Bill Essayli is a Trump-appointed U.S.
The post Trump Appointed U.S. Attorney in California Begins Investigating Billions Wasted on Homelessness, Has Already Made Two Arrests (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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During the New York City mayoral debate tonight, Democratic Socialist (communist) Zohran Mamdani claimed that he is not trying to defund the police.
The post During NYC Mayoral Debate, Zohran Mamdani Claims He Doesn’t Want to Defund the Police – But He Did Call for That Multiple Times (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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TUCSON, AZ — Ahead of the upcoming holiday, local Christian mom Helen Richards reportedly couldn’t decide if she should allow her kids to dress up for Halloween or have them get into Heaven instead.
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U.S. — A new setting on Google Maps was expected to save thousands of marriages by forgoing the optimum travel route to instead direct the husband along the route his wife thinks he should take.
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Loving God, I thank you for the gift of life you gave and continue to give to me and to all of us.
Merciful God, I ask your pardon and forgiveness for my own failure and the failure of all people to respect and foster all forms of life in our universe.
Gracious God, I pray that with your grace, I and all people will reverence, protect, and promote all life and that we will be especially sensitive to the life of the unborn, the abused, neglected, disabled, and the elderly. I pray, too, …
Read More![Trump administration expands IVF and other fertility treatment coverage #Catholic
The Trump administration will expand access to in vitro fertilization drugs and procedures. / Credit: sejianni/Shutterstock
CNA Staff, Oct 16, 2025 / 18:53 pm (CNA).
President Donald Trump is expanding access to in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments by partnering with pharmaceutical companies and expanding insurance options. According to a White House announcement on Oct. 16, the Trump administration is working with major pharmaceutical companies to bring IVF drugs to the U.S. at lower prices. The administration is also expanding insurance coverage for fertility care.The agreement with leading pharmaceutical group EMD Serono will make IVF drugs available “at very, very heavily reduced prices — prices that you won’t even believe,” Trump said on Thursday in a livestream from the Oval Office. According to the announcement, women who buy directly from TrumpRx.gov, a website that will launch in January 2026, will get a discount equivalent to 796% of the negotiated price for GONAL-F, a widely used fertility drug.The FDA will also be expediting its review of an IVF drug that is not yet available in the U.S., which Trump said “would directly compete against a much more expensive option that currently has a monopoly in the American market, and this will bring down costs very significantly.”In addition, the Trump administration will enable employers to offer separate plans for fertility issues, comparable to the standard life, dental, and vision plans typically available from employers.“This will make all fertility care, including IVF, far more affordable and accessible,” Trump said. “And by providing coverage at every step of the way, it will reduce the number of people who ultimately need to resort to IVF, because couples will be able to identify and address problems early.” “The result will be healthier pregnancies, healthier babies, and many more beautiful American children,” Trump continued. These fertility benefits will include both IVF and other fertility treatments “that address the root causes of infertility,” according to the Oct. 16 announcement. “There’s no deeper happiness and joy [than] raising children, and now millions of Americans struggling with infertility will have a new chance to share the greatest experience of them all,” Trump said. IVF is a fertility treatment opposed by the Catholic Church in which doctors fuse sperm and eggs in a laboratory to create human embryos and implant them in the mother’s womb. To maximize efficiency, doctors create excess human embryos and freeze them. Undesired embryos are routinely destroyed or used in scientific research.Lila Rose, a devout Catholic and founder of the pro-life group Live Action, condemned the administration’s action, noting that “IVF kills more babies than abortion.”“Millions of embryos are frozen, discarded, or destroyed,” Rose said in a post on X on Oct. 16.“Only 7% of embryos created survive to birth,” she said. IVF is “not a solution to fertility struggles.” In response to Trump’s announcement, the March for Life celebrated the White House’s focus on children and fertility, while cautioning the administration to protect human life at all its stages, even as embryos. “March for Life appreciates that President Trump has heard and is responding to so many Americans who dream of becoming parents,” the March for Life said in a statement shared with CNA. “The desire for parenthood is natural and good. Children are a blessing. Life is a gift. The White House’s announcement today is rooted in these core truths.” The March for Life noted that “every human life is precious — no matter the circumstances” and urged policymakers to protect human life. “We continue to encourage any federal government policymaking surrounding IVF to prioritize protecting human life in its earliest stages and to fully align with basic standards of medical ethics,” the statement read. The group also welcomed “the administration’s commitment to making groundbreaking advancements in restorative reproductive medicine more accessible and available to American women.” Catholic institutes such as the Saint Paul VI Institute have pioneered a form of restorative reproductive medicine called NaProTechnology. “Naprotech” aims to discover and address the root cause of fertility issues via treatment and surgery if necessary. Some conditions that can affect fertility include endometriosis — which affects nearly 1 in 10 women — and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), the leading cause of infertility.“RRM aims to resolve rather than ignore underlying medical issues, increasing health and wellness while also restoring fertility, and responding to the beautiful desire for children while avoiding any collateral loss of human life,” March for Life stated.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/trump-administration-expands-ivf-and-other-fertility-treatment-coverage-catholic-the-trump-administration-will-expand-access-to-in-vitro-fertilization-drugs-and-procedures-credit-sejianni-shu.webp)
The Trump administration will expand access to in vitro fertilization drugs and procedures. / Credit: sejianni/Shutterstock
CNA Staff, Oct 16, 2025 / 18:53 pm (CNA).
