Day: October 29, 2026

A stellar illusion

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Behyar Bakhshandeh from Carlsbad, California The emission nebula IC 1318, also known as the Gamma Cygni Nebula, glows roughly 5,300 light-years away in Cygnus — far beyond Sadr, the bright supergiant star it only appears to surround. The imager spent 24 hours exposing in the Hubble palette (Hα/OIII/SII) plus RGB for the stars, using aContinue reading “A stellar illusion”

The post A stellar illusion appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

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Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney’s Schedule: November, 2026 #Catholic – 11/1 Sunday, 3 p.m. Silver and Gold Anniversary Mass – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson. 11/2 Monday, 9:30 a.m. Mass – All Saints Academy, Parsippany; 5 p.m. Tri County Annual Awards Dinner – honoring Bishop Sweeney. 11/3 Tuesday, 9:35 a.m. Mass – Delbarton School, Morristown. 11/5 Thursday, 6 p.m. Caritas Gala – The Meadow Wood, Randolph. 11/6 Friday, 6:30 p.m. Project Andrew – St. Padre Pio Parish, Paterson. 11/7 Saturday, 8 a.m. Mass for Life & Procession – St. Margaret of Scotland Parish, Morristown. 11/8 Sunday, 10 a.m. Confirmation – Sacred Heart Parish, Rockaway; 3 p.m. Mass – the Diocesan Youth Conference – St. Elizabeth University, Holy Family Chapel, Morristown; 4 p.m. St. James of the Marches Parish, Totowa, Centennial Dinner – The Grand, Totowa. 11/9 Monday, 1 p.m. Deans Meeting. 11/10 Tuesday, 1 p.m. Passaic Deanery Meeting – St. Joseph Parish, Passaic. 11/13 Friday, 8:30 a.m. Mass – St. Vincent Parish, Madison. 11/14–19 Saturday–Thursday USCCB General Assembly, Baltimore, MD. 11/20 Friday, 7 p.m. World Youth Day Pilgrims “Meet & Greet.” 11/22 Sunday, 10:45 p.m. Installation Mass for Father Mateusz Darlak – St. Cecilia Parish, Rockaway. 11/23 Monday, 1 p.m. Presbyteral Council; 6 p.m. Pride in Our Priests Dinner, The Hanover Manor, E. Hanover. 11/24 Tuesday, 9 a.m. Major Superiors Annual Meeting – St. Paul Inside the Walls, Madison. 11/26 Thursday, 9 a.m. Thanksgiving Day Mass – St. Mary Parish, Passaic. 11/29 Sunday, 1 p.m. Mass in Spanish – Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Pompton Plains.
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Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney’s Schedule: November, 2026 #Catholic – 11/1 Sunday, 3 p.m. Silver and Gold Anniversary Mass – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson. 11/2 Monday, 9:30 a.m. Mass – All Saints Academy, Parsippany; 5 p.m. Tri County Annual Awards Dinner – honoring Bishop Sweeney. 11/3 Tuesday, 9:35 a.m. Mass – Delbarton School, Morristown. 11/5 Thursday, 6 p.m. Caritas Gala – The Meadow Wood, Randolph. 11/6 Friday, 6:30 p.m. Project Andrew – St. Padre Pio Parish, Paterson. 11/7 Saturday, 8 a.m. Mass for Life & Procession – St. Margaret of Scotland Parish, Morristown. 11/8 Sunday, 10 a.m. Confirmation – Sacred Heart Parish, Rockaway; 3 p.m. Mass – the Diocesan Youth Conference – St. Elizabeth University, Holy Family Chapel, Morristown; 4 p.m. St. James of the Marches Parish, Totowa, Centennial Dinner – The Grand, Totowa. 11/9 Monday, 1 p.m. Deans Meeting. 11/10 Tuesday, 1 p.m. Passaic Deanery Meeting – St. Joseph Parish, Passaic. 11/13 Friday, 8:30 a.m. Mass – St. Vincent Parish, Madison. 11/14–19 Saturday–Thursday USCCB General Assembly, Baltimore, MD. 11/20 Friday, 7 p.m. World Youth Day Pilgrims “Meet & Greet.” 11/22 Sunday, 10:45 p.m. Installation Mass for Father Mateusz Darlak – St. Cecilia Parish, Rockaway. 11/23 Monday, 1 p.m. Presbyteral Council; 6 p.m. Pride in Our Priests Dinner, The Hanover Manor, E. Hanover. 11/24 Tuesday, 9 a.m. Major Superiors Annual Meeting – St. Paul Inside the Walls, Madison. 11/26 Thursday, 9 a.m. Thanksgiving Day Mass – St. Mary Parish, Passaic. 11/29 Sunday, 1 p.m. Mass in Spanish – Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Pompton Plains.

