the spiritual readiness of our force,” calling the new program its “first win.”“Chaplains are the backbone of this military,” he said. “And some of our warfighters watching this are feeling a divine calling to the chaplaincy. To you, I encourage you with the words of Isaiah … ‘Here I am, send me.’”“President Trumpʼs Department of War will not make you choose between the uniform and your calling,” Hegseth continued, noting bipartisan congressional support for the program.“Republicans and Democrats in Congress saw the importance of this and made it law. To those who feel called to be a chaplain, the Department of War has your back. Be strong and very courageous,” he said.Archbishop welcomes initiative, but says it is of ‘little value’ to Catholics without changesArchbishop Timothy Broglio, head of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, (AMS) told EWTN News that while the archdiocese welcomes the "effort to encourage chaplain service, the initiative is of little value to prospective Catholic chaplains” without some changes.Broglio pointed out that candidates for the priesthood spend at least seven years in academic, pastoral, and spiritual formation, noting that the program “only envisions three.”After years of seminary formation, co-sponsored by the AMS and their home dioceses, Catholics called to serve as chaplains must then engage in three years of civilian pastoral service before serving in the military.Broglio said missing from the program is an allowance for the additional three years of civilian pastoral service, a period he said is intended to provide hands-on experience and which is a general condition for a chaplain candidate to receive AMS endorsement for active-duty service.He encouraged the military to “consider allowing for both the time in formation and the pastoral experience” in order to support prospective Catholic chaplains.Retreat for young men considering military chaplaincyThe announcement of the new chaplaincy program coincided with a discernment retreat hosted by AMS for young men considering the vocation to military chaplaincy.According to the archdiocese, Broglio hosted 33 prospective Catholic chaplains at the Fall Discernment Retreat held Oct. 29–Nov. 1, the beginning of National Vocation Awareness Week, at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore. Participants from dioceses across the country prayed together, took part in adoration and Holy Hours, and heard talks from Broglio, archdiocesan vocations director Father Paul-Anthony Halladay, and military chaplains on topics including discernment, the role of priests as spiritual fathers, and the lives and examples of chaplains who served in each of the military’s branches.
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Active-duty military service members have new pathway to become chaplains – #Catholic – Acting Secretary of the U.S. Navy Hung Cao announced the Chaplain In-Service Procurement Program on Oct. 30, describing it as a new pathway for active-duty Navy and Marine Corps personnel to become Navy chaplains.The first initiative to come from the Department of War’s recently established Office of Religious Affairs, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth called the program that office’s “first win.”Under the funded option of the new program, the service covers tuition for a qualifying graduate theological degree at an accredited U.S. institution while service members remain on active duty. After graduation, they will transition temporarily to inactive status through the Career Intermission Program to gain a minimum of two (and not more than three) years of full-time religious leadership experience as a religious ministry professional with their endorsing organization, after which they may then be commissioned as active-duty Navy Chaplain Corps officers.Previously, active-duty Sailors or Marines who felt called to the chaplaincy usually had to leave military service, losing pay and benefits, to complete seminary and professional ministry experience as civilians, at their own expense, and then reapply. No dedicated in-service pipeline existed for this purpose.Cao urged leaders to identify Navy and Marine Corps members “from every faith tradition,” both officers and enlisted, “who possess the character, calling, and commitment” required for the program, which was authorized under the National Defense Authorization Act.“Spiritual readiness is combat readiness,” he wrote in the announcement.Hegseth said the same day that previously, when service members had to leave the military to pursue theological studies, it lost many “good warriors who wanted to answer Godʼs call. But not anymore.”He said he established the Office of Religious Affairs “to champion the spiritual readiness of our force,” calling the new program its “first win.”“Chaplains are the backbone of this military,” he said. “And some of our warfighters watching this are feeling a divine calling to the chaplaincy. To you, I encourage you with the words of Isaiah … ‘Here I am, send me.’”“President Trumpʼs Department of War will not make you choose between the uniform and your calling,” Hegseth continued, noting bipartisan congressional support for the program.“Republicans and Democrats in Congress saw the importance of this and made it law. To those who feel called to be a chaplain, the Department of War has your back. Be strong and very courageous,” he said.Archbishop welcomes initiative, but says it is of ‘little value’ to Catholics without changesArchbishop Timothy Broglio, head of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, (AMS) told EWTN News that while the archdiocese welcomes the "effort to encourage chaplain service, the initiative is of little value to prospective Catholic chaplains” without some changes.Broglio pointed out that candidates for the priesthood spend at least seven years in academic, pastoral, and spiritual formation, noting that the program “only envisions three.”After years of seminary formation, co-sponsored by the AMS and their home dioceses, Catholics called to serve as chaplains must then engage in three years of civilian pastoral service before serving in the military.Broglio said missing from the program is an allowance for the additional three years of civilian pastoral service, a period he said is intended to provide hands-on experience and which is a general condition for a chaplain candidate to receive AMS endorsement for active-duty service.He encouraged the military to “consider allowing for both the time in formation and the pastoral experience” in order to support prospective Catholic chaplains.Retreat for young men considering military chaplaincyThe announcement of the new chaplaincy program coincided with a discernment retreat hosted by AMS for young men considering the vocation to military chaplaincy.According to the archdiocese, Broglio hosted 33 prospective Catholic chaplains at the Fall Discernment Retreat held Oct. 29–Nov. 1, the beginning of National Vocation Awareness Week, at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore. Participants from dioceses across the country prayed together, took part in adoration and Holy Hours, and heard talks from Broglio, archdiocesan vocations director Father Paul-Anthony Halladay, and military chaplains on topics including discernment, the role of priests as spiritual fathers, and the lives and examples of chaplains who served in each of the military’s branches.