President Donald Trump is expanding access to in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments by partnering with pharmaceutical companies and expanding insurance options.
According to a White House announcement on Oct. 16, the Trump administration is working with major pharmaceutical companies to bring IVF drugs to the U.S. at lower prices. The administration is also expanding insurance coverage for fertility care.
The agreement with leading pharmaceutical group EMD Serono will make IVF drugs available “at very, very heavily reduced prices — prices that you won’t even believe,” Trump said on Thursday in a livestream from the Oval Office.
According to the announcement, women who buy directly from TrumpRx.gov, a website that will launch in January 2026, will get a discount equivalent to 796% of the negotiated price for GONAL-F, a widely used fertility drug.
The FDA will also be expediting its review of an IVF drug that is not yet available in the U.S., which Trump said “would directly compete against a much more expensive option that currently has a monopoly in the American market, and this will bring down costs very significantly.”
In addition, the Trump administration will enable employers to offer separate plans for fertility issues, comparable to the standard life, dental, and vision plans typically available from employers.
“This will make all fertility care, including IVF, far more affordable and accessible,” Trump said. “And by providing coverage at every step of the way, it will reduce the number of people who ultimately need to resort to IVF, because couples will be able to identify and address problems early.”
“The result will be healthier pregnancies, healthier babies, and many more beautiful American children,” Trump continued.
These fertility benefits will include both IVF and other fertility treatments “that address the root causes of infertility,” according to the Oct. 16 announcement.
“There’s no deeper happiness and joy [than] raising children, and now millions of Americans struggling with infertility will have a new chance to share the greatest experience of them all,” Trump said.
IVF is a fertility treatment opposed by the Catholic Church in which doctors fuse sperm and eggs in a laboratory to create human embryos and implant them in the mother’s womb. To maximize efficiency, doctors create excess human embryos and freeze them. Undesired embryos are routinely destroyed or used in scientific research.
Lila Rose, a devout Catholic and founder of the pro-life group Live Action, condemned the administration’s action, noting that “IVF kills more babies than abortion.”
“Millions of embryos are frozen, discarded, or destroyed,” Rose said in a post on X on Oct. 16.
“Only 7% of embryos created survive to birth,” she said. IVF is “not a solution to fertility struggles.”
In response to Trump’s announcement, the March for Life celebrated the White House’s focus on children and fertility, while cautioning the administration to protect human life at all its stages, even as embryos.
“March for Life appreciates that President Trump has heard and is responding to so many Americans who dream of becoming parents,” the March for Life said in a statement shared with CNA. “The desire for parenthood is natural and good. Children are a blessing. Life is a gift. The White House’s announcement today is rooted in these core truths.”
The March for Life noted that “every human life is precious — no matter the circumstances” and urged policymakers to protect human life.
“We continue to encourage any federal government policymaking surrounding IVF to prioritize protecting human life in its earliest stages and to fully align with basic standards of medical ethics,” the statement read.
The group also welcomed “the administration’s commitment to making groundbreaking advancements in restorative reproductive medicine more accessible and available to American women.”
Catholic institutes such as the Saint Paul VI Institute have pioneered a form of restorative reproductive medicine called NaProTechnology. “Naprotech” aims to discover and address the root cause of fertility issues via treatment and surgery if necessary. Some conditions that can affect fertility include endometriosis — which affects nearly 1 in 10 women — and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), the leading cause of infertility.
“RRM aims to resolve rather than ignore underlying medical issues, increasing health and wellness while also restoring fertility, and responding to the beautiful desire for children while avoiding any collateral loss of human life,” March for Life stated.