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Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney’s Schedule: November, 2026 #Catholic –

11/1 Sunday, 3 p.m. Silver and Gold Anniversary Mass – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson.
11/2 Monday, 9:30 a.m. Mass – All Saints Academy, Parsippany; 5 p.m. Tri County Annual Awards Dinner – honoring Bishop Sweeney.
11/3 Tuesday, 9:35 a.m. Mass – Delbarton School, Morristown.
11/5 Thursday, 6 p.m. Caritas Gala – The Meadow Wood, Randolph.
11/6 Friday, 6:30 p.m. Project Andrew – St. Padre Pio Parish, Paterson.
11/7 Saturday, 8 a.m. Mass for Life & Procession – St. Margaret of Scotland Parish, Morristown.
11/8 Sunday, 10 a.m. Confirmation – Sacred Heart Parish, Rockaway; 3 p.m. Mass – the Diocesan Youth Conference – St. Elizabeth University, Holy Family Chapel, Morristown; 4 p.m. St. James of the Marches Parish, Totowa, Centennial Dinner – The Grand, Totowa.
11/9 Monday, 1 p.m. Deans Meeting.
11/10 Tuesday, 1 p.m. Passaic Deanery Meeting – St. Joseph Parish, Passaic.
11/13 Friday, 8:30 a.m. Mass – St. Vincent Parish, Madison.
11/14–19 Saturday–Thursday USCCB General Assembly, Baltimore, MD.
11/20 Friday, 7 p.m. World Youth Day Pilgrims “Meet & Greet.”
11/22 Sunday, 10:45 p.m. Installation Mass for Father Mateusz Darlak – St. Cecilia Parish, Rockaway.
11/23 Monday, 1 p.m. Presbyteral Council; 6 p.m. Pride in Our Priests Dinner, The Hanover Manor, E. Hanover.
11/24 Tuesday, 9 a.m. Major Superiors Annual Meeting – St. Paul Inside the Walls, Madison.
11/26 Thursday, 9 a.m. Thanksgiving Day Mass – St. Mary Parish, Passaic.
11/29 Sunday, 1 p.m. Mass in Spanish – Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Pompton Plains.

– 11/1 Sunday, 3 p.m. Silver and Gold Anniversary Mass – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson. 11/2 Monday, 9:30 a.m. Mass – All Saints Academy, Parsippany; 5 p.m. Tri County Annual Awards Dinner – honoring Bishop Sweeney. 11/3 Tuesday, 9:35 a.m. Mass – Delbarton School, Morristown. 11/5 Thursday, 6 p.m. Caritas Gala – The Meadow Wood, Randolph. 11/6 Friday, 6:30 p.m. Project Andrew – St. Padre Pio Parish, Paterson. 11/7 Saturday, 8 a.m. Mass for Life & Procession – St. Margaret of Scotland Parish, Morristown. 11/8 Sunday, 10 a.m. Confirmation – Sacred Heart Parish, Rockaway; 3 p.m. Mass

