team

ACI Prensa becomes EWTN News Español #Catholic There are dates that could not be better selected, even with the liturgical calendar in hand. On Monday, Oct. 12, ACI Prensa became EWTN News Español and launched its new platform at EWTNNews.com/es. This is a day when so many celebrations converge that it is impossible not to see the hand of God behind it.I would be lying if I said this was the date we had in mind from the moment we began this project, as if we had experienced a supernatural vision. That was not the case. But when you work in the service of God and the Church, you learn to view coincidences through different eyes. They are “God-incidences.”This relaunch goes far beyond simply changing a websiteʼs name. Since 1980, ACI Prensa has accompanied generations of Spanish-speaking Catholics, and since 2014 it has been part of the EWTN family. Today, that journey enters a new phase: the same mission, but with the strength and reach of a global brand like EWTN News.I confess that, while I am incredibly excited to launch EWTN News Español, I also feel a touch of nostalgia at saying goodbye to ACI Prensa — a brand I have followed and admired for decades. Yet, “we know that all things work together for good for those who love God” (Rom 8:28). St. Augustine spoke of God as a beauty “ever ancient, ever new.” The Gospel does not change; what changes are the ways we transmit and communicate it, or the technologies that help us spread it throughout history.3 feasts, 3 patronsThis Oct. 12 marks 20 years since the death of St. Carlo Acutis at the age of 15. Canonized by Pope Leo XIV in September 2025, Acutis is the first millennial saint, and his defining characteristic was his use of new technologies to share the faith.We ask him to guide us in the apostolic use of communication technologies (including the internet, social media, and artificial intelligence) and to help us bring God closer to the many young souls who live their lives online today. It cannot be a coincidence that a new platform is being born under the gaze of a teenager who turned the internet into a path to heaven.It is also the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar, patroness of the Hispanic world — a title recognized by St. John Paul II in 1984 — and the date on which Spain celebrates its National Day.There could hardly be a better day to launch EWTN News Español: a language that connects hundreds of millions of people — from the historic Catholic communities of Latin America and Spain to the ever-growing Catholic population of the United States, which now has a home of its own within the global EWTN family.On this same day of Oct. 12, Brazil celebrates its patroness, Our Lady of Aparecida, a title proclaimed by Pius XI in 1930. Since the mission of EWTN News extends beyond a single language — and with ACI Digital delivering our news in Portuguese — we place our work under her protection as well, honoring her as a patroness of our efforts across the Americas, alongside our beloved Virgin of Guadalupe. Yet today, the focus is on Spanish, and to that we now return.A platform built for usA shared brand does not imply an identical experience for everyone. Our goal is not merely to translate the English-language EWTN News site into Spanish but to build a platform tailored to the Spanish-speaking audience — reflecting their customs, their culture, and the ways they stay informed today. That is why EWTN News Español combines the technology and editorial resources of EWTN News with the expertise and capabilities of a team that deeply understands the people it serves and the evolving nature of news consumption habits.We used to expect users to come looking for us. Now, it’s the other way around: We go where the people are. The latest Reuters Institute report on journalism makes this clear: Today, most people get their news from social media and video rather than from media websites.That is why EWTN News Español is designed for mobile, where you and I spend our day. We offer content that keeps you informed wherever you are (whether via a newsletter sent to your email or your WhatsApp) while also enriching your faith with devotional material, such as the daily Mass readings or the lives of the saints. The good news alongside the dayʼs headlines.And if you prefer watching to reading, we now have “Watch” — a new tab on the EWTN News Español site where we gather all our video content, featuring the best reports, interviews, broadcasts, and viral social media clips.Plus, if something major happens in the Church or the world, we cover it with you in real time through updates on our live blog.And speaking of staying connected, your EWTN News Español account goes wherever you go. Not only can you save articles, comment on them, and follow your favorite writers and topics, but you can also personalize your experience across EWTN.com, EWTNNews.com, Roku, and EWTN+ using the same login.As always, access is free, sustained by the generous donations of so many people who believe in and support our mission, a mission that began when Mother Angelica had the “crazy” idea to launch a Catholic television channel on Aug. 15, 1981 (talk about providential dates!).Behind this platform lies an incredible team that is deeply dedicated to the mission and has decades of experience covering conclaves, World Youth Days, synods, jubilees, and International Eucharistic Congresses, as well as the daily lives of Catholic communities throughout the Spanish-speaking world. The new platform makes this work easier to discover, whether for those who live out their faith every day or for those who are just beginning to explore it.What does not changeThe name (from ACI Prensa to EWTN News Español), along with the design and the site’s tools and features, are changing.What does not change is our commitment to the truth, to our audiences, and to journalistic excellence — a path ACI Prensa charted four decades ago, bringing hundreds of thousands of people closer to God through quality content and a faithful commitment to the Church’s magisterium. That will not change, with God’s help and the guidance of Mother Angelica.St. Carlo Acutis used to say that the Eucharist was his “highway to heaven.” We simply aspire to build, by God’s grace, a few digital lanes leading to it. Our hope is that EWTN News — in all its languages — becomes the place where every Catholic turns for information and that we prove ourselves worthy, day by day, of the trust that aspiration represents. Welcome to EWTN News Español!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.

