United Yam – You Never Know

Ferrán Torres, the Catholic forward who won the World Cup for Spain #Catholic Ferrán Torres is the Catholic forward who secured a 1–0 victory for Spain over Messiʼs Argentina in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, played on Sunday, July 19, in New Jersey.“The goal is the least important thing; right now, all I want is to grab that trophy and squeeze it as hard as I can, because I believe it represents the dream of the 47 million people we were representing on the pitch today — because I think we deserved it and we gave it our all,” said Ferrán Torres after the final.Torres, who plays for Barcelona in Spain, also said that the goal brought him a sense of relief, given the heavy criticism he had faced during the World Cup. “Thank God, He always gives me the strength to keep going, and in the end — as I always say — God grants things to those who deserve them most,” the forward emphasized.Days before the final, a video was released in which Torres spoke about the importance of God in his life. “I have a cross and an image of the Virgin Mary; ultimately, I think having such strong faith gives me great support — it is something very important to me,” remarked the Spanish forward, who was named the final’s Superior Player of the Match.TweetTorres stands out for his Catholic faith within the Spanish national team, alongside coach Luis de la Fuente — who, at the press conference prior to the semifinal match where they defeated France 2–0, stated that he prays “every day, but not because I am at a World Cup or in order to get a result.”“I give thanks every day — every day I wake up and find myself well, I look at myself and say: ‘Another day I can enjoy life.’ I give thanks for those little things. I pray—because I do pray every day — not to ask for more help,” the Spanish head coach explained at the time.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam July 19, 2026July 20, 2026

Torres stands out for his Catholic faith within the Spanish national team, alongside coach Luis de la Fuente.

unitedyam July 19, 2026July 20, 2026

A reading from the Book of Micah
6:1-4, 6-8

Hear what the LORD says:
Arise, present your plea before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice!
Hear, O mountains, the plea of the LORD,
pay attention, O foundations of the earth!
For the LORD has a plea against his people,
and he enters into trial with Israel.

O my people, what have I done to you,
or how have I wearied you? Answer me!
For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
from the place of slavery I released you;
and I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and Miriam.

With what shall I come before the LORD,
and bow before God most high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with myriad streams of oil?
Shall I give my first-born for my crime,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
You have been told, O man, what is good,
and what the LORD requires of you:
Only to do the right and to love goodness,
and to walk humbly with your God.

From the Gospel according to Matthew
12:38-42

Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,
“Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”
He said to them in reply,
“An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign,
but no sign will be given it
except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights,
so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth
three days and three nights.
At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah;
and there is something greater than Jonah here.
At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation
and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon;
and there is something greater than Solomon here.”

The doctors of the law did not understand the signs of the times and invoked an extraordinary sign. And he proposed several answers: the first was “because they were closed. They were closed within their system, they had organized the law very well”. It was “a masterpiece. (…) It was all organized”. They did not understand that God is always new; (…) He always surprises. And they did not understand and they closed themselves within that system created with much good will; and they asked” that Jesus give them “a sign”, failing to understand, however, “the many signs that Jesus made” and maintaining a completely “closed” attitude. Second, they had forgotten that they were a people on a journey. And when one is on a journey one always finds new things, things one does not know. And this must make us think: “Am I attached to my things, to my ideas, closed? Or am I open to the God of surprises?”. And also: “Am I a stationary person or a person on a journey?”. And finally, “do I believe in Jesus Christ and in what he has done?”, that is, “he died, rose again… do I believe that the journey goes forth toward maturity, toward the manifestation of the glory of the Lord? Am I capable of understanding the signs of the times and of being faithful to the voice of the Lord that is manifest in them?”. We can ask ourselves these questions today and ask the Lord for, “A heart that loves the law, for the law is God’s”, but “which also loves God’s surprises”, for his “holy law is not an end in itself”. (Pope Francis, Homily, Mass at Santa Marta, 13 October 2014)

unitedyam July 19, 2026July 19, 2026

Picture of the day

Cacomantis sonneratii (Banded Bay Cuckoo) in Ajodhya Hills, West Bengal, India.

Bishops of Peru pray for victims of earthquake that leaves at least 5 dead – #Catholic – Peruʼs bishops offered prayers and expressed their solidarity with the victims of an earthquake that struck Saturday night in the Junín region — located in the countryʼs central Andean zone — leaving at least five people dead, more than 20 injured, and hundreds affected.The earthquake, which occurred around 9 p.m., was centered in the district of Chongos Bajo, in the Chupaca province of the Junín region — situated in Peruʼs central Andes, some 193 miles east of Lima — according to the National Civil Defense Institute (INDECI, by its Spanish acronym).“We share in the grief of the families mourning their loved ones, offering our prayers for the eternal rest of the deceased, and we ask the Lord to grant everyone strength, comfort, and hope,” the bishops stated in the aftermath of the disaster.“We express our spiritual closeness to all those affected, to those who have lost their homes, and to those generously participating in rescue, care, and relief efforts,” said Bishop Carlos García Camader, president of the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference.After encouraging Peruvians to show solidarity with those affected, the bishops urged them not to lose hope and pray “that the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Hope, may intercede for all those affected and accompany our beloved people of Junín.”Junín’s 5.1-magnitude earthquake Rescue operations involving the police, firefighters, and the Peruvian army are ongoing, and authorities are assessing the damage — particularly in the Pumpunya area of the Chongos Bajo district, where approximately 50 homes have been affected.In an interview with Radio Programas del Perú, Hernando Tavera, president of the Geophysical Institute of Peru (IGP, by its Spanish acronym), stated that the extent of the destruction in this area is due to the fragility of the houses, most of which were built using substandard materials.“When structures are built according to standards and proper engineering, they obviously yield better results than those constructed using local materials,” which makes them prone to easy collapse, Tavera explained.So far, the IGP has recorded 12 aftershocks. The strongest measured 3.7 and 3.4 in magnitude.On Sunday, Prime Minister Luis Enrique Arroyo Sánchez headed to the Chongos Bajo district alongside Defense Minister Amadeo Flores and INDECI chief Luis Enrique Vásquez “to oversee the response to the 5.1-magnitude earthquake and coordinate assistance for the affected population,” according to the Office of the Prime Minister.Historic cross collapsesAs a result of the earthquake, the historic Cani Cruz — known as the Lord of Cani Cruz — collapsed. The cross, erected in 1534 and located in the main square of Chongos Bajo, is one of the regionʼs oldest religious monuments, according to local media reports.Carved from limestone and featuring reliefs of the crucified Christ and the Virgin Mary, in 1990 it was declared a national cultural heritage site, alongside the main church of Chongos Bajo and the El Copón Chapel.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam July 19, 2026July 19, 2026

“We express our spiritual closeness to all those affected, to those who have lost their homes, and to those generously participating in rescue, care, and relief efforts,” Bishop Carlos García said.

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July 19, 418 C.E., marks the first total solar eclipse (of which we have a record) during which a comet was seen. Turkish-born Church historian Philostorgius wrote in Book XII of the Epitome Historiae Ecclesiasticae: “When Theodosius had reached adolescence, on the nineteenth of July at about the eighth hour, the sun was so completelyContinue reading “July 19, 418: A solar eclipse/comet combo”

The post July 19, 418: A solar eclipse/comet combo appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Where is God in the midst of tragedy? A bishop responds following Venezuela earthquakes – #Catholic – How can you find God amid tragedy? Why does God allow so much suffering? These are questions people might be asking themselves in Venezuela following the earthquakes of June 24.Carlos Márquez, auxiliary bishop of Caracas, reflected on the mystery of suffering in an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. In the prelateʼs view, the Catholic Church plays a fundamental role in shedding light on these existential questions.A promise to hold onto: ‘We are not alone’Márquez said it would be “an act of tremendous pridefulness” to attempt to provide answers that fully resolve this mystery. Ultimately, he noted, asking these questions is a way of “looking for someone to blame.” They are questions that “paralyze us and fill us with bitterness and pain.”“We can’t escape biological law; we can’t escape the laws of nature. What we once thought was a curse or divine punishment, we now know to be natural processes, processes that are even necessary,” he explained regarding the devastating earthquakes.To help make sense of the tragedy, Márquez pointed to two specific factors. The first is human freedom, which, when misused, “causes suffering and pain.” He referred to the collapsed buildings, many of which might have been built in unsuitable locations due to poor ground conditions or perhaps constructed without adhering to proper safety standards.“Imprudence, whether culpable or not, always ends in tragedy. This is not caused, desired, or much less ordained by God. It’s not the divine will,” he remarked.Márquez identified the second specific element in St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans, where the apostle to the Gentiles wrote that creation “groans until the present and suffers the pains of childbirth” (Rom 8:22-39).This helps us understand that nature “readjusts, evolves, and moves” as part of a process “toward the fullness promised by Jesus Christ.” The auxiliary bishop explained that creation “will be subject to pain” until it is recapitulated in Christ, and we, as creatures, undergo these vicissitudes.“Therefore, on our journey toward the fullness of living happily forever with Christ in heaven, we will encounter pain and suffering,” Márquez noted.Yet in the face of these realities, the prelate offered a reassuring promise: “Christ’s promise was not that we would not suffer, nor that there would be no earthquakes, floods, or natural tragedies. Amid the pain, he promised not to abandon us. We are not alone: ‘I will be with you until the end of the world.’ He promises us his companionship in the midst of pain.”The Lord “walks with us in the midst of our pain” and fulfills his promise “through his Church, among those who suffer.” The sacraments and the word, he continued, comfort and heal us, and transform our hearts “so we can move forward.”God also gives us the example and intercession of the saints “so that we do not lose heart” and might feel accompanied. “When one is in great pain, when one is suffering deeply, the tragedy becomes worse when we are alone and isolated,” he said.Christian hope in the face of death and tragedyIn recent weeks, the most heart-wrenching stories have filled social media. Yet, for the most part, they share a fundamental element highlighted by Márquez: hope.Many people are thanking God for being alive and, amid unimaginable suffering, affirming that they will live to honor their deceased loved ones and will spare no effort to discover the purpose for which God has saved them.“If we live united with Christ in suffering, we will live with him forever in heaven. Death does not have the final word. This earthquake does not have the final word. God has the final word, which is a word of life, happiness, and eternal joy,” he stated.So, what is required of those Venezuelans who remain? Márquez answered clearly: to follow the example of all their saintly compatriots, to face adversity without asking “why,” and to work so that the future may be better.

Carlos Márquez, auxiliary bishop of Caracas, left, with people affected by the June 24, 2026, earthquakes in Venezuela. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Bishop Carlos Márquez

“Pain is fleeting; death is not final. United in faith, hope, and charity, with our eyes fixed on the risen Christ, we walk together in communion to overcome this tragedy,” Márquez said.“Venezuela is a land of grace; Venezuela is a land of saints. We have hope, and we will rise again. We will rise from the dust of this earthquake,” he added.Finally, he recalled the words St. John Paul II spoke at the Teresa Carreño Theater in Caracas during his second visit to the country on Feb. 10, 1996: “Venezuelans, even though the difficulties are serious and the challenges immense, your resolve must be great. Faced with a present full of uncertainty and a future full of questions, put your abilities to use with imagination and, above all, with generosity, trusting in God: God loves mankind.”As of now, the official death toll following the earthquakes stands at 4,829, while the number of injured and affected people runs into the tens of thousands.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam July 19, 2026July 19, 2026

Carlos Márquez, auxiliary bishop of Caracas, Venezuela, explained that God’s promise is not to eliminate suffering but that amid pain, he will not abandon us.