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Pro-life group protests Cardinal Cupich’s award to philanthropist, Planned Parenthood donor – #Catholic – Pro-life activists will publicly protest the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Rerum Novarum Banquet based on objections to an award recipient who has donated more than $1 million to organizations that promote abortion access, including Planned Parenthood.The archdiocese announced it will give the Nostra Aetate Award to the billionaire businessman and philanthropist Michael Sacks at the Oct. 29 banquet. He is CEO of the investment firm GCM Grosvenor, the president of Sacks Family Foundation, and a board member of the Obama Foundation.Sacks, through his foundation, has donated to philanthropic efforts related to education, arts, veterans, and other issues. His contributions also include $500,000 to Planned Parenthood of Illinois from 2020 to 2022 and $600,000 to the Prairie State Access Fund in 2026, which was created by Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker with the help of philanthropists to support the “reproductive health ecosystem” of the state and combat federal restrictions “on abortion and gender affirming care.”Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, has not publicly referenced Sacks’ support for these organizations. Rather, in a statement, he described Sacks as a “well-respected leader in Chicago and in the Jewish community.”His statement explained the Nostra Aetate Award is named after the Second Vatican Council document of the same name, which was intended to build stronger relations with non-Christian religions, including Judaism.“Honoring a leader, shaped by his Jewish faith, for the gifts he brings to society through his leadership, generosity and talent, acknowledges this shared divine heritage, distinct from specific contemporary political or doctrinal disputes,” Cupich said in his statement.Cupich said the honor “recognizes [the personʼs] dignity” and role in the community “without implying an endorsement of every statement or stance” the person has. He said the recognition helps bring about “conditions necessary for principled dialogue” and that such dialogue “cannot occur if respect is contingent upon complete agreement on Church doctrine or political policy.”The primary purpose of the banquet is to raise money for seminarians.‘Scandalizing the faithful’Pushback against Cupich for his decision to give the award to Sacks has come from the Chicago-based Illinois Right to Life, which was founded in 1968 to “honor the dignity and sanctity of human life at all stages.”The pro-life group launched a petition “demanding [Cupich] withdraw his award to Planned Parenthood Financier Michael Sacks,” which has garnered nearly 4,000 signatures as of the day of the banquet.Illinois Right to Life President Mary Kate Zander told EWTN News that the archdiocese has not responded to the petition. Because Cupich stood by his plan to give Sacks the award, the group will hold a protest outside of the IBEW Local 134 in Chicago, where the banquet will be held."Weʼre concerned about the scandal that it creates,” Zander, who is Catholic, told EWTN News when asked about the primary motivation for the protest.In addition to concerns about the funding of organizations that promote abortion access, Illinois Right to Life has noted Sacks in 2013 signed a letter endorsing same-sex marriage and helped organize business leaders to advocate for it, according to local media reports. Equality Illinois, an LGBT advocacy group, gave Sacks its 2015 Equality Illinois Business Leadership Award in recognition of his role.Zander said Cupich is “leading people astray and is scandalizing the faithful” by honoring Sacks. She said “we’re also concerned with this man’s soul” and said the cardinal has a responsibility to “hold people accountable … on their public stances.”Illinois Right to Life alleged granting Sacks the award violates rules set by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).The USCCB document “Catholics in Political Life” states: “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”The USCCB did not immediately reply to a request for comment on whether Cupich’s decision violates any USCCB rules. EWTN News also reached out to GCM Grosvenor to request a comment from Sacks but did not receive a response.Cupich doubles downIn his Oct. 26 statement about the Nostra Aetate Award, Cupich acknowledged his decision created backlash but did not mention any concerns related to Sacks’ position on abortion or same-sex marriage.Rather, Cupich said the archdiocese received criticism for its decision to “honor a person who does not hold to core beliefs of the Catholic Church, primary among them being the divinity of Jesus Christ” and said the backlash was about Sacks’ Jewish faith.“Refusing to honor or engage with Jews solely because they hold conflicting religious or political positions can risk mimicking historic patterns of antisemitism through exclusion and bigotry, which, frighteningly, is on the rise,” he said. “Nostra Aetate urges us to be proactive in separating personal and community respect from doctrinal agreement, ensuring that disagreement does not regress into hostility or social ostracization. This we cannot tolerate.”Nostra Aetate states that the Church “decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.” On the 60th anniversary of the document, Pope Leo XIV said “all of my predecessors have condemned antisemitism with clear words” since the Second Vatican Council, “and so I too confirm that the Church does not tolerate antisemitism and fights against it, on the basis of the Gospel itself.”Cupich’s statement does not name the critics he is referring to. The archdiocese did not immediately respond to an inquiry for clarification. Zander said Illinois Right to Life is “the only organization that has formally put out any kind of statement” about the award and their concern “has nothing to do with that.” She said Cupich’s statement “is confusing for people” who may infer that his decision to double down “is a response to antisemitism” and the disagreement is “an issue of this man not being Catholic.”“[Cupich is] distracting from the fact that this man is clearly a supporter of abortion at a very grand scale,” Zander said. “… He’s trying to distract from the fact that [he is also] a same-sex marriage supporter.”“The cardinal doesn’t want that to be the conversation,” she said. “He wants the conversation to be about that man’s faith background; his ethnic background.”None of the criticisms published by Illinois Right to Life comment on Sacks’ Jewish faith or ethnic identity.Last year, Illinois Right to Life launched a similar campaign against Cupich’s decision to give an award to Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, who consistently voted in favor of abortion access. Durbin, who is Catholic, declined the award amid the backlash, which included criticisms from other bishops.