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Previously, service members had to leave the military to pursue theological training and then reapply to become chaplains.

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Mexican priest recovers from kidnapping ordeal – #Catholic – Mexican priest Father Clemente Morales Topete endured beatings, burns, and death threats after being abducted by a group of unknown individuals who held him captive for three days.Bishop José de Jesús Herrera Quiñones of the Diocese of Culiacán in Sinaloa state reported what happened in a Nov. 1 statement, providing details on the assault. Herrera was reported missing on the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 24, after he had gone to a medical appointment.The prelate recounted that Morales returned on his own to his parish, Risen Christ, on Tuesday, Oct. 27. He arrived, as described, “in a deplorable state, showing clear signs of the violence he had been subjected to.”Seeing his condition, members of the community administered first aid; he was subsequently “taken to a clinic for specialized medical care, as he had sustained multiple blows and burns on various parts of his body.”Herrera clarified that the priest’s injuries “did not pose an immediate threat to his life,” though they did require medical follow-up. In addition to the physical aftereffects, there is “the psychological and emotional impact of threats that the priest reported having received against his person.”Currently, Morales remains under medical observation. According to the bishop of Culiacán, his condition is improving, “though his recovery will require time, care, and comprehensive support.”Morales’ abductionRegarding the circumstances surrounding the priest’s disappearance, Herrera stated that Morales was “picked up,” a term used colloquially in Mexico as a synonym for kidnapping or unlawful confinement.“The priest was picked by a group of unknown individuals and taken to an unknown location; he was beaten and even sustained severe burns on his body, while being pressed for information that he didn’t have,” the bishop stated.He further noted that “he was held for three days, during which he received repeated death threats,” until he was released on Tuesday, Oct. 27.Herrera said the authorities are continuing their investigation, and he urged against “fueling speculation, naming those responsible without evidence, or contributing to misinformation.”Meanwhile, he expressed his confidence that the investigations will “fully determine what happened and that those responsible will be brought to justice.”In his message, Herrera expressed solidarity with those who have experienced a similar situation. “No priest or person should be subjected to threats or attacks for fulfilling their mission.”While expressing “relief and gratitude” that Morales came out alive from the ordeal, he noted that his case “joins those of so many individuals and families who suffer from this reality.”“We denounce, reject, and condemn actions that threaten the life and the physical and moral well-being of individuals including physical and psychological torture and arbitrary detention because they are contrary to human dignity,” he stated.2 years of violence in SinaloaThe attacks on Morales took place against a backdrop of escalating violence in Sinaloa. Since September 2024, numerous criminal acts including shootings, arson, and vehicle thefts have been reported from clashes between rival organized crime factions.In this context, the bishop of Culiacán acknowledged the efforts made to quell violence and insecurity in Sinaloa; however, he warned that these issues continue to “severely affect the daily life of our society.”He noted that the measures currently in place have “not been sufficient” to “restore the tranquility that our city so desperately needs.” Consequently, he urged that strategies be strengthened regarding prevention, security, the search for missing persons, the administration of justice, and comprehensive support for victims.‘We want peace’The call for peace, he noted, also requires the participation of society. He urged the people of Sinaloa to maintain “solidarity and respect toward those who have fallen victim to crime, as well as their families,” and to take up the responsibility that falls to every citizen.He also addressed those perpetrating violence: “We ask you to reflect on the harm you are causing, to listen to the voice of your conscience, and to turn your gaze toward God. It is within your power to put an end to this violence,” he urged.Finally, he invoked the intercession of Our Lady of the Rosary, patroness of the Diocese of Culiacán, that she might “accompany families searching for their loved ones, strengthen those who are suffering, and touch the hearts of those who have chosen the path of violence.”This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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Mexican