ACI Prensa becomes EWTN News Español #Catholic There are dates that could not be better selected, even with the liturgical calendar in hand. On Monday, Oct. 12, ACI Prensa became EWTN News Español and launched its new platform at EWTNNews.com/es. This is a day when so many celebrations converge that it is impossible not to see the hand of God behind it.I would be lying if I said this was the date we had in mind from the moment we began this project, as if we had experienced a supernatural vision. That was not the case. But when you work in the service of God and the Church, you learn to view coincidences through different eyes. They are “God-incidences.”This relaunch goes far beyond simply changing a websiteʼs name. Since 1980, ACI Prensa has accompanied generations of Spanish-speaking Catholics, and since 2014 it has been part of the EWTN family. Today, that journey enters a new phase: the same mission, but with the strength and reach of a global brand like EWTN News.I confess that, while I am incredibly excited to launch EWTN News Español, I also feel a touch of nostalgia at saying goodbye to ACI Prensa — a brand I have followed and admired for decades. Yet, “we know that all things work together for good for those who love God” (Rom 8:28). St. Augustine spoke of God as a beauty “ever ancient, ever new.” The Gospel does not change; what changes are the ways we transmit and communicate it, or the technologies that help us spread it throughout history.3 feasts, 3 patronsThis Oct. 12 marks 20 years since the death of St. Carlo Acutis at the age of 15. Canonized by Pope Leo XIV in September 2025, Acutis is the first millennial saint, and his defining characteristic was his use of new technologies to share the faith.We ask him to guide us in the apostolic use of communication technologies (including the internet, social media, and artificial intelligence) and to help us bring God closer to the many young souls who live their lives online today. It cannot be a coincidence that a new platform is being born under the gaze of a teenager who turned the internet into a path to heaven.It is also the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar, patroness of the Hispanic world — a title recognized by St. John Paul II in 1984 — and the date on which Spain celebrates its National Day.There could hardly be a better day to launch EWTN News Español: a language that connects hundreds of millions of people — from the historic Catholic communities of Latin America and Spain to the ever-growing Catholic population of the United States, which now has a home of its own within the global EWTN family.On this same day of Oct. 12, Brazil celebrates its patroness, Our Lady of Aparecida, a title proclaimed by Pius XI in 1930. Since the mission of EWTN News extends beyond a single language — and with ACI Digital delivering our news in Portuguese — we place our work under her protection as well, honoring her as a patroness of our efforts across the Americas, alongside our beloved Virgin of Guadalupe. Yet today, the focus is on Spanish, and to that we now return.A platform built for usA shared brand does not imply an identical experience for everyone. Our goal is not merely to translate the English-language EWTN News site into Spanish but to build a platform tailored to the Spanish-speaking audience — reflecting their customs, their culture, and the ways they stay informed today. That is why EWTN News Español combines the technology and editorial resources of EWTN News with the expertise and capabilities of a team that deeply understands the people it serves and the evolving nature of news consumption habits.We used to expect users to come looking for us. Now, it’s the other way around: We go where the people are. The latest Reuters Institute report on journalism makes this clear: Today, most people get their news from social media and video rather than from media websites.That is why EWTN News Español is designed for mobile, where you and I spend our day. We offer content that keeps you informed wherever you are (whether via a newsletter sent to your email or your WhatsApp) while also enriching your faith with devotional material, such as the daily Mass readings or the lives of the saints. The good news alongside the dayʼs headlines.And if you prefer watching to reading, we now have “Watch” — a new tab on the EWTN News Español site where we gather all our video content, featuring the best reports, interviews, broadcasts, and viral social media clips.Plus, if something major happens in the Church or the world, we cover it with you in real time through updates on our live blog.And speaking of staying connected, your EWTN News Español account goes wherever you go. Not only can you save articles, comment on them, and follow your favorite writers and topics, but you can also personalize your experience across EWTN.com, EWTNNews.com, Roku, and EWTN+ using the same login.As always, access is free, sustained by the generous donations of so many people who believe in and support our mission, a mission that began when Mother Angelica had the “crazy” idea to launch a Catholic television channel on Aug. 15, 1981 (talk about providential dates!).Behind this platform lies an incredible team that is deeply dedicated to the mission and has decades of experience covering conclaves, World Youth Days, synods, jubilees, and International Eucharistic Congresses, as well as the daily lives of Catholic communities throughout the Spanish-speaking world. The new platform makes this work easier to discover, whether for those who live out their faith every day or for those who are just beginning to explore it.What does not changeThe name (from ACI Prensa to EWTN News Español), along with the design and the site’s tools and features, are changing.What does not change is our commitment to the truth, to our audiences, and to journalistic excellence — a path ACI Prensa charted four decades ago, bringing hundreds of thousands of people closer to God through quality content and a faithful commitment to the Church’s magisterium. That will not change, with God’s help and the guidance of Mother Angelica.St. Carlo Acutis used to say that the Eucharist was his “highway to heaven.” We simply aspire to build, by God’s grace, a few digital lanes leading to it. Our hope is that EWTN News — in all its languages — becomes the place where every Catholic turns for information and that we prove ourselves worthy, day by day, of the trust that aspiration represents. Welcome to EWTN News Español!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.

The platform and name are new, but the mission is the same: report the truth and bring the faith to the Spanish-speaking world.