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Pro-life group protests Cardinal Cupich’s award to philanthropist, Planned Parenthood donor – #Catholic – Pro-life activists will publicly protest the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Rerum Novarum Banquet based on objections to an award recipient who has donated more than $1 million to organizations that promote abortion access, including Planned Parenthood.The archdiocese announced it will give the Nostra Aetate Award to the billionaire businessman and philanthropist Michael Sacks at the Oct. 29 banquet. He is CEO of the investment firm GCM Grosvenor, the president of Sacks Family Foundation, and a board member of the Obama Foundation.Sacks, through his foundation, has donated to philanthropic efforts related to education, arts, veterans, and other issues. His contributions also include $500,000 to Planned Parenthood of Illinois from 2020 to 2022 and $600,000 to the Prairie State Access Fund in 2026, which was created by Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker with the help of philanthropists to support the “reproductive health ecosystem” of the state and combat federal restrictions “on abortion and gender affirming care.”Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, has not publicly referenced Sacks’ support for these organizations. Rather, in a statement, he described Sacks as a “well-respected leader in Chicago and in the Jewish community.”His statement explained the Nostra Aetate Award is named after the Second Vatican Council document of the same name, which was intended to build stronger relations with non-Christian religions, including Judaism.“Honoring a leader, shaped by his Jewish faith, for the gifts he brings to society through his leadership, generosity and talent, acknowledges this shared divine heritage, distinct from specific contemporary political or doctrinal disputes,” Cupich said in his statement.Cupich said the honor “recognizes [the personʼs] dignity” and role in the community “without implying an endorsement of every statement or stance” the person has. He said the recognition helps bring about “conditions necessary for principled dialogue” and that such dialogue “cannot occur if respect is contingent upon complete agreement on Church doctrine or political policy.”The primary purpose of the banquet is to raise money for seminarians.‘Scandalizing the faithful’Pushback against Cupich for his decision to give the award to Sacks has come from the Chicago-based Illinois Right to Life, which was founded in 1968 to “honor the dignity and sanctity of human life at all stages.”The pro-life group launched a petition “demanding [Cupich] withdraw his award to Planned Parenthood Financier Michael Sacks,” which has garnered nearly 4,000 signatures as of the day of the banquet.Illinois Right to Life President Mary Kate Zander told EWTN News that the archdiocese has not responded to the petition. Because Cupich stood by his plan to give Sacks the award, the group will hold a protest outside of the IBEW Local 134 in Chicago, where the banquet will be held."Weʼre concerned about the scandal that it creates,” Zander, who is Catholic, told EWTN News when asked about the primary motivation for the protest.In addition to concerns about the funding of organizations that promote abortion access, Illinois Right to Life has noted Sacks in 2013 signed a letter endorsing same-sex marriage and helped organize business leaders to advocate for it, according to local media reports. Equality Illinois, an LGBT advocacy group, gave Sacks its 2015 Equality Illinois Business Leadership Award in recognition of his role.Zander said Cupich is “leading people astray and is scandalizing the faithful” by honoring Sacks. She said “we’re also concerned with this man’s soul” and said the cardinal has a responsibility to “hold people accountable … on their public stances.”Illinois Right to Life alleged granting Sacks the award violates rules set by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).The USCCB document “Catholics in Political Life” states: “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”The USCCB did not immediately reply to a request for comment on whether Cupich’s decision violates any USCCB rules. EWTN News also reached out to GCM Grosvenor to request a comment from Sacks but did not receive a response.Cupich doubles downIn his Oct. 26 statement about the Nostra Aetate Award, Cupich acknowledged his decision created backlash but did not mention any concerns related to Sacks’ position on abortion or same-sex marriage.Rather, Cupich said the archdiocese received criticism for its decision to “honor a person who does not hold to core beliefs of the Catholic Church, primary among them being the divinity of Jesus Christ” and said the backlash was about Sacks’ Jewish faith.“Refusing to honor or engage with Jews solely because they hold conflicting religious or political positions can risk mimicking historic patterns of antisemitism through exclusion and bigotry, which, frighteningly, is on the rise,” he said. “Nostra Aetate urges us to be proactive in separating personal and community respect from doctrinal agreement, ensuring that disagreement does not regress into hostility or social ostracization. This we cannot tolerate.”Nostra Aetate states that the Church “decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.” On the 60th anniversary of the document, Pope Leo XIV said “all of my predecessors have condemned antisemitism with clear words” since the Second Vatican Council, “and so I too confirm that the Church does not tolerate antisemitism and fights against it, on the basis of the Gospel itself.”Cupich’s statement does not name the critics he is referring to. The archdiocese did not immediately respond to an inquiry for clarification. Zander said Illinois Right to Life is “the only organization that has formally put out any kind of statement” about the award and their concern “has nothing to do with that.” She said Cupich’s statement “is confusing for people” who may infer that his decision to double down “is a response to antisemitism” and the disagreement is “an issue of this man not being Catholic.”“[Cupich is] distracting from the fact that this man is clearly a supporter of abortion at a very grand scale,” Zander said. “… He’s trying to distract from the fact that [he is also] a same-sex marriage supporter.”“The cardinal doesn’t want that to be the conversation,” she said. “He wants the conversation to be about that man’s faith background; his ethnic background.”None of the criticisms published by Illinois Right to Life comment on Sacks’ Jewish faith or ethnic identity.Last year, Illinois Right to Life launched a similar campaign against Cupich’s decision to give an award to Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, who consistently voted in favor of abortion access. Durbin, who is Catholic, declined the award amid the backlash, which included criticisms from other bishops.

