Tony Hallas from Foresthill, California IC 5070 is an emission region that forms the Pelican Nebula, lying around 2,000 light-years away in Cygnus. The region is filled with billowing gas clouds and finely woven strands of dust, all being sculpted and lit by radiation from nearby hot young stars. Double-lobed outflows — like the oneContinue reading “The Pelican aglow”
The post The Pelican aglow appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
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Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney’s Schedule: August, 2026 #Catholic – 
| 8/1 | Sat., 8 a.m. Mass for Life & Procession – St. Margaret of Scotland Parish, Morristown; 10:30 a.m. Transitional Diaconate ordination of seminarian Carlos Vargas – St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Passaic; 2:30 p.m. Mass for the closing of ECCADS, annual Diocesan Catholic Charismatic Encounter for Servants (Servidores de la Renovación Carismática) – St. Gerard Majella Parish gymnasium, Paterson. |
| 8/4 | Tues., 10 a.m. Mass – Nazareth Village, Chester; 1:30 p.m. Priest meeting – St. Paul Inside the Walls, Madison. |
| 8/5 | Wed., 3 p.m. Final profession – Mary Help of Christians, North Haledon. |
| 8/12 | Wed., 8:30 a.m. Opening Mass for principals and presidents – the Oratory, Clifton. |
| 8/14 | Fri., All Day Vocations Media Day – St. Paul Inside the Walls, Madison; 7 p.m. Mass – St. Clare Parish, Clifton. |
| 8/15 | Sat., 10:30 a.m. Final profession – the Sisters of Christian Charity, Mendham. |
| 8/22 | Sat.,10 a.m. Polo fundraiser – Pope John XXIII Regional High School, Sparta. |
| 8/27 | Thu., 7 p.m. Memorial Mass for Father Rafael Ciro on the first anniversary of his passing – St. Stephen Parish, Paterson. |
| 8/29 | Sat.,11 a.m. Jubilee of St. Francis Mass – St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Haskell. |
– 8/1 Sat., 8 a.m. Mass for Life & Procession – St. Margaret of Scotland Parish, Morristown; 10:30 a.m. Transitional Diaconate ordination of seminarian Carlos Vargas – St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Passaic; 2:30 p.m. Mass for the closing of ECCADS, annual Diocesan Catholic Charismatic Encounter for Servants (Servidores de la Renovación Carismática) – St. Gerard Majella Parish gymnasium, Paterson. 8/4 Tues., 10 a.m. Mass – Nazareth Village, Chester; 1:30 p.m. Priest meeting – St. Paul Inside the Walls, Madison. 8/5 Wed., 3 p.m. Final profession – Mary Help of Christians, North Haledon. 8/12 Wed., 8:30 a.m. Opening Mass for principals
Amid the destructive forest fires in central Spain, the Catholic Church is ministering to the evacuees, providing material aid, shelter, a listening ear, and the sacraments.
The White House has issued a string of statements acknowledging prominent Catholic feast days and observances.
During a fireworks display last weekend, a stray rocket set off the fireworks stored for the rest of the show, killing four people and injuring 12.
The ‘Education Freedom Tax Credit’ — We hope and pray that New Jersey will ‘opt in’ #Catholic – 
“A new federal program could bring direct educational support to New Jersey families at no cost to the state or taxpayers — if the state opts in to participate…”
I hope that many readers of this column are already aware of the potential impact of the Federal Education Freedom Tax Credit to expand educational opportunities for students and families across the State of New Jersey. I hope that you read the article in the Beacon last week, “Why NJ parents should promote federal education tax credits.”
I am happy to share with you, if you are not already aware, that the New Jersey Catholic Conference (NJCC) has launched a new website to provide education and resources about this potentially “game changing” opportunity. The website is designed to serve as a “one-stop shop” for parents, schools, potential donors, and legislators to learn about the Federal Education Freedom Tax Credit, to learn how they can support this effort (including sharing the website within their networks), and sign up for updates as the process develops. The website will serve as the central location for action alerts issued by NJCC and their partners in the nonpublic school community encouraging Gov. Mikie Sherrill to opt in to the program.
