Christian leaders and Catholic clergy in the Muslim-majority South Asian nation are urging Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to add Easter Sunday to the government holiday calendar.
Catholic Charities USA’s traveling museum ‘celebrates power of Christian service’ #Catholic – 
NEW YORK (OSV News) — Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York welcomed the mobile People of Hope Museum March 26, near Union Square in Manhattan. The tractor-trailer-sized traveling museum will tour under the sponsorship of Catholic Charities USA.
With its welcome in New York, “People of Hope: Faith-Filled Stories of Neighbors Helping Neighbors” began a three-year journey across the United States.
Produced by Catholic Charities USA, the People of Hope Museum will ultimately visit more than 150 communities to promote empathy and inspire visitors to find ways to serve those in need in their local areas. The initiative is made possible thanks to a 2024 grant of nearly $5 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. through an invitational round of its National Storytelling Initiative on Christian Faith and Life.
The museum is a nationwide storytelling initiative from CCUSA “highlighting the impact of neighbors helping neighbors, and celebrating the power of Christian service,” organizers said.
Locally, Catholic Charities of New York is co-sponsoring the People of Hope Museum with CCUSA, along with Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Brooklyn.
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The People of Hope Museum was parked March 26 in an area near Union Square. A 10 a.m. opening ceremony and ribbon cutting took place in front of three dozen Catholic Charities staff, affiliates and journalists.
About an hour later, the museum was open to the public until 6 p.m. The next day it was open to the public again from 12 noon to 6 p.m.
“We’re here to tell the stories of many, many employees of Catholic Charities throughout the country — hundreds of Catholic Charities (chapters), thousands of employees, who day in and day out, they take care of the people who need it the most,” J. Antonio Fernandez, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, said during the opening ceremony. “Thank you for coming today as we celebrate this wonderful museum. Thank you, and God bless you.”
Kerry Alys Robinson, president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, was at the opening of the mobile museum, a venture she said “is a testament to mercy, service, hope, compassion and faith. And it is a special honor that we are here in New York City, and that it is co-hosted by Catholic Charities (of the) Archdiocese of New York, and Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens.”
Father Patrick J. Keating, deputy CEO of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Brooklyn, offered a prayer of blessing for the museum, the people who enter it, and for “the human family.”
Jamar Carr, a substance abuse counselor with the Brooklyn Diocese, was given the honor of cutting the ribbon.
Housed in a digitally outfitted semi-truck, the People of Hope Museum features 42 original, authentic video stories told by Catholic Charities staff and volunteers from agencies around the country. In the brief videos, the storytellers share first-person accounts of what it means to serve someone in need in their darkest moment.
Beyond these stories, the museum contains an interactive poverty simulation of stepping into another person’s life, making difficult choices and experiencing the realities of living on the margins.
Visitors can also peruse a learning library featuring curated 2- to 4-minute audio segments from prominent books on poverty, social isolation, bridgebuilding and community action, including by authors Matthew Desmond, Arthur Brooks and Robert Putnam.
National and state data illustrate the scope of need and the vital role of social services organizations across the country, and a recording room allows attendees to share their own stories of hope and service.
From New York, through December, the mobile museum will go through 21 states, from Texas to Ohio and from Maine to Florida, mostly in the eastern half of the United States. It will tour the Western states in 2027. In the first half of 2028, the museum will visit communities that were missed or would like a repeat visit, CCUSA said in a news release.
CCUSA, which has its headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, is a network of local Catholic Charities agencies in dioceses across the U.S.
Thomas Galfo, 44, and his wife, Hazel Yaptangco, were among members of the public who entered the mobile museum on its opening morning to view and listen to what the museum had to offer. They are parishioners of St. Simon the Apostle Catholic Church in Green Pond, New Jersey, in the Paterson Diocese.
“We heard about this through social media, and we wanted to take the trip into the city to see it firsthand. It’s absolutely amazing, from the second that you walk up to the trailer, and walking through the trailer with all the details. They did an excellent job,” Galfo said in an interview inside the museum with The Good Newsroom, the news outlet of the Archdiocese of New York.
Yaptangco said, “Wow, there are many real stories here, of people struggling every day. This really spells it out, what is going on in their lives. It’s great to see an organization bringing awareness to that, and showing ways that you can take action.”
Click here to sign up for updates on the tour stops for the People of Hope traveling museum.
Armando Machado writes for The Good Newsroom. This story was originally published by The Good Newsroom, the online news outlet of the Archdiocese of New York, and distributed through a partnership with OSV News.
– NEW YORK (OSV News) — Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York welcomed the mobile People of Hope Museum March 26, near Union Square in Manhattan. The tractor-trailer-sized traveling museum will tour under the sponsorship of Catholic Charities USA. With its welcome in New York, “People of Hope: Faith-Filled Stories of Neighbors Helping Neighbors” began a three-year journey across the United States. Produced by Catholic Charities USA, the People of Hope Museum will ultimately visit more than 150 communities to promote empathy and inspire visitors to find ways to serve those in need in their local areas. The initiative
UEFA told EWTN News its fine on a Serbian soccer club was for offensive language, not a massive Orthodox Christian display — contradicting widespread reports the sanction targeted religious imagery.
HOLLYWOOD, CA — The movie industry saw the revival of one of its brightest young stars, as actress Brie Larson’s career showed signs of taking off to new heights after she started shutting up.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the United States Supreme Court issued a decisive ruling on a controversial case in Colorado regarding conversion therapy for minors, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson raised a pertinent question about the constitutionality of the law.
Read More| Picture of the day |
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A previously unpublished illustration intended for the Saturday Evening Post’s 1943 New Year’s edition. It was never used due to publisher demands that the illustrator, J.C. Leyendecker, create a more optimistic and patriotic cover that was sensitive to the families of American soldiers. It was publicly shown for the first time in 2020 as part of an auction.
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Two Paterson churches will merge to create a vibrant St. Pio Parish #Catholic – 
Located only three blocks apart, St. Bonaventure and Our Lady of Pompei (OLP) parishes brought Christ’s love to the people of the Stoney Road section of Paterson, N.J., as separate faith communities for more than 260 years combined. The churches are so close that each parish can hear the other’s church bells from its front steps.
So it might seem providential that on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 12, these two parishes, each with its own history and traditions, will merge into a single parish under a new name: St. Pio of Pietrelcina — also known as “Padre Pio” — Parish. The merger will streamline the administration of St. Bonaventure’s and OLP into one parish. To keep meeting the people’s spiritual and pastoral needs, St. Pio’s is ensuring that both churches will remain open and has readjusted the Mass schedules at both locations.
Father Manuel Cuellar, who will become pastor on April 12, and St. Pio’s looks forward to uniting both parishes and bringing together their (Anglo) English-speaking and growing Hispanic communities. During the past year, this merger process has unfolded in a spirit of prayerful discernment and collaboration.
On April 12, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney will celebrate the establishment of St. Pio’s during a Eucharistic procession at 3 p.m. from OLP on Murray Avenue to St. Bonaventure’s on Ramsey Street. The event will start with the Divine Mercy Chaplet at OLP and conclude with Benediction at St. Bonaventure’s. Bishop Sweeney approved the merger after prayer and consultation and accompanied parishioners during the process.