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Cardinal Blase Cupich said the award is not an endorsement of every stance a person has, but Illinois Right to Life accused him of “scandalizing the faithful” at the Oct. 29 banquet.

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Scholars criticize U.S. bishops for comparing proposed census rule to 18th century slave compromise – #Catholic – The U.S. bishops’ opposition to proposed rule changes affecting the 2030 census has provoked sharp criticism from U.S. historians and scholars, especially concerning the assertion that excluding noncitizens in the census count denies their personhood.According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the proposed rule changes would remove demographic questions about race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, and would count for congressional apportionment only citizens and lawful permanent residents.The proposal says “illegal aliens (among others) should not be included in the apportionment count, as they are not true inhabitants, members of the body politic, or persons with a ‘usual residence’ in the United States.”In an Oct. 20 letter submitted to Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, among other points, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ general counsel argued that excluding noncitizens from the apportionment count "is effectively to deny they are ‘persons’.” They wrote that this “denial of personhood recalls the ‘overtly sinful and gravely unjust’ Three-fifths Compromise.”The Three-fifths Compromise was the political deal reached at the 1787 U.S. Constitutional Convention that held the nascent Union together. It set a formula for apportioning seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, which is determined by each state’s population: free persons, including free Black people, counted fully, and “all other persons” (the enslaved population) counted as three-fifths.Several legal scholars and other experts strongly disagreed with the bishops’ comparison.Historian Susan Hanssen of the University of Dallas told EWTN News she thinks the bishops’ reference to the Three-fifths Compromise is “an egregious mis-reading of American history.”“That compromise did not aim at the denial of the personhood of slaves,” she argued, pointing to the compromiseʼs text, which consistently calls both free and enslaved people “persons.” She said the compromise was intended to mitigate “the power of the slave-owning states in the national government, refusing to award them greater political weight based on subjugated populations without a voice or vote.”Hanssen said the Census Bureau’s aims regarding the proposed changes are similarly aimed at mitigating political power, arguing that the bureau is refusing “to grant political clout to states that allow a larger number of undocumented illegal workers to be used for labor without the protection of the law.”David Upham, a constitutional law scholar at the University of Dallas whose work focuses heavily on the 14th Amendment — which established citizenship rights, including the rights to due process and equal protection under the law, particularly for recently freed slaves — told EWTN News that the proposed rule changes do not mean noncitizens are not persons. He called the bishops’ interpretation of persons an “overstatement.” “If that’s the case, every human being not being counted in the census is not a person,” he said, noting that the principal purpose of the census is to count people in order to determine the allocation of political power in the U.S. House of Representatives, whose members are supposed to be selected by the citizens.“The question really is, besides bona fide citizens, what other human beings within the state’s border are counted as members of the people,” he said, and noted the president has the constitutional authority to address the question. “The executive branch has substantial authority to determine whether an individual who isn’t a citizen” should be counted in the census for the purpose of political representation, he said.“I think the danger the Trump administration is seeking to redress is that those states most enthusiastic about encouraging unlawful migrants will, as result of their disinterest in enforcing federal law, receive more votes in Congress and the electoral college,” he said.Harvard Law School constitutional law professor Adrian Vermeule also weighed in, writing on X: “The analogy to slavery is utterly absurd unless the USCCB believes that all distinctions based on citizenship are unjust.”“With all due respect, ‘personhood’ is not a magical trump card that overrides the basic principles of the republican form of government,” he wrote. “One cannot conclude from the bare fact of personhood that anyone and everyone has a right to be counted in the census, to vote, or to stand for office.”“Why exactly should noncitizens with no status be counted for the apportionment of seats in the representative body?” he asked. He suggested the bishops’ public comment “really should be withdrawn” and added that he hopes “cooler heads prevail.”Scholars at various major think tanks were also quick to take aim at the bishops’ personhood argument.Mike Fragoso, a scholar at the Ethics and Public Policy Center’s Constitution, the Courts, and the Culture program, called the bishops “unserious,” while Jay Richards, vice president of social and domestic policy and senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, called the bishops’ position “absurd.” Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge and fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, told EWTN News that “our inherent recognition as persons — personhood — does not come from the governmentʼs census as to who is in the country.”“As Catholics, we believe that unborn children are people,” he continued, “but the bishops do not extend their logic to demand that the unborn be counted in the census notwithstanding the fact that a killing that results in the death of a pregnant mother is, in many places, considered to be two murders. Why not?”The proposed rule changes, published Sept. 10, are open to public comment until Nov. 2. The U.S. bishops did not respond to requests for comment on the backlash.