In early June, James J. King, executive director of the NJCC wrote a letter to Sherrill on behalf of Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., and all the Catholic bishops of the state, respectfully urging the governor and her administration to “opt in” so that New Jesey children, families, schools and communities of all faiths (and of no faith) can benefit from the Federal Education Freedom Tax Credit program. King enumerated the many ways in which the Tax Credit program would benefit, not only Catholic Schools, but private and public schools, without any reduction in the state’s support of public education.
At the newly launched NJCC website, you can learn a great deal about the potential benefits and details of this Federal Tax Credit program. One important aspect of the program is the role that will be played by “Scholarship Granting Organizations” (SGOs):
“… This program allows individuals to donate up to $1,700 per year to authorized Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs) and receive a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit. Eligible families and students can receive funds from these organizations as scholarships for school-related expenses, benefiting the taxpayer and also the students.” — Education Tax Credit Overview
Here in our diocese, we will be well prepared to benefit from the Tax Credits because we have a “Scholarship Granting Organization,” the Tri-County Scholarship Fund, with which I hope readers are already very familiar. The Tri-County Scholarship Fund was founded 45 years ago by Bishop Frank Rodimer and Ed Henessey. “Since 1981, Tri-County Scholarship Fund has provided partial K-12th grade scholarships to financially disadvantaged children from Northern New Jersey so they can attend safe, values-based, quality independent schools which allow them to thrive.” — Tri-County Scholarship Fund
The Board of “Tri-County,” led by President Prudence A. Pigott, has been working diligently to educate and inform their donors, school partners, and families about the potential benefits of the Federal Tax Credit program, as well as the importance of encouraging Sherrill to “opt in” so that children, families, teachers, schools, and communities across our state can receive these benefits.
I encourage you to go to the Tri-County website where you will find:
I will conclude with one additional or, hopefully, complementary “argument” as to why this Federal Tax Credit program is such an important opportunity for us, our families, parishes and schools. This past Sunday, July 26, was the Feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne, patron saints of grandparents and World Day of Prayer for grandparents and the elderly. During the coming week, we will celebrate, on July 29, the Feast of Sts. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, and on July 31 and Aug. 1, the Feasts of St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Alphonsus Ligouri, Bishop and Doctor of the Church. The first two Feast Days remind us of the value and sanctity of life, especially family life. The Feasts of St. Ignatius and St. Alphonsus remind us of the importance of education, especially Catholic Education and Catholic Schools.
It may not be obvious to all that there is an important “connection” between a Federal Tax Credit program and support for Family Life and Catholic Education. Yet, if we pause and reflect (and if you have read this far), I believe that Catholics and all the citizens, residents, and families of New Jersey should be able to see the benefits of our state and our governor “opting in.” Let us all do our part, as we pray and hope that New Jersey will “opt in.”
– “A new federal program could bring direct educational support to New Jersey families at no cost to the state or taxpayers — if the state opts in to participate…” Education Tax Credit Overview BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY I hope that many readers of this column are already aware of the potential impact of the Federal Education Freedom Tax Credit to expand educational opportunities for students and families across the State of New Jersey. I hope that you read the article in the Beacon last week, “Why NJ parents should promote federal education tax credits.” I am happy to share with
![South Texas nun still at risk of third-country removal following ICE check-in, attorney says – #Catholic – HARLINGEN, Texas — In the most recent development in an immigration case that has gained national attention, Sister Leticia Ugboaja, the Nigerian Catholic nun and nurse who was briefly detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in south Texas in June, was informed today that third-country removal was not off the table, which her attorney called “very concerning.”After a July 28 check-in with ICE officials in Harlingen, Texas, Carlos M. Garcia, Ugboaja’s lawyer, told reporters gathered outside the ICE field office that the possibility of third-country removal “is very concerning for us … That is obviously not what we want. And that’s why we are exploring all our legal alternatives.”Garcia said he and his client have not yet decided on a specific legal path.At a July 23 press conference, he said an immigration judge denied Ugboaja’s application for asylum in 2019 but did grant her protection from removal to Nigeria under the United Nations Convention Against Torture, finding it was likely she would be tortured if she returned there.Garcia said this protection legally bars the U.S. government from deporting her to Nigeria, though she remains under a final order of removal and could be sent to a third country.After Ugboaja’s July 28 check-in, her attorney expressed gratitude that the nun, who has lived in the United States for nearly two decades and has never missed an immigration appointment, was not detained and not required to wear an ankle monitor, possibilities he discussed last week. The nun has another check-in scheduled for Jan. 28, 2027.“We’re happy that she’s continuing to be able to live her life the way she’s been living it, which is a life of service to the community and to her church family,” Garcia said.“Today was just a check-in,” he said, and ICE officials “determined that [Ugboaja] was able to continue [living] based on the conditions that they had given her before, which is really released on her own word, her own recognizance.”Ugboaja, a member of the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy and a registered nurse at South Texas Health System, was detained by two ICE agents on Sunday, June 28, as she walked to Mass at a church where she serves as a Eucharistic minister.At a press conference last week, the only time she has spoken publicly, she described weeks of “stress, anxiety, and fear” since the detainment.Though she has felt afraid and hurt, she said she has been trusting in God, quoting Jesus’ admonition to “not be afraid, because I am with you always.”The nun declined to speak with reporters after her check-in July 28.Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley and a member of the Missionaries of Jesus in the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, told EWTN News this process has been very difficult for Ugboaja.“She’s such a joyful, happy, and beautiful personality,” Pimentel said. “She goes to daily Mass, and receiving the Eucharist is so much a part of her strength and her force within her, but this disruption has scared her tremendously.”Though Ugboaja was released the same day she was detained, in part through the efforts of Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, Pimentel said “it was a tough time for her to be in detention … it felt like an eternity for her.”