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“Our Lady of Pompei and St. Bonaventure’s have four different communities, including two (Anglo) English-speaking and two Hispanic. But I want to see St. Pio become one dynamic community,” said Father Cuellar. He will remain the parochial vicar of St. Gerard Majella Parish in Paterson until he becomes St. Pio’s pastor. “In my homilies, I say that no matter what language we speak or where we come from, we are all children of God. We are doing this merger for the good of the people, especially for our children.”
Also attending the April 12 prayer service will be clergy from the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey, who have been instrumental in shepherding this merger. They are Msgr. George Hundt, pastor of St. Gerard’s and pastor of OLP until Father Cuellar becomes pastor of St. Pio’s, and Father Alex Nevitt, diocesan episcopal delegate for parish leadership development and administrator of St. Bonaventure’s until that day.
Father Cuellar helped expand and strengthen OLP’s Hispanic community. He established the parish’s first Spanish Mass at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday in September 2024. It has grown from 12 churchgoers to more than 140. The priest united the community through a December procession through the city streets for Our Lady of Guadalupe, a Mexican Catholic devotion, and has encouraged other lively, colorful devotions, such as Our Lady of Altagracia, a Dominican devotion. He also brought the OLP parish together for a Christmas party.
Meanwhile, St. Bonaventure’s has been expanding its digital presence. The parish recently launched a young adult ministry that has attracted about 40 members and become the largest of its kind in the diocese. St. Bonaventure’s has a Spanish Mass at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Raysa Gonzalez, a lector for OLP’s Spanish Mass, was involved in roundtable discussions about the merger. A lifelong churchgoer, she didn’t feel connected to her faith until she started attending the parish’s Spanish Mass. Her son also enjoys attending the liturgy.
“In his homilies, Father Manuel relates the Gospel by giving examples from real life. It helps me understand the message of the bible,” said Gonzalez, who called the merger process “a little scary, but we have faith and pray. Everything has been wonderful. Everybody is trying to do their part to connect with each other and grow together as one family.”
Last year, parishioners voted to choose the name of the new faith community: St. Pio of Pietrelcina. Padre Pio (1887–1968) was an Italian Capuchin priest renowned for his intense prayer, stigmatization, and service to the suffering. Father Nevitt said the name “recounts Padre Pio’s bilocation, an evocative sign as we unite two churches within one parish.”
“In proposing St. Pio of Pietrelcina, we express our desire to form a community of deep sacramental life and missionary outreach — one that inspires every generation, including young people and families, through a clear witness of holiness, Eucharistic devotion, and prayerful charity,” Father Nevitt wrote in a letter about the new name to Bishop Sweeney.
Temporarily, St. Pio’s staff will work from St. Bonaventure’s offices, while clergy will live in St. Bonaventure’s rectory. Eventually, the OLP rectory will be renovated into St. Pio’s offices, and St. Bonaventure’s rectory will be renovated into St. Pio’s rectory. Father Nevitt will assist Father Cuellar, a fellow 2019 ordination classmate, with technology upgrades, a new website, and a new logo featuring a smiling St. Pio.
The two parishes represent more than 260 years of service to the area —150 at St. Bonaventure’s and 110 at OLP. St. Bonaventure’s, the diocese’s second-oldest parish, was founded when Franciscan Friars arrived in Paterson from Germany in 1876. Bishop Sweeney assigned Father Nevitt to help transition St. Bonaventure’s to a diocesan parish after the Franciscan Friars announced they were leaving, citing manpower shortages, in 2024.
In 1916, OLP was started as a mission of St. Michael Parish in Paterson to serve the Italian community. Msgr. Hundt became pastor of OLP and St. Gerard’s in July 2024, before the Franciscans left St. Bonaventure. The populations of OLP and St. Bonaventure’s were both declining, and OLP was also facing financial struggles.
Msgr. Hundt praised the decision to keep both churches open, which provides more room for St. Pio Parish. Merger discussions became more relaxed once parishioners were reassured that neither church would close, he said.
“The challenge was helping people realize we’re moving toward something important, but that it’s going to involve letting go of part of their experience of community,” Msgr. Hundt said. “There’s a certain dying that has to take place in both communities to rise to the new parish of St. Padre Pio. It takes a lot of grace for God to help us let that happen. I think they’re doing that beautifully.”
For Mass times and other information, visit piopaterson.org as of April 12.
– Located only three blocks apart, St. Bonaventure and Our Lady of Pompei (OLP) parishes brought Christ’s love to the people of the Stoney Road section of Paterson, N.J., as separate faith communities for more than 260 years combined. The churches are so close that each parish can hear the other’s church bells from its front steps. So it might seem providential that on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 12, these two parishes, each with its own history and traditions, will merge into a single parish under a new name: St. Pio of Pietrelcina — also known as “Padre Pio” — Parish.
Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column. March 31: The galaxy’s Great Bird April’s evenings kick off with a Full Moon, which occurs at 10:12 P.M. EDT tonight. The April Full Moon is also called the Pink Moon, after the wildflowers that begin to run rampant as spring begins. Continue reading “The Sky Today on Wednesday, April 1: A Full Pink Moon and a double star”
The post The Sky Today on Wednesday, April 1: A Full Pink Moon and a double star appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
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NASA astronaut Jessica Meir shared this photo of an Artemis program patch floating in the International Space Station’s cupola on X.