Pope Leo XIV calls for evangelical approach without force or ‘arrogant judgments’ – #Catholic – Pope Leo XIV warned Sunday against imagining God as “a powerful figure who imposes himself by force, who takes over and dominates, or who arrives triumphantly” and urged Christians to embrace a Gospel-centered approach marked by humility and trust.Speaking before the Angelus prayer in Liberty Square at Castel Gandolfo, where he is spending several weeks of rest through Monday, July 27, the pope reflected on the day’s Gospel reading.Following the parable of the sower, Jesus addresses the crowds through the images of the good wheat and the weeds, the mustard seed, and the yeast in the dough, the pope noted.“These three short parables recall the coming of the kingdom of God in history, its action in human lives, and the way it grows, expands, and transforms the world from within,” Pope Leo said.Through these images, he continued, Jesus warns against thinking of God principally in terms of power, domination, and triumph.“Instead, God favors smallness, a sign of his discreet love, by which he leaves us free to accept or reject him,” the pope said. “His love makes its presence felt even among the weeds, acts in a hidden and invisible way like the smallest of all seeds, and leavens the dough without making a sound.”God favors smallnessPope Leo said believers sometimes expect God to act in dramatic and immediately visible ways.“We sometimes expect God to do something spectacular; we want him to intervene from on high, immediately uprooting the weeds of evil,” he said.“We imagine a strong and powerful God, and, unfortunately, we also model our way of being Christians and way of being the Church on this image.”The kingdom of God, however, continues to grow quietly even amid evil, the pope said.“However, the kingdom of God spreads even amidst the weeds, requiring us to train our vision so we can discern the good that sprouts despite the darkness of evil, and avoiding rash judgments,” he said.The image of the smallest seed, Pope Leo explained, teaches Christians to be patient as God works through ordinary events and gradual processes.“It comes like the smallest of seeds and thus calls for patience in accompanying these processes, so that we can recognize it in the little things of daily life and in the simplicity of ordinary existence,” he said.The kingdom also “grows invisibly like yeast in flour,” the pope continued, freeing believers from discouragement and inviting them to maintain faith even when God appears absent.“In fact, he is always with us, and his love is always ready to help us,” he said.Pope Leo then urged Catholics to apply this divine way of acting to both their personal lives and the life of the Church.“God’s way of acting must also become the way in which we live, both as individuals and as the Church, amidst the reality that surrounds us,” he said.“We are called to adopt a Gospel-centered approach, without hastily opposing others through arrogant judgments, without imposing ourselves through power and force, and without losing trust in God’s work.”The pope cited a reflection given by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, during the Jubilee of Catechists and Religion Teachers in the Holy Year 2000.“As the then-Cardinal Ratzinger said, it is a matter of submitting ourselves to the logic of the seed — which is not that of success and greatness but that of making ourselves small and serving others,” Pope Leo said.By embracing this approach, he concluded, Christians can become instruments through which the Gospel quietly transforms the world.“In this way, we will become like small seeds of the Gospel that sprout and leavens of love that transform the dough of the world.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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At the Sunday Angelus in Castel Gandolfo, the pontiff said God’s kingdom grows quietly through smallness, patience, and service rather than spectacle or power.

This Colorado State Park Is a Hidden Gem With 15 Scenic Hiking Trails and a River Canyon—and It’s Less Than 1 Hour From Denver #Travel Most visitors to Colorado overlook this beautiful state park.

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Most visitors to Colorado overlook this beautiful state park.

Sicar: The retreat transforming the lives of young people in Latin America #Catholic The Sicar retreat (“Sychar” in the English Bible) has given rise to one of the most notable youth evangelization experiences in Latin America. It came about through a process of discernment by a Mexican religious in her own search for God, a dynamic movement that today reaches thousands of young people.With over 30 years of consecrated life, Mother María Elena Martínez has dedicated her life to the spiritual formation of young people and adults through “Mary, Mother of Love,” a private association of the faithful she founded in Mexico in 2015.The community is centered on retreats making a spiritual impact, such as Emmaus, which is held in parishes and correctional facilities, and Sicar, which is aimed specifically at young adults.

Mother María Elena Martínez. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez

Her life, marked from childhood by a quest for God, would ultimately become bound up in an initiative that is active today in several Latin American countries, including Mexico, Guatemala, Paraguay, Argentina, and Peru.“I remember as a little girl I had a great thirst for God,” she shared in an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.That initial calling deepened over time. At age 11, she recalled, a desire to please Jesus arose within her. “A desire for purity … I wanted to live a life of virginity,” she noted, explaining that she prayed insistently to the Virgin Mary, asking for that consecration.

Mother María Elena Martínez in front of an oasis. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez

However, her path was neither immediate nor direct. “Religious life wasn’t something that particularly appealed to me,” she admitted. In her youth, she went through various experiences ranging from completing a degree in translating to exploring broader spiritual concerns, which eventually led her to try out consecrated life with the Missionaries of Charity.Some time later, she tried cloistered contemplative life. “I wanted something more interior, deeper,” she confessed.A concern arises: ‘What about the young people?’The Sicar retreat did not originate as a planned initiative but rather as a pastoral response that only gradually took shape. According to Mother María Elena, for years many people approached her with the same concern: “What about the young people?” “Do something for the young people,” they would tell her.

Sicar team members in Mexico. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez

The Gospel account of the Samaritan woman began to take center stage in her prayer and discernment. Jesus’ dialogue at the well of Sychar — “If you knew the gift of God” (cf. Jn 4:1-42) — served as the starting point for helping young people discover Christ. “The passage about the Samaritan woman was so rich, so rich, that I could draw so much from it,” she explained.The decisive step came in 2016, when the first Sicar retreat was held. Mother María Elena remembered it as the beginning of something small and simple yet deeply meaningful. Young people with prior experience in movements like Emmaus were the first to participate.

Sicar Mexico. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez

Sicar began to expand. After establishing itself in cities such as Mexico City, Tehuacán, and Tecamachalco (in the state of Puebla), as well as San Luis de la Paz (Guanajuato state), Veracruz, Mérida (Yucatán state), and Cuernavaca (Morelos state), the initiative began to cross borders beyond Mexico. The first retreat in Guatemala took place in 2017; Buenos Aires in 2018; Paraguay in 2022; and in Peru in 2023.“It has been growing in many places, rescuing so many young people,” Mother María Elena said with gratitude.In Mexico, 38 Sicar retreats have been held with an average of 50 participants each, amounting to nearly 2,000 young people. In Peru, where the initiative arrived in 2023, seven retreats have already taken place with around 70 participants each, reaching approximately 490 people.

Sicar Mexico. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez

Ottmar Ricalde, a Sicar volunteer in Mexico, noted that “Sicar means and has meant so much over these past 10 years.” “I could write and speak about all the stories, all the laughter, and all the tears, but the most important thing of all is the love of God that has been a gift to me,” he stated.“My life was always focused on pleasing others, but when I met God and realized how much he loves me, I began wanting to please him,” he said.In Paraguay, Sicar coordinator Fátima Correa highlighted that the experience “was a time of growth and renewal. It allowed us to view our history with fresh eyes.”

Sicar Paraguay 2026 team members. | Credit: Sicar Paraguay

“It was a retreat organized by young people for young people, where every testimony reflected realities many of us could relate to,” she added.A couple from Argentina who participated in the retreat and are now married say that Sicar marked a turning point in their lives. “We arrived as boyfriend and girlfriend and returned with completely transformed hearts … today, we feel that one of the greatest fruits was our marriage.”A growing community in PeruSicar arrived in Peru in 2023 and has since established a growing community.Geraldine Spihlman, director of Sicar in Peru, explained that the initiative arose after a need was identified within youth ministry. “When young people reached the age of 24 or 25, they no longer had a place to continue their journey of faith,” she noted.Following contact with Mother María Elena, it was decided to launch the initiative in Lima, which holds two retreats a year: in May and November.Spihlman highlighted that the most visible fruit is the community: “Many young people have discovered that it’s hard to go it alone but that everything is easier in community. It is a community where you can see how they love one another.”Instagram post‘God’s mercy knows no bounds’One of the most common fruits of these retreats is a shift in how one views others.In personal encounters, transformation occurs not only for those receiving the retreat but also for those who put it on. “God’s mercy knows no bounds,” Mother María Elena stated. “You look at people with eyes of mercy. You no longer judge the person; instead, you see them as a child of God,” she explained.Eros Acevedo, another team member, said the retreat “was an encounter with God that changed everything … I arrived bearing wounds, and his presence touched them. I left renewed.”

Sicar Peru team members, May 2026. | Credit: Sicar Peru

Rafael Mansilla, 27, said Sicar taught him to persevere in the faith. “Faith is not a flame that goes out but a steady flame,” he said.Dina Dávila shared that the retreat was the instrument God used to call her. “The love I have experienced in the community is overwhelming,” she added.‘A living Jesus’Through the retreats, Mother María Elena explained, people are invited to encounter “a living Jesus.” “God continues to act; he continues to perform miracles every day,” she affirmed. She said she lives one day at a time. “Each day I tell the Lord, ‘For one more day, I say yes to you.’”

Participants in a Sicar retreat in Mexico. | Credit: Sicar Mexico

The Sicar retreat, born of a contemplative reading of the Gospel, continues to spread wherever young people seek meaning, healing, and an experience of mature faith.Today, the young “Samaritans” who have lived this experience carry with them the words that marked their encounter with God: “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst” (Jn 4:14).This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam July 19, 2026July 20, 2026

Through her own spiritual journey seeking God, Mother María Elena Martínez founded a community and a retreat movement that is touching the lives of thousands of young people in Latin America.

This U.S. National Park May Be Home to the Most Snakes, According to Experts #Travel And here’s what to do if you spot one.

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And here’s what to do if you spot one.

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FORTIFY me with the grace of Your Holy Spirit
and give Your peace to my soul
that I may be free from all needless anxiety,
solicitude and worry.
Help me to desire always
that which is pleasing and acceptable to You
so that Your will may be my will.

unitedyam July 18, 2026July 18, 2026

A reading from the Book of Wisdom
12:13, 16-19

There is no god besides you who have the care of all,
that you need show you have not unjustly condemned.
For your might is the source of justice;
your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all.
For you show your might when the perfection of your power is disbelieved;
and in those who know you, you rebuke temerity.
But though you are master of might, you judge with clemency,
and with much lenience you govern us;
for power, whenever you will, attends you.
And you taught your people, by these deeds,
that those who are just must be kind;
and you gave your children good ground for hope
that you would permit repentance for their sins.

A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans
8:26-27

Brothers and sisters:
The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness;
for we do not know how to pray as we ought,
but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.
And the one who searches hearts
knows what is the intention of the Spirit,
because he intercedes for the holy ones
according to God’s will.

From the Gospel according to Matthew
13:24-43

Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying:
"The kingdom of heaven may be likened
to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where have the weeds come from?’
He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’
His slaves said to him,
‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
"First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn."’"

He proposed another parable to them.
"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed
that a person took and sowed in a field.
It is the smallest of all the seeds,
yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants.
It becomes a large bush,
and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’"

He spoke to them another parable.
"The kingdom of heaven is like yeast
that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch was leavened."

All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables.
He spoke to them only in parables,
to fulfill what had been said through the prophet:
I will open my mouth in parables,
I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation
of the world.

Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house.
His disciples approached him and said,
"Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."
He said in reply, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,
the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom.
The weeds are the children of the evil one,
and the enemy who sows them is the devil.
The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire,
so will it be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his kingdom
all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the kingdom of their Father.
Whoever has ears ought to hear."

Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a field of wheat to enable us to understand that something small and hidden has been sown within us which, nevertheless, has an irrepressible vital force. In spite of all obstacles, the seed will develop and the fruit will ripen. This fruit will only be good if the terrain of life is cultivated in accordance with the divine will. For this reason in the Parable of the Weeds [tares] among the good Wheat (Mt 13:24-30). Jesus warns us that, after the owner had scattered the seed, “while men were sleeping, his enemy” intervened and sowed weeds among the wheat. This means that we must be ready to preserve the grace received from the day of our Baptism, continuing to nourish faith in the Lord that prevents evil from taking root. St Augustine commenting on the parable noted “many are at first tares but then become good grain”, and he added: “if these, when they are wicked, are not endured with patience they would not attain their praiseworthy transformation” (Quaest. septend. in Ev. sec. Matth., 12, 4: PL 35, 1371). (…) Hence if we are children of such a great and good Father, let us seek to be like him! This was the aim Jesus set himself with his preaching; indeed, he said to those who were listening to him: “You… must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48). (Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus, 17 July 2011)

NASA’s Chandra and IXPE Study Pulsar in Lighthouse Nebula – Scientists using NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) directly measured the magnetic fields of PSR J1101−6101, a pulsar located within what is often referred to as the “Lighthouse” Nebula, for the first time.