priest recovers from kidnapping ordeal – #Catholic – Mexican priest Father Clemente Morales Topete endured beatings, burns, and death threats after being abducted by a group of unknown individuals who held him captive for three days.Bishop José de Jesús Herrera Quiñones of the Diocese of Culiacán in Sinaloa state reported what happened in a Nov. 1 statement, providing details on the assault. Herrera was reported missing on the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 24, after he had gone to a medical appointment.The prelate recounted that Morales returned on his own to his parish, Risen Christ, on Tuesday, Oct. 27. He arrived, as described, “in a deplorable state, showing clear signs of the violence he had been subjected to.”Seeing his condition, members of the community administered first aid; he was subsequently “taken to a clinic for specialized medical care, as he had sustained multiple blows and burns on various parts of his body.”Herrera clarified that the priest’s injuries “did not pose an immediate threat to his life,” though they did require medical follow-up. In addition to the physical aftereffects, there is “the psychological and emotional impact of threats that the priest reported having received against his person.”Currently, Morales remains under medical observation. According to the bishop of Culiacán, his condition is improving, “though his recovery will require time, care, and comprehensive support.”Morales’ abductionRegarding the circumstances surrounding the priest’s disappearance, Herrera stated that Morales was “picked up,” a term used colloquially in Mexico as a synonym for kidnapping or unlawful confinement.“The priest was picked by a group of unknown individuals and taken to an unknown location; he was beaten and even sustained severe burns on his body, while being pressed for information that he didn’t have,” the bishop stated.He further noted that “he was held for three days, during which he received repeated death threats,” until he was released on Tuesday, Oct. 27.Herrera said the authorities are continuing their investigation, and he urged against “fueling speculation, naming those responsible without evidence, or contributing to misinformation.”Meanwhile, he expressed his confidence that the investigations will “fully determine what happened and that those responsible will be brought to justice.”In his message, Herrera expressed solidarity with those who have experienced a similar situation. “No priest or person should be subjected to threats or attacks for fulfilling their mission.”While expressing “relief and gratitude” that Morales came out alive from the ordeal, he noted that his case “joins those of so many individuals and families who suffer from this reality.”“We denounce, reject, and condemn actions that threaten the life and the physical and moral well-being of individuals including physical and psychological torture and arbitrary detention because they are contrary to human dignity,” he stated.2 years of violence in SinaloaThe attacks on Morales took place against a backdrop of escalating violence in Sinaloa. Since September 2024, numerous criminal acts including shootings, arson, and vehicle thefts have been reported from clashes between rival organized crime factions.In this context, the bishop of Culiacán acknowledged the efforts made to quell violence and insecurity in Sinaloa; however, he warned that these issues continue to “severely affect the daily life of our society.”He noted that the measures currently in place have “not been sufficient” to “restore the tranquility that our city so desperately needs.” Consequently, he urged that strategies be strengthened regarding prevention, security, the search for missing persons, the administration of justice, and comprehensive support for victims.‘We want peace’The call for peace, he noted, also requires the participation of society. He urged the people of Sinaloa to maintain “solidarity and respect toward those who have fallen victim to crime, as well as their families,” and to take up the responsibility that falls to every citizen.He also addressed those perpetrating violence: “We ask you to reflect on the harm you are causing, to listen to the voice of your conscience, and to turn your gaze toward God. It is within your power to put an end to this violence,” he urged.Finally, he invoked the intercession of Our Lady of the Rosary, patroness of the Diocese of Culiacán, that she might “accompany families searching for their loved ones, strengthen those who are suffering, and touch the hearts of those who have chosen the path of violence.”This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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Mexican priest Clemente Morales Topete suffered beatings, burns, and death threats after being held against his will by a crime gang. The assailants were trying to extract information he didn’t have.