Sister Norma Pimentel hugs Sister Leticia Ugboaja outside the ICE field office in Harlingen, Texas, before Ugboaja’s July 28, 2026, immigration check-in. | Credit: Amira Abuzeid/EWTN News
Pimentel said the nun “just broke down into tears, uncontrollably” upon her release.Since then, the community has poured out its support, Pimentel said. During this morningʼs check-in at the ICE field office, Father Isaac E. Erondu, a priest from Mission, Texas, led a group of people, including Ugboaja, in prayer before she entered the building with her lawyer.TweetSupporters then prayed the rosary together as they awaited news of Ugboaja’s fate.
Supporters of Sister Leticia Ugboaja, including Sister Norma Pimentel, right, pray the rosary outside an ICE field office in Harlingen, Texas, as they await news of Ugboaja’s immigration case, July 28, 2026. | Credit: Amira Abuzeid/EWTN News
“She’s trying to be strong,” Pimentel said. “She wants to continue just being herself … In seeing the support, the love, and so many people that are here for her, she knows she’s not alone.”We want her to know “we are here with you, and you’ll be OK,” she said.
We were all thinking this was about picking up criminals, but there’s no criminal sense in all of this.”
Sister Norma Pimentel
In a message to Catholics and other supporters concerned with Ugboaja’s case, as well as the nature of ICE’s recent immigration enforcement measures, Pimentel, who has worked on behalf of immigrants on the U.S.-Mexico border for more than 20 years, said: “I think that we must stand together strong, supporting the defense of good people that are here in our community … and not only [Ugboaja], but everybody, so many families who are hurting.”“We must speak up and ask for … a process that is more respectful to human life and to the goodness of people,” she continued. “So many people are here in the community and are really contributing in a positive, good way. This should not be happening.”Of ICE’s enforcement measures, Pimentel said: “We were all thinking this was about picking up criminals, but there’s no criminal sense in all of this, you know? And so all of us must truly stand up and defend the right way of who we are as Americans here in the United States.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/south-texas-nun-still-at-risk-of-third-country-removal-following-ice-check-in-attorney-says-catholic-harlingen-texas-in-the-most-recent-development-in-an-immigration-case-that-has-gai-scaled.jpg "South Texas nun still at risk of third-country removal following ICE check-in, attorney says – #Catholic – HARLINGEN, Texas — In the most recent development in an immigration case that has gained national attention, Sister Leticia Ugboaja, the Nigerian Catholic nun and nurse who was briefly detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in south Texas in June, was informed today that third-country removal was not off the table, which her attorney called “very concerning.”After a July 28 check-in with ICE officials in Harlingen, Texas, Carlos M. Garcia, Ugboaja’s lawyer, told reporters gathered outside the ICE field office that the possibility of third-country removal “is very concerning for us … That is obviously not what we want. And that’s why we are exploring all our legal alternatives.”Garcia said he and his client have not yet decided on a specific legal path.At a July 23 press conference, he said an immigration judge denied Ugboaja’s application for asylum in 2019 but did grant her protection from removal to Nigeria under the United Nations Convention Against Torture, finding it was likely she would be tortured if she returned there.Garcia said this protection legally bars the U.S. government from deporting her to Nigeria, though she remains under a final order of removal and could be sent to a third country.After Ugboaja’s July 28 check-in, her attorney expressed gratitude that the nun, who has lived in the United States for nearly two decades and has never missed an immigration appointment, was not detained and not required to wear an ankle monitor, possibilities he discussed last week. The nun has another check-in scheduled for Jan. 28, 2027.“We’re happy that she’s continuing to be able to live her life the way she’s been living it, which is a life of service to the community and to her church family,” Garcia said.