Read More![Trump to continue supplying Title X grants to Planned Parenthood for another year – #Catholic – The Trump administration, citing legal challenges, said it will continue to give Title X grants to Planned Parenthood for another year — a move pro-life leaders see as a “betrayal.”The administration first restored Biden-era Title X funds to Planned Parenthood in January, to the outcry of pro-lifers. News broke March 31 that the administration would extend the grants for another year, just a day before they were set to lapse.Thanks to the grants, Planned Parenthood and some other clinics will continue to be able to submit reimbursement receipts to the federal government for low-income patients who received birth control and other non-abortion services.While grants won’t directly cover abortion — the Hyde Amendment prevents the federal government from doing so — grants will subsidize an organization that performs hundreds of thousands of abortions yearly.A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said the agency will issue Title X grant notices for 2027 “matched with agency priorities.”The Trump administration had initially paused the grants in 2025, but after facing legal challenges from Planned Parenthood, HHS released the grants in January. Most pro-life groups decried the decision, though a few defended it by saying it was the administration’s only viable option as 42 U.S. Code Part 300, the rule governing family planning grants, had not been amended.National pro-life groups have denounced the decision to keep funding Planned Parenthood. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, called the move “an inexplicable slap in the face to the pro-life GOP base.”“This is a clear abandonment as the first Trump administration enacted the Protect Life Rule to stop Title X funding of Planned Parenthood,” Dannenfelser said. “It should have been ‘Day 1’ policy in the second administration. Instead, we are 14 months in and this hasn’t been prevented.”Dannenfelser called the move “political suicide.”“Three out of four GOP base voters support defunding Planned Parenthood,” Dannenfelser said. “One-third of those voters say they’d be less enthusiastic about voting this November if the GOP abandons pro-life policies.”“This comes on the heels of the administration undermining GOP states by allowing the shipping of abortion drugs into their borders, violating their laws,” Dannenfelser continued. “And it comes after the president suggesting the GOP should be ‘flexible’ on the Hyde Amendment. This spells disaster for November.”Jennie Bradley Lichter, who heads the March for Life, said that “funding Planned Parenthood is not, by any stretch of the imagination, Making America Healthy Again.”“Absolutely maddening that [the HHS] is continuing to fund an org whose business model is built on ending human lives, misleading pregnant women into thinking abortion is their only option, and delivering substandard health care even in the rare cases when abortion is not involved,” Lichter said in statement provided to EWTN News.Live Action called on the Trump administration to reverse the decision.“The Trump administration has decided [to] CONTINUE supplying Title X funds to Planned Parenthood,” the statement read. “This is the largest abortion corporation in the country. They don’t need our tax dollars. They don’t deserve our tax dollars. This decision MUST be reversed.”“Over 400,000 unborn children are killed by this corporation every year, making them the largest abortion chain in America,” Live Action President Lila Rose said. “The blood of these babies cries out. Taxpayer dollars should never fund the killing of innocent human beings.”“The Trump administration’s decision to keep Title X federal funding going to Planned Parenthood is unacceptable,” Rose said in a statement shared with EWTN News. “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.”“This decision is a betrayal of the pro-life Americans who expected this administration to stand firmly against abortion and against the forced public funding of those who commit it,” Rose continued. “The American people should not be made to subsidize abortion businesses under the guise of women’s health. Title X funds should go to real health care providers that serve women and families without taking innocent human life. The administration should reverse course immediately and fully defund Planned Parenthood.”Planned Parenthood did not immediately respond to a request for comment.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/trump-to-continue-supplying-title-x-grants-to-planned-parenthood-for-another-year-catholic-the-trump-administration-citing-legal-challenges-said-it-will-continue-to-give-title-x-grants-to-plann.jpg "Trump to continue supplying Title X grants to Planned Parenthood for another year – #Catholic – The Trump administration, citing legal challenges, said it will continue to give Title X grants to Planned Parenthood for another year — a move pro-life leaders see as a “betrayal.”The administration first restored Biden-era Title X funds to Planned Parenthood in January, to the outcry of pro-lifers. News broke March 31 that the administration would extend the grants for another year, just a day before they were set to lapse.Thanks to the grants, Planned Parenthood and some other clinics will continue to be able to submit reimbursement receipts to the federal government for low-income patients who received birth control and other non-abortion services.While grants won’t directly cover abortion — the Hyde Amendment prevents the federal government from doing so — grants will subsidize an organization that performs hundreds of thousands of abortions yearly.A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said the agency will issue Title X grant notices for 2027 “matched with agency priorities.”The Trump administration had initially paused the grants in 2025, but after facing legal challenges from Planned Parenthood, HHS released the grants in January. Most pro-life groups decried the decision, though a few defended it by saying it was the administration’s only viable option as 42 U.S. Code Part 300, the rule governing family planning grants, had not been amended.National pro-life groups have denounced the decision to keep funding Planned Parenthood. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, called the move “an inexplicable slap in the face to the pro-life GOP base.”“This is a clear abandonment as the first Trump administration enacted the Protect Life Rule to stop Title X funding of Planned Parenthood,” Dannenfelser said. “It should have been ‘Day 1’ policy in the second administration. Instead, we are 14 months in and this hasn’t been prevented.”Dannenfelser called the move “political suicide.”“Three out of four GOP base voters support defunding Planned Parenthood,” Dannenfelser said. “One-third of those voters say they’d be less enthusiastic about voting this November if the GOP abandons pro-life policies.”“This comes on the heels of the administration undermining GOP states by allowing the shipping of abortion drugs into their borders, violating their laws,” Dannenfelser continued. “And it comes after the president suggesting the GOP should be ‘flexible’ on the Hyde Amendment. This spells disaster for November.”Jennie Bradley Lichter, who heads the March for Life, said that “funding Planned Parenthood is not, by any stretch of the imagination, Making America Healthy Again.”“Absolutely maddening that [the HHS] is continuing to fund an org whose business model is built on ending human lives, misleading pregnant women into thinking abortion is their only option, and delivering substandard health care even in the rare cases when abortion is not involved,” Lichter said in statement provided to EWTN News.Live Action called on the Trump administration to reverse the decision.“The Trump administration has decided [to] CONTINUE supplying Title X funds to Planned Parenthood,” the statement read. “This is the largest abortion corporation in the country. They don’t need our tax dollars. They don’t deserve our tax dollars. This decision MUST be reversed.”“Over 400,000 unborn children are killed by this corporation every year, making them the largest abortion chain in America,” Live Action President Lila Rose said. “The blood of these babies cries out. Taxpayer dollars should never fund the killing of innocent human beings.”“The Trump administration’s decision to keep Title X federal funding going to Planned Parenthood is unacceptable,” Rose said in a statement shared with EWTN News. “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.”“This decision is a betrayal of the pro-life Americans who expected this administration to stand firmly against abortion and against the forced public funding of those who commit it,” Rose continued. “The American people should not be made to subsidize abortion businesses under the guise of women’s health. Title X funds should go to real health care providers that serve women and families without taking innocent human life. The administration should reverse course immediately and fully defund Planned Parenthood.”Planned Parenthood did not immediately respond to a request for comment.")
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services said the agency will issue Title X grant notices for 2027 “matched with agency priorities.”
The pope expressed hope that President Donald Trump is seeking a way to decrease violence in the Middle East.
A reading from the book of Isaiah
50:4-9a
The Lord GOD has given me
a well-trained tongue,
That I might know how to speak to the weary
a word that will rouse them.
Morning after morning
he opens my ear that I may hear;
And I have not rebelled,
have not turned back.
I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
My face I did not shield
from buffets and spitting.
The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
He is near who upholds my right;
if anyone wishes to oppose me,
let us appear together.
Who disputes my right?
Let him confront me.
See, the Lord GOD is my help;
who will prove me wrong?
From the Gospel according to Matthew
26:14-25
One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot,
went to the chief priests and said,
“What are you willing to give me
if I hand him over to you?”
They paid him thirty pieces of silver,
and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
the disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Where do you want us to prepare
for you to eat the Passover?”
He said,
“Go into the city to a certain man and tell him,
‘The teacher says, "My appointed time draws near;
in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”‘“
The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered,
and prepared the Passover.
When it was evening,
he reclined at table with the Twelve.
And while they were eating, he said,
“Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
Deeply distressed at this,
they began to say to him one after another,
“Surely it is not I, Lord?”
He said in reply,
“He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me
is the one who will betray me.
The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him,
but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”
Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,
“Surely it is not I, Rabbi?”
He answered, “You have said so.”