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Scientists using NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) directly measured the magnetic fields of PSR J1101−6101, a pulsar located within what is often referred to as the “Lighthouse” Nebula, for the first time.

Picture of the day

St. Jude’s Church, Chinnathurai, built on sandy soil near the beach, cemetery to the left. Thoothoor, Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India.
#ImageOfTheDay

unitedyam July 18, 2026July 18, 2026

Picture of the day

St. Jude’s Church, Chinnathurai, built on sandy soil near the beach, cemetery to the left. Thoothoor, Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India.

Nebraska man arrested over threat to shoot up Catholic school, kill Catholic governor’s family, nuns – #Catholic – A Nebraska man is in police custody after officials say he made threats against Catholic schools and nuns as well as the children of the state’s Catholic governor. The Nebraska State Patrol said they initially arrested 32-year-old Ean Halstead on June 29. The patrol said in a press release that police were investigating a threatening online message against Columbus Catholic Schools and the family of state Gov. Jim Pillen. The investigation led police to Halstead, who was arrested on June 29 after a standoff at his apartment in Omaha. He was charged with obstructing a police officer and failing to obey a lawful order. A search at his residence revealed “evidence linking [Halstead] to the threatening message sent to Columbus Catholic Schools,” the patrol said. He was subsequently re-arrested on July 17 and charged with “terroristic threats and destruction of evidence.” Local news reported that the message, posted to the Facebook page of Columbus Catholic Schools, had declared: “I’m going to shoot up this school and kill Jim Pillen’s children and a few nuns for (expletive) funsies.”A spokesman for Pillen said the governor’s office was “extremely grateful” for law enforcement’s “quick and thorough work to track down this individual and ensure the security of the First Family.” “We have zero tolerance for political violence here in Nebraska, including threats to carry it out. If you threaten violence against a public official or their family in this state, you will be found and held accountable,” the governor’s office said.Pillen has four children with his wife Suzanne. He has been governor of the state since 2023. Earlier in 2026 he told EWTN News that there was “no way I could possibly be governor without my faith.” His faith life includes the regular praying of the rosary; describing his average day, he said: “I get up and I pray to do God’s will.”

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Authorities originally detained the suspect in June after he resisted arrest in connection with the investigation.

unitedyam July 18, 2026July 18, 2026

Obituary: Deacon Charles Mallory, formerly of Pompton Plains parish #Catholic –

A Mass of Christian Burial was held on July 17 at St. John of the Cross Parish in Vero Beach, Fla., for retired Deacon Charles (“Charlie”) Mallory, who died on July 13. He was 91.

In 1978, Deacon Mallory was ordained a permanent deacon of the Paterson Diocese, N.J. He served Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in the Pompton Plains neighborhood of Pequannock, N.J., for 30 years before moving to Florida in 2009 for family reasons. There, he served St. John of the Cross Parish in Vero Beach.

Born March 28, 1935, in Union City, N.J., Deacon Mallory was the son of the late Charles Benjamin Mallory and Ann Frieda Soehren Mallory. He attended St. Anastasia Catholic School in Teaneck, N.J., and Teaneck High School prior to graduating from Farleigh Dickinson University in 1957.

In 1962, Deacon Mallory married Felicia Princiotta, and together they had five sons: Charles, William, Patrick, Joseph, and Philip Mallory.

Charles worked in sales for ADP in New York City.

In 2008, Deacon Mallory and his wife moved to Vero Beach and attended St. John of the Cross, where he served as a permanent deacon. He worked in hospital ministry and belonged to the Knights of Columbus.

Deacon Mallory is survived by his wife; his five sons; his 15 grandchildren; a great-granddaughter; his sister, Ann Kryzwick; his brother and sister-in-law, George and Maria Sayre; and other loving family and friends.

Please send condolences to Deacon Mallory’s wife, Felicia, at: Mrs. Felicia Mallory, 8775 20th St, #167, Vero Beach, Fla.32966

Please keep Felicia, the Mallory family, and all who mourn Deacon Mallory’s death in your prayers.

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– A Mass of Christian Burial was held on July 17 at St. John of the Cross Parish in Vero Beach, Fla., for retired Deacon Charles (“Charlie”) Mallory, who died on July 13. He was 91. In 1978, Deacon Mallory was ordained a permanent deacon of the Paterson Diocese, N.J. He served Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in the Pompton Plains neighborhood of Pequannock, N.J., for 30 years before moving to Florida in 2009 for family reasons. There, he served St. John of the Cross Parish in Vero Beach. Born March 28, 1935, in Union City, N.J., Deacon Mallory was

World Cup: Ahead of final, bishop warns against making sports an idol – #Catholic – Ahead of the 2026 World Cup final, which will see the national soccer teams of Spain and Argentina face off on Sunday, the bishop of Orihuela-Alicante in Spain, José Ignacio Munilla, reflected on the values of sport and the risk of idolatry.Speaking on his program “Sixth Continent” on Radio María Spain regarding the sporting event, the Spanish prelate noted that soccer “possesses values that deserve to be recognized." He said the Church “cultivates the spiritual values of sport,” which unites families and friends, creates opportunities for social connection in an increasingly individualistic society, and offers a chance to share joys and disappointments, among other virtues.‘Who holds first place in our hearts?’However, Munilla pointed out that “precisely because soccer stirs the human heart so deeply, it also becomes a magnificent mirror of our contradictions. For enjoying the sport is one thing, but turning it into a religion is something else entirely.”“Our era has a curious way of manufacturing saints, but without holiness,” he added, referring to the attention lavished on sports stars, particularly soccer players.While “it’s not wrong to admire someone who has developed an extraordinary talent through effort and sacrifice,” Munilla suggested it’s worth asking, “Who holds the first place in our hearts?”The saints, he emphasized, guided generations of Christians for centuries as “models of humility, self-giving, mercy, fortitude, and faithfulness. They weren’t perfect, yet they pointed the way to human fulfillment.”At another point in his radio reflection, the prelate said: “We all need role models; we all need points of reference. We all end up resembling those we admire. That is why it’s worth asking whether our children are more familiar with the biographies of great soccer players than with those of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Teresa of Calcutta, St. John Paul II, or Blessed Carlo Acutis. It would be a tragedy, of course, not because one must choose between them but because the saints teach us the art of living.”‘Idols are always made of clay’Today, people are fascinated with certain athletes, and "when we turn someone into an idol, they will inevitably end up disappointing us. Idols are always made of clay," he added, because just as "today we raise them to the heavens, tomorrow we will tear them down on social media over a missed penalty kick, a bad season, or making some personal mistake, because idolatry always ends up being cruel." This reveals “that we are not truly loving the people themselves but rather using their successes to fuel our own emotions.”Munilla also pointed to “the enormous financial disproportion surrounding professional soccer,” reflecting that “the market tends to put a price on what we turn into something indispensable.”“The problem is not merely about money. The problem lies in the heart. For wherever we place our admiration, that is where our time, our attention, and our resources ultimately go,” Munilla observed, recalling Pope Francis' words: “You roar for a goal, yet you are unable to praise God with that same intensity?”‘Only God can fill the heart forever’On a purely human level, the bishop of Orihuela-Alicante reflected on a lesson to be drawn from sports: “Not knowing how to accept defeat is a sign of immaturity. But the person who needs to humiliate others doesn’t know how to win, either.”He argued that “true sportsmanship lies in discovering that the rival player is not an enemy but someone who made the game possible. Only those who respect the loser truly know how to win. And only those capable of acknowledging the victorʼs merit without resentment truly know how to lose.”“Let’s never confuse a ball with the meaning of life,” Munilla concluded, emphasizing that “a championship can fill a public square for a night, but only God can fill the heart forever.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam July 18, 2026July 18, 2026

After noting the benefits of sports for athletes and fans, Bishop José Munilla of Spain pointed out the pitfalls of exaggerating their value and turning the game and star players into idols.

Ahead of beatification, Bishop Barron reflects on Fulton Sheen’s legacy – #Catholic – As the Church prepares to beatify Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen on Sept. 24 in St. Louis, Bishop Robert Barron said the beloved archbishop’s legacy extends far beyond his groundbreaking media ministry. In a July 17 interview on “EWTN News In Depth,” Barron said Sheen’s enduring influence was rooted in decades of prayer, intellectual formation, and faithful preaching — a model he said he believes Catholic evangelists need now more than ever.The Churchʼs recognition follows years of investigation into Sheenʼs life of heroic virtue and the Vaticanʼs approval of a miracle attributed to his intercession. During his priesthood, Sheen became known for proclaiming the Gospel through preaching, writing, radio, and television.Evangelization built on formationIn the “EWTN News In Depth” interview with anchor Catherine Hadro, Barron, of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, said Sheen’s example offers timely lessons for Catholics seeking to evangelize in today’s digital media landscape.While technology has made it easier than ever for individuals to become online personalities, Barron said authentic evangelization requires much more than a social media platform or podcast.According to Barron, Sheenʼs extraordinary effectiveness in radio and television ministry was rooted in decades of intellectual, spiritual, and pastoral formation.Before becoming one of America’s best-known Catholic communicators, Sheen devoted years to seminary formation, graduate studies at The Catholic University of America, and doctoral studies at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. His preaching reflected a lifelong engagement with sacred Scripture and the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine, G.K. Chesterton, and St. John Henry Newman.“He begins his evangelical work only after a long apprenticeship as a teacher, as a writer, as a student,” Barron said. “Fulton Sheen had an extremely rich academic formation. Seminary, Catholic University, and the advanced doctorate at Louvain.”For Barron, Sheen demonstrates that lasting evangelization is built upon disciplined study and prayer before public ministry.“I want you to use the old medium of books,” Barron said. “Read and read and read before you dream of getting in front of the microphone.”A warning for Catholic communicatorsBarron said today’s media environment presents opportunities for evangelization but also significant challenges.“A lot of people just put a shingle on and say, ‘I’m a Catholic spokesman,’” he said.Without sufficient theological, philosophical, and spiritual formation, Barron warned, Catholic communicators can unintentionally misrepresent the faith.“I think Sheen would be bothered by that,” he said.Rather than seeking influence first, Barron encouraged aspiring Catholic communicators to imitate Sheen’s commitment to study, prayer, and fidelity to the Church before entering public ministry.A life to imitateThroughout the interview, Barron pointed to five enduring characteristics of Sheen’s life that remain relevant for Catholics today: daily prayer, serious intellectual formation, Christ-centered preaching, personal humility, and joyful evangelization.Those qualities, Barron said, explain why Sheen’s witness continues to resonate decades after his death and why his influence extends well beyond his pioneering work in television.Barron concluded by responding to comparisons often made between himself and Sheen. Although both men are Illinois natives, graduates of The Catholic University of America, and widely known for their use of media in evangelization, Barron humbly dismissed it.“It embarrasses me because I’m much unworthy of a comparison,” Barron said. “He is the greatest preacher in the history of our country.”Historic beatification Sheen’s beatification is expected to draw thousands of bishops, priests, religious, seminarians, and lay faithful from across the United States and around the world. Pilgrims are planning to travel to St. Louis not only to witness the historic celebration but also to give thanks for the enduring impact of Sheen’s ministry.As interest in Sheen continues to grow ahead of his beatification, Catholic leaders are organizing events examining his legacy. On Sept. 23, the Fulton Sheen Institute will host the conference “Americaʼs Saint: The Catholic Hour is Now” in St. Louis, bringing together scholars, clergy, and evangelists to discuss Sheenʼs relevance for the Church and American culture.“This conference will rally the voices of American Catholics who championed Sheen when his cause was buried,” said Peter Howard, founder and president of the Fulton Sheen Institute and Fulton Sheen Movement. "At a time marked by confusion, fragmentation, and a crisis of identity, Sheen’s message cuts through the noise with conviction and clarity.”

unitedyam July 18, 2026July 18, 2026

Bishop Robert Barron urged Catholics to follow Sheen’s example of faithful evangelization as thousands are expected in St. Louis for Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s beatification.

unitedyam July 18, 2026July 18, 2026

Born on July 18, 1921, John Glenn grew up in Ohio and joined the Marine Corps in 1943. He flew 59 combat missions in World War II and 63 in the Korean War before being selected by NASA for the Mercury program. In 1962, he spent five hours orbiting the Earth in the Friendship 7Continue reading “July 18, 1915: The birth of John Glenn”

The post July 18, 1915: The birth of John Glenn appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

unitedyam July 18, 2026July 19, 2026

While Pope Leo “has an endless list” of prayer intentions, the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network helps him choose 12 to offer each month of the year, according to Father Cristóbal Fones, SJ.