Read MoreA reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans
4:1-8
Brothers and sisters:
What can we say that Abraham found,
our ancestor according to the flesh?
Indeed, if Abraham was justified on the basis of his works,
he has reason to boast;
but this was not so in the sight of God.
For what does the Scripture say?
Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
A worker’s wage is credited not as a gift, but as something due.
But when one does not work,
yet believes in the one who justifies the ungodly,
his faith is credited as righteousness.
So also David declares the blessedness of the person
to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven
and whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not record.
From the Gospel according to Luke
12:1-7
At that time:
So many people were crowding together
that they were trampling one another underfoot.
Jesus began to speak, first to his disciples,
"Beware of the leaven–that is, the hypocrisy–of the Pharisees.
"There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed,
nor secret that will not be known.
Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness
will be heard in the light,
and what you have whispered behind closed doors
will be proclaimed on the housetops.
I tell you, my friends,
do not be afraid of those who kill the body
but after that can do no more.
I shall show you whom to fear.
Be afraid of the one who after killing
has the power to cast into Gehenna;
yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one.
Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins?
Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God.
Even the hairs of your head have all been counted.
Do not be afraid.
You are worth more than many sparrows."
The only strength Christians have is the Gospel. In difficult times, one must believe that Jesus is before us and does not cease to accompany his disciples. Persecution is not in contradiction to the Gospel but rather is part of it. If they persecuted our Teacher, how can we hope to be spared the fight? However, in the midst of the storm, Christians must not lose hope, thinking that they have been abandoned. Jesus assures his disciples: “even the hairs on your head are all numbered” (Mt 10:30); as if to say that none of man’s suffering, not even that which is most minute and hidden, is invisible to the eyes of God. God sees and certainly protects; and he will give his redemption. There is in fact in our midst Someone who is stronger than evil, stronger than the mafia, than the obscure conspiracies of those who profit at the expense of desperate people, than those who crush others with disdain…. Someone who has always listened to the cry of Abel’s blood from the earth. Christians therefore, must always be found on the “opposite side” of the world, that chosen by God: not persecutors but persecuted; not arrogant but meek; not charlatans but submissive to the truth; not imposters but honest men and women. This fidelity to Jesus’ style — which is a style of hope — until death, was to be called a beautiful name by the first Christians: “martyrdom”, meaning “witness”. (Pope Francis, General Audience, 28 June 2017)
Read More![Judge rules against saints’ statues on Massachusetts government building #Catholic
Statues of St. Florian (at left) and St. Michael the Archangel (at right) are currently barred from appearing on the planned public safety building of Quincy, Massachusetts. / Credit: Courtesy of Office of Mayor Thomas Koch
Boston, Massachusetts, Oct 16, 2025 / 12:18 pm (CNA).
A Massachusetts trial court judge has issued an order blocking the installation of statues of two Catholic saints on a new public safety building in the city of Quincy, setting up a likely appeal that may determine how the state treats separation of church and state disputes going forward.The 10-foot-high bronze statues of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian, which were scheduled to be installed on the building’s façade this month, will instead await a higher court’s decision.The statues cost an estimated $850,000, part of the new, $175 million public safety building that will serve as police headquarters and administration offices for the Boston suburb’s fire department.Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch, a practicing Catholic, has said he chose St. Michael the Archangel because he is the patron of police officers and St. Florian because he is the patron of firefighters, not to send a message about religion.But the judge said the statues can’t be separated from the saints’ Catholic connections.“The complaint here plausibly alleges that the statues at issue convey a message endorsing one religion over others,” Norfolk County Superior Court Judge William Sullivan wrote in a 26-page ruling Oct. 14.The judge noted that the statues “represent two Catholic saints.”“The statues, particularly when considered together, patently endorse Catholic beliefs,” the judge wrote.The plaintiffs who brought the lawsuit challenging the statues — 15 city residents represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts — have amassed facts that “plausibly suggest that an objective observer would view these statues on the façade of the public safety building as primarily endorsing Catholicism/Christianity and conveying a distinctly religious message,” the judge wrote.Rachel Davidson, staff attorney at the ACLU of Massachusetts, who argued the case during a lengthy court hearing on Sept. 19, praised the judge’s decision.“This ruling affirms the bedrock principle that our government cannot favor one religion above others, or religious beliefs over nonreligious beliefs,” Davidson said in a written statement. “We are grateful to the court for acknowledging the immediate harm that the installation of these statues would cause and for ensuring that Quincy residents can continue to make their case for the proper separation of church and state, as the Massachusetts Constitution requires.”The mayor said the city will appeal.