The betrayal of Judas remains, in any case, a mystery. Jesus treated him as a friend (cf. Mt 26: 50); however, in his invitations to follow him along the way of the beatitudes, he does not force his will or protect it from the temptations of Satan, respecting human freedom. In effect, the possibilities to pervert the human heart are truly many. The only way to prevent it consists in not cultivating an individualistic, autonomous vision of things, but on the contrary, by putting oneself always on the side of Jesus, assuming his point of view. We must daily seek to build full communion with him. Let us remember that Peter also wanted to oppose him and what awaited him at Jerusalem, but he received a very strong reproval: "You are not on the side of God, but of men" (Mk 8: 33)! After his fall Peter repented and found pardon and grace. Judas also repented, but his repentance degenerated into desperation and thus became self-destructive. For us it is an invitation to always remember what St Benedict says at the end of the fundamental Chapter Five of his "Rule": "Never despair of God’s mercy". (Pope Benedict XVI – General Audience, 18 October 2006)
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![Catholic priest fundraises, gives gift cards to unpaid TSA workers amid partial shutdown - #Catholic - A Catholic priest raised money and gave gift cards to employees of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) while a partial government shutdown forced most of the workforce to work without pay.Father Jim Sichko, a papal missionary of mercy, held a 24-hour fundraiser for the workers that he advertised across social media platforms, raising about $20,000. The act coincided with his effort to perform random acts of kindness for those in need.Some of TSA’s funding is on hold as lawmakers debate broader funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees TSA. Democrats are trying to include reforms to immigration enforcement in the funding package as Republicans are resisting any language that could curtail President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts.Trump signed an executive order on March 27 to provide some back pay to TSA employees, and future payments remain in limbo amid the congressional deadlock.
Father Jim Sichko delivers gift cards to TSA agents while they worked without pay amid congressional funding negotiations. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Jim Sichko
Sichko, who travels frequently by air, told EWTN News he delivered gift cards to TSA workers during flights he already scheduled. He gave a bundle of gift cards in denominations of $10 and $20 to workers in Lexington, Kentucky, and Chicago, providing a total of $11,000 worth of gift cards to employees.The donated gift cards comply with federal regulations that prohibit employees from accepting direct cash gifts but allow them to accept small amounts of money in gift cards for restaurants, grocery stores, and a few other products.Sichko is holding onto the remaining $9,000 because TSA workers have begun to receive back pay. He plans to resume gifting the rest of the gift cards to TSA workers if their pay is disrupted again. Otherwise, he said he will probably donate them to Catholic Charities.“It was a justice issue for me,” Sichko said when asked why he decided to launch the fundraiser for TSA employees.“They’re working, with families who need to be fed, bills that need to be paid, utilities that [are] … due and, as a priest, as a person of God, I think it’s my duty to help them,” he said. “... These people were working without pay and they have families and they already are in a stressful job.”Sichko said he relies on TSA for his ministry because he frequently travels by airplane, and these employees are “keeping me safe to be able to do the ministry to which I’m called.” He said he considers TSA workers “partners with me in the ministry to which I am called because they keep me and my fellow passengers safe.”He thanked those who contributed to the fundraiser and said the acts of kindness are “a way of evangelizing.” He said the fundraising “allows people the opportunity to be co-ministers, to really fulfill their baptismal promise of being ministers.”“To see how people responded, it really shows us that we truly can be kind, we truly can be Christ to one another,” Sichko said.During the previous government shutdown, when TSA employees were working without pay, Sichko provided them with meals.Sichko often raises money to perform other acts of kindness and to help people in need. This includes help to those affected by hurricanes in southeast Texas, flooding in eastern Kentucky, tornadoes in western Kentucky, and fires in eastern Tennessee.He has also raised money to support the cost of funerals for people, including the children and workers who died in the July 2025 flooding of Camp Mystic in central Texas.“This is part of the ministry of being a papal missionary of mercy,” Sichko said.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/catholic-priest-fundraises-gives-gift-cards-to-unpaid-tsa-workers-amid-partial-shutdown-catholic-a-catholic-priest-raised-money-and-gave-gift-cards-to-employees-of-the-transportation-security-ad.jpg)
Father Jim Sichko raised $20,000 for gift cards for TSA workers while they were working without pay amid congressional negotiations about funding.
With 12 private beaches, endless aquatic adventures, and possibly the warmest hospitality on the planet, it’s no wonder Turtle Island is so difficult to leave.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/TAL-header-aerial-turtle-island-fiji-TURTLEISLANDFIJI1125-119dd7d5236247ffa7289531c0bb8f0b.jpg)
In the wake of a major airline crash, it’s not unusual for the carrier’s CEO to resign, especially if there were signs that corporate culture may have played a hand in it.
The post Air Canada CEO Out After Crash — For Not Offering Condolences in Second Language appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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This is a Gateway Hispanic article.
The post Alberta Surpasses 177,000 Signatures, Officially Triggering Its Independence Referendum for October 19th appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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A Florida Democrat has been arrested after allegedly attacking a man identified as a disabled veteran during a “No Kings” protest on Saturday.
The post Democratic Party Official Arrested After Allegedly Injuring a Disabled Veteran at a ‘No Kings’ Protest appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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A Nigerian archbishop said African missionaries can evangelize a Europe uneasy with its Christian past.
“I’m glad I found my way back to the Church. I learned much along the way. But if you believe as I do, you know I’ve been fortunate and touched by God’s grace,” Vance said.
![Bishop to Harding faithful: walk with Mary to Calvary #Catholic - Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney concluded the Wednesday Lenten Series of Church of Christ the King in the New Vernon neighborhood of Harding Township, N.J., where he celebrated Mass on Feb. 25 and reflected on the Blessed Mother’s critical role in salvation history.
During the Mass on Feb. 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, Bishop Sweeney reminded churchgoers that Jesus came down to Earth, fully God and fully human, to ultimately suffer, die, and rise to save believers from their sins. That occurred in part because of Mary’s “fiat”— her “yes” — to God’s plan of salvation after the Angel Gabriel announced the Incarnation of Jesus, Bishop Sweeney said.
In his homily, Bishop Sweeney referred to the Angelus prayer for the feast day and the Office of Readings for the day from the breviary, including a letter by Leo the Great (Epist. 28 ad Flavianum 3-4: PL 54, 763-767).
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Bishop Sweeney encouraged the faithful this Lent to walk with Mary, “the mother of sorrows,” at the foot of the cross during her son’s crucifixion on Calvary.
“She leads us to her son, who comes to us in the Eucharist and who conquered sin and death in his resurrection, and gives us the promise of everlasting life in heaven,” Bishop Sweeney said.
The other speakers in the series were Father Jun Vizcara, chaplain at St. Joseph University Medical Center in Paterson, N.J.; Msgr. John Hunt, pastor of Assumption Parish in Morristown, N.J., and director of the Clergy Personnel Office of the Paterson Diocese; Msgr. George Hundt, pastor of St. Gerrard Majella and Our Lady of Pompei parishes, both in Paterson, and Msgr. Geno Sylva, rector of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson and diocesan vicar for special projects.
At the Mass, Father Brian Sullivan, Christ the King’s pastor, and Maryknoll Father Joseph “Joe” Healey, a former African missionary, concelebrated with Bishop Sweeney. Also, Luke Simonson received a gift for altar serving at all five Masses during this year’s Lenten Series.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
[See image gallery at beaconnj.org]](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/bishop-to-harding-faithful-walk-with-mary-to-calvary-catholic-bishop-kevin-j-sweeney-concluded-the-wednesday-lenten-series-of-church-of-christ-the-king-in-the-new-vernon-neighborhood-of-harding-t.jpg)
Bishop to Harding faithful: walk with Mary to Calvary #Catholic – 
Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney concluded the Wednesday Lenten Series of Church of Christ the King in the New Vernon neighborhood of Harding Township, N.J., where he celebrated Mass on Feb. 25 and reflected on the Blessed Mother’s critical role in salvation history.