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Scholars criticize U.S. bishops for comparing proposed census rule to 18th century slave compromise – #Catholic – The U.S. bishops’ opposition to proposed rule changes affecting the 2030 census has provoked sharp criticism from U.S. historians and scholars, especially concerning the assertion that excluding noncitizens in the census count denies their personhood.According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the proposed rule changes would remove demographic questions about race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, and would count for congressional apportionment only citizens and lawful permanent residents.The proposal says “illegal aliens (among others) should not be included in the apportionment count, as they are not true inhabitants, members of the body politic, or persons with a ‘usual residence’ in the United States.”In an Oct. 20 letter submitted to Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, among other points, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ general counsel argued that excluding noncitizens from the apportionment count "is effectively to deny they are ‘persons’.” They wrote that this “denial of personhood recalls the ‘overtly sinful and gravely unjust’ Three-fifths Compromise.”The Three-fifths Compromise was the political deal reached at the 1787 U.S. Constitutional Convention that held the nascent Union together. It set a formula for apportioning seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, which is determined by each state’s population: free persons, including free Black people, counted fully, and “all other persons” (the enslaved population) counted as three-fifths.Several legal scholars and other experts strongly disagreed with the bishops’ comparison.Historian Susan Hanssen of the University of Dallas told EWTN News she thinks the bishops’ reference to the Three-fifths Compromise is “an egregious mis-reading of American history.”“That compromise did not aim at the denial of the personhood of slaves,” she argued, pointing to the compromiseʼs text, which consistently calls both free and enslaved people “persons.” She said the compromise was intended to mitigate “the power of the slave-owning states in the national government, refusing to award them greater political weight based on subjugated populations without a voice or vote.”Hanssen said the Census Bureau’s aims regarding the proposed changes are similarly aimed at mitigating political power, arguing that the bureau is refusing “to grant political clout to states that allow a larger number of undocumented illegal workers to be used for labor without the protection of the law.”David Upham, a constitutional law scholar at the University of Dallas whose work focuses heavily on the 14th Amendment — which established citizenship rights, including the rights to due process and equal protection under the law, particularly for recently freed slaves — told EWTN News that the proposed rule changes do not mean noncitizens are not persons. He called the bishops’ interpretation of persons an “overstatement.” “If that’s the case, every human being not being counted in the census is not a person,” he said, noting that the principal purpose of the census is to count people in order to determine the allocation of political power in the U.S. House of Representatives, whose members are supposed to be selected by the citizens.“The question really is, besides bona fide citizens, what other human beings within the state’s border are counted as members of the people,” he said, and noted the president has the constitutional authority to address the question. “The executive branch has substantial authority to determine whether an individual who isn’t a citizen” should be counted in the census for the purpose of political representation, he said.“I think the danger the Trump administration is seeking to redress is that those states most enthusiastic about encouraging unlawful migrants will, as result of their disinterest in enforcing federal law, receive more votes in Congress and the electoral college,” he said.Harvard Law School constitutional law professor Adrian Vermeule also weighed in, writing on X: “The analogy to slavery is utterly absurd unless the USCCB believes that all distinctions based on citizenship are unjust.”“With all due respect, ‘personhood’ is not a magical trump card that overrides the basic principles of the republican form of government,” he wrote. “One cannot conclude from the bare fact of personhood that anyone and everyone has a right to be counted in the census, to vote, or to stand for office.”“Why exactly should noncitizens with no status be counted for the apportionment of seats in the representative body?” he asked. He suggested the bishops’ public comment “really should be withdrawn” and added that he hopes “cooler heads prevail.”Scholars at various major think tanks were also quick to take aim at the bishops’ personhood argument.Mike Fragoso, a scholar at the Ethics and Public Policy Center’s Constitution, the Courts, and the Culture program, called the bishops “unserious,” while Jay Richards, vice president of social and domestic policy and senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, called the bishops’ position “absurd.” Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge and fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, told EWTN News that “our inherent recognition as persons — personhood — does not come from the governmentʼs census as to who is in the country.”“As Catholics, we believe that unborn children are people,” he continued, “but the bishops do not extend their logic to demand that the unborn be counted in the census notwithstanding the fact that a killing that results in the death of a pregnant mother is, in many places, considered to be two murders. Why not?”The proposed rule changes, published Sept. 10, are open to public comment until Nov. 2. The U.S. bishops did not respond to requests for comment on the backlash.