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Bishops around the world ask for prayers for Pope Leo XIV’s health #Catholic Bishops from around the world asked for prayers for Pope Leo XIV after he announced on Sunday, Oct. 11, that he will undergo surgery to remove a nodule on one of his lungs in the coming days.In the United States, Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, said the prelates would join “the faithful and all people of good will in praying for his good health.” He also prayed for those who will perform the operation: “May the hand of Pope Leo’s surgeons be guided by the divine physician, Jesus Christ.”Archbishop Ronald Hicks of New York joined the prayers as he finished a week-long pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. “I join with the bishops, priests, faithful, and all people of good will of the Archdiocese of New York in praying for our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, as he prepares for his surgery later this week,” he wrote. He also asked Jesus, “the divine physician,” to care for the pope and guide “the hands of his surgeons, nurses, and other health professionals.”Prayers from Uruguay, Argentina, and PeruCardinal Daniel Sturla, archbishop of Montevideo, also wrote about the news. Uruguay is one of the countries expecting Pope Leo XIV on his upcoming visit to Latin America. “Let us pray for his speedy recovery and continue with greater spirit the preparation for his visit to our land,” he wrote.In Peru, which also expects the pope later this year, the Archdiocese of Lima entrusted his health to the Lord of Miracles, a devotion that draws millions of Peruvians each year. “We ask the Lord of Miracles for his speedy recovery,” the archdiocese said on social media.The Peruvian bishops’ conference issued a message titled “United in prayer for the health of the Holy Father Leo XIV.” It noted the :serenity and humility” with which the pope shared the news and asked that his health be entrusted to the Lord of Miracles.“Lifting to God, Lord of life and source of all health, our supplications that he strengthen him and grant him the health that the fulfillment of his mission requires,” the Peruvian bishops said. They also urged communities, families, and the faithful to place the Holy Father under the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so that in the fullness of his strength he may continue his mission in service of the Church and all humanity, as a messenger of peace and hope and a witness of unity, fraternity, and encounter among all peoples.The Argentinian bishops said in a statement: “We ask the Lord to grant him strength and peace at this time, that the operation may go well, and that he may make a swift and full recovery.” Prayers from Spain The Spanish bishops’ conference also invited prayer for the pope. Its president, Archbishop Luis Argüello, asked “the whole Spanish Church — dioceses, institutes of consecrated life, communities and lay associations, all members of the People of God, and our fellow citizens — to pray for the health of our beloved Pope Leo XIV.”The conference’s secretary general, Bishop Francisco César García Magán, recalled the welcome Leo XIV received on his recent visit to Spain and said the faithful can now show him their closeness in another way: “Now we show it by uniting in prayer.”Instagram postThe conference’s secretary general, Bishop Francisco César García Magán, recalled the welcome Leo XIV received on his recent visit to Spain and said the faithful can now show him their closeness in another way: “Now we show it by uniting in prayer.”Prayers from Poland, Great Britain, MaltaArchbishop Tadeusz Wojda, the president of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, issued an appeal to the Polish people, asking them to “pray for the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, asking God for a successful operation and a speedy recovery.”Bishop John Keenan, on behalf of the Scottish bishops’ conference, said: “We invite Catholics across Scotland, and all people of goodwill, to join us in praying for Pope Leo, for the medical team caring for him, and for a successful operation and a full and speedy recovery.”Archbishop Richard Moth of Westminster and the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, assured Leo of the prayers of the faithful.“We pray that following the procedure and a period of recovery, he will soon be restored to health,” Moth wrote.Archbishop Charles Scicluna, Archbishop of Malta and Adjunct Secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote on X: “The Church in Malta is united in prayer for the Holy Father, wishing him well for the surgery he will be undergoing.” Leo XIV asks for prayerThe pope announced the operation after Sunday’s Angelus. Doctors found a nodule on one of his lungs and recommended removing it. In sharing the news, Leo asked the faithful to accompany him spiritually in the coming days: “I entrust myself to your prayer.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Bishops around the world ask for prayers for Pope Leo XIV’s health #Catholic Bishops from around the world asked for prayers for Pope Leo XIV after he announced on Sunday, Oct. 11, that he will undergo surgery to remove a nodule on one of his lungs in the coming days.In the United States, Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, said the prelates would join “the faithful and all people of good will in praying for his good health.” He also prayed for those who will perform the operation: “May the hand of Pope Leo’s surgeons be guided by the divine physician, Jesus Christ.”Archbishop Ronald Hicks of New York joined the prayers as he finished a week-long pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. “I join with the bishops, priests, faithful, and all people of good will of the Archdiocese of New York in praying for our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, as he prepares for his surgery later this week,” he wrote. He also asked Jesus, “the divine physician,” to care for the pope and guide “the hands of his surgeons, nurses, and other health professionals.”Prayers from Uruguay, Argentina, and PeruCardinal Daniel Sturla, archbishop of Montevideo, also wrote about the news. Uruguay is one of the countries expecting Pope Leo XIV on his upcoming visit to Latin America. “Let us pray for his speedy recovery and continue with greater spirit the preparation for his visit to our land,” he wrote.In Peru, which also expects the pope later this year, the Archdiocese of Lima entrusted his health to the Lord of Miracles, a devotion that draws millions of Peruvians each year. “We ask the Lord of Miracles for his speedy recovery,” the archdiocese said on social media.The Peruvian bishops’ conference issued a message titled “United in prayer for the health of the Holy Father Leo XIV.” It noted the :serenity and humility” with which the pope shared the news and asked that his health be entrusted to the Lord of Miracles.“Lifting to God, Lord of life and source of all health, our supplications that he strengthen him and grant him the health that the fulfillment of his mission requires,” the Peruvian bishops said. They also urged communities, families, and the faithful to place the Holy Father under the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so that in the fullness of his strength he may continue his mission in service of the Church and all humanity, as a messenger of peace and hope and a witness of unity, fraternity, and encounter among all peoples.The Argentinian bishops said in a statement: “We ask the Lord to grant him strength and peace at this time, that the operation may go well, and that he may make a swift and full recovery.” Prayers from Spain The Spanish bishops’ conference also invited prayer for the pope. Its president, Archbishop Luis Argüello, asked “the whole Spanish Church — dioceses, institutes of consecrated life, communities and lay associations, all members of the People of God, and our fellow citizens — to pray for the health of our beloved Pope Leo XIV.”The conference’s secretary general, Bishop Francisco César García Magán, recalled the welcome Leo XIV received on his recent visit to Spain and said the faithful can now show him their closeness in another way: “Now we show it by uniting in prayer.”Instagram postThe conference’s secretary general, Bishop Francisco César García Magán, recalled the welcome Leo XIV received on his recent visit to Spain and said the faithful can now show him their closeness in another way: “Now we show it by uniting in prayer.”Prayers from Poland, Great Britain, MaltaArchbishop Tadeusz Wojda, the president of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, issued an appeal to the Polish people, asking them to “pray for the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, asking God for a successful operation and a speedy recovery.”Bishop John Keenan, on behalf of the Scottish bishops’ conference, said: “We invite Catholics across Scotland, and all people of goodwill, to join us in praying for Pope Leo, for the medical team caring for him, and for a successful operation and a full and speedy recovery.”Archbishop Richard Moth of Westminster and the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, assured Leo of the prayers of the faithful.“We pray that following the procedure and a period of recovery, he will soon be restored to health,” Moth wrote.Archbishop Charles Scicluna, Archbishop of Malta and Adjunct Secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote on X: “The Church in Malta is united in prayer for the Holy Father, wishing him well for the surgery he will be undergoing.” Leo XIV asks for prayerThe pope announced the operation after Sunday’s Angelus. Doctors found a nodule on one of his lungs and recommended removing it. In sharing the news, Leo asked the faithful to accompany him spiritually in the coming days: “I entrust myself to your prayer.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Prayers for the pope’s health have been pouring in from all over the world.