“We chose the statues of Michael and Florian to honor Quincy’s first responders, not to promote any religion,” Koch said in a written statement provided to the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, by a spokesman. “These figures are recognized symbols of courage and sacrifice in police and fire communities across the world. We will appeal this ruling so our city can continue to celebrate and inspire the men and women who protect us.” The lawsuit, which was filed May 27 in Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham, relies on the Massachusetts Constitution, not the U.S. Constitution, but there is a tie-in.In 1979, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court adopted the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1971 three-pronged “Lemon test” when considering church and state cases — whether a law concerning religion has “a secular legislative purpose,” whether “its principal or primary effect … neither advances [n]or inhibits religion,” and whether it fosters “excessive entanglement between government and religion.” The state’s highest court also added a fourth standard — whether a “challenged practice” has “divisive political potential.”But in June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ditched the Lemon test in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, a case involving prayers offered by a high school football coach in Washington state.If the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, which is the ultimate interpreter of state law, takes the Quincy statues dispute, it would be the first time the court has considered a case on point since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Kennedy decision.This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/judge-rules-against-saints-statues-on-massachusetts-government-building-catholic-statues-of-st-florian-at-left-and-st-michael-the-archangel-at-right-are-currently-barred-from-appea.webp)
Statues of St. Florian (at left) and St. Michael the Archangel (at right) are currently barred from appearing on the planned public safety building of Quincy, Massachusetts. / Credit: Courtesy of Office of Mayor Thomas Koch
Boston, Massachusetts, Oct 16, 2025 / 12:18 pm (CNA).
A Massachusetts trial court judge has issued an order blocking the installation of statues of two Catholic saints on a new public safety building in the city of Quincy, setting up a likely appeal that may determine how the state treats separation of church and state disputes going forward.
The 10-foot-high bronze statues of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian, which were scheduled to be installed on the building’s façade this month, will instead await a higher court’s decision.
The statues cost an estimated $850,000, part of the new, $175 million public safety building that will serve as police headquarters and administration offices for the Boston suburb’s fire department.
Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch, a practicing Catholic, has said he chose St. Michael the Archangel because he is the patron of police officers and St. Florian because he is the patron of firefighters, not to send a message about religion.
But the judge said the statues can’t be separated from the saints’ Catholic connections.
“The complaint here plausibly alleges that the statues at issue convey a message endorsing one religion over others,” Norfolk County Superior Court Judge William Sullivan wrote in a 26-page ruling Oct. 14.
The judge noted that the statues “represent two Catholic saints.”
“The statues, particularly when considered together, patently endorse Catholic beliefs,” the judge wrote.
The plaintiffs who brought the lawsuit challenging the statues — 15 city residents represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts — have amassed facts that “plausibly suggest that an objective observer would view these statues on the façade of the public safety building as primarily endorsing Catholicism/Christianity and conveying a distinctly religious message,” the judge wrote.
Rachel Davidson, staff attorney at the ACLU of Massachusetts, who argued the case during a lengthy court hearing on Sept. 19, praised the judge’s decision.
“This ruling affirms the bedrock principle that our government cannot favor one religion above others, or religious beliefs over nonreligious beliefs,” Davidson said in a written statement. “We are grateful to the court for acknowledging the immediate harm that the installation of these statues would cause and for ensuring that Quincy residents can continue to make their case for the proper separation of church and state, as the Massachusetts Constitution requires.”
The mayor said the city will appeal.
“We chose the statues of Michael and Florian to honor Quincy’s first responders, not to promote any religion,” Koch said in a written statement provided to the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, by a spokesman. “These figures are recognized symbols of courage and sacrifice in police and fire communities across the world. We will appeal this ruling so our city can continue to celebrate and inspire the men and women who protect us.” The lawsuit, which was filed May 27 in Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham, relies on the Massachusetts Constitution, not the U.S. Constitution, but there is a tie-in.
In 1979, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court adopted the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1971 three-pronged “Lemon test” when considering church and state cases — whether a law concerning religion has “a secular legislative purpose,” whether “its principal or primary effect … neither advances [n]or inhibits religion,” and whether it fosters “excessive entanglement between government and religion.”
The state’s highest court also added a fourth standard — whether a “challenged practice” has “divisive political potential.”
But in June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ditched the Lemon test in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, a case involving prayers offered by a high school football coach in Washington state.