“Today was just a check-in,” he said, and ICE officials “determined that [Ugboaja] was able to continue [living] based on the conditions that they had given her before, which is really released on her own word, her own recognizance.”Ugboaja, a member of the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy and a registered nurse at South Texas Health System, was detained by two ICE agents on Sunday, June 28, as she walked to Mass at a church where she serves as a Eucharistic minister.At a press conference last week, the only time she has spoken publicly, she described weeks of “stress, anxiety, and fear” since the detainment.Though she has felt afraid and hurt, she said she has been trusting in God, quoting Jesus’ admonition to “not be afraid, because I am with you always.”The nun declined to speak with reporters after her check-in July 28.Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley and a member of the Missionaries of Jesus in the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, told EWTN News this process has been very difficult for Ugboaja.“She’s such a joyful, happy, and beautiful personality,” Pimentel said. “She goes to daily Mass, and receiving the Eucharist is so much a part of her strength and her force within her, but this disruption has scared her tremendously.”Though Ugboaja was released the same day she was detained, in part through the efforts of Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, Pimentel said “it was a tough time for her to be in detention … it felt like an eternity for her.”
Sister Norma Pimentel hugs Sister Leticia Ugboaja outside the ICE field office in Harlingen, Texas, before Ugboaja’s July 28, 2026, immigration check-in. | Credit: Amira Abuzeid/EWTN News
Pimentel said the nun “just broke down into tears, uncontrollably” upon her release.Since then, the community has poured out its support, Pimentel said. During this morningʼs check-in at the ICE field office, Father Isaac E. Erondu, a priest from Mission, Texas, led a group of people, including Ugboaja, in prayer before she entered the building with her lawyer.TweetSupporters then prayed the rosary together as they awaited news of Ugboaja’s fate.
Supporters of Sister Leticia Ugboaja, including Sister Norma Pimentel, right, pray the rosary outside an ICE field office in Harlingen, Texas, as they await news of Ugboaja’s immigration case, July 28, 2026. | Credit: Amira Abuzeid/EWTN News
“She’s trying to be strong,” Pimentel said. “She wants to continue just being herself … In seeing the support, the love, and so many people that are here for her, she knows she’s not alone.”We want her to know “we are here with you, and you’ll be OK,” she said.
We were all thinking this was about picking up criminals, but there’s no criminal sense in all of this.”
Sister Norma Pimentel
In a message to Catholics and other supporters concerned with Ugboaja’s case, as well as the nature of ICE’s recent immigration enforcement measures, Pimentel, who has worked on behalf of immigrants on the U.S.-Mexico border for more than 20 years, said: “I think that we must stand together strong, supporting the defense of good people that are here in our community … and not only [Ugboaja], but everybody, so many families who are hurting.”“We must speak up and ask for … a process that is more respectful to human life and to the goodness of people,” she continued. “So many people are here in the community and are really contributing in a positive, good way. This should not be happening.”Of ICE’s enforcement measures, Pimentel said: “We were all thinking this was about picking up criminals, but there’s no criminal sense in all of this, you know? And so all of us must truly stand up and defend the right way of who we are as Americans here in the United States.”")
After a July 28 check-in with ICE officials, Sister Leticia Ugboaja’s lawyer told reporters gathered outside the ICE field office that the possibility of third-country removal “is very concerning.”
The Gaelic Athletic Association All Ireland Football championship, which has a historic connection to the Catholic Church, crowned a new winner after 75 years.
NASA astronaut Chris Williams is seen outside the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft after he landed with Expedition 74 Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, and Sergei Mikaev in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Sunday, July 26, 2026. The trio returned to Earth after logging 241 days in space as a members of Expeditions 73 and 74 aboard the International Space Station.
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