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Married couples celebrate enduring love at cathedral Mass #Catholic – The gift of marital love was celebrated and renewed on Nov. 1, All Saints Day, during the Paterson Diocesan annual Silver and Gold Anniversary Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, N.J., where 71 couples married 25, 50, and up to 70 years ago marked their milestone anniversaries. During the Mass, these happy couples also renewed their wedding vows before Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, the main celebrant of the liturgy, and several priests from around the diocese who concelebrated the liturgy. The Diocesan Family Life Office coordinated the Mass. As on their wedding days, the couples exchanged vows, held each other’s hands, and renewed their love, fidelity, and commitment in Holy Matrimony. The couples celebrated often with their families present. The couples received certificates signed by Bishop Sweeney honoring their anniversaries. Each couple was invited to meet the bishop and take a photo with him. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org] Couples marking milestone anniversaries: 70 Years Louis & Concetta Golia St. Mary’s Parish, Denville 61 Years Joseph & Mary Bono St. Joseph Parish, Lincoln Park 60 Years Francesco and Caterina Anello Padre Pio Parish, Paterson Robert & Susan Bantang Holy Family Parish, Florham Park John & Ellen Baxter St. Joseph Church, Mendham James & Rita Behan St. Joseph Parish, Lincoln Park Walter & Maria Breakey St. Joseph Parish, Lincoln Park Richard and Mary Ann Decker St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Mountain Lakes Jeff And Joyce Fitzgerald Our Lady of the Holy Angels Parish, Little Falls Fred & Kathleen Iradi St. Ann Parish, Parsippany William & Susan Kadar St. Joseph Church, Newton Robert and Barbara Lussier Our Lady of the Lake Parish, Sparta Joseph & Mary Louise Mazzarella St. Joseph Church, Sparta John & Ellen Mitro St. Michael Parish, Netcong William J. Murphy & Joanne M. Murphy Our Lady of the Valley Parish, Wayne John & Carol Pasqua St. Vincent Martyr Parish, Madison Roger & Jadwiga Siara Holy Family Parish, Florham Park Anna and Antonio Vacca St. James of the Marches Parish, Totowa Robert & Maria Werner Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Whippany 50 Years Joan and Alan Bocchino St. Mary’s Parish, Dover Stefano and Jackie Castaldo St. Philip The Apostle Parish, Clifton Richard & Rosemarie Conklin St. Pius X Church, Montville Edward & Joanne Connell St. Francis de Sales Parish, Vernon Jorge & Julia Curi Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson Victor T. and Mathilda H. DeLorenzo St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Mountain Lakes Chris and Elizabeth Dennis St. Peter the Apostle Parish, Parsippany Michael & Vivian Fabrizio St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Butler Jane & Robert Fahey St. Catherine of Bologna Parish, Ringwood Frederick & Donna Fania St. Luke Parish, Long Valley James & Kathy Frega St. Anthony Parish, Hawthorne Kathy and Joseph Heatter Our Lady of the Lake Church, Sparta John and Dorothea Heine Good Shepherd RC Church, Andover George & Jo-Ann Higgs St. Joseph Church, Newton Vincent and Margaret LoProto St. Philip The Apostle Parish, Clifton John & Joan Lucas St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish, Sparta Jerome & Anne Memory St. Joseph Church, Newton Wayne and Susan Merckling St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Mountain Lakes Joseph & Josephine Muller St. Clare Church, Clifton Craig & Mary Jane Osberg Notre Dame of Mt. Carmel Parish, Cedar Knolls Frank and Maryann Palmieri St Peter the Apostle Parish, Parsippanay Ricardo and Mary Ann Perez St. Virgil Parish, Morris Plains Robert & Annette Putts Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Whippany Stephen & Ann Reale St. Joseph Church, Mendham Santo and Peggy Recchia St Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Flanders Donna & James Scarmazzo St. James of the Marches Parish, Totowa Anthony & Denise Schlachter Our Lady of the Valley Parish, Wayne David & Marie Smith Our Lady of the Lake