If the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, which is the ultimate interpreter of state law, takes the Quincy statues dispute, it would be the first time the court has considered a case on point since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Kennedy decision.
This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.
Read More![Missouri court says man can sue St. Louis Archdiocese over abuse he repressed for decades #Catholic
The Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. / Credit: legacy1995/Shutterstock
CNA Staff, Oct 16, 2025 / 11:48 am (CNA).
A Missouri appeals court has ordered that an alleged victim of clergy sexual abuse can sue the Archdiocese of St. Louis, ruling that an arcane aspect of bankruptcy law does not negate the archdiocese’s potential liability for abuse that the plaintiff allegedly repressed for decades.The case touches on both the complex character of U.S. bankruptcy statutes as well as the often-protracted nature of abuse allegations, which frequently only come to light years or decades after the abuse is alleged to have occurred. In its Oct. 14 ruling, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, said the alleged victim, John Doe, claims to have been abused at the St. Joseph’s Home for Boys in the late 1980s. Doe alleges that Father Alexander Anderson, who was assigned as a counselor to the home, sexually abused him; the plaintiff said he “reported the abuse [but] no action was taken,” according to the court. Doe “alleged he repressed his memory of the abuse until 2016,” the court said. He ultimately filed suit against the archdiocese in August 2022. The archdiocese argued in response that Doe’s abuse claim was effectively negated by two bankruptcy claims he had filed in 2008 and 2009. U.S. law dictates that when debtors file for bankruptcy, they create “an estate that includes nearly all of the debtor’s legal or equitable interests in property,” including legal causes of action. The archdiocese claimed that since Doe did not list his abuse claims as “exempted assets” in his bankruptcy proceedings, they became part of that “estate” and can only be administered by the trustee that handled those proceedings. The appeals court rejected the archdiocese’s argument, reversing a lower court decision and holding that Doe’s “cause of action” only arose when he said he remembered the alleged abuse in 2016, “well after” his bankruptcy filings. Doe’s standing to sue “did not accrue [when] the sexual abuse was allegedly committed” but rather when it was “capable of ascertainment,” the court held. The court’s ruling cited Missouri Supreme Court precedent, which holds that, in some cases of abuse, “the victim may be so young, mentally incompetent, or otherwise innocent and lacking in understanding that the person could not reasonably have understood that substantial harm could have resulted from the wrong.”The St. Louis Archdiocese did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling on Oct. 16. This is not the first instance in which the archdiocese has been held accountable for abuse allegations that an alleged victim claimed to have repressed for decades.In 2023 the archdiocese agreed to pay a $1 million settlement to a man who said he was abused by Father Gary Wolken in the mid-1990s but repressed the memories until he was an adult. Wolken was in prison from 2003 to 2015 for sexually abusing another boy in the St. Louis area from 1997 to 2000.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/missouri-court-says-man-can-sue-st-louis-archdiocese-over-abuse-he-repressed-for-decades-catholic-the-cathedral-basilica-of-st-louis-credit-legacy1995-shutterstockcna-staff-oct-16-2025.webp)
The Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. / Credit: legacy1995/Shutterstock
CNA Staff, Oct 16, 2025 / 11:48 am (CNA).
A Missouri appeals court has ordered that an alleged victim of clergy sexual abuse can sue the Archdiocese of St. Louis, ruling that an arcane aspect of bankruptcy law does not negate the archdiocese’s potential liability for abuse that the plaintiff allegedly repressed for decades.
The case touches on both the complex character of U.S. bankruptcy statutes as well as the often-protracted nature of abuse allegations, which frequently only come to light years or decades after the abuse is alleged to have occurred.
In its Oct. 14 ruling, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, said the alleged victim, John Doe, claims to have been abused at the St. Joseph’s Home for Boys in the late 1980s.
Doe alleges that Father Alexander Anderson, who was assigned as a counselor to the home, sexually abused him; the plaintiff said he “reported the abuse [but] no action was taken,” according to the court.
Doe “alleged he repressed his memory of the abuse until 2016,” the court said. He ultimately filed suit against the archdiocese in August 2022.
The archdiocese argued in response that Doe’s abuse claim was effectively negated by two bankruptcy claims he had filed in 2008 and 2009. U.S. law dictates that when debtors file for bankruptcy, they create “an estate that includes nearly all of the debtor’s legal or equitable interests in property,” including legal causes of action.
The archdiocese claimed that since Doe did not list his abuse claims as “exempted assets” in his bankruptcy proceedings, they became part of that “estate” and can only be administered by the trustee that handled those proceedings.