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Many legal scholars and other experts strongly disagreed with the bishops’ claim that excluding noncitizens from the census means they are not persons.

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Lord of Miracles celebration in Peru: ‘It’s not enough to attend the procession,’ bishop exhorts – #Catholic – “It’s not enough to come to the procession; it‘s not enough to spend these festive days gathered around the image. What we must do is open our lives to the Lord, who is capable of transforming them,” Auxiliary Bishop Guillermo Elías of Lima, Peru, said during his homily at a well-attended Mass on Oct. 28, the central feast day of the Lord of the Miracles.The feast coincides with the second to the last procession of the “Cristo Moreno” (the dark-skinned Christ). The original image of the Lord of the Miracles was painted by an African slave on an adobe wall around 1651 and survived the massive earthquake of 1655, which was considered miraculous given the scale of destruction. Subsequently, additional miracles were associated with the image.Addressing the sea of ​​devotees gathered outside the Church of the Nazarenas in the historic center of Lima, where the sacred image of the Christ of Pachacamilla (another name for the image) is kept, the prelate posed a question that reached beyond the celebration itself: “Do you come for the miracles of the Lord, or for the Lord who is capable of performing the miracle of your salvation?”Drawing from the day’s Gospel, in which Jesus speaks with Nicodemus about God’s love and eternal life, Elías invited the faithful to look upon the Cristo Moreno with a faith that does not stop at the image itself nor come to an end when the processions conclude.“What is the foundation of your faith? Do you come for the miracles of the Lord or for the Lord who performs miracles?” he reiterated.A faith demonstrated through worksFor Elías, devotion must also be evident in how one treats others. During his homily, he recalled a statement by 20th-century Chilean St. Alberto Hurtado, which was cited by Pope Francis: “Not doing evil is good, but not doing good is evil.”The bishop warned that observing religious practices is not enough if they do not lead to love: “You can do many good things, follow so many precepts, so many good deeds, but if you lack love, it’s not enough,” he stated.He also addressed the violence in Lima and other parts of the country, lamenting that a person could lose his life during an assault or an attack on a bus, and noted that “a city like ours is in great need of our witness.”Faced with this reality, he encouraged the faithful not to remain indifferent. “Let us ask that we, too, may bring salvation by loving the vulnerable, those who have nothing, those who have lost hope, by offering them the very best of ourselves,” he urged.Preparing hearts for Pope Leo XIVElías also touched on the upcoming visit of Pope Leo XIV to Peru, recalling he motto of the trip, “Let us open our hearts,” and asked whether the Peruvian people are truly preparing themselves to receive the pontiff.The call to open your heart, he explained, is not limited to welcoming the pope; rather, it is an invitation to live out Christian values ​​in one’s personal, family, and community life.“Let us open our hearts to the values ​​of the kingdom — to peace, justice, and solidarity,” he stated.The second to the last procession of the image of the Lord of Miracles in 2026 made its way through the center of Lima, reaching Archbishop Loayza National Hospital. This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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Lord of Miracles celebration in Peru: ‘It’s not enough to attend the procession,’ bishop exhorts – #Catholic – “It’s not enough to come to the procession; it‘s not enough to spend these festive days gathered around the image. What we must do is open our lives to the Lord, who is capable of transforming them,” Auxiliary Bishop Guillermo Elías of Lima, Peru, said during his homily at a well-attended Mass on Oct. 28, the central feast day of the Lord of the Miracles.The feast coincides with the second to the last procession of the “Cristo Moreno” (the dark-skinned Christ). The original image of the Lord of the Miracles was painted by an African slave on an adobe wall around 1651 and survived the massive earthquake of 1655, which was considered miraculous given the scale of destruction. Subsequently, additional miracles were associated with the image.Addressing the sea of ​​devotees gathered outside the Church of the Nazarenas in the historic center of Lima, where the sacred image of the Christ of Pachacamilla (another name for the image) is kept, the prelate posed a question that reached beyond the celebration itself: “Do you come for the miracles of the Lord, or for the Lord who is capable of performing the miracle of your salvation?”Drawing from the day’s Gospel, in which Jesus speaks with Nicodemus about God’s love and eternal life, Elías invited the faithful to look upon the Cristo Moreno with a faith that does not stop at the image itself nor come to an end when the processions conclude.“What is the foundation of your faith? Do you come for the miracles of the Lord or for the Lord who performs miracles?” he reiterated.A faith demonstrated through worksFor Elías, devotion must also be evident in how one treats others. During his homily, he recalled a statement by 20th-century Chilean St. Alberto Hurtado, which was cited by Pope Francis: “Not doing evil is good, but not doing good is evil.”The bishop warned that observing religious practices is not enough if they do not lead to love: “You can do many good things, follow so many precepts, so many good deeds, but if you lack love, it’s not enough,” he stated.He also addressed the violence in Lima and other parts of the country, lamenting that a person could lose his life during an assault or an attack on a bus, and noted that “a city like ours is in great need of our witness.”Faced with this reality, he encouraged the faithful not to remain indifferent. “Let us ask that we, too, may bring salvation by loving the vulnerable, those who have nothing, those who have lost hope, by offering them the very best of ourselves,” he urged.Preparing hearts for Pope Leo XIVElías also touched on the upcoming visit of Pope Leo XIV to Peru, recalling he motto of the trip, “Let us open our hearts,” and asked whether the Peruvian people are truly preparing themselves to receive the pontiff.The call to open your heart, he explained, is not limited to welcoming the pope; rather, it is an invitation to live out Christian values ​​in one’s personal, family, and community life.“Let us open our hearts to the values ​​of the kingdom — to peace, justice, and solidarity,” he stated.The second to the last procession of the image of the Lord of Miracles in 2026 made its way through the center of Lima, reaching Archbishop Loayza National Hospital. This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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Bishop Guillermo Elías urged the faithful to live out a faith that goes beyond processions and translates into acts of love.