Parish, Sparta Michael & Karen Spiecker St. Therese Parish, Succasunna Gabriel & Dolores Tardive St. Michael Parish, Netcong John & Alice Wojtowicz St. Clare Church Parish, Clifton Fay and Michael D. Woomer St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Oak Ridge 25 Years Luis and Annette Barragan St. Clement Pope & Martyr Parish, Dover John and Mirabel Bautista St. Virgil Parish, Morris Plains Gail & Susan Braden St. Michael Parish, Netcong Sergio Guaman & Gloria Calle Sacred Heart Parish, Dover Lisa & Bob Carey Corpus Christi Parish, Chatham Vincent Hoye and Eileen Conti St. Lawrence the Martyr Parish, Chester Matthew & Christine DiBrienza Holy Family Parish, Florham Park Nazario and Cristina Fuentes St. Paul Parish, Clifton Rafael & Arleth Galindo Our Lady of Fatima & St Nicholas Parish, Passaic Ramon & Susana Gallego Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson Jason & Nicole Geary St. Joseph Parish, Mendham Mary Kathleen Iellimo & Matteo Giacomo Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Whippany José Alejandro & Sonia Yanira Guerra St. Paul Parish, Clifton Bernardo Lopez & Viviana Lopez St. Brendan & St. George Parish, Clifton Thomas & Therese Paragano St. Joseph Church, Mendham Christopher and Chris Ann Patrick St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Mountain Lakes Juan & Alba Lucia Pavlowski, St. Padre Pio Parish, Paterson Richard & Elizabeth Poore Holy Family Parish, Florham Park John & Taryn Pry St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish, Sparta Jorge Juan Ramirez and Maria Virginia Mendoza St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Mountain Lakes Margaret and Thomas Sanders Our Lady of the Mountain Parish, Long Valley Michael & Jennifer Schermerhorn St. Mary’s Parish, Denville Paul & Stephanie Schuckalo Our Lady of the Magnificat Parish, Kinnelon Joseph & Maria Schwab Our Lady of the Magnificat Parish, Kinnelon Hermes & Luz Tafur St. Paul Parish, Clifton King Yun Tsoi & Kitsum Joyce Chan St Peter the Apostle Parish, Parsippany Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
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Married couples celebrate enduring love at cathedral Mass #Catholic – The gift of marital love was celebrated and renewed on Nov. 1, All Saints Day, during the Paterson Diocesan annual Silver and Gold Anniversary Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, N.J., where 71 couples married 25, 50, and up to 70 years ago marked their milestone anniversaries. During the Mass, these happy couples also renewed their wedding vows before Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, the main celebrant of the liturgy, and several priests from around the diocese who concelebrated the liturgy. The Diocesan Family Life Office coordinated the Mass. As on their wedding days, the couples exchanged vows, held each other’s hands, and renewed their love, fidelity, and commitment in Holy Matrimony. The couples celebrated often with their families present. The couples received certificates signed by Bishop Sweeney honoring their anniversaries. Each couple was invited to meet the bishop and take a photo with him. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org] Couples marking milestone anniversaries: 70 Years Louis & Concetta Golia St. Mary’s Parish, Denville 61 Years Joseph & Mary Bono St. Joseph Parish, Lincoln Park 60 Years Francesco and Caterina Anello Padre Pio Parish, Paterson Robert & Susan Bantang Holy Family Parish, Florham Park John & Ellen Baxter St. Joseph Church, Mendham James & Rita Behan St. Joseph Parish, Lincoln Park Walter & Maria Breakey St. Joseph Parish, Lincoln Park Richard and Mary Ann Decker St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Mountain Lakes Jeff And Joyce Fitzgerald Our Lady of the Holy Angels Parish, Little Falls Fred & Kathleen Iradi St. Ann Parish, Parsippany William & Susan Kadar St. Joseph Church, Newton Robert and Barbara Lussier Our Lady of the Lake Parish, Sparta Joseph & Mary Louise Mazzarella St. Joseph Church, Sparta John & Ellen Mitro St. Michael Parish, Netcong William J. Murphy & Joanne M. Murphy Our Lady of the Valley Parish, Wayne John & Carol