Parishioners in western New York ask Vatican to let them save 160-year-old church #Catholic “[We] will not receive an extension or any second chances.” That’s the urgent message Catholics in western New York are telling the local faithful in their bid to preserve a Civil War-era parish in the small town of Auburn. The Diocese of Rochester is moving to permanently close and potentially sell Holy Family Church due to structural issues that officials say make it unsafe to use as a parish.

Interior details of Holy Family Catholic Church in Auburn, New York. | Credit: Photo courtesy of H.O.P.E.

The diocese shut down the church in June 2024, but parishioners of the parish in Auburn — located about 40 minutes outside of Syracuse — are petitioning the Vatican to keep the church an active holy site rather than allow it to be sold off to potential developers. On its website, Holy Family Organization to Preserve and Endure says the Vatican has requested that the group “demonstrate funding for the purchase, repair, and maintenance of the church.”The organizers say they are working to raise pledges to support the parish but there is a “narrow time window” and numbers “must be provided to the Vatican by mid-late summer 2026.”“If H.O.P.E. fails to demonstrate sufficient evidence to the Vatican by mid-late summer, then Holy Family Church could be sold to a secular buyer and could be destroyed,” the group said.Parish’s roots stretch back to early 1800sThe Auburn-based Roblee Historic Preservation said in a “statement of significance” report that Auburn was the site of the first Catholic Mass in the Western New York region in the early 1800s. The Roblee report was drafted in order to assist the city’s historic review board in potentially awarding a landmark designation to the parish. The New York Historic Preservation Office had previously said the property was eligible for listing on both the state and national historic registers.

Holy Family Church hosts the wedding of Joseph Paul Staehr Sr. and Jean Marie Hayes Staehr on Nov. 29, 1958. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Richard Staehr

The Church of the Holy Family was initially dedicated in 1830 in a chapel previously used by local Methodists. The current building was built in 1861 by local Dutch-born master builder John Vanderbosch.The report described the parish as the “mother church” of Auburn and “an iconic part of its downtown skyline.” On its website, the Catholic preservation group says it hopes to retain the parish for “Catholic religious activity,” including rosary groups and private prayer groups, “occasional worship,” sacred music concerts, sacred art displays, and architecture tours.Karen Odrzywolski, the president of the parish preservation group, said the church is also meant to preserve the memory and legacy of Bishop Patrick Byrne, an apostolic delegate to Korea who was martyred in 1950 during a four-month-long forced march while in the captivity of communist forces in North Korea. Born in Washington, D.C., Byrne spent his formative years in Auburn, living just a few blocks from the parish. His family attended Mass there and he attended the parochial school; he was confirmed at the parish in 1900.

A record from Holy Family Church shows the Sept. 2, 1900, date of Bishop Patrick Byrne’s confirmation. | Credit: Courtesy of H.O.P.E.

Odrzywolski told EWTN News the preservation group formed in July 2024, a month after the parish was officially shuttered by the diocese. “We initially put together a preservation plan, which we shared with our pastor and with the Diocese of Rochester,” she said. “We’ve also shared it with the Vatican.” “We’ve also worked on educating the community as to the significance of the church,” she said. “We’ve had events in honor of Bishop Byrne and of his family, and on the 75th anniversary of his martyrdom we had a prayer vigil.”In addition to the link with Byrne, Odrzywolski said the parish was also once host to another famous Catholic bishop, now-Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen. The prelate, at the time the bishop of the Diocese of Rochester, officiated the funeral Mass of Father William Davie at the parish in 1968. The Vatican has requested that the group demonstration its ability to fund the church’s upkeep, she said. “We’re very appreciative of this opportunity. We’re hopeful if we can demonstrate the funding they’ll allow us to proceed with preserving the church.”Thus far, Odrzywolski said, the group isn’t accepting cash donations; instead, it is collecting pledges “so we can demonstrate our ability to fund the maintenance, repair, and preservation of the church.” “We’ve received over 300 pledges,” she continued. “We’re extremely grateful to every single person who has pledged. Many people have pledged as much as they possibly can. Many who pledge in general may be of limited or fixed income.”Odrzywolski said the needed repairs are limited to the exterior facade. The interior, she said, has been well maintained over more than a century and a half. The Vatican, meanwhile, is expecting the group’s proof of viability by August. “We’re trying our best to aim for an Aug. 1 deadline in order to allow enough time to prepare the documents in a timely manner,” she said.“The truth is, we need the entire community to come together,” she said. “The closure of the church impacts the entire community, and we need individuals, families, and businesses to come together.” “It’s about the future of Auburn,” she continued. “but it’s also about honoring Bishop Byrne, and ultimately honoring God.”

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Holy Family Church in Auburn, New York, is facing a possible sale to developers if local Catholics cannot provide a financial plan to the Holy See.

Oregon Is Home to the World’s Largest Dark Sky Sanctuary—With Geysers, Hot Springs, and Nearby Wild West-style Saloons #Travel The stars are big and bright in this remote expanse of the state.

unitedyam July 18, 2026July 18, 2026

The stars are big and bright in this remote expanse of the state.

Texas Approves Death Penalty For Anyone Who Starts An Email With ‘Happy Monday, Team!’ #BabylonBee – AUSTIN, TX — Governor Greg Abbott signed into law this morning a new measure that would impose the death penalty on anyone who begins an email with "Happy Monday, Team!"

unitedyam July 17, 2026July 17, 2026

AUSTIN, TX — Governor Greg Abbott signed into law this morning a new measure that would impose the death penalty on anyone who begins an email with "Happy Monday, Team!"

Plane Crashes After No One Tells The Passengers To ‘Fly Safe’ #BabylonBee – RALEIGH, NC — A passenger plane tragically crashed on the outskirts of Raleigh on Friday afternoon after no one told any of the passengers on board to "fly safe."

unitedyam July 17, 2026July 17, 2026

RALEIGH, NC — A passenger plane tragically crashed on the outskirts of Raleigh on Friday afternoon after no one told any of the passengers on board to "fly safe."

Attorney general nominee pledges to enforce ‘pro-life acts’ – #Catholic – U.S. attorney general nominee Todd Blanche has pledged to enforce a federal law already on the books that would allow the federal government to end the shipping of chemical abortion drugs.When pressed by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, during his confirmation hearing on July 15, Blanche agreed to enforce the Comstock Act and other federal pro-life acts to the greatest extent possible.When asked by Cruz if he would “carefully evaluate every lawful action available to ensure the faithful enforcement of the Comstock Act and other federal pro-life acts,” Blanche said: “Yes.”Under former president Joe Biden, the Department of Justice determined that mail-order mifepristone is not a violation of the Comstock Act.The Comstock Act of 1873 prohibits sending obscene materials via the post office as well as the mailing of "every article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion.”Activists urge Congress to defund Planned ParenthoodAdvocates for unborn babies and legislators this week rallied to urge Congress to permanently end taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood and abortion businesses.At a July 16 press conference on Capitol Hill, hosted by Live Action and Defund Coalition partners, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, said Congress “should have acted long ago.”“There is no excuse for Planned Parenthood to be receiving taxpayer money to be carrying out the mutilation of our children, to be carrying out the murder of the innocent unborn, and yet that is what this Congress is planning to do,” Hawley said. “I’m here to say, ‘Not on my watch.’ It is absolutely unacceptable and indefensible that a Republican Congress would fund Planned Parenthood.”The rally took place just weeks after the Trump administration’s temporary defunding of Planned Parenthood expired on July 4.Lila Rose, founder and president of Live Action, said taxpayer dollars “should never be used to prop up America’s largest abortion business.”“Planned Parenthood exists to end the lives of preborn children, and every dollar it receives helps sustain an industry built on violence against the innocent,” Rose said in a statement shared with EWTN News. “The American people should not be made to subsidize abortion businesses under the guise of women’s health. Defund Planned Parenthood now.”Planned Parenthood investing million into 2026 midtermsPlanned Parenthood is investing million into the November midterm elections, targeting Republicans who voted to defund the abortion giant last year.The “We Decide” Campaign from Planned Parenthood Votes, an affiliate of Planned Parenthood, will target voters in Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin as well as in Senate races in Michigan and potentially Maine.“All the freedoms weʼve fought for are on the line this year, and WE DECIDE what comes next,” reads the We Decide website.Idaho ballot initiative could repeal protections for unborn babiesAn initiative to end Idaho’s strong protection for unborn children has qualified for November’s general election ballot.Idahoans United for Women and Families, a group that advocates for abortion, announced Monday that it collected more than 110,000 signatures for the ballot initiative.The proposed initiative would legalize abortion until the unborn baby is viable outside of the womb and establish a right to reproductive health decisions about abortion.Idaho protects unborn babies throughout all stages of pregnancy, except to save the pregnant woman’s life or in cases of rape or incest, the latter two rules applying only during the first trimester.Missouri governor signs abortion survivors protection actMissouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed an act to reinforce protections against infanticide for babies born alive after attempted abortions.The Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act establishes charges of first-degree murder against a healthcare practitioner who “knowingly performs or attempts to perform an overt act that kills a child born alive.”Abortion is legal in Missouri up to the point of fetal viability, where the baby can survive without extraordinary medical intervention, according to the Missouri Constitution. Missourians will vote on several abortion-related measures in November, with proposed amendments that would protect unborn children throughout pregnancy, with some exceptions.

unitedyam July 17, 2026July 17, 2026

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

Democrats Mocked After Olive Garden’s ID Policy Goes Viral- Stricter Than Some Blue State Voter Requirements-‘Pasta Deals Are Literally More Secure Than Our Elections’ – Democrats are on the receiving end of a viral punchline after the restaurant chain Olive Garden shared the rules of its ‘Never-Ending Pasta Pass.’ The pass allows customers unlimited meals, but only if the passholder presents a valid photo ID that matches the name printed on the pass when ordering.
The post Democrats Mocked After Olive Garden’s ID Policy Goes Viral- Stricter Than Some Blue State Voter Requirements-‘Pasta Deals Are Literally More Secure Than Our Elections’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

unitedyam July 17, 2026July 17, 2026

Signage of Olive Garden Italian Restaurant featuring a stone facade and vibrant lettering, located at street number 153.

Democrats are on the receiving end of a viral punchline after the restaurant chain Olive Garden shared the rules of its ‘Never-Ending Pasta Pass.’ The pass allows customers unlimited meals, but only if the passholder presents a valid photo ID that matches the name printed on the pass when ordering.