The appeals court rejected the archdiocese’s argument, reversing a lower court decision and holding that Doe’s “cause of action” only arose when he said he remembered the alleged abuse in 2016, “well after” his bankruptcy filings.
Doe’s standing to sue “did not accrue [when] the sexual abuse was allegedly committed” but rather when it was “capable of ascertainment,” the court held.
The court’s ruling cited Missouri Supreme Court precedent, which holds that, in some cases of abuse, “the victim may be so young, mentally incompetent, or otherwise innocent and lacking in understanding that the person could not reasonably have understood that substantial harm could have resulted from the wrong.”
The St. Louis Archdiocese did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling on Oct. 16.
This is not the first instance in which the archdiocese has been held accountable for abuse allegations that an alleged victim claimed to have repressed for decades.
In 2023 the archdiocese agreed to pay a $1 million settlement to a man who said he was abused by Father Gary Wolken in the mid-1990s but repressed the memories until he was an adult.
Wolken was in prison from 2003 to 2015 for sexually abusing another boy in the St. Louis area from 1997 to 2000.
Read MoreDuring the past week, you had to get up before morning twilight to spot Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon). And you still can. But thanks to its position in the north, now you also can see it in the evening sky. The comet is currently passing in front of the stars of the constellation Canes VenaticiContinue reading “Now’s the time to see Comet Lemmon”
The post Now’s the time to see Comet Lemmon appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
Read More
World hunger is ‘collective failure,’ pope says on World Food Day #Catholic – 
ROME (CNS) — “Allowing millions of human beings to live — and die — as victims of hunger is a collective failure, an ethical aberration, a historical fault,” Pope Leo XIV said on World Food Day.
The pope drove across Rome Oct. 16 to address world leaders and government representatives at the headquarters of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. In addition to marking World Food Day, the delegates were celebrating the 80th anniversary of FAO’s establishment.
In his speech, Pope Leo decried the fact that while humanity has made huge advances in technology, medicine, agriculture and transportation, 673 million people go to bed hungry each night, and 2.3 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet.
The FAO statistics are not just numbers, he said; “behind each of these numbers is a broken life, a vulnerable community.”
“This is not a coincidence, but the clear sign of a prevailing insensitivity, of a soulless economy, of a questionable model of development, and of an unjust and unsustainable system of resource distribution,” Pope Leo insisted.
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Perhaps referring to the situation in Gaza, but also to other war zones, the pope said that “current conflict scenarios have brought back the use of food as a weapon of war.”
A global conviction that “deliberate starvation as well as the intentional obstruction of access to food for communities or entire peoples, constitutes a war crime” seems to be slipping away, he said.
The “cruel strategy” of using food as a weapon of war, the pope said, “condemns men, women and children to hunger by denying them the most basic right: the right to life.”
While governments have an obvious role in addressing hunger, Pope Leo said no one can consider the problem to be someone else’s responsibility.
“Those who suffer from hunger are not strangers,” he said. “They are my brothers and sisters, and I must help them without delay.”
Hunger “is a cry rising to heaven, demanding a swift response from every nation, from every international body, from every regional, local or private entity,” he said. “It is a battle that belongs to us all.”
“How can we explain the inequalities that allow a few to have everything, while so many have nothing?” Pope Leo asked.
And, he said, “How can we fail to remember all of those who are condemned to death and hardship in Ukraine, Gaza, Haiti, Afghanistan, Mali, the Central African Republic, Yemen and South Sudan, to name just a few places on the planet where poverty has become the daily bread of so many of our brothers and sisters?”
No individual or government can look the other way, the pope said. “We must make their suffering our own.”
“We cannot aspire to a more just social life if we are not willing to rid ourselves of the apathy that justifies hunger as if it were background music we have grown accustomed to,” the pope said.
Failure to act, even for individuals, he said, is to be “complicit in the promotion of injustice.”
“We cannot hope for a better world, a bright and peaceful future, if we are not willing to share what we ourselves have received,” Pope Leo said. “Only then can we affirm — with truth and courage — that no one has been left behind.”
– ROME (CNS) — “Allowing millions of human beings to live — and die — as victims of hunger is a collective failure, an ethical aberration, a historical fault,” Pope Leo XIV said on World Food Day. The pope drove across Rome Oct. 16 to address world leaders and government representatives at the headquarters of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. In addition to marking World Food Day, the delegates were celebrating the 80th anniversary of FAO’s establishment. In his speech, Pope Leo decried the fact that while humanity has made huge advances in technology, medicine, agriculture and transportation, 673 million
![Morristown monthly Mass and Procession for Life marks second anniversary #Catholic - On Oct. 11, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney rejoiced in marking the second anniversary of the monthly Mass and Procession for Life at St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Morristown, N.J., to pray for and witness to a greater respect for every human life. The event draws Catholics from around the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey.