Pasqua St. Vincent Martyr Parish, Madison Roger & Jadwiga Siara Holy Family Parish, Florham Park Anna and Antonio Vacca St. James of the Marches Parish, Totowa Robert & Maria Werner Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Whippany 50 Years Joan and Alan Bocchino St. Mary’s Parish, Dover Stefano and Jackie Castaldo St. Philip The Apostle Parish, Clifton Richard & Rosemarie Conklin St. Pius X Church, Montville Edward & Joanne Connell St. Francis de Sales Parish, Vernon Jorge & Julia Curi Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson Victor T. and Mathilda H. DeLorenzo St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Mountain Lakes Chris and Elizabeth Dennis St. Peter the Apostle Parish, Parsippany Michael & Vivian Fabrizio St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Butler Jane & Robert Fahey St. Catherine of Bologna Parish, Ringwood Frederick & Donna Fania St. Luke Parish, Long Valley James & Kathy Frega St. Anthony Parish, Hawthorne Kathy and Joseph Heatter Our Lady of the Lake Church, Sparta John and Dorothea Heine Good Shepherd RC Church, Andover George & Jo-Ann Higgs St. Joseph Church, Newton Vincent and Margaret LoProto St. Philip The Apostle Parish, Clifton John & Joan Lucas St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish, Sparta Jerome & Anne Memory St. Joseph Church, Newton Wayne and Susan Merckling St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Mountain Lakes Joseph & Josephine Muller St. Clare Church, Clifton Craig & Mary Jane Osberg Notre Dame of Mt. Carmel Parish, Cedar Knolls Frank and Maryann Palmieri St Peter the Apostle Parish, Parsippanay Ricardo and Mary Ann Perez St. Virgil Parish, Morris Plains Robert & Annette Putts Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Whippany Stephen & Ann Reale St. Joseph Church, Mendham Santo and Peggy Recchia St Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Flanders Donna & James Scarmazzo St. James of the Marches Parish, Totowa Anthony & Denise Schlachter Our Lady of the Valley Parish, Wayne David & Marie Smith Our Lady of the Lake Parish, Sparta Michael & Karen Spiecker St. Therese Parish, Succasunna Gabriel & Dolores Tardive St. Michael Parish, Netcong John & Alice Wojtowicz St. Clare Church Parish, Clifton Fay and Michael D. Woomer St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Oak Ridge 25 Years Luis and Annette Barragan St. Clement Pope & Martyr Parish, Dover John and Mirabel Bautista St. Virgil Parish, Morris Plains Gail & Susan Braden St. Michael Parish, Netcong Sergio Guaman & Gloria Calle Sacred Heart Parish, Dover Lisa & Bob Carey Corpus Christi Parish, Chatham Vincent Hoye and Eileen Conti St. Lawrence the Martyr Parish, Chester Matthew & Christine DiBrienza Holy Family Parish, Florham Park Nazario and Cristina Fuentes St. Paul Parish, Clifton Rafael & Arleth Galindo Our Lady of Fatima & St Nicholas Parish, Passaic Ramon & Susana Gallego Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson Jason & Nicole Geary St. Joseph Parish, Mendham Mary Kathleen Iellimo & Matteo Giacomo Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Whippany José Alejandro & Sonia Yanira Guerra St. Paul Parish, Clifton Bernardo Lopez & Viviana Lopez St. Brendan & St. George Parish, Clifton Thomas & Therese Paragano St. Joseph Church, Mendham Christopher and Chris Ann Patrick St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Mountain Lakes Juan & Alba Lucia Pavlowski, St. Padre Pio Parish, Paterson Richard & Elizabeth Poore Holy Family Parish, Florham Park John & Taryn Pry St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish, Sparta Jorge Juan Ramirez and Maria Virginia Mendoza St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Mountain Lakes Margaret and Thomas Sanders Our Lady of the Mountain Parish, Long Valley Michael & Jennifer Schermerhorn St. Mary’s Parish, Denville Paul & Stephanie Schuckalo Our Lady of the Magnificat Parish, Kinnelon Joseph & Maria Schwab Our Lady of the Magnificat Parish, Kinnelon Hermes & Luz Tafur St. Paul Parish, Clifton King Yun Tsoi & Kitsum Joyce Chan St Peter the Apostle Parish, Parsippany Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