During the Mass on Feb. 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, Bishop Sweeney reminded churchgoers that Jesus came down to Earth, fully God and fully human, to ultimately suffer, die, and rise to save believers from their sins. That occurred in part because of Mary’s “fiat”— her “yes” — to God’s plan of salvation after the Angel Gabriel announced the Incarnation of Jesus, Bishop Sweeney said.
In his homily, Bishop Sweeney referred to the Angelus prayer for the feast day and the Office of Readings for the day from the breviary, including a letter by Leo the Great (Epist. 28 ad Flavianum 3-4: PL 54, 763-767).
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Bishop Sweeney encouraged the faithful this Lent to walk with Mary, “the mother of sorrows,” at the foot of the cross during her son’s crucifixion on Calvary.
“She leads us to her son, who comes to us in the Eucharist and who conquered sin and death in his resurrection, and gives us the promise of everlasting life in heaven,” Bishop Sweeney said.
The other speakers in the series were Father Jun Vizcara, chaplain at St. Joseph University Medical Center in Paterson, N.J.; Msgr. John Hunt, pastor of Assumption Parish in Morristown, N.J., and director of the Clergy Personnel Office of the Paterson Diocese; Msgr. George Hundt, pastor of St. Gerrard Majella and Our Lady of Pompei parishes, both in Paterson, and Msgr. Geno Sylva, rector of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson and diocesan vicar for special projects.
At the Mass, Father Brian Sullivan, Christ the King’s pastor, and Maryknoll Father Joseph “Joe” Healey, a former African missionary, concelebrated with Bishop Sweeney. Also, Luke Simonson received a gift for altar serving at all five Masses during this year’s Lenten Series.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
– Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney concluded the Wednesday Lenten Series of Church of Christ the King in the New Vernon neighborhood of Harding Township, N.J., where he celebrated Mass on Feb. 25 and reflected on the Blessed Mother’s critical role in salvation history. During the Mass on Feb. 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, Bishop Sweeney reminded churchgoers that Jesus came down to Earth, fully God and fully human, to ultimately suffer, die, and rise to save believers from their sins. That occurred in part because of Mary’s “fiat”— her “yes” — to God’s plan of salvation after the Angel Gabriel
![12 young people welcomed into the Church at Jefferson Mass #Catholic - During a Mass celebrated by Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney on March 27, 12 10th-grade religious education students of Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in the Lake Hopatcong neighborhood of Jefferson Township, N.J., were confirmed into full communion with the Church. Bishop Sweeney served as both the principal celebrant and the homilist for the liturgy.
The confirmandi included Izabella Anna Baldyga; Angelys Marcella Castillo; Shaun Sebastian Cestra; Genevieve Francis Chalmers; Fredrick Gregory Etienne; Gabriella Rose Fitzsimmons; Andrew Koziol; Nina Valentina Maniago; Tatiana Martinez; Payton Elizabeth Motto; Logan Longinus San Buenaventura; and Lyla Marie Schroers.
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Father Sean McDonnell, pastor of Star of the Sea, concelebrated the Mass with Bishop Sweeney. Alongside them were Father Fred Walters, a retired priest of the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey, and Father David McDonnell, a weekend associate at the parish and a retired diocesan priest.
Deacon Alberto Totino, who is also Star of the Sea’s evangelization coordinator, assisted with the Mass. The Knights of Columbus also participated in the liturgy.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
[See image gallery at beaconnj.org]](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/12-young-people-welcomed-into-the-church-at-jefferson-mass-catholic-during-a-mass-celebrated-by-bishop-kevin-j-sweeney-on-march-27-12-10th-grade-religious-education-students-of-our-lady-star-of-t.jpg)
12 young people welcomed into the Church at Jefferson Mass #Catholic – 
During a Mass celebrated by Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney on March 27, 12 10th-grade religious education students of Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in the Lake Hopatcong neighborhood of Jefferson Township, N.J., were confirmed into full communion with the Church. Bishop Sweeney served as both the principal celebrant and the homilist for the liturgy.
The confirmandi included Izabella Anna Baldyga; Angelys Marcella Castillo; Shaun Sebastian Cestra; Genevieve Francis Chalmers; Fredrick Gregory Etienne; Gabriella Rose Fitzsimmons; Andrew Koziol; Nina Valentina Maniago; Tatiana Martinez; Payton Elizabeth Motto; Logan Longinus San Buenaventura; and Lyla Marie Schroers.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Father Sean McDonnell, pastor of Star of the Sea, concelebrated the Mass with Bishop Sweeney. Alongside them were Father Fred Walters, a retired priest of the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey, and Father David McDonnell, a weekend associate at the parish and a retired diocesan priest.
Deacon Alberto Totino, who is also Star of the Sea’s evangelization coordinator, assisted with the Mass. The Knights of Columbus also participated in the liturgy.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
– During a Mass celebrated by Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney on March 27, 12 10th-grade religious education students of Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in the Lake Hopatcong neighborhood of Jefferson Township, N.J., were confirmed into full communion with the Church. Bishop Sweeney served as both the principal celebrant and the homilist for the liturgy. The confirmandi included Izabella Anna Baldyga; Angelys Marcella Castillo; Shaun Sebastian Cestra; Genevieve Francis Chalmers; Fredrick Gregory Etienne; Gabriella Rose Fitzsimmons; Andrew Koziol; Nina Valentina Maniago; Tatiana Martinez; Payton Elizabeth Motto; Logan Longinus San Buenaventura; and Lyla Marie Schroers. Click here to subscribe to
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump announced a plan on Monday to open up the Strait of Hormuz later this week by sending in Aquaman, a superhero he claims is finally useful.
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CAMBRIDGE, MA — Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reportedly developed an innovative new children’s bike that uses pedals instead of electricity for power.
Read More
| Picture of the day |
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Royal angelfish (Pygoplites diacanthus), Ras Muhammad National Park, Red Sea, Egypt. The body of the royal angelfish is moderately elongate, is very compressed and can reach a length of up to 25 centimetres (9.8 in) It’s widely distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific and can be found in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean around East Africa and the Maldives, stretching to the Tuamoto Islands, New Caledonia, and Great Barrier Reef. The royal angelfish occurs at depths ranging from 0 to 80m (0 to 262 ft), in coral rich areas of lagoons, reefs, and are also often found in the vicinity of caves. It is a carnivorous species that feeds on sponges and tunicates located throughout reefs and underwater caves. They are a non-migratory species that can be found solitary, in pairs, or groups.
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In an audience with the Illinois Municipal League, the pontiff said that Gospel values can be applied to city government to the benefit of the most vulnerable and for the common good.