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NFL legend Mike Ditka was a Catholic coach #Catholic Former professional football coach Mike Ditka, a practicing Catholic who occasionally served as lector at the 7 a.m. team Mass on game-day Sundays during his decade leading the Chicago Bears, died Friday. He was 86.“Iron Mike,” as Ditka was known, had a famously explosive temper, which often boiled over on the sidelines and in postgame press conferences. Ditka, who led the Bears to a Super Bowl XX victory in 1986, once broke his right hand after punching a hard object over frustration with the play of a rookie offensive lineman — then, before the next game, told his team to “win this one for Lefty.”Less well known was Ditka’s commitment to his Catholic faith, for which he credited his convert mother and the nuns of his parochial school in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, where he was raised.“Growing up, the most important thing was the sacraments with my family,” Ditka told an interviewer with the Catholic website “One Peter Five” in August 2018. “We loved everything about the faith. Going to Catholic school and learning the faith, I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”“I don’t care how many times I got hit by a nun,” Ditka said, “it was good for me.”Football successBorn Michael Dyczko in 1939, Ditka was the son of a non-churchgoing Ukrainian and Polish steelworker father and an Irish and German mother who converted to Catholicism.He played tight end for the University of Pittsburgh and then in the NFL for the Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys. In 1988 Ditka was honored as the first tight end ever to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.After retiring from playing, Ditka served as an assistant coach before getting his unlikely chance as the head coach of the Bears in 1982.His 1985 Bears went 15-1 during the regular season and stomped their way through the playoffs to a Super Bowl victory. So confident were the players of that dominant team that they recorded a rap song called “The Super Bowl Shuffle” during the regular season. (Ditka later said he didn’t know about it, but he didn’t criticize the players for doing it.)Ditka’s success, toughness, temper, and sense of humor made him a cultural phenomenon, inspiring a recurring skit (and guest appearances) on “Saturday Night Live” and launching a career as a motivational speaker.When the team’s fortunes plummeted, he was fired in 1992. He later coached the New Orleans Saints but was fired after three years.Off-field philanthropyDitka made millions as a pitchman for dozens of products after he left football, and he used some of that wealth to help others.“Ditka was very supportive of Misericordia and other charities that supported children with special needs and disabilities,” Mary FioRito, an attorney, lifelong Chicagoan, and Cardinal Francis George Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, told the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News.And not just with checks.“He spoke at fundraisers, and surprised observers could catch him privately visiting with residents he knew by name,” reported the suburban Chicago Daily Herald.Ditka was also a member of the Knights of Columbus and participated in the organization’s charitable activities.‘Constant turmoil’In his 1986 autobiography “Ditka,” published at the peak of his success, Ditka admitted to having had “no spiritual life at all” during the 1970s, before two other coaches got him involved in a Bible study that reintroduced him to God.“I always had faith, but I never had understanding,” Ditka said. “I always knew what was going on in life. I was raised right. I did all the things you were supposed to do. But I never understood why I was supposed to do them, because I never had a total understanding of what was going on.”He also acknowledged what he called “constant turmoil inside,” and he compared himself unfavorably to longtime Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry (1924–2000), whom he admired for always keeping his cool on the sidelines and for his involvement in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.“My priorities can get mixed up. I don’t think he ever gets his priorities mixed up,” Ditka said in the book.Ditka said he discovered that following his faith was hard work.“Sometimes you take for granted that your faith will always be there and everything will be fine. But without making the effort, that’s just not a fact. You have to make a real effort to live your faith daily,” Ditka said in the book.“Nobody is going to do it every day. Nobody is going to do it perfectly,” he continued. “But unless you make the effort you’ve got no chance at all.”Ditka married in 1961, got divorced in 1973, and then remarried in 1977. Both wives survive him, as do his four children, according to an obituary in the Daily Herald.“I’m far from perfect now, and I’m never going to be perfect,” Ditka said in his autobiography. “When I die, I’m going to be still trying to get better than I am.”This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