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Married couples celebrate enduring love at cathedral Mass #Catholic –

The gift of marital love was celebrated and renewed on Nov. 1, All Saints Day, during the Paterson Diocesan annual Silver and Gold Anniversary Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, N.J., where 71 couples married 25, 50, and up to 70 years ago marked their milestone anniversaries.

During the Mass, these happy couples also renewed their wedding vows before Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, the main celebrant of the liturgy, and several priests from around the diocese who concelebrated the liturgy. The Diocesan Family Life Office coordinated the Mass.

As on their wedding days, the couples exchanged vows, held each other’s hands, and renewed their love, fidelity, and commitment in Holy Matrimony. The couples celebrated often with their families present.

The couples received certificates signed by Bishop Sweeney honoring their anniversaries. Each couple was invited to meet the bishop and take a photo with him.

BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
[See image gallery at beaconnj.org]

Couples marking milestone anniversaries:

70 Years

Louis & Concetta Golia

St. Mary’s Parish, Denville

61 Years

Joseph & Mary Bono

St. Joseph Parish, Lincoln Park

60 Years

Francesco and Caterina Anello

Padre Pio Parish, Paterson

Robert & Susan Bantang

Holy Family Parish, Florham Park

John & Ellen Baxter

St. Joseph Church, Mendham

James & Rita Behan

St. Joseph Parish, Lincoln Park

Walter & Maria Breakey

St. Joseph Parish, Lincoln Park

Richard and Mary Ann Decker

St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Mountain Lakes

Jeff And Joyce Fitzgerald

Our Lady of the Holy Angels Parish, Little Falls

Fred & Kathleen Iradi

St. Ann Parish, Parsippany

William & Susan Kadar

St. Joseph Church, Newton

Robert and Barbara Lussier

Our Lady of the Lake Parish, Sparta

Joseph & Mary Louise Mazzarella

St. Joseph Church, Sparta

John & Ellen Mitro

St. Michael Parish, Netcong

William J. Murphy & Joanne M. Murphy

Our Lady of the Valley Parish, Wayne

John & Carol Pasqua

St. Vincent Martyr Parish, Madison

Roger & Jadwiga Siara

Holy Family Parish, Florham Park

Anna and Antonio Vacca

St. James of the Marches Parish, Totowa

Robert & Maria Werner

Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Whippany

50 Years

Joan and Alan Bocchino

St. Mary’s Parish, Dover

Stefano and Jackie Castaldo

St. Philip The Apostle Parish, Clifton

Richard & Rosemarie Conklin

St. Pius X Church, Montville

Edward & Joanne Connell

St. Francis de Sales Parish, Vernon

Jorge & Julia Curi

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson

Victor T. and Mathilda H. DeLorenzo

St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Mountain Lakes

Chris and Elizabeth Dennis

St. Peter the Apostle Parish, Parsippany

Michael & Vivian Fabrizio

St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Butler

Jane & Robert Fahey

St. Catherine of Bologna Parish, Ringwood

Frederick & Donna Fania

St. Luke Parish, Long Valley

James & Kathy Frega

St. Anthony Parish, Hawthorne

Kathy and Joseph Heatter

Our Lady of the Lake Church, Sparta

John and Dorothea Heine

Good Shepherd RC Church, Andover

George & Jo-Ann Higgs

St. Joseph Church, Newton

Vincent and Margaret LoProto

St. Philip The Apostle Parish, Clifton

John & Joan Lucas

St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish, Sparta

Jerome & Anne Memory

St. Joseph Church, Newton

Wayne and Susan Merckling