The post Democrats Mocked After Olive Garden’s ID Policy Goes Viral- Stricter Than Some Blue State Voter Requirements-‘Pasta Deals Are Literally More Secure Than Our Elections’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Catholic leaders in Maine and Texas speak out after fatal ICE shootings – #Catholic – Catholic leaders are offering prayers and calls for peace and justice after federal immigration agents fatally shot two immigrants in the span of one week.The Diocese of Portland, Maine, is offering prayers and pastoral support to the family of a Colombian man, Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, 26, who was shot and killed on Monday, July 13, in the small town of Biddeford, Maine.Archbishop Joe Vásquez of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, meanwhile, called for a “reform that brings about justice to all parties” as well as “peaceful dialogue, mutual respect, and a commitment to charity” after 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national, was fatally shot by an ICE agent during a traffic stop July 7 in Houston’s Hispanic Magnolia Park neighborhood.Conflicting storiesThe Maine shooting occurred as Durán “attempted to flee the scene” during a vehicle stop by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, an ICE spokesperson told EWTN News in a statement. The spokesperson said the agency was “conducting targeted surveillance on the last known address of an illegal alien with a final order of removal.”Identifying Durán, the ICE statement indicated that “an illegal alien departed the residence in a vehicle,” and when the “vehicle attempted to flee the scene and fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon.”The Diocese of Portland said its Hispanic ministry is providing support to Durán’s wife and 3-year-old daughter as well as the community.“We pray that all those affected by his death may experience Godʼs loving comfort, strength, and peace,” the diocesan statement added in the wake of the tragedy.Mufalo Chitam, the executive director of Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition, told the Associated Press that Durán was on his way to work when he was apprehended and shot.The Colombian native was authorized to work in the U.S. and had been issued a Social Security number, according to the immigrant advocacy group Presente! Not the intended targetICE said Salgado, a father of three who has lived in the U.S. for more than three decades, rammed an ICE vehicle in an East Houston neighborhood and attempted to run over an officer, who then fired in self-defense. Witnesses, including his brother, who was a passenger in his van, have disputed that account.In response to the shooting, Vásquez said in a statement on July 15: “As a society, we need to see and treat each other as men and women created in the image and likeness of God, including our immigrant brothers and sisters, our elected officials, as well as our law enforcement officers. Violence and disrespect will only lead to more fear and division,” Vásquez wrote.Vásquez reiterated the U.S. bishops’ call for “meaningful immigration reform as opposed to an ‘enforcement-only approach.’” “The U.S. Catholic bishops have repeatedly called for enforcement efforts that are targeted, proportional, and humane,” Vásquez continued. No body cameras used in either shootingU.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said the ICE agents were not wearing body cameras at the time of Durán’s shooting, the AP reported of the latest incident."The question is, what did he do with his vehicle," King said. "Were officers threatened? Were the threats rising to the level that justified deadly force? Thatʼs what this investigation is all about.” Though cameras at local businesses have footage of the incident, Maine State Police have asked for the footage not to be released pending the investigation, per the AP.DHS told Houston Public Media the officers involved in Salgado’s shooting were not wearing body cameras because of recent lapses in federal funding. State and federal agencies, including local police departments, the attorney general’s offices, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the FBI are investigating both shootings.The law enforcement officers who shot Durán and Salgado have been placed on leave during the investigations.It is not clear if one of the three men in the van with Salgado was the man ICE was searching for, but a spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia told Houston Public Media she spoke with David Venturella, ICE’s acting director, who told her Salgado was not “the intended target.” Aaron Reitz, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, said in a statement July 16 that on the morning Salgado was shot in Houston, federal officials were investigating two Guatemalan men “who had previously evaded arrest and were potentially subject to deportation.” They were also known to be driving a white van.Reitz said that while searching for the men, federal officers received a report of a similar vehicle in the area, leading police to pull over Salgado’s van because the men inside “fit the suspects’ description.”“The aliens then fled,” Reitz’s statement continued, “conducting a rapid U-turn and hopping a median to get away. The agents chose not to pursue.”The federal agents came across Salgado’s van again later that morning, according to Reitz, “and again, the illegal aliens attempted to flee, but this time the agents successfully surrounded the vehicle.”The officers “instructed the noncompliant aliens to put the van in park. Preliminary information indicates the driver shifted the van into reverse, then forward again, while an officer was partially inside the van or immediately next to it.”Officers then fired “a single shot” during the confrontation, hitting Salgado. Durán and Salgado’s deaths bring the number of those who have been fatally shot by ICE agents this year to four. In January, two people — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — were killed in separate incidents during immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis.

unitedyam July 17, 2026July 17, 2026

“The U.S. Catholic bishops have repeatedly called for enforcement efforts that are targeted, proportional, and humane,” said Archbishop Joe Vásquez of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.

Thirty-Three Items At MyPillow’s “Outlet Sale” – Up To 80% Off When You Use Promo Code TGP – Woke corporations canceled contracts with MyPillow after Mike Lindell stood up to the Left.
The post Thirty-Three Items At MyPillow’s “Outlet Sale” – Up To 80% Off When You Use Promo Code TGP appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

unitedyam July 17, 2026July 17, 2026

Woke corporations canceled contracts with MyPillow after Mike Lindell stood up to the Left.

The post Thirty-Three Items At MyPillow’s “Outlet Sale” – Up To 80% Off When You Use Promo Code TGP appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Intelligence Reports Support Trump’s Claims of Chinese Election Interference – President Donald Trump delivered a primetime address from the White House on July 16, 2026, on the subject of US election security.
The post Intelligence Reports Support Trump’s Claims of Chinese Election Interference appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

unitedyam July 17, 2026July 17, 2026

President Donald Trump delivered a primetime address from the White House on July 16, 2026, on the subject of US election security.

The post Intelligence Reports Support Trump’s Claims of Chinese Election Interference appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Scottish teacher takes legal action after dismissal over pro-life views – #Catholic – A Catholic teacher based in Arbroath, Scotland, is filing suit after she was fired over her pro-life views.Supported by pro-life group the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), Sarah Morse, 66, is taking Arbroath High School, run by Angus Council, to court on grounds of discrimination. The move comes after Morse was fired after telling a student, “I am a faithful Roman Catholic and I am against it,” when asked her opinion on abortion during a history lesson in November 2025. “At no time did I attempt to persuade any student to adopt my position. To be ‘canceled’ and lose my livelihood because of my religious identity is a terrifying precedent for the teaching profession in Scotland,” Morse said.“As a faithful Roman Catholic, Sarah Morse respectfully said she opposes [abortion]. Hours later she was sacked on the spot,” SPUC said. “We must all have the right to express our pro-life views without fear of losing our jobs.”Attack on Christians in Egypt raises questions about hate speechA new attack on Christians in Egypt’s Minya Governorate has renewed scrutiny of sectarian incitement and the deeper roots of anti-Christian hostility.According to ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, Bishop Macarius, Coptic Orthodox bishop of Minya, said extremists attacked Copts in the village of al-Tal al-Qibliya, damaged a priest’s car, prevented worshippers from leaving a church, and cut off electricity. Security forces later arrived, arrested those accused of incitement and rioting, and began documenting the damage.Egyptian senator Bassem Kamel said repeated incidents in Minya point to failures that cannot be addressed by security responses alone, calling for renewed religious discourse, educational reform, media policies that promote acceptance, and faster action on an independent antidiscrimination commission. Apostolic vicar of Northern Arabia describes pastoral visits amid warApostolic Vicar Aldo Berardi, OSST, of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia revealed that he was able to carry out 11 pastoral visits throughout the region despite airport closures and ongoing conflicts.“Despite the difficulties caused by the attacks and the closure of airports, we were able to carry out the program as planned,” Berardi said in a Fides News article, emphasizing the need to visit his flock “especially at a time marked by tension and fear.” The Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia covers Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. “We gathered to pray for peace and organized special moments of encounter and fraternity,” he said. “No priest requested to return to his home country, a source of great consolation for the entire community.”Vatican diplomat highlights HIV crisis among childrenMonsignor Marco Formica, counselor of the Holy See’s Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations, called for increased attention to HIV cases among children.“My delegation would like to draw special attention to children, who remain particularly vulnerable to HIV. Gaps in both diagnosis and treatment mean that the 3% of HIV patients that are children account for 12% of deaths due to HIV,” Formica said in a statement following a U.N. meeting on HIV and AIDS. “Quality antenatal as well as perinatal and postpartum care protects both mothers and their children. It is vital to ensure early testing and consistent access to treatment for children with HIV in child-friendly formulations,” he said.Syriac lawmaker says Christians not sufficiently representedGabriel Moshe Kourieh, the only Syriac member of Syria’s Parliament and a leading figure in the Assyrian Democratic Organization, told ACI MENA that Christian representation in the new People’s Assembly remains below the community’s aspirations.Christians currently hold about 3% of the seats, a figure Kourieh said does not properly reflect their historic role in Syrian public life or their place in the country’s national consensus. He argued that a future fair electoral law could allow broader Christian participation from different provinces while stressing that Syria’s transition must be judged by actions: the building of institutions, separation of powers, judicial independence, and equal citizenship. Kourieh also placed constitutional recognition of the Syriac-Assyrian identity, language, and culture among his top parliamentary priorities while warning that economic hardship, poor services, and fading hope continue to push many Syrians toward emigration.Catholic Social Services in Australia urges government to address housing crisisCatholic Social Services Australia (CCSA) has asked the Australian government to conduct an audit of the country’s regulations on buying and building housing.“Regulation is not inherently negative. It is introduced to address specific problems or market failures,” CSSA chief executive Jerry Nockles said in a Catholic News report on Thursday following the proposed audit. “Without regular reassessment, well-intentioned regulations can inadvertently constrain housing supply, driving up costs and limiting access — experienced most acutely by low-income households.”Caritas South Korea named official channel for humanitarian aidThe South Korean Caritas will serve as the primary distributor of humanitarian aid from Caritas International for people north of the border, Asia News reported."On behalf of the Caritas Internationalis, we discussed the project of development and cooperation with Kim Seong-il, vice chairman of the National Economic Cooperation Committee of North Korea, who accepted our direct commitment. We also exchanged a letter of intent,” Father Lazzaro You Heung-sik, president of the bishops' aid committee, said following a five-day visit to North Korea in May, according to the report. Under the agreement, Caritas will serve as the “only channel of aid from Catholics from all over the world,” Paul Jeremiah Hwang Yong-yeon, secretary of the South Korean Caritas, also said.Filipino bishop calls for end to stigma around mental healthThe Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines pledged to walk with members of the faithful struggling with mental illness and work toward breaking societal stigmas around mental health.“Mental illness is not a sign of weak faith. It is not a punishment from God. Like any illness, it deserves understanding, appropriate care, and compassionate accompaniment. Every person, whatever his or her condition, is created in the image and likeness of God and possesses an inalienable dignity that no illness can ever take away,” the bishops said in a pastoral statement released on Monday. “As a Church, we commit to building communities of encounter, breaking the stigma, strengthening collaboration, and walking together in hope so that every person is welcomed, accompanied, and freed from stigma,” the bishops added.

unitedyam July 17, 2026July 17, 2026

A Scottish teacher fights discrimination, Christians face heightened attacks in Egypt, Filipino bishops pledge to end mental health stigma, and more in this week’s Catholic world news roundup.

Priest arrested for alleged child sexual abuse in Mexico City #Catholic The Mexico City attorney generalʼs office announced the arrest of a priest from the Archdiocese of Mexico accused of aggravated child sexual abuse against a 17-year-old girl and stated that a judge has already initiated criminal proceedings against him.TweetIn a statement issued July 15, the attorney general’s office noted that the complaint was filed June 4 by the teenagerʼs mother, who had discovered “conversations with sexual content with a contact identified as ‘Winnie Poo’” on her daughterʼs mobile phone earlier this year.According to the attorney general’s office, the teenager reportedly stated that the contact in question was a priest identified as Enrique “N,” who allegedly “forced her to engage in sexual acts on four occasions.”Following the initial inquiries, a supervisory judge ordered the priest to be held in pretrial detention and set a two-month deadline for the conclusion of the supplementary investigation.Archdiocese initiates canonical investigationThe Archdiocese of Mexico announced in a statement dated July 15 that archbishop Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes had ordered the initiation of an investigation “in accordance with canon law and the procedures established by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.”The statement expressed its “support for the minor victim, her family, and anyone who may have been a victim of any form of abuse” and reiterated its commitment to the protection of minors and vulnerable persons, “as well as to providing respectful support to those who have suffered any form of violence.”The archdiocese also noted that while the investigation is ongoing, it “will avoid making premature judgments” and “will refrain from revealing the priest’s identity while the competent authorities carry out the necessary proceedings.”Finally, the archdiocese urged anyone aware of a possible case of sexual abuse committed by an ordained minister to report it either by phone or email and provided the contact information.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam July 17, 2026July 18, 2026

A priest identified as Enrique “N” has been arrested for alleged sexual abuse of a minor girl based on a preliminary investigation. The Archdiocese of Mexico has initiated a canonical investigation.