NFL legend Mike Ditka was a Catholic coach #Catholic Former professional football coach Mike Ditka, a practicing Catholic who occasionally served as lector at the 7 a.m. team Mass on game-day Sundays during his decade leading the Chicago Bears, died Friday. He was 86.“Iron Mike,” as Ditka was known, had a famously explosive temper, which often boiled over on the sidelines and in postgame press conferences. Ditka, who led the Bears to a Super Bowl XX victory in 1986, once broke his right hand after punching a hard object over frustration with the play of a rookie offensive lineman — then, before the next game, told his team to “win this one for Lefty.”Less well known was Ditka’s commitment to his Catholic faith, for which he credited his convert mother and the nuns of his parochial school in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, where he was raised.“Growing up, the most important thing was the sacraments with my family,” Ditka told an interviewer with the Catholic website “One Peter Five” in August 2018. “We loved everything about the faith. Going to Catholic school and learning the faith, I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”“I don’t care how many times I got hit by a nun,” Ditka said, “it was good for me.”Football successBorn Michael Dyczko in 1939, Ditka was the son of a non-churchgoing Ukrainian and Polish steelworker father and an Irish and German mother who converted to Catholicism.He played tight end for the University of Pittsburgh and then in the NFL for the Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys. In 1988 Ditka was honored as the first tight end ever to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.After retiring from playing, Ditka served as an assistant coach before getting his unlikely chance as the head coach of the Bears in 1982.His 1985 Bears went 15-1 during the regular season and stomped their way through the playoffs to a Super Bowl victory. So confident were the players of that dominant team that they recorded a rap song called “The Super Bowl Shuffle” during the regular season. (Ditka later said he didn’t know about it, but he didn’t criticize the players for doing it.)Ditka’s success, toughness, temper, and sense of humor made him a cultural phenomenon, inspiring a recurring skit (and guest appearances) on “Saturday Night Live” and launching a career as a motivational speaker.When the team’s fortunes plummeted, he was fired in 1992. He later coached the New Orleans Saints but was fired after three years.Off-field philanthropyDitka made millions as a pitchman for dozens of products after he left football, and he used some of that wealth to help others.“Ditka was very supportive of Misericordia and other charities that supported children with special needs and disabilities,” Mary FioRito, an attorney, lifelong Chicagoan, and Cardinal Francis George Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, told the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News.And not just with checks.“He spoke at fundraisers, and surprised observers could catch him privately visiting with residents he knew by name,” reported the suburban Chicago Daily Herald.Ditka was also a member of the Knights of Columbus and participated in the organization’s charitable activities.‘Constant turmoil’In his 1986 autobiography “Ditka,” published at the peak of his success, Ditka admitted to having had “no spiritual life at all” during the 1970s, before two other coaches got him involved in a Bible study that reintroduced him to God.“I always had faith, but I never had understanding,” Ditka said. “I always knew what was going on in life. I was raised right. I did all the things you were supposed to do. But I never understood why I was supposed to do them, because I never had a total understanding of what was going on.”He also acknowledged what he called “constant turmoil inside,” and he compared himself unfavorably to longtime Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry (1924–2000), whom he admired for always keeping his cool on the sidelines and for his involvement in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.“My priorities can get mixed up. I don’t think he ever gets his priorities mixed up,” Ditka said in the book.Ditka said he discovered that following his faith was hard work.“Sometimes you take for granted that your faith will always be there and everything will be fine. But without making the effort, that’s just not a fact. You have to make a real effort to live your faith daily,” Ditka said in the book.“Nobody is going to do it every day. Nobody is going to do it perfectly,” he continued. “But unless you make the effort you’ve got no chance at all.”Ditka married in 1961, got divorced in 1973, and then remarried in 1977. Both wives survive him, as do his four children, according to an obituary in the Daily Herald.“I’m far from perfect now, and I’m never going to be perfect,” Ditka said in his autobiography. “When I die, I’m going to be still trying to get better than I am.”This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

The Chicago Bears icon, who died on Friday, gave to charities, lectored at Mass, and belonged to the Knights of Columbus.

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Unborn baby wins wrongful death lawsuit against abortionist #Catholic An aborted baby from New Mexico has won a wrongful death lawsuit against an abortionist.The estate of a child killed in utero during the third trimester collected 0,000 under New Mexico’s wrongful death law.The case, Wabbington v. Boyd, argued by Albuquerque medical malpractice attorney Mike Seibel, described the unborn baby as a “person” who was "entitled to equal protection under the law.” Seibel advocates for women who have been injured by abortion.The baby’s mother had been under the influence of methamphetamine when she went to an abortion clinic in 2020 and was thus unable to give valid informed consent, but the abortion was provided anyway. The lawsuit said that abortionists also failed to inform her of support available to her in the state or refer her to the New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department.Seibel told Live Action News that the case was the first time an abortionist was ever sued for the wrongful death of a baby.3 states file lawsuit against telehealth abortionLouisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama have filed lawsuits against providers who ship abortion drugs into their states and against California, Massachusetts, and New York over their laws shielding abortion pill providers.The states’ Sept. 30 lawsuit against abortion providers calls mail-order abortion “one of the most dramatic and sweeping interstate conflicts in modern history.”“If state sovereignty means anything, it means that states like Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama cannot be forced to endure open violations of their laws, deaths of their babies, and harms to their women and girls simply because an out-of-state actor disagrees with their sovereign prerogative to choose life within their borders,” the lawsuit says.The lawsuit names as defendants several abortion pill providers, including Cambridge Reproductive Health Consultants Inc. in Massachusetts and A Safe Choice Network Inc. in California.A separate lawsuit brought by the states asks the U.S. Supreme Court to rule the abortion shield laws of California, Massachusetts, and New York unconstitutional.Poland opens first abortion pill delivery lockerActivist groups in Poland have launched a locker to distribute abortion pills, which they say is the first of its kind in the world.Women Help Women, a global group that provides abortion pills without physicians, and the Polish abortion activism group Abortion Dream Team put the locker across from Parliament in Warsaw.The organization gives women who are seeking abortion a six-digit code to open one of 22 numbered lockers.Abortion is legal in Poland in cases of rape or incest or if there is risk to the mother’s life or health.Respect Life Month prioritizes abortion pillAs Respect Life Month kicks off in October, the U.S. Catholic bishops are emphasizing the importance of opposing abortion pills.Toledo Bishop Daniel Thomas, the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ pro-life committee, released a statement on Sept. 29 describing the risks of injury and exploitation from abortion pills as “affronts to human dignity.” 
 
 Catholics across the United States celebrate Respect Life Month each year in October. | Credit: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C.
 
 “Today, with easier access to abortion pills, the abortion rate is tragically climbing, along with increased health risks,” Thomas said. “This means that more women, many of whom have been misinformed about the nature and risks of the abortion pill, will have an abortion alone at home, without any medical supervision. It also sets up additional opportunities for exploitation by violent partners or human traffickers.”Thomas urged the faithful to pray and take action against abortion.“Our Blessed Mother is our model for upholding the sanctity of all human life in every stage and circumstance,” Thomas continued. “We entrust all our efforts to protect mothers and babies to her motherly care, which we greatly need at this time.”“I thank the many thousands of Catholics across the country who have embraced the nationwide invitation to prayer and action on abortion pills, and I ask that we continue our prayers and advocacy throughout the month of October,” Thomas said.Bishop Burbidge calls for weekly fasting, rosary against abortion amendmentAs Virginians prepare to vote on an amendment that could create a right to abortion in the state’s constitution, Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington is calling on the faithful to take up weekly fasting and prayer throughout October.The “Catholics Vote No” campaign urges Catholics to vote no on the Virginia Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment along with the Virginia Remove Constitutional Same-Sex Marriage Ban Amendment.
 