![White House defends praying for U.S. troops after pope condemns using prayers to justify war – #Catholic – White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said military leaders and the president urging prayers is “a very noble thing to do,” pushing back after Pope Leo XIV said God rejects prayers of leaders who wage war.Leavitt, when asked March 30 by a reporter to respond to the pope’s statement that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war,” said: “I think our nation was a nation founded, 250 years ago almost, on Judeo-Christian values. And we’ve seen presidents, we’ve seen the leaders of the Department of War, and we’ve seen our troops go to prayer during the most turbulent times in our nation’s history.”“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with our military leaders or with the president calling on the American people to pray for our service members and those who are serving our country overseas. In fact, I think it’s a very noble thing to do,” said Leavitt, who is Catholic. “And if you talk to many service members, they will tell you they appreciate the prayers and support from the commander in chief and from his cabinet,” Leavitt said.The pope, whose father served in the U.S. Navy on a D-Day tank landing ship, sharply condemned war in his Palm Sunday homily and said God cannot be used to justify war. He did not name specific leaders.God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war,” Pope Leo said during Mass in St. Peter’s Square. The pope, who has repeatedly called for a ceasefire to war in the Middle East, presented Christ as the “King of Peace,” contrasting Jesus’ meekness with the violence surrounding him as he entered into his passion.The pope tied the Church’s contemplation of Christ’s passion to the suffering of people in conflicts today, especially Christians in the Middle East.The pope recalled: “When one of his disciples drew his sword to defend him… Jesus immediately stopped him, saying: ‘Put your sword back into its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.’”Leavitt’s response also follows the opening of two lawsuits against the U.S. Departments of Defense and Labor by Americans United for Separation of Church and State regarding prayer services organized by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer. Hegseth last week invoked Christian language and prayed for “overwhelming violence of action” against U.S. enemies.The suits allege that the Christian prayer services abuse taxpayer resources, promote Christian nationalism, violate the separation of church and state, and pressure federal employees to participate.U.S. communication with Israel During the press briefing, Leavitt also confirmed that the U.S. communicated with Israel after Israeli police prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Father Francesco lelpo, custos of the Holy Land, from enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday.“I did speak with Secretary [Marco] Rubio this morning and we did express our concerns with Israel with respect to these holy sites being shut down,” Leavitt said.“We want worshipers to be able to access these holy sites,” she said. “Of course, safety is a top priority, but we understand Israel is working on those security measures, to reopen the sites throughout Holy Week, and that’s something that we’re appreciative of,” she said.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/white-house-defends-praying-for-u-s-troops-after-pope-condemns-using-prayers-to-justify-war-catholic-white-house-press-secretary-karoline-leavitt-said-military-leaders-and-the-president-urging-p.jpg "White House defends praying for U.S. troops after pope condemns using prayers to justify war – #Catholic – White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said military leaders and the president urging prayers is “a very noble thing to do,” pushing back after Pope Leo XIV said God rejects prayers of leaders who wage war.Leavitt, when asked March 30 by a reporter to respond to the pope’s statement that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war,” said: “I think our nation was a nation founded, 250 years ago almost, on Judeo-Christian values. And we’ve seen presidents, we’ve seen the leaders of the Department of War, and we’ve seen our troops go to prayer during the most turbulent times in our nation’s history.”“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with our military leaders or with the president calling on the American people to pray for our service members and those who are serving our country overseas. In fact, I think it’s a very noble thing to do,” said Leavitt, who is Catholic. “And if you talk to many service members, they will tell you they appreciate the prayers and support from the commander in chief and from his cabinet,” Leavitt said.The pope, whose father served in the U.S. Navy on a D-Day tank landing ship, sharply condemned war in his Palm Sunday homily and said God cannot be used to justify war. He did not name specific leaders.God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war,” Pope Leo said during Mass in St. Peter’s Square. The pope, who has repeatedly called for a ceasefire to war in the Middle East, presented Christ as the “King of Peace,” contrasting Jesus’ meekness with the violence surrounding him as he entered into his passion.The pope tied the Church’s contemplation of Christ’s passion to the suffering of people in conflicts today, especially Christians in the Middle East.The pope recalled: “When one of his disciples drew his sword to defend him… Jesus immediately stopped him, saying: ‘Put your sword back into its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.’”Leavitt’s response also follows the opening of two lawsuits against the U.S. Departments of Defense and Labor by Americans United for Separation of Church and State regarding prayer services organized by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer. Hegseth last week invoked Christian language and prayed for “overwhelming violence of action” against U.S. enemies.The suits allege that the Christian prayer services abuse taxpayer resources, promote Christian nationalism, violate the separation of church and state, and pressure federal employees to participate.U.S. communication with Israel During the press briefing, Leavitt also confirmed that the U.S. communicated with Israel after Israeli police prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Father Francesco lelpo, custos of the Holy Land, from enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday.“I did speak with Secretary [Marco] Rubio this morning and we did express our concerns with Israel with respect to these holy sites being shut down,” Leavitt said.“We want worshipers to be able to access these holy sites,” she said. “Of course, safety is a top priority, but we understand Israel is working on those security measures, to reopen the sites throughout Holy Week, and that’s something that we’re appreciative of,” she said.")
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said there is nothing wrong with the president and military leaders “calling on the American people to pray for our service members.”
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A reading from the Book of Isaiah
49:1-6
Hear me, O islands,
listen, O distant peoples.
The LORD called me from birth,
from my mother’s womb he gave me my name.
He made of me a sharp-edged sword
and concealed me in the shadow of his arm.
He made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.
You are my servant, he said to me,
Israel, through whom I show my glory.
Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,
Yet my reward is with the LORD,
my recompense is with my God.
For now the LORD has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
That Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
And I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
From the Gospel according to John
13:21-33, 36-38
Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified,
"Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me."
The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant.
One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved,
was reclining at Jesus’ side.
So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant.
He leaned back against Jesus’ chest and said to him,
"Master, who is it?"
Jesus answered,
"It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it."
So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas,
son of Simon the Iscariot.
After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.
So Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly."
Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him.
Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him,
"Buy what we need for the feast,"
or to give something to the poor.
So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.
When he had left, Jesus said,
"Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself,
and he will glorify him at once.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
You will look for me, and as I told the Jews,
‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you."
Simon Peter said to him, "Master, where are you going?"
Jesus answered him,
"Where I am going, you cannot follow me now,
though you will follow later."
Peter said to him,
"Master, why can I not follow you now?
I will lay down my life for you."
Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me?
Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow
before you deny me three times."
“It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it” (Jn 13:26). With this simple and humble gesture, Jesus carries his love forward and to its depths, not because he is ignoring what is happening, but precisely because he sees it clearly. He has understood that the freedom of the other, even when it is lost in evil, can still be reached by the light of a meek gesture, because he knows that true forgiveness does not await repentance, but offers itself first, as a free gift, even before it is accepted. Judas, unfortunately, does not understand. After the morsel – says the Gospel – “Satan entered him” (v. 27). This passage strikes us: as if evil, hidden until then, manifested itself after love showed its most defenceless face. And precisely for this reason, brothers and sisters, that morsel is our salvation: because it tells us that God does everything – absolutely everything – to reach us, even in the hour when we reject him. It is here that forgiveness reveals all its power and manifests the true face of hope. It is not forgetfulness; it is not weakness. It is the ability to set the other free, while loving him to the end. Jesus’ love does not deny the truth of pain, but it does not allow evil to have the last word. This is the mystery Jesus accomplishes for us, in which we too, at times, are called to participate. (Pope Leo XIV – General Audience, 20 August 2025)
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Pope Leo XIV has chosen four U.S. Catholics to serve in a Vatican office that focuses heavily on immigration.