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Beyond The Beacon podcast 121: Parishes bring hope, love to Guatemala with mission trip #Catholic – Members of the parish communities of Notre Dame of Mt. Carmel in Cedar Knolls (Hanover Township) and Resurrection Parish in Randolph join the podcast to discuss a joint mission trip to Guatemala. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney and Communications Director Jai Agnish co-host. These mission trip organizers and participants discuss the joys and spiritual rewards of the experience. Guests include: Cristina Folan and her husband, Ken Folan. Christina Folan is the director of Communications & Evangelization for Notre Dame of Mt. Carmel, and the two help organize the mission trip for the parish along with Debbie White. Father Yojan Garcia, pastor of Resurrection Parish, who also serves as director of the Office of Catechesis and Faith Formation for the Diocese of Paterson. Eric Kalos and Tyler Kalos – a Father and son who are parishioners of Notre Dame of Mt. Carmel. Terri Janosik, a parishioner at Resurrection Parish and co-coordinator of the mission trip for Resurrection Parish. Listen or watch the episode here, or on any major podcast platform, or watch it on Bishop Sweeney’s YouTube channel. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
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Beyond The Beacon podcast 121: Parishes bring hope, love to Guatemala with mission trip #Catholic – Members of the parish communities of Notre Dame of Mt. Carmel in Cedar Knolls (Hanover Township) and Resurrection Parish in Randolph join the podcast to discuss a joint mission trip to Guatemala. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney and Communications Director Jai Agnish co-host. These mission trip organizers and participants discuss the joys and spiritual rewards of the experience. Guests include: Cristina Folan and her husband, Ken Folan. Christina Folan is the director of Communications & Evangelization for Notre Dame of Mt. Carmel, and the two help organize the mission trip for the parish along with Debbie White. Father Yojan Garcia, pastor of Resurrection Parish, who also serves as director of the Office of Catechesis and Faith Formation for the Diocese of Paterson. Eric Kalos and Tyler Kalos – a Father and son who are parishioners of Notre Dame of Mt. Carmel. Terri Janosik, a parishioner at Resurrection Parish and co-coordinator of the mission trip for Resurrection Parish. Listen or watch the episode here, or on any major podcast platform, or watch it on Bishop Sweeney’s YouTube channel. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

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Beyond The Beacon podcast 121: Parishes bring hope, love to Guatemala with mission trip #Catholic –

Members of the parish communities of Notre Dame of Mt. Carmel in Cedar Knolls (Hanover Township) and Resurrection Parish in Randolph join the podcast to discuss a joint mission trip to Guatemala. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney and Communications Director Jai Agnish co-host. These mission trip organizers and participants discuss the joys and spiritual rewards of the experience.

Guests include:

  • Cristina Folan and her husband, Ken Folan. Christina Folan is the director of Communications & Evangelization for Notre Dame of Mt. Carmel, and the two help organize the mission trip for the parish along with Debbie White.
  • Father Yojan Garcia, pastor of Resurrection Parish, who also serves as director of the Office of Catechesis and Faith Formation for the Diocese of Paterson.
  • Eric Kalos and Tyler Kalos – a Father and son who are parishioners of Notre Dame of Mt. Carmel.
  • Terri Janosik, a parishioner at Resurrection Parish and co-coordinator of the mission trip for Resurrection Parish.

Listen or watch the episode here, or on any major podcast platform, or watch it on Bishop Sweeney’s YouTube channel.

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

– Members of the parish communities of Notre Dame of Mt. Carmel in Cedar Knolls (Hanover Township) and Resurrection Parish in Randolph join the podcast to discuss a joint mission trip to Guatemala. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney and Communications Director Jai Agnish co-host. These mission trip organizers and participants discuss the joys and spiritual rewards of the experience. Guests include: Cristina Folan and her husband, Ken Folan. Christina Folan is the director of Communications & Evangelization for Notre Dame of Mt. Carmel, and the two help organize the mission trip for the parish along with Debbie White. Father Yojan Garcia, pastor

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