 Virginian Catholics are opposing a pro-abortion ballot measure. Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Newport News, Virginia, has posted a sign urging Catholics to vote no on the ballot amendment. | Credit: Ken Oliver/EWTN News
 
 Burbidge asked Catholics to fast every Friday and pray the rosary each Sunday this October.“Our Catholics Vote No campaign is rooted in prayer and fasting,” Burbidge said in a statement. “Therefore, On Fridays, I ask that you pray the Stations of the Cross. And fast—which means eating only one full meal and no meat.” “On Sundays, I ask that you pray the Rosary and fast from social media for at least a few hours—especially before and after Mass,” he said.“It would be a powerful force if all in the Diocese of Arlington were united in these efforts,” Burbidge continued. “We entrust them to the Lord’s amazing grace, so all that is just, right, and true will be done in this election.”

Unborn baby wins wrongful death lawsuit against abortionist #Catholic An aborted baby from New Mexico has won a wrongful death lawsuit against an abortionist.The estate of a child killed in utero during the third trimester collected $200,000 under New Mexico’s wrongful death law.The case, Wabbington v. Boyd, argued by Albuquerque medical malpractice attorney Mike Seibel, described the unborn baby as a “person” who was "entitled to equal protection under the law.” Seibel advocates for women who have been injured by abortion.The baby’s mother had been under the influence of methamphetamine when she went to an abortion clinic in 2020 and was thus unable to give valid informed consent, but the abortion was provided anyway. The lawsuit said that abortionists also failed to inform her of support available to her in the state or refer her to the New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department.Seibel told Live Action News that the case was the first time an abortionist was ever sued for the wrongful death of a baby.3 states file lawsuit against telehealth abortionLouisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama have filed lawsuits against providers who ship abortion drugs into their states and against California, Massachusetts, and New York over their laws shielding abortion pill providers.The states’ Sept. 30 lawsuit against abortion providers calls mail-order abortion “one of the most dramatic and sweeping interstate conflicts in modern history.”“If state sovereignty means anything, it means that states like Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama cannot be forced to endure open violations of their laws, deaths of their babies, and harms to their women and girls simply because an out-of-state actor disagrees with their sovereign prerogative to choose life within their borders,” the lawsuit says.The lawsuit names as defendants several abortion pill providers, including Cambridge Reproductive Health Consultants Inc. in Massachusetts and A Safe Choice Network Inc. in California.A separate lawsuit brought by the states asks the U.S. Supreme Court to rule the abortion shield laws of California, Massachusetts, and New York unconstitutional.Poland opens first abortion pill delivery lockerActivist groups in Poland have launched a locker to distribute abortion pills, which they say is the first of its kind in the world.Women Help Women, a global group that provides abortion pills without physicians, and the Polish abortion activism group Abortion Dream Team put the locker across from Parliament in Warsaw.The organization gives women who are seeking abortion a six-digit code to open one of 22 numbered lockers.Abortion is legal in Poland in cases of rape or incest or if there is risk to the mother’s life or health.Respect Life Month prioritizes abortion pillAs Respect Life Month kicks off in October, the U.S. Catholic bishops are emphasizing the importance of opposing abortion pills.Toledo Bishop Daniel Thomas, the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ pro-life committee, released a statement on Sept. 29 describing the risks of injury and exploitation from abortion pills as “affronts to human dignity.” Catholics across the United States celebrate Respect Life Month each year in October. | Credit: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. “Today, with easier access to abortion pills, the abortion rate is tragically climbing, along with increased health risks,” Thomas said. “This means that more women, many of whom have been misinformed about the nature and risks of the abortion pill, will have an abortion alone at home, without any medical supervision. It also sets up additional opportunities for exploitation by violent partners or human traffickers.”Thomas urged the faithful to pray and take action against abortion.“Our Blessed Mother is our model for upholding the sanctity of all human life in every stage and circumstance,” Thomas continued. “We entrust all our efforts to protect mothers and babies to her motherly care, which we greatly need at this time.”“I thank the many thousands of Catholics across the country who have embraced the nationwide invitation to prayer and action on abortion pills, and I ask that we continue our prayers and advocacy throughout the month of October,” Thomas said.Bishop Burbidge calls for weekly fasting, rosary against abortion amendmentAs Virginians prepare to vote on an amendment that could create a right to abortion in the state’s constitution, Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington is calling on the faithful to take up weekly fasting and prayer throughout October.The “Catholics Vote No” campaign urges Catholics to vote no on the Virginia Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment along with the Virginia Remove Constitutional Same-Sex Marriage Ban Amendment. Virginian Catholics are opposing a pro-abortion ballot measure. Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Newport News, Virginia, has posted a sign urging Catholics to vote no on the ballot amendment. | Credit: Ken Oliver/EWTN News Burbidge asked Catholics to fast every Friday and pray the rosary each Sunday this October.“Our Catholics Vote No campaign is rooted in prayer and fasting,” Burbidge said in a statement. “Therefore, On Fridays, I ask that you pray the Stations of the Cross. And fast—which means eating only one full meal and no meat.” “On Sundays, I ask that you pray the Rosary and fast from social media for at least a few hours—especially before and after Mass,” he said.“It would be a powerful force if all in the Diocese of Arlington were united in these efforts,” Burbidge continued. “We entrust them to the Lord’s amazing grace, so all that is just, right, and true will be done in this election.”