St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Mountain Lakes

Joseph & Josephine Muller

St. Clare Church, Clifton

Craig & Mary Jane Osberg

Notre Dame of Mt. Carmel Parish, Cedar Knolls

Frank and Maryann Palmieri

St Peter the Apostle Parish, Parsippanay

Ricardo and Mary Ann Perez

St. Virgil Parish, Morris Plains

Robert & Annette Putts

Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Whippany

Stephen & Ann Reale

St. Joseph Church, Mendham

Santo and Peggy Recchia

St Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Flanders

Donna & James Scarmazzo

St. James of the Marches Parish, Totowa

Anthony & Denise Schlachter

Our Lady of the Valley Parish, Wayne

David & Marie Smith

Our Lady of the Lake Parish, Sparta

Michael & Karen Spiecker

St. Therese Parish, Succasunna

Gabriel & Dolores Tardive

St. Michael Parish, Netcong

John & Alice Wojtowicz

St. Clare Church Parish, Clifton

Fay and Michael D. Woomer

St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Oak Ridge

25 Years

Luis and Annette Barragan

St. Clement Pope & Martyr Parish, Dover

John and Mirabel Bautista

St. Virgil Parish, Morris Plains

Gail & Susan Braden

St. Michael Parish, Netcong

Sergio Guaman & Gloria Calle

Sacred Heart Parish, Dover

Lisa & Bob Carey

Corpus Christi Parish, Chatham

Vincent Hoye and Eileen Conti

St. Lawrence the Martyr Parish, Chester

Matthew & Christine DiBrienza

Holy Family Parish, Florham Park

Nazario and Cristina Fuentes

St. Paul Parish, Clifton

Rafael & Arleth Galindo

Our Lady of Fatima & St Nicholas Parish, Passaic

Ramon & Susana Gallego

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson

Jason & Nicole Geary

St. Joseph Parish, Mendham

Mary Kathleen Iellimo & Matteo Giacomo

Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Whippany

José Alejandro & Sonia Yanira Guerra

St. Paul Parish, Clifton

Bernardo Lopez & Viviana Lopez

St. Brendan & St. George Parish, Clifton

Thomas & Therese Paragano

St. Joseph Church, Mendham

Christopher and Chris Ann Patrick

St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Mountain Lakes

Juan & Alba Lucia Pavlowski,

St. Padre Pio Parish, Paterson

Richard & Elizabeth Poore

Holy Family Parish, Florham Park

John & Taryn Pry

St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish, Sparta

Jorge Juan Ramirez and Maria Virginia Mendoza

St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Mountain Lakes

Margaret and Thomas Sanders

Our Lady of the Mountain Parish, Long Valley

Michael & Jennifer Schermerhorn

St. Mary’s Parish, Denville

Paul & Stephanie Schuckalo

Our Lady of the Magnificat Parish, Kinnelon

Joseph & Maria Schwab

Our Lady of the Magnificat Parish, Kinnelon

Hermes & Luz Tafur

St. Paul Parish, Clifton

King Yun Tsoi & Kitsum Joyce Chan

St Peter the Apostle Parish, Parsippany

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

– The gift of marital love was celebrated and renewed on Nov. 1, All Saints Day, during the Paterson Diocesan annual Silver and Gold Anniversary Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, N.J., where 71 couples married 25, 50, and up to 70 years ago marked their milestone anniversaries. During the Mass, these happy couples also renewed their wedding vows before Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, the main celebrant of the liturgy, and several priests from around the diocese who concelebrated the liturgy. The Diocesan Family Life Office coordinated the Mass. As on their wedding days, the couples

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