From left to right, NASA astronauts Andre Douglas, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronauts Jenni Gibbons, NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen pose for a photo before the Artemis II crew proceed to a media event on March 27, 2026.
Read MoreThis week, Astronomy magazine Editor Emeritus Dave Eicher invites you to check out Mercury, which will be at its greatest elongation on April 3. This is when the planet appears farthest away from the Sun in the morning sky, making it easier to see. Good luck! Video transcript: Welcome to This Week in Astronomy, broughtContinue reading “Mercury at greatest elongation on April 3”
The post Mercury at greatest elongation on April 3 appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
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The dysfunction in Washington reached a new low Monday morning.
The post Senate Gavels In, Gavels Out — Adjourns in 30 Seconds, REFUSES to Take Up House DHS Funding Bill as Shutdown Drags On appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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President Trump said on Monday that he is in serious discussions and close to a deal with Iran, while threatening to escalate “if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached.” Trump has given Iran until Monday, April 6, to stop blocking oil shipping in the Strait of Hormuz amid negotiations.
The post Trump Says “Serious Discussions” Underway to “End Our Military Operations in Iran” – Threatens to Destroy Electric Plants, Oil Wells, Kharg Island, and Desalination Plants appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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The National Catholic Register contacted all 175 Latin-rite territorial dioceses in the United States, seeking numbers of people planning to join the Catholic Church at Easter 2026.
A man was caught on camera exposing himself and rubbing his genitals on a female shopper at a Los Angeles, California, Whole Foods grocery store.
The post SHOCK VIDEO: Man Exposes Himself, Rubs His Genitals on Woman’s Ear at Los Angeles Whole Foods Grocery Store appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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The final report addressing the pastoral challenge of polygamy in Africa draws attention to a wide range of social, cultural, and pastoral realities shaping the practice across the continent.
$2.5M gift fuels Morris Catholic fitness center project #Catholic – 
Morris Catholic High School in Denville, N.J., has received an unprecedented $2.5 million gift from an alumnus and spouse — the most generous donation in the school’s history — to build a new Health and Fitness Center. This remarkable gift transforms the school’s nearly 70-year history, inspiring hope and excitement in students, faculty, and families.
The donors, a Morris Catholic alumnus and their spouse, have chosen to keep their identities confidential at this time. Plans for the approximately 15,000-square-foot, two-story facility addition to the Morris Catholic campus have been completed, and the school is preparing to begin construction in late spring.
The new facility will represent the first physical expansion of the Morris Catholic campus since the 1960s and mark a bold investment in the school’s future and the students it serves. The center is designed to promote and support a healthy lifestyle among students.
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“This extraordinary gift reflects a deep belief in the mission and future of Morris Catholic,” said Brian Vohden, Morris Catholic president. “For nearly seven decades, Morris Catholic has formed young men and women in faith, scholarship, and service. This generosity shows the value our community places on having attended Morris Catholic and in helping today’s students.”
The facility will significantly enhance Morris Catholic’s physical education and athletic programs. Designed to serve the entire student body, the center will provide modern training space for physical education, strength and conditioning, and Crusader programs’ athletic teams. The first floor will feature new weights, benches, and equipment. of treadmills, bikes, and rowing machines on the second floor, along with a space for speed and agility work. A 25-foot-tall glass wall will offer visitors a view of the football field below.
The anonymous donors shared their heartfelt motivation: “We wanted to make an immediate impact, to help our youth rise to today’s challenges. Our greatest hope is that this gift empowers every student to thrive and embrace a future filled with possibility to impact, to prepare our youth for today’s challenges. We were especially interested in providing a high-quality, state-of-the-art facility for the Morris Catholic student to thrive physically, mentally, academically, and spiritually, resulting in a truly abundant life.”
The project includes exterior restrooms and a modern concession and retail space for visitors.
modern concession and retail space to enhance the experience for families and visitors attending
outdoor athletic events.
The project arrives during a time of excitement and renewed optimism at Morris Catholic. Guided by the school’s recently adopted five-year strategic plan, the community is uniting around initiatives that promise new opportunities and brighter futures for students and families.
For recently adopted five-year strategic plan, the community is investing in a series of initiatives designed to strengthen academics, expand student opportunities, help meet the financial aid needs of students and their families, and position Morris Catholic as a leader among premier
Catholic college preparatory schools in New Jersey.
“Catholic education and Catholic Schools are a great gift to students, families, our diocese, the
whole Church and the wider community. I am always inspired by donors’ sacrificial generosity, parents’ sacrifices for their children’s education, and the leaders, faculty, staff, and volunteers in our Catholic schools,” Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney of the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey said. “This new student health and fitness center at Morris Catholic is a concrete example of a community coming together to find unique and creative ways to support and educate the whole person, body, mind, and spirit.”
Beyond the record-setting gift, additional gifts from donors and parents are enabling the center to be built.
Mark Thomas, co-chair of the Morris Catholic Board of Trustees, said, “This enormous act of generosity will touch all students. It will equip our athletes with tools and capabilities to add to our history of excellence in athletics. The board is gratified that alumni are partnering with us in strategically important areas.”
– Morris Catholic High School in Denville, N.J., has received an unprecedented $2.5 million gift from an alumnus and spouse — the most generous donation in the school’s history — to build a new Health and Fitness Center. This remarkable gift transforms the school’s nearly 70-year history, inspiring hope and excitement in students, faculty, and families. The donors, a Morris Catholic alumnus and their spouse, have chosen to keep their identities confidential at this time. Plans for the approximately 15,000-square-foot, two-story facility addition to the Morris Catholic campus have been completed, and the school is preparing to begin construction in late
U.S. – In a new milestone for Major League Baseball, every single inning of a game was aired on a different streaming platform.
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VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo boldly proclaimed today that God does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, so long as you don’t count King David, or Joshua, or Gideon, or Samson, or Elijah, or Hezekiah, or any of those other people in the Bible.
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| Picture of the day |
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Morning in a Pine Forest (1889) by Russian artists Ivan Shishkin and Konstantin Savitsky.
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A reading from the Book of Isaiah
42:1-7
Here is my servant whom I uphold,
my chosen one with whom I am pleased,
Upon whom I have put my Spirit;
he shall bring forth justice to the nations,
Not crying out, not shouting,
not making his voice heard in the street.
A bruised reed he shall not break,
and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,
Until he establishes justice on the earth;
the coastlands will wait for his teaching.
Thus says God, the LORD,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spreads out the earth with its crops,
Who gives breath to its people
and spirit to those who walk on it:
I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,
I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant of the people,
a light for the nations,
To open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
From the Gospel according to John
12:1-11
Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany,
where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served,
while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him.
Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil
made from genuine aromatic nard
and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair;
the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples,
and the one who would betray him, said,
"Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages
and given to the poor?"
He said this not because he cared about the poor
but because he was a thief and held the money bag
and used to steal the contributions.
So Jesus said, "Leave her alone.
Let her keep this for the day of my burial.
You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."
The large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came,
not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus,
whom he had raised from the dead.
And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too,
because many of the Jews were turning away
and believing in Jesus because of him.