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

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Jimmy Lai’s family, advocates press for his release before Xi-Trump meeting #Catholic Family members and advocates of imprisoned Catholic pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai offered urgent pleas for his release ahead of President Xi Jinping’s planned trip to the U.S. to meet with President Donald Trump.In anticipation of Xiʼs visit to Washington on Sept. 24, Sebastien Lai, Jimmy Lai’s son, met with leaders to advocate for his father. He joined a Sept. 16 congressional hearing led by Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey.“Jimmy Lai is not being imprisoned because he committed any act of violence whatsoever,” Smith, co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, said. “His son has emphasized that his father has never, never advocated violence. Rather, Jimmy Lai used his voice, his newspaper, and his public platform to support freedom and democracy,” he said. Smith said he introduced legislation Sept. 16 that would require the State Department to quickly assess any death in custody of a Hong Kong political prisoner and impose sanctions on officials found responsible. He titled the bill the “Jimmy Lai Hong Kong Political Prisoner Accountability Act of 2026.”At the hearing, Sebastien Lai offered testimony along with Steve Yates, a research fellow on China and national security policy, and Mark Clifford, president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation.“I want to thank America, President Trump, who has been a true champion of my fatherʼs, his administration, and the senators and members of both parties whose support has never wavered and only gotten stronger. That is moral courage, and my family does not take it for granted,” Sebastien Lai said.“By the end of this year my father will have spent six years in a maximum-security prison in solitary. At 78, he is the oldest political prisoner in Hong Kong. With a 20-year sentence looming over him, if he’s not freed soon, he will most likely die in prison,” he said. “My sister Claire was to testify beside me today. A few weeks ago, she was diagnosed with cancer,” he said. “I was with her in London last week as she began chemotherapy. My father learned of his own daughterʼs diagnosis from a maximum-security prison. He cannot hold her hand. She wants nothing more than to have him with her for this fight,“ he said. 
 
 Claire Lai, daughter of imprisoned pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai, discusses her father’s sentencing on “EWTN News Nightly” on Feb. 9, 2026. | Credit: “EWTN News Nightly”/Screenshot
 
 “We hope the Chinese authorities will consider what compassionate release would mean for her, and for a 78-year-old man who has already suffered enough,” he said.“America understands, in its bones, that freedom dies with the last man willing to defend it and that the cost of not standing up for liberty is not felt until it is too late,“ he said.The appeal to Xi “is simple," Sebastien Lai said. “My father poses no threat. His imprisonment makes him a symbol of injustice; his death in prison would be a disgrace. Let Jimmy Lai come home to his family and let him sit beside his daughter in her hardest moment.”
 
 America understands, in its bones, that freedom dies with the last man willing to defend it and that the cost of not standing up for liberty is not felt until it is too late.”
 
 Sebastien LaiSon of imprisoned Hong Kong media publisher and democracy advocate Jimmy Lai
 
 
 Clifford, of the Washington‑based advocacy group promoting human rights in Hong Kong, spoke on behalf of his friend Jimmy Lai and to remind “people that Jimmy is just one of hundreds of political prisoners being held in often appalling conditions.”“Iʼd like to emphasize the release of Jimmy Lai would be something President Trump, Republicans and Democrats, indeed, freedom-loving people around the world would applaud,” Clifford said. “It would be a unifying event at the time when the world really needs it.”Yates said Jimmy Lai’s case is “a test of character, of Xi Jinping’s leadership, of the president’s relationship with his counterpart, and of whether there remains any credible basis for the assumptions on which American policy toward Hong Kong was long constructed.”The case is “a litmus test of whether there remains any reason to believe there is a future in Xi Jinping’s China for the kind of man Jimmy Lai is: a child of God, a lover of the real China, and, it may fairly be said, one of China’s greatest entrepreneurs,” Yates said. Lai’s health ‘is going to get worse’At a subsequent event, Sebastien Lai spoke at a press conference at Georgetown University about his father.Trump has previously met with Xi about Jimmy Lai’s case, which did not end with his release, but Sebastian Lai said he does not believe “it is a lost cause.” He said he hopes Trump raises his father’s case “again and again.”Sebastian Lai detailed his father’s health, which “hasnʼt gotten any better” while in solitary confinement.“He now has heart issues. His nails fall off. His teeth are rotting. During the summer, he bleeds all over his body because [of] his rashes,” he said.His health was especially worrisome recently because “Hong Kong just had a record summer,” Sebastien Lai said. “The heat traps in there and essentially bakes in itself. So weʼre very, very worried.”Caoilfhionn Gallagher, human rights lawyer and leader of the international legal team representing Jimmy Lai, further laid out the urgency of the case.“It’s very clear that if someone is detained in solitary confinement for an extended period of time, there is a direct ramification for their mortality,” she said.“The risk to prisoners detained in solitary confinement is particularly heightened if they’re elderly or diabetic, and Jimmy Lai is both. So this couldn’t be a more urgent and timely discussion,” she said. Gallagher also noted the broader human rights issues and lack of democracy in Hong Kong.Hong Kong “has become a place where you can be thrown in prison for singing the wrong song, or not singing the right song, or wearing the wrong T-shirt, printing the wrong newspaper. And I think Jimmy Laiʼs case is hugely important in itself because of who he is,” Gallagher said.“Heʼs probably the worldʼs most famous political prisoner at the moment. His case is hugely important, but we think part of why theyʼve gone for Jimmy Lai is because by getting the biggest fish of all, it sends the message to the small fry across Hong Kong,” Gallagher said. "It makes very clear that their message is keep silent or youʼll be next,” Gallagher said. Xi’s visit to the U.S. offers “a particular opportunity to shine a light on this issue,” she said.