Catholic, Orthodox bishops join in dialogue and prayer at Washington, D.C., conference #Catholic Catholic and Eastern Orthodox bishops exchanged dialogue and joined together in prayer at an ecumenical conference in Washington, D.C., this week with a hope that one day the Eastern and Western churches will be reunited.The conference, held at the retreat house for the St. John Paul II National Shrine on July 13–15, was organized by the Orientale Lumen Foundation. Jack Figel, an Eastern Catholic who founded the group, named it after St. John Paul II’s apostolic letter expressing hope for reunification.Speakers included the secretary for the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, Archbishop Flavio Pace; the primate of the Orthodox Church in America, Metropolitan Tikhon Mollard; Cardinal Seán Patrick OʼMalley; Greek Orthodox Bishop Anthony Vrame; and Romanian Catholic Bishop John Michael Botean.“I grew up with — I lived with — the tension between East and West my whole life,” Figel told EWTN News.A reunification, Figel said, “all depends on the Holy Spirit.” He said: “It is going to be a miracle and it’s going to be on God’s time.”The conference included speeches by both Catholic and Orthodox bishops and joint panels. Prayer services were held in the Eastern form in which bishops from both traditions participated: a moleben to the Holy Spirit on Monday, daily vespers on Tuesday, and the Akathist to the Mother of God on Wednesday.Theological hurdlesRecent popes have had friendly relations with Eastern Orthodox patriarchs, and ongoing study by the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church is seeking to resolve theological disputes.In 2024, the commission set up two subcommittees to analyze two major points of contention: one for papal infallibility and the other for the Filioque.Papal infallibility refers to Vatican I’s teaching that the pope can infallibly define doctrines. The Filioque — Latin for “and the Son” — refers to the West adding the phrase in the Nicene Creed “the Holy Spirit … who proceeds from the Father ‘and the Son.’” Catholics argue this clarifies the Latin translation of the Creed, which was originally in Greek; but many Orthodox see it as changing the understanding of the Trinity.Vrame told EWTN News these theological issues continue to be a hurdle toward Catholic and Orthodox communion.The No. 1 issueSpeaking from the Orthodox perspective, he said papal infallibility and supremacy is the No. 1 issue. Although Orthodox acknowledge Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as “first among equals” among patriarchs, “our governance structure allows for each national Church to govern itself,” he said.Dialogue with Rome, Vrame said, must address questions of “how do we begin to understand any claims of universal jurisdiction of the papacy” and “how do we understand any form of papal infallibility.” He said the Catholic embrace of synodality could improve dialogue on this issue.He said a major question is what unity would look like and pointed toward Rome’s relationship with Eastern Catholics as a possible example, saying they are “in communion with Rome,” but “Rome allowed them to retain their distinctive rites and practices.” However, he noted historical complications with Rome’s past attempts to Latinize Eastern Catholics and a major question to settle is: “What would unity do?”Mollard also told EWTN News “the whole question of primacy and synodality” remains a major issue, along with “centuries of separation,” which he said “doesn’t help either.”Pace told EWTN News that the subcommittee addressing infallibility has to “prepare a very good draft” on the matter that the full committee made up of Catholic and Orthodox leaders “can discuss and approve.”Steps toward unityAs the hierarchy tries to work out millennium-old theological disputes, Mollard said another step is “trying to get from the theological [dialogue] to the implementation” of a stronger relationship but warned “everyone’s afraid to do anything.”“We do have to practice these things,” he said in his speech. “Let’s work together and see if we can find our unity in Christ … [and] work on the structures that could bring that about more formally.”“Prayer and humility are always good,” Mollard said.He told EWTN News that some steps could be jointly “caring for the poor” or “feeding the hungry,” which is “the most direct way that collaboration can take place” at this time. In his speech, O’Malley called for joint prayer and study sessions, joint pastoral letters and statements, and joint works of mercy.Figel suggested Catholic and Orthodox parishes should “pray once a month for unity for at least 10 or 15 minutes.”Ultimately, Vrame said full unity and communion would be expressed “in the Eucharist” if all issues are resolved.“We don’t share the Eucharist,” he said. “That would be the culminating moment.”Dialogue and the laityMany bishops said dialogue and bonds should take place among laity too, with Botean saying in his speech that ecumenism cannot just be “at the level of academics.”“Without the face-to-face stuff, … we’re going to get nowhere,” he said. “And if our competition is the internet, we have more driving us apart than together.”Botean warned against hostile and uncharitable exchanges, many of which occur on social media, saying: “When we become unloving because of our faith, we’re on the wrong track.”Lizbeth Moncada, a senior at Florida Atlantic University who attended the conference, told EWTN News that she has “a lot of friends who are Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox” but agreed that online dialogue can often be “polarizing.”She said exchanges online can be “very disheartening” and she has “wanted to stop engaging in these conversations” at times. Yet, she said discussions like what occurred at the conference are “encouraging.”Andrew Likoudis of the ecumenical Likoudis Legacy Foundation, told EWTN News: “I try not to even engage in online discourse because of how toxic it is.” Yet, he said “the discourse here is much healthier” and allows Catholics and Orthodox Christians to “cross theological boundaries and retain the integrity of our own traditions without compromise.”Vrame, commenting on dialogue, said “beating up on somebody else is not very Christian … no matter what you think of their position.” He said people can have “respectful disagreements … without having to beat up on somebody,” saying that’s “no way to show love for your neighbor.”He said it’s good that people are passionate about their faith but posed the question: “Are we passionate in a way that reflects Christ and Christianity?”

unitedyam July 17, 2026July 18, 2026

Catholic and Orthodox bishops discussed steps toward unity and the importance of cooperation and friendly dialogue.

unitedyam July 17, 2026July 17, 2026

St. Thomas the Apostle Parish hosts heartfelt 4th of July concert #Catholic –

St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in the Oak Ridge neighborhood of Jefferson Township, N.J., celebrated America’s 250th anniversary with a concert organized by Dr. Eric Stroud, the parish’s music minister and organist. The adult, children, and handbell choirs sang and were joined by performances by visiting soloist Richard Rossback, percussionist Steve O’Toole, and Hackettstown’s Colonial Musketeers, a local fife and drum group.

The Colonial Musketeers started the concert with an outdoor parade around the church. The concert opened with “The Star-Spangled Banner” and included patriotic selections “America the Beautiful,” “God Bless America,” and “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Numerous military marches were also performed along with a rendition of “God Bless Our Countrymen” composed by St. Thomas parishioner Kathy Murphy.

The concert featured a salute to the Armed Forces on the organ performed by Dr. Stroud. Veterans and active-duty members of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Space Force stood and were recognized as their respective service songs played. Several service members attended in uniform, including Air Force veteran and pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle and St. John Vianney parishes, Father Ben Williams. Luke and Max Williver, young Boy Scouts and parishioners of St. Thomas, led the pledge of allegiance.

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The parish is grateful to American Legion Post 423 Milton, who served as the Color Guard for the concert.

The Knights of Columbus Council 5510 hosted a celebratory summer barbecue for all who attended. The parish expresses its appreciation to the Knights, and especially Chefs Mike Murphy and Jim Zajdel, for the party in the festively decorated Msgr. Fitzpatrick Social Hall.

– St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in the Oak Ridge neighborhood of Jefferson Township, N.J., celebrated America’s 250th anniversary with a concert organized by Dr. Eric Stroud, the parish’s music minister and organist. The adult, children, and handbell choirs sang and were joined by performances by visiting soloist Richard Rossback, percussionist Steve O’Toole, and Hackettstown’s Colonial Musketeers, a local fife and drum group. The Colonial Musketeers started the concert with an outdoor parade around the church. The concert opened with “The Star-Spangled Banner” and included patriotic selections “America the Beautiful,” “God Bless America,” and “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Numerous

unitedyam July 17, 2026July 17, 2026

Holy Spirit School celebrates 8th grade graduates #Catholic –

Holy Spirit School in Pequannock, N.J. celebrated this year’s eighth-grade graduates on Thursday, June 11, during ceremonies held at the school.

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– Holy Spirit School in Pequannock, N.J. celebrated this year’s eighth-grade graduates on Thursday, June 11, during ceremonies held at the school. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

unitedyam July 17, 2026July 18, 2026

Felician Sisters and Associates support Passaic Animal Shelter with donations #Catholic –

As part of the Lodi Felician Associate Outreach Program, Felician Associates Lori Palmieri, Janet Gurdak, and Joan Tabor, accompanied by Spiritual Minister Sister Marie Alexander, paid a visit to the Passaic Animal Shelter in Passaic, N.J., on June 12. The associates were greeted by DeAndre Boatwright, supervising animal control officer for the shelter.

The sisters donated blankets, pillows, sheets, and other much-needed items and also cleaned out the rooms of the Mother Angela Wing, which is set to be demolished. After a tour of the facility, the sisters visited with the staff, discussing animal welfare and the importance of community support.

The shelter staff expressed gratitude for the kindness and generosity of everyone who supports the animals and expressed their appreciation for the support of the Felician Sisters and Associates.

The Lodi Felician Associate program enables lay men and women to partner with the Felician Sisters in their mission of service, prayer, and community outreach. Based at the Lodi, N.J. campus, associates are volunteers who support the sisters’ ministries while maintaining their everyday work and family lives.

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– As part of the Lodi Felician Associate Outreach Program, Felician Associates Lori Palmieri, Janet Gurdak, and Joan Tabor, accompanied by Spiritual Minister Sister Marie Alexander, paid a visit to the Passaic Animal Shelter in Passaic, N.J., on June 12. The associates were greeted by DeAndre Boatwright, supervising animal control officer for the shelter. The sisters donated blankets, pillows, sheets, and other much-needed items and also cleaned out the rooms of the Mother Angela Wing, which is set to be demolished. After a tour of the facility, the sisters visited with the staff, discussing animal welfare and the importance of community

Anil Menon Launches to Space Station – NASA astronaut candidate Anna Menon and her children watch as a Soyuz rocket launches to the International Space Station with Expedition 75 crewmembers NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

unitedyam July 17, 2026July 17, 2026

NASA astronaut candidate Anna Menon and her children watch as a Soyuz rocket launches to the International Space Station with Expedition 75 crewmembers NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

unitedyam July 17, 2026July 19, 2026

Parish Migrant Ministry leaders commissioned for immigration help and hope #Catholic –

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney commissioned 46 Parish Migrant Ministry leaders from five parishes in the Paterson Diocese, N.J., during a Spanish Mass on June 29 at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Passaic, N.J. The ministry, launched in February, is part of the new Migrant Pastoral Ministry initiative of the diocese.

The initiative takes its name, “Come and See,” from the missionary spirit that inspires it. The ministry, formally known as the Ministry of Service, Accompaniment, and Justice, aims to form lay leaders equipped to respond to the needs of immigrant communities amid today’s pressing migration challenges.

Along with St. Anthony’s, the other parishes involved in Migrant Pastoral Ministry are St. Margaret of Scotland in Morristown, N.J.; St. Paul’s in Prospect Park, N.J.; St. Gerard Majella in Paterson, N.J.; and Our Lady Queen of Peace in Branchville, N.J.

During the commissioning, Bishop Sweeney handed each parish leader a Bible signed by him and a certificate. An initiative of the bishop, the new ministry operates under the guidance of Father Duberney Villamizar, pastor of St. Margaret’s and diocesan vicar for Hispanic Affairs.

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Concelebrating the Mass with Bishop Sweeney were the pastors of the five Migrant Pastoral Ministry parishes and Father Alex Gaitán, director of Migrant Pastoral Ministry for the Archdiocese of Newark, N.J.

Aligned with the Pope and the V Encuentro, Migrant Pastoral Ministry responds to the call of Pope Leo XIV to walk alongside those most in need and implements the priorities of lay leadership, immigration ministry, and faith formation outlined within the framework of the V National Encuentro.

Parish groups help those with immigration challenges, such as detention, deportation, passports, and citizenship, by providing or referring them to the proper resources. They also help them with immediate needs such as food and baby items.