Christ utters these significant words: "The poor you always have with you" (Jn 12: 8). He does not mean by these words that changes of social and economic structures are not important and that we should not try different ways to eliminate injustice, humiliation, want and hunger. He means merely that man will have needs which cannot be satisfied unless with help for the needy and by sharing one’s own goods with others… Of what help are we speaking? What sharing? Is it only a question of "alms", understood in the form of money, of material aid? Certainly Christ does not remove alms from our field of vision. He thinks also of pecuniary, material alms, but in his own way. More eloquent than any other, in this connection, is the example of the poor widow, who put a few small coins into the treasury of the temple: from the material point of view, an offering that could hardly be compared with the offerings given by others. Yet Christ said: "This poor widow has put in… all the living that she had" (Lk 21:3-4). So it is, above all, the interior value of the gift that counts: the readiness to share everything, the readiness to give oneself. Let us here recall St Paul: "If I give away all I have… but have not love, I gain nothing" (1 Cor 13:3). St Augustine, too, writes well in this connection: "if you stretch out your hand to give, but have not mercy in your heart, you have not done anything; but if you have mercy in your heart, even when you have nothing to give with your hand, God accepts your alms" (Enarrat. in Ps. CXXV, 5). (Saint John Paul II – General audience, 28 March 1979)
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![Prayers ascend at Legion of Mary Acies in Clifton #Catholic - Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney presided at the annual Acies of the Legion of Mary on March 22 in Sacred Heart Church in Clifton, N.J.
The Legion of Mary is a worldwide organization in which members join in prayer and apostolic work in union with the Blessed Mother under the guidance of a priest. The exposition of the Blessed Sacrament was held at the Acies, followed by a rosary recitation.
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BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
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Prayers ascend at Legion of Mary Acies in Clifton #Catholic – 
Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney presided at the annual Acies of the Legion of Mary on March 22 in Sacred Heart Church in Clifton, N.J.
The Legion of Mary is a worldwide organization in which members join in prayer and apostolic work in union with the Blessed Mother under the guidance of a priest. The exposition of the Blessed Sacrament was held at the Acies, followed by a rosary recitation.
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BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
– Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney presided at the annual Acies of the Legion of Mary on March 22 in Sacred Heart Church in Clifton, N.J. The Legion of Mary is a worldwide organization in which members join in prayer and apostolic work in union with the Blessed Mother under the guidance of a priest. The exposition of the Blessed Sacrament was held at the Acies, followed by a rosary recitation. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
New US global health policy seen as a way to eliminate malaria in concert with faith leaders #Catholic – 
WASHINGTON (OSV News) — The future of efforts to eliminate malaria in sub-Saharan Africa may depend in part on a U.S. policy shift now drawing mixed reactions.
In September, the State Department unveiled the Trump administration’s America First Global Health Strategy, which it described as “a comprehensive vision to make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous” and also claimed it “will protect the homeland by preventing infectious disease outbreaks from reaching U.S. shores.”
In a February report, an interfaith coalition of malaria-fighting groups warned that progress against the disease has “slowed in several regions,” calling the current moment a “crossroads.”
But the strategy is considered one feasible path forward in eliminating the deadly disease spread by mosquitoes, the coalition said in its report titled “Making Country-Led Malaria Control a Reality.”
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For a Methodist bishop from Mozambique who was on a March 19 panel sponsored by Georgetown University’s Global Health Institute in Washington, the inclusion of “America First’ in the State Department strategy is puzzling.
“It’s tricky, because what do we mean by America First?” Bishop Dinis Matsolo of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, Mozambique Synod, said in an interview with OSV News. “It would be interesting to hear a clarification as to what that means. We all belong to the same world. We need each other.”
He added, “I think the Catholic community in the United States should know that in other countries, including Mozambique, we have religious leaders who are profoundly involved in the issues of health and climate change that require support in order to sustain. Those activities have stopped now because of the cuts (in U.S. aid).”
The U.S. government’s relief efforts for malaria were devastated by the elimination of the U.S. Agency for International Development under the second Trump administration. By July 2025, USAID effectively ceased to exist, with 85% of its programs cut.
However, “I always want to be optimistic,” Bishop Matsolo said. “We want to encourage the involvement of all the state quarters (agencies).”
Bishop Matsolo is the executive director of Programa Inter-Religioso Contra a Malaria, or PIRCOM, a faith-based organization focused on eliminating malaria that was launched in 2006 with U.S. funding.
The Catholic Church in Mozambique is a founding member of PIRCOM and is represented on the board. The group works directly with the Archbishop João Carlos Hatoa Nunes
of Maputo, Mozambique, and other Catholic representatives at provincial and district levels across the country.
According to the World Health Organization, in 2024, there were an estimated 282 million malaria cases in 80 malaria-endemic countries — an increase of about 9 million cases from 2023. Three countries — Ethiopia (+2.9 million), Madagascar (+1.9 million) and Yemen (+378,000) — accounted for 58% of the estimated case increase from 2023 to 2024.
The America First Global Health Strategy, the interfaith coalition report states, “recommits the U.S. to achieving the globally agreed goals by 2030. It endorses the vision of reducing global malaria mortality and case incidence by at least 90% from 2015 levels, eliminating malaria in at least 35 countries, and preventing the reestablishment of the disease in all countries that are malaria-free.”
The response, according to the coalition report and the panel discussion, has to be “country-led malaria control.”
The strategy “envisions a future in which public and private funders in malaria-endemic countries are responsible for their own national efforts to end the disease,” the report said.
This awaits memorandums of understanding, or MOUs, negotiated by the State Department with 70 countries over the coming months to specify what entity will provide funding, and for what.
The coalition’s report emphasizes, “Continued strategic U.S. financial and technical support for endemic countries during this transition will determine, to a large extent, the trajectory of the global fight against malaria in this historic moment.”
In profiling five countries — El Salvador, Indonesia, Mozambique, Nigeria and Tanzania — and key factors in each one’s malaria response, the coalition notes in particular that across Mozambique, “over 4,000 faith leaders … are using their unique influence to advocate for policy change, deliver public health messaging, mobilize volunteers and monitor medicine supplies — trusted voices mobilizing communities.”
The State Department’s 40-page report on the newly launched America First Global Health Strategy, complained of “significant inefficiency and waste” in U.S. health foreign assistance programs. As an example, the report asserted that data from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, “shockingly” shows “that only about 40% of PEPFAR’s budget goes directly to finance on-the-ground service delivery.”
But a number of Catholic organizations, including Catholic Relief Services — the overseas relief and development agency of the Catholic Church in the U.S. — support the aims of PEPFAR, the largest global health program devoted to a single disease. It is credited with saving 25 million lives from AIDS and with scaling back the epidemic’s spread.
Kurt Jensen writes for OSV News from Washington.
– WASHINGTON (OSV News) — The future of efforts to eliminate malaria in sub-Saharan Africa may depend in part on a U.S. policy shift now drawing mixed reactions. In September, the State Department unveiled the Trump administration’s America First Global Health Strategy, which it described as “a comprehensive vision to make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous” and also claimed it “will protect the homeland by preventing infectious disease outbreaks from reaching U.S. shores.” In a February report, an interfaith coalition of malaria-fighting groups warned that progress against the disease has “slowed in several regions,” calling the current moment a “crossroads.”
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