The bishop celebrated 8 a.m. Mass in St. Margaret Church. The Mass was concelebrated by priests, including Father Duberney Villamizar, pastor of St. Margaret. After the Mass, Bishop Sweeney led an outdoor rosary procession for life on the streets of Morristown to Planned Parenthood on Speedwell Avenue, where he prayed the rosary with congregants for an end to abortion. The event included Benediction and fellowship in the church.
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A Mass and procession for life is held on the first Saturday of the month at 8 a.m. at St. Margaret’s. Priests and faithful from around the diocese are invited to join.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
[See image gallery at beaconnj.org]](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/morristown-monthly-mass-and-procession-for-life-marks-second-anniversary-catholic-on-oct-11-bishop-kevin-j-sweeney-rejoiced-in-marking-the-second-anniversary-of-the-monthly-mass-and-procession-f.jpg)
Morristown monthly Mass and Procession for Life marks second anniversary #Catholic – 
On Oct. 11, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney rejoiced in marking the second anniversary of the monthly Mass and Procession for Life at St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Morristown, N.J., to pray for and witness to a greater respect for every human life. The event draws Catholics from around the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey.
The bishop celebrated 8 a.m. Mass in St. Margaret Church. The Mass was concelebrated by priests, including Father Duberney Villamizar, pastor of St. Margaret. After the Mass, Bishop Sweeney led an outdoor rosary procession for life on the streets of Morristown to Planned Parenthood on Speedwell Avenue, where he prayed the rosary with congregants for an end to abortion. The event included Benediction and fellowship in the church.
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A Mass and procession for life is held on the first Saturday of the month at 8 a.m. at St. Margaret’s. Priests and faithful from around the diocese are invited to join.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
[See image gallery at beaconnj.org] – On Oct. 11, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney rejoiced in marking the second anniversary of the monthly Mass and Procession for Life at St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Morristown, N.J., to pray for and witness to a greater respect for every human life. The event draws Catholics from around the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey. The bishop celebrated 8 a.m. Mass in St. Margaret Church. The Mass was concelebrated by priests, including Father Duberney Villamizar, pastor of St. Margaret. After the Mass, Bishop Sweeney led an outdoor rosary procession for life on the streets of Morristown to Planned Parenthood on
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Cardinal Pietro Parolin speaks at an Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) press conference in Rome, Italy, on Sept 28, 2017. / Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.
Vatican City, Oct 16, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
International Catholic nonprofit Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) will release its global religious freedom report in Rome next week with an Oct. 21 conference featuring the Vatican’s secretary of state and victims of religious persecution.
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin will introduce the “Religious Freedom in the World Report 2025” with a speech at the Pontifical Patristic Institute Augustinianum conference center near the Vatican.
The report, released every two years since 1999, is a global study of religious freedom and persecution across all countries and faith groups.
“Since the first edition of the RFR, the situation has steadily worsened, and unfortunately, this negative trend is expected to continue,” Marta Petrosillo, the report’s editor-in-chief, said in a press release published ahead of the report’s launch.
According to ACN, this year’s report highlights the continent of Africa, particularly the spread of jihadist violence into the countries of Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The daylong conference will feature the voices of religious freedom experts and persecuted Christians from Nigeria, Syria, India, Sudan, and Pakistan.
The second half of the day will also include a panel of speakers on the increasing restrictions to religious freedom in democratic societies in the West, including legal and cultural pressure, secularist intolerance, and challenges to public witness.
In 2024, ACN spent more than $150 million on thousands of projects in 137 countries.
In an audience with members of the nonprofit at the Vatican on Oct. 10, Pope Leo XIV emphasized the importance of their work, especially in a world that continues to “witness growing hostility and violence against those who hold different beliefs, including many Christians.”
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Pope Leo XIV is shown here at the Holy Mass for the opening of the general chapter of the Order of Saint Augustine on Sept. 1, 2025 . / Credit: Vatican Media
ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 16, 2025 / 06:03 am (CNA).
The Order of St. Augustine and the Vatican Publishing House announced the publication of a new book by Pope Leo XIV, Robert Francis Prevost O.S.A., titled “Free Under Grace: Writings and Meditations 2001-2013.” The book will be presented at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany, which opened Wednesday.