“Everyone in Migrant Pastoral Ministry wants to make people in the pews aware of the needs of those around them and make sure we care for them,” said Miguel Rodríguez, diocesan coordinator of the ministry. “We want people to know we can help them with their migration issues by offering them the resources we have available. We also want to invite people in the pews to get involved to help,” he said.

The diocese launched the ministry on Feb. 21. Later, the ministry held a program rooted in Catholic Social Teaching and civic topics. Part of the training included a practice session on the Peace Circles technique, a tool designed to help process tensions arising from migration crises.

The Migrant Pastoral Ministry is currently active in the Archdioceses of Chicago, New York, Stockton, Joliet, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Newark, and Orange, Calif. With the addition of Paterson, nine dioceses now form this national network of immigrant-to-immigrant ministry.

For more information, contact Miguel Rodríguez at MRodriguez@patersonDiocese.org.

BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI

[See image gallery at beaconnj.org]

– Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney commissioned 46 Parish Migrant Ministry leaders from five parishes in the Paterson Diocese, N.J., during a Spanish Mass on June 29 at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Passaic, N.J. The ministry, launched in February, is part of the new Migrant Pastoral Ministry initiative of the diocese. The initiative takes its name, “Come and See,” from the missionary spirit that inspires it. The ministry, formally known as the Ministry of Service, Accompaniment, and Justice, aims to form lay leaders equipped to respond to the needs of immigrant communities amid today’s pressing migration challenges. Along with St.

unitedyam July 17, 2026July 17, 2026

After years of planning, training, and international negotiation, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission culminated in 1975 when spacecraft from the U.S. and the Soviet Union docked in space. On July 17, the Apollo and Soyuz capsules locked together, utilizing an “androgynous” system of petal-shaped plates, and their commanders, Thomas Stafford and Aleksey Leonov, shook hands.Continue reading “July 17, 1975: The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project link-up”

The post July 17, 1975: The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project link-up appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Picture of the day

The Lower Vistula Valley in Kokocko, Poland
#ImageOfTheDay

unitedyam July 17, 2026July 17, 2026

Picture of the day

The Lower Vistula Valley in Kokocko, Poland

This All-inclusive Luxury Sleeper Train Was Just Named the No. 1 Rail Journey in the World—Here’s What the Trip Is Really Like #Travel Aboard Belmond’s Andean Explorer, guests experience gourmet dining, high-altitude adventures, and some of Peru’s most dramatic landscapes.

unitedyam July 17, 2026July 17, 2026

Aboard Belmond’s Andean Explorer, guests experience gourmet dining, high-altitude adventures, and some of Peru’s most dramatic landscapes.

unitedyam July 16, 2026July 17, 2026

A reading from the Book of Isaiah
38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8

When Hezekiah was mortally ill,
the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, came and said to him:
"Thus says the LORD: Put your house in order,
for you are about to die; you shall not recover."
Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD:

"O LORD, remember how faithfully and wholeheartedly
I conducted myself in your presence,
doing what was pleasing to you!"
And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: "Go, tell Hezekiah:
Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David:
I have heard your prayer and seen your tears.
I will heal you: in three days you shall go up to the LORD’s temple;
I will add fifteen years to your life.
I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria;
I will be a shield to this city."

Isaiah then ordered a poultice of figs to be taken
and applied to the boil, that he might recover.
Then Hezekiah asked,
"What is the sign that I shall go up to the temple of the LORD?"

Isaiah answered:
"This will be the sign for you from the LORD
that he will do what he has promised:
See, I will make the shadow cast by the sun
on the stairway to the terrace of Ahaz
go back the ten steps it has advanced."
So the sun came back the ten steps it had advanced.

From the Gospel according to Matthew
12:1-8

Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath.
His disciples were hungry
and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him,
"See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath."
He said to them, "Have you not read what David did
when he and his companions were hungry,
how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering,
which neither he nor his companions
but only the priests could lawfully eat?
Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath
the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath
and are innocent?
I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.
If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
you would not have condemned these innocent men.
For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath."

Concluding that dialogue with the Pharisees, Jesus reminds them of a word of the prophet Hosea (6:6): “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice’” (Mt 9:13). Addressing the people of Israel, the prophet reproaches them because the prayers they raised were but empty and incoherent words. Despite God’s covenant and mercy, the people often lived with a “façade-like” religiosity, without living in depth the command of the Lord. This is why the prophet emphasized: “I desire mercy”, namely the loyalty of a heart that recognizes its own sins, that mends its ways and returns to be faithful to the covenant with God. “And not sacrifice”: without a penitent heart, every religious action is ineffective! Jesus also applies this prophetic phrase to human relationships: the Pharisees were very religious in form, but were not willing to sit at the table with tax collectors and sinners; they did not recognize the opportunity for mending their ways and thus for healing; they did not place mercy in the first place: although being faithful guardians of the Law, they showed that they did not know the heart of God! (…) Dear brothers and sisters, (…) we all need to be nourished by the mercy of God, for it is from this source that our salvation flows. (Pope Francis, General Audience, 13 April 2016)

On Our Lady of Mount Carmel feast, former Spanish soccer star’s Marian devotion still inspires – #Catholic – As Spain prepares to take the field in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final on Sunday, the Marian devotion of now-retired Spanish soccer legend David Silva serves as a reminder of the role faith has played in the lives of some of the most celebrated athletes.Silva, who helped Spain capture its first men’s FIFA World Cup title in 2010, has spoken of his familyʼs devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, patroness of his hometown of Arguineguín on Gran Canaria in Spainʼs Canary Islands.Following Spainʼs historic victory in South Africa, Silva returned home to fulfill a promise to participate in the annual festivities honoring the Blessed Virgin. Speaking with reporters at the time, he said he wanted to join the celebration “as always,” continuing a family tradition of taking part in the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.Silvaʼs grandmother recalled the anxiety of watching the 2010 World Cup final, saying the family entrusted the match to the Virgin Maryʼs intercession.“We were very nervous,” she said. “I couldnʼt even watch the end. I just held on to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Who would have thought that when this 14-year-old boy I raised left my home he would achieve this? I am so proud.”The feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is celebrated each year on July 16, drawing thousands of faithful to processions and parish celebrations around the world. In Arguineguín, where Silva was raised, the celebration includes a traditional procession through streets adorned with intricate carpets created by local residents in honor of Mary, the mother of Jesus.As Spain seeks another World Cup crown, Silvaʼs story continues to resonate with many Catholics, illustrating how faith and devotion often accompany athletes during moments of both triumph and uncertainty. While the outcome of Sunday’s final remains unknown, the former Spanish internationalʼs public witness offers an enduring example of gratitude to God and confidence in the maternal intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

unitedyam July 16, 2026July 16, 2026

Thirteen years ago, former Spanish soccer star David Silva thanked the Blessed Mother after Spain won the 2010 World Cup.

Amnesty International UK apologizes for calling Christian groups ‘anti-rights’ – #Catholic – Amnesty International UK has pulled a report from its website that described Christian and pro-life groups as “anti-rights” and expressed regret in a formal statement.“We regret that this briefing was uploaded to our website without going through the established internal review processes that are in place to ensure consistency, accuracy, and alignment with Amnesty International UKʼs positions,” an Amnesty International UK spokesperson said.The statement comes after the organization removed a report titled “A Growing Threat: The Anti-Rights Movement in the UK” from its website following backlash from organizations that were categorized as “anti-rights” as well as conservative author J.K. Rowling.“Because these groups challenge core human rights principles, Amnesty International UK uses the term ‘anti-rights’ to describe their aims and impact,” the report said of the 117 organizations it censured for restricting human rights, including the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW), the Catholic Herald, the Catholic Medical Association, Right to Life UK, and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International.“The Catholic Church works to uphold the God-given rights of all humanity, without exception,” the CBCEW said in a statement shared with EWTN News. “This includes the rights of those unjustly imprisoned, of refugees and migrants, of those who have been trafficked, and the right to life of all people from conception to natural death.”“Furthermore,” the statement continued, “we uphold the right to freedom of religion, conscience, and expression as explained in the document of the Second Vatican Council Dignitatis Humanae. Our belief in the dignity of every person, from which a proper understanding of human rights comes, animates all our work in the field of social justice in England and Wales.”The report also cited the Holy See’s Permanent Observer Mission at the U.N. General Assembly as playing a role in coining the term “gender ideology,” which the report said is used by “anti-rights actors.”An image Rowling posted showed Amnesty’s website after the report was taken down that stated the briefing was “temporarily removed” and was being subject to internal review.Amnesty International UK said the report’s "use of language does not reflect the position of Amnesty International UK, which is why it was promptly removed.”"We remain committed to defending human rights, including both the rights of women and the rights of trans people,” the statement said. "Human rights protections are strongest when they apply equally to everyone, and no community should be singled out for unfair treatment or denied their dignity and rights."

unitedyam July 16, 2026July 16, 2026

“We regret that this briefing was uploaded to our website without going through the established internal review processes,” Amnesty International UK said.

Pope Leo XIV accepts resignation of Peruvian bishop accused of sexual abuse – #Catholic – On July 15, Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Antonio Santarsiero Rosa as bishop of the Diocese of Huacho, Peru, which he has led since 2004.The resignation was accepted as Santarsiero turned 75, the age at which the Code of Canon Law requires bishops to submit their resignation to the pope. The decision comes just over three months after allegations of sexual abuse and psychological mistreatment against the prelate came to light.The Holy See Press Office stated only that “the Holy Father has accepted the resignation” without providing further details.Accusations against SantarsieroIn April, the Spanish news outlet InfoVaticana reported on the accusations, contained in a dossier sent to the apostolic nunciature in Peru and the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome.According to the outlet, the documentation contains allegations of sexual abuse and psychological mistreatment attributed to the bishop over a period of several years.InfoVaticana also reported that the two accounts align on key details of the alleged incidents, with one of them claiming that some of the abuse occurred while the victim was still a minor.Santarsiero denied the accusations. The same outlet reported that he “categorically” denied the alleged conduct, as it “completely contradicts my track record and principles as a priest and bishop, in which I have always acted with integrity, respect, and pastoral commitment.”Following the public disclosure of the allegations, the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference (CEP, by its Spanish acronym) issued a statement on April 9 announcing that Santarsiero had requested to step down as secretary-general of the Peruvian episcopate “as an act of responsibility toward the institutional mission, in order to devote himself to clarifying the truth.”In the same statement, signed by CEP president Bishop Carlos García Camader, the bishops affirmed that the institution “is making every necessary effort to clarify the reported incidents, acting in accordance with established protocols and applicable law, both canon and civil.”The bishops also reaffirmed “confidence in the canonical penal system and its proper application” and reminded that other alleged victims may turn to the listening channels established by the motu proprio Vos Estis Lux Mundi.Santarsiero’s backgroundBorn in Italy on June 13, 1951, Santarsiero belongs to the Oblates of St. Joseph. He arrived in Peru in 1973 to pursue his theological studies and was ordained a priest on June 14, 1980. St. John Paul II appointed Santarsiero prelate of Huarí in June 2001, and he received episcopal ordination on Aug. 12 of that same year. On Feb. 4, 2004, he was named bishop of Huacho and took possession of the diocese that April.In addition to his pastoral service in Huacho, he was a member of the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference starting in 2017 and had been serving as its secretary-general since 2024.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam July 16, 2026July 16, 2026

Bishop Antonio Santarsiero Rosa denied accusations of sexual abuse that surfaced in April. He submitted his resignation as bishop when he turned 75 in June and the pope accepted it as of July 15.