The tome will include, for the first time, the writings of the current pontiff during his term as prior general of the Augustinian Order, offering readers a “closer look at his spirituality,” according to a statement from the Vatican Publishing House. It will include reflections, meditations, homilies, and addresses, all imbued with the characteristic Augustinian spirituality of the reigning pontiff.
The book will be published in Italian in the Spring of 2026. Spanish and English versions will also be available, the Vatican Publishing House confirmed to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.
Fr. Joseph Lawrence Farrell, O.S.A., current prior general of the Augustinian Order, commented: “This book, which compiles many of the communications of the then prior general, Robert Francis Prevost, O.S.A., offers an overview of some of the important themes developed during his years at the head of the Order of Saint Augustine.”
Lorenzo Fazzini, editorial director of the Vatican Publishing House, said that “We are truly delighted to participate in the Frankfurt Book Fair by presenting this previously unpublished book by Robert Francis Prevost O.S.A. — Leo XIV — to publishers around the world.” Fazzini noted that “This text will allow readers to delve into the pope’s writings during his time as an Augustinian religious and superior of his order. It is a highly anticipated volume for readers around the world.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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Abigail, Joshua, Jesus, Sheep, and Pigeon in "The Chosen Adventures," which comes out on Prime Video on Oct. 17. / Credit: David Griffin
CNA Staff, Oct 16, 2025 / 05:11 am (CNA).
5&2 Studios, the production company behind the hit series “The Chosen,” is releasing its new animated series called “The Chosen Adventures” on Prime Video on Oct. 17.
The new series follows 9-year-old Abby and her best friend Joshua as they navigate life in the city of Capernaum. When the two children meet a wise carpenter — Jesus of Nazareth — he changes the way they see the world.
“The Chosen Adventures” consists of 14 11-minute episodes and features several of the original cast members, including Jonathan Roumie as Jesus, Elizabeth Tabish as Mary Magdalene, Paras Patel as Matthew, and George Xanthis as John, among others.
Joining the cast is Paul Walter Hauser as Sheep, Yvonne Orji as Pigeon, Romy Fay as Abby, Jude Zarzaur as Joshua, Danny Nucci as Abba, and Zehra Fazal as Eema.
Dallas Jenkins, writer, director, and creator of “The Chosen,” serves as an executive producer for the new animated series. He told CNA in an interview that the inspiration for the new show came from episode three of Season 1 of “The Chosen,” in which Jesus is seen interacting with children throughout the episode.
“Not only did kids love it, but adults loved it because seeing Jesus with the eyes of a child is actually how Jesus often wants you to see him,” he told CNA. “And that episode resonated so strongly that we thought, ‘Okay, well, this is an opportunity. What if we did an animated series where Abigail and Joshua, the two main characters from that episode, were featured and it really allows us to explore a whimsy and a playfulness that you can really dig into with animation in a fresh way.”
Jenkins emphasized that while children will enjoy the show, it is also something adults can enjoy.
“It’s still grounded in truth,” he said. “And I still think that you’ll watch this show and it will still feel real even though yes, there’s a pigeon and a sheep that talk to each other, we always want to ground it in ‘The Chosen’ way.”
He added, “Yes, younger kids are going to appreciate it. But I think it’s going to still feel like ‘The Chosen.’ It’s not going to feel like it’s a departure from who we are.”
As a huge fan of “The Chosen,” Hauser, who will voice the character of Sheep, told CNA that “the idea of doing a faith-based program that I was really proud of” was a major factor in what drew him to the role. He hopes the series will leave both children and adults feeling “encouraged or inspired to deepen their relationship with God.”
“You don’t have to come to God with fancy big words and sound like someone you’re not,” he added. “God is not impressed with us trying to dress up our faith in some way. I think it has more to do with authenticity and with the readiness to want to approach God and ask questions and engage with that.”
Jenkins added that he hopes viewers will be left inspired to be “curious.”
“Abigail sets an example for all of us with curiosity. She’s asking questions. She never wants to stop learning. And I think God loves that,” he said. “I turned 50 this year. I never want to stop being curious. I never want to stop learning more, seeing things from a different perspective. I think we need that more than ever in society.”
He added: “Yes, we are grounded on foundational, Biblical truths that won’t change but our perspective, the way we interact with others, the way we see the world, the way we see politics, the way we see other people, the empathy that we can find for other people that I think children are capable of, that we adults sometimes don’t do, is something that is really important.”
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