Nigeria, Nicaragua, Syria, India cited in index of rising Christian persecution #Catholic International Christian Concern (ICC) released its 2026 Global Persecution Index, offering an in-depth analysis of the persecution Christians face in more than 20 countries and recommendations for how policymakers and organizations can combat escalating violations.“This year’s Global Persecution Index is a sobering reminder that millions of our brothers and sisters in Christ continue to pay a high price for their faith,” Shawn Wright, president of ICC, said in a statement.ICC is a nonprofit organization assisting the persecuted Christian church through assistance, advocacy, and awareness across the globe.The index, “Faces of the Persecuted,” was created by ICC as more than 388 million Christians worldwide — or 1 in 7 believers — live under "high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith,” according to the report.The index highlights the leaders of countries where persecution is worsening including Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The index outlines trends in religious freedom that are aiding the rise of persecution including religious nationalism, transnational repression, state control over religious organizations, terrorism, authoritarianism, restrictions on women, and the use of the West to persecute.The report states: “Despite these challenges, the church continues to grow in some of the most hostile environments, and resistance to repression is rising as individuals and communities push back against injustice and demand greater freedom.”“Behind every statistic is a real person: someone who has chosen faithfulness to Jesus over safety, comfort, or even life itself,” Wright said. “Our hope is that this report not only informs decision-makers and stakeholders but moves readers to act with urgency, conviction, and compassion.”Recommendations to ‘ease the burden of persecuted Christians’The index details Christian persecution in African, Latin American, Middle Eastern, North African, South Asian, and Southeast Asian countries, and it specifically offers recommendations to aid the faithful in Nigeria, Nicaragua, Syria, and India.As Nigerians face political persecution, mob violence, and other actions aiding the nation’s religious persecution, ICC recommends immediate and independent investigations into the reported mass killings against the faithful in the country.It also calls for international leadership to reverse legal barriers, including blasphemy laws in the nation that criminalize disfavored religious beliefs.In Nicaragua, ICC notes that hundreds of priests, nuns, and other religious workers have disappeared or been detained. The nation’s regime also engages in systematic attempts to control religious sermons and media, and surveil members of independent religious organizations.To combat the issues, ICC recommends expedited asylum pathways for the exiled clergy and calls for the support of aid to parishes and civil society organizations shuttered by the regime. It also urges expanded international sanctions against Nicaraguan officials, including regime leaders Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.In Syria, religious people face numerous challenges despite a shift of government following the Assad regime. They experience reprisals, detentions, and discrimination that prevents their participation in governance councils and denies them property restitution.In its index, ICC recommends support for programs that aid displaced communities and protect targeted Christians in Syria. It also calls for accountability for war crimes committed by both Assad and post-Assad actors.As India’s persecution is on the rise, ICC urges the protection of independent nongovernmental organizations and media working to provide aid and to report on the persecuted groups as the faithful in the nation face mob attacks and other acts of violence.

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Religious nationalism, state control, terrorism, authoritarianism, and limits on women are among drivers of rising persecution globally, the International Christian Concern (ICC) report said.

Cardinal O’Malley at Catholic-Orthodox conference: ‘Come together and pray for unity’ #Catholic WASHINGTON — Cardinal Seán Patrick OʼMalley, retired archbishop of Boston, encouraged Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians to pray together for reunification at a joint conference focused on healing the nearly 1,000-year schism between the churches.“Come together and pray for unity,” O’Malley said at the conference, hosted by the Orientale Lumen Foundation at the retreat house for the St. John Paul II National Shrine on July 13–15.Speakers included Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox bishops, and a few dozen laity and clergy focused on ecumenism attended. Along with O’Malley, speakers included Archbishop Flavio Pace — secretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity — and Metropolitan Tikhon Mollard, primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA).O’Malley encouraged concrete steps to integrate Catholic and Orthodox communities, one of the most important of which was “praying together.” Just prior to his speech, the Catholic and Orthodox clergy — including O’Malley, Pace, and Mollard — prayed daily vespers together in the form used in Eastern churches.The cardinal, speaking to those gathered, said unity will ultimately be achieved as a gift to the faithful granted by Christ and will come about “how he wills [it].” He said he considers joint prayer to be crucial because it is the Holy Spirit who will “illuminate the way” toward East-West communion.‘Work for unity’In his address, O’Malley discussed his concern with the disunity of Christianity, which he said “weakens our ability [as Christians] to proclaim the Gospel with coherence and authority.”He recalled his early work in the 1970s with the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. The order was deeply involved in missionary work in Papua New Guinea. Although O’Malley himself was not a missionary there, he spoke about conversations with colleagues who were working with people accepting Christianity in large numbers.O’Malley noted that when new converts had learned about the various Christian denominations, many felt “sad and embarrassed.” Although many Christians view the disunity as “normative,” he said, the people of Papua New Guinea correctly recognized it as “scandalous.”“All disciples of Jesus Christ must feel an impulse to work for unity among Christians,” O’Malley said.O’Malley said Catholics should see Orthodoxy as the “greatest possibility of success in this task in fulfilling Christ’s wish so that we all become one so the world may believe.” He noted that the two share “so many saints and devotions” and are more similar to Catholics in theology than any other Christian community.He expressed joy that many Orthodox churches send representatives to meetings held by the Vatican and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and that the Catholic Church also sent representatives to the Orthodox Council of Crete in 2016. Yet, he encouraged a stronger bond.O’Malley urged the bodies to “consider the possibility of joint pastoral letters or statements” on issues of mutual agreement like world hunger, euthanasia, and abortion. He said they should establish committees together to organize joint prayer, study sessions, and works of mercy.His idea of unity, he explained, would be “communion without absorption” and said there is a difference between “unity and uniformity.” He said people should look to the Eastern Catholic Churches as a model, saying “they are bridges for reconciliation and laboratories for synodal communion.”Although Rome’s relationship with the Eastern Catholics was not always perfect (O’Malley noted historical attempts at forced Latinization), the cardinal said there is an opportunity to work more closely with Eastern Catholics as part of ecumenical efforts, focused on “greater respect for their uniqueness.”Mollard, speaking from the Orthodox position, echoed O’Malley’s desire for unity and the feeling of pain over continued separation.“It affects the faithful in the parishes and how they live their lives,” the metropolitan said. “And perhaps encourage[s] us all to not just reach out and educate but really inspire in people that faith in Christ and love for the Church can drive … [the path toward] unity.”O’Malley told EWTN News that ecumenism requires “different groups that would be Catholic and Orthodox, working together,” and Church leaders should be “letting people know the progress that has been made in the dialogue.”He said Eastern Orthodox Christians “have the sacraments,” they have apostolic succession, and “the differences are not great.” Although theological disputes remain a division between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, he said he believes the causes of the schism were more political and cultural.“Most Catholics and Orthodox in the pews are not focused on those fine points of theology,” O’Malley said.Ongoing Vatican ecumenical workMany theological disputes, however, are being hashed out at the highest levels of the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. Some of the biggest include questions of papal supremacy, primacy, and jurisdiction as well as the language of the Nicene Creed and subsequently certain details about the Holy Trinity.Pace, who flew in from Rome, discussed some of the history and recent progress on ecumenism related to these subjects during his speech, noting that the end goal is “full unity” between the East and the West.

Archbishop Flavio Pace, secretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, speaks at the Orientale Lumen Foundation conference at the retreat house for the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C., on July 15, 2026. | Credit: Tyler Arnold/EWTN News

The Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, formed in 1980, created two subcommittees in 2024. One focuses on infallibility, which is the current priority. The other is about the dispute about the Nicene Creed."We have to prepare a very good draft,” Pace told EWTN News.He said once the subcommittee completes its draft on infallibility, the body will consider a call for a full meeting for approval. He said the subcommittee must “arrive to a good document that the [full committee] can discuss and approve.”The First Vatican Council teaches that the pope speaks infallibly on matters of faith and morals when defining matters of doctrine and invoking his papal authority, binding the declaration on the entire Church.Bishop Anthony Vrame, a Greek Orthodox bishop and director of Holy Cross Orthodox Press, said in a panel discussion that Orthodoxy recognizes the indefectibility of councils: “When the Church gathers together in council, … no error is possible.” Yet, papal infallibility is different, as it is “designated to one person.”Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, offered a prerecorded video message for the conference, stating that he hopes the eventual documents will be received by the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox churches.Koch emphasized the importance of clergy informing the laity when there are developments, so the progress is “not to be remained known only by experts.”

unitedyam July 16, 2026July 17, 2026

Cardinal Seán O’Malley discussed ways in which Catholics and Orthodox Christians can build closer bonds. Archbishop Flavio Pace discussed ongoing Vatican efforts to help bring about unity.

unitedyam July 16, 2026July 16, 2026

In the Picture of the Month from the James Webb Space Telescope, we are taken on a visit to a building site of significant scale. The project is a galaxy cluster named MACS J0553.4-3342, located in the constellation Columba (the Dove).

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In 1839, the president of Harvard University invited William Bond to move into a house on campus and, by virtue of bringing along his own astronomical equipment, become the university’s first astronomer in residence. With public interest spurred by the 1835 passage of Halley’s Comet and the Comet of 1843, Harvard soon had enough moneyContinue reading “July 16, 1850: Bond and Whipple photograph Vega”

The post July 16, 1850: Bond and Whipple photograph Vega appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

This Remote National Park Is Home to One of the World’s Most Extraordinary Wildlife Spectacles—and It’s Known As the ‘Bear Capital’ of Alaska #Travel Active volcanoes, pristine lakes, and epic wildlife sightings await at Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska, voted the No. 3 U.S. National Park in the 2026 World’s Best Awards.

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Active volcanoes, pristine lakes, and epic wildlife sightings await at Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska, voted the No. 3 U.S. National Park in the 2026 World’s Best Awards.

Picture of the day

Seed pods of a Silene dioica. Focus stack of 40 photos.
#ImageOfTheDay

unitedyam July 16, 2026July 16, 2026

Picture of the day

Seed pods of a Silene dioica. Focus stack of 40 photos.

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Picture of the day Cacomantis sonneratii (Banded Bay Cuckoo) in Ajodhya Hills, West Bengal, India. #ImageOfTheDay

July 19, 418: A solar eclipse/comet combo

This Colorado State Park Is a Hidden Gem With 15 Scenic Hiking Trails and a River Canyon—and It’s Less Than 1 Hour From Denver #Travel Most visitors to Colorado overlook this beautiful state park.

This U.S. National Park May Be Home to the Most Snakes, According to Experts #Travel And here’s what to do if you spot one.

NASA’s Chandra and IXPE Study Pulsar in Lighthouse Nebula – Scientists using NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) directly measured the magnetic fields of PSR J1101−6101, a pulsar located within what is often referred to as the “Lighthouse” Nebula, for the first time.

Picture of the day St. Jude’s Church, Chinnathurai, built on sandy soil near the beach, cemetery to the left. Thoothoor, Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India. #ImageOfTheDay

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July 18, 1915: The birth of John Glenn

Oregon Is Home to the World’s Largest Dark Sky Sanctuary—With Geysers, Hot Springs, and Nearby Wild West-style Saloons #Travel The stars are big and bright in this remote expanse of the state.

Texas Approves Death Penalty For Anyone Who Starts An Email With ‘Happy Monday, Team!’ #BabylonBee – AUSTIN, TX — Governor Greg Abbott signed into law this morning a new measure that would impose the death penalty on anyone who begins an email with "Happy Monday, Team!"

Plane Crashes After No One Tells The Passengers To ‘Fly Safe’ #BabylonBee – RALEIGH, NC — A passenger plane tragically crashed on the outskirts of Raleigh on Friday afternoon after no one told any of the passengers on board to "fly safe."

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Holy Spirit School celebrates 8th grade graduates #Catholic – Holy Spirit School in Pequannock, N.J. celebrated this year’s eighth-grade graduates on Thursday, June 11, during ceremonies held at the school. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

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July 17, 1975: The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project link-up

Picture of the day The Lower Vistula Valley in Kokocko, Poland #ImageOfTheDay

This All-inclusive Luxury Sleeper Train Was Just Named the No. 1 Rail Journey in the World—Here’s What the Trip Is Really Like #Travel Aboard Belmond’s Andean Explorer, guests experience gourmet dining, high-altitude adventures, and some of Peru’s most dramatic landscapes.

Young Galaxy Cluster – In the Picture of the Month from the James Webb Space Telescope, we are taken on a visit to a building site of significant scale. The project is a galaxy cluster named MACS J0553.4-3342, located in the constellation Columba (the Dove).

July 16, 1850: Bond and Whipple photograph Vega

Picture of the day Seed pods of a Silene dioica. Focus stack of 40 photos. #ImageOfTheDay