Jimmy Lai’s family, advocates press for his release before Xi-Trump meeting #Catholic Family members and advocates of imprisoned Catholic pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai offered urgent pleas for his release ahead of President Xi Jinping’s planned trip to the U.S. to meet with President Donald Trump.In anticipation of Xiʼs visit to Washington on Sept. 24, Sebastien Lai, Jimmy Lai’s son, met with leaders to advocate for his father. He joined a Sept. 16 congressional hearing led by Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey.“Jimmy Lai is not being imprisoned because he committed any act of violence whatsoever,” Smith, co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, said. “His son has emphasized that his father has never, never advocated violence. Rather, Jimmy Lai used his voice, his newspaper, and his public platform to support freedom and democracy,” he said. Smith said he introduced legislation Sept. 16 that would require the State Department to quickly assess any death in custody of a Hong Kong political prisoner and impose sanctions on officials found responsible. He titled the bill the “Jimmy Lai Hong Kong Political Prisoner Accountability Act of 2026.”At the hearing, Sebastien Lai offered testimony along with Steve Yates, a research fellow on China and national security policy, and Mark Clifford, president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation.“I want to thank America, President Trump, who has been a true champion of my fatherʼs, his administration, and the senators and members of both parties whose support has never wavered and only gotten stronger. That is moral courage, and my family does not take it for granted,” Sebastien Lai said.“By the end of this year my father will have spent six years in a maximum-security prison in solitary. At 78, he is the oldest political prisoner in Hong Kong. With a 20-year sentence looming over him, if he’s not freed soon, he will most likely die in prison,” he said. “My sister Claire was to testify beside me today. A few weeks ago, she was diagnosed with cancer,” he said. “I was with her in London last week as she began chemotherapy. My father learned of his own daughterʼs diagnosis from a maximum-security prison. He cannot hold her hand. She wants nothing more than to have him with her for this fight,“ he said. Claire Lai, daughter of imprisoned pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai, discusses her father’s sentencing on “EWTN News Nightly” on Feb. 9, 2026. | Credit: “EWTN News Nightly”/Screenshot “We hope the Chinese authorities will consider what compassionate release would mean for her, and for a 78-year-old man who has already suffered enough,” he said.“America understands, in its bones, that freedom dies with the last man willing to defend it and that the cost of not standing up for liberty is not felt until it is too late,“ he said.The appeal to Xi “is simple," Sebastien Lai said. “My father poses no threat. His imprisonment makes him a symbol of injustice; his death in prison would be a disgrace. Let Jimmy Lai come home to his family and let him sit beside his daughter in her hardest moment.” America understands, in its bones, that freedom dies with the last man willing to defend it and that the cost of not standing up for liberty is not felt until it is too late.” Sebastien LaiSon of imprisoned Hong Kong media publisher and democracy advocate Jimmy Lai Clifford, of the Washington‑based advocacy group promoting human rights in Hong Kong, spoke on behalf of his friend Jimmy Lai and to remind “people that Jimmy is just one of hundreds of political prisoners being held in often appalling conditions.”“Iʼd like to emphasize the release of Jimmy Lai would be something President Trump, Republicans and Democrats, indeed, freedom-loving people around the world would applaud,” Clifford said. “It would be a unifying event at the time when the world really needs it.”Yates said Jimmy Lai’s case is “a test of character, of Xi Jinping’s leadership, of the president’s relationship with his counterpart, and of whether there remains any credible basis for the assumptions on which American policy toward Hong Kong was long constructed.”The case is “a litmus test of whether there remains any reason to believe there is a future in Xi Jinping’s China for the kind of man Jimmy Lai is: a child of God, a lover of the real China, and, it may fairly be said, one of China’s greatest entrepreneurs,” Yates said. Lai’s health ‘is going to get worse’At a subsequent event, Sebastien Lai spoke at a press conference at Georgetown University about his father.Trump has previously met with Xi about Jimmy Lai’s case, which did not end with his release, but Sebastian Lai said he does not believe “it is a lost cause.” He said he hopes Trump raises his father’s case “again and again.”Sebastian Lai detailed his father’s health, which “hasnʼt gotten any better” while in solitary confinement.“He now has heart issues. His nails fall off. His teeth are rotting. During the summer, he bleeds all over his body because [of] his rashes,” he said.His health was especially worrisome recently because “Hong Kong just had a record summer,” Sebastien Lai said. “The heat traps in there and essentially bakes in itself. So weʼre very, very worried.”Caoilfhionn Gallagher, human rights lawyer and leader of the international legal team representing Jimmy Lai, further laid out the urgency of the case.“It’s very clear that if someone is detained in solitary confinement for an extended period of time, there is a direct ramification for their mortality,” she said.“The risk to prisoners detained in solitary confinement is particularly heightened if they’re elderly or diabetic, and Jimmy Lai is both. So this couldn’t be a more urgent and timely discussion,” she said. Gallagher also noted the broader human rights issues and lack of democracy in Hong Kong.Hong Kong “has become a place where you can be thrown in prison for singing the wrong song, or not singing the right song, or wearing the wrong T-shirt, printing the wrong newspaper. And I think Jimmy Laiʼs case is hugely important in itself because of who he is,” Gallagher said.“Heʼs probably the worldʼs most famous political prisoner at the moment. His case is hugely important, but we think part of why theyʼve gone for Jimmy Lai is because by getting the biggest fish of all, it sends the message to the small fry across Hong Kong,” Gallagher said. "It makes very clear that their message is keep silent or youʼll be next,” Gallagher said. Xi’s visit to the U.S. offers “a particular opportunity to shine a light on this issue,” she said.

“America understands, in its bones, that freedom dies with the last man willing to defend it and that the cost of not standing up for liberty is not felt until it is too late,” Sebastien Lai said.

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Vatican vegetable garden goes 100% organic #Catholic A vegetable garden and orchard inside the Vatican walls, which historically provided food for the pope’s household, is now cultivated using exclusively organic farming techniques.The private garden covers almost a tenth of an acre of cultivable land inside the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery property, where Pope Benedict XVI lived during his retirement and now reside cloistered Benedictine nuns from the Abbey of St. Scholastica in Victoria, Argentina.Sometimes known as “the pope’s garden,” the vegetable plot “has always been a defining feature of the Vatican Gardens because, in fact, the Vatican Gardens were originally created primarily for that purpose — to provide sustenance for the [Apostolic] Palace,” Stefano Giampaolo, a forestry expert and head of the Gardens and Environment Service of the Vatican, told EWTN News.Giampaolo explained that now the plot is more accurately understood as the vegetable garden of the Vatican Gardens — an area that covers roughly half of Vatican City at 57 acres.
 
 Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, built inside Vatican City in the 1990s to house nuns who support the ministry of the pope through prayer, has an adjoining vegetable garden and orchard. | Credit: Hannah Brockhaus/EWTN News
 
 The Benedictine nuns at Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, who pray for the pope, eat the fruit and vegetables grown in the garden and use them to make jams and other food preserves. The excess produce is given to a Vatican soup kitchen run by the Missionaries of Charity.The move to biological farming techniques has been underway for several years, partly in response to Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, Giampaolo said.The challenges of organicAccording to Gilberto Bianchi, the gardener responsible for the orchard and vegetable patch since 2008, the Vatican has a “desire to respect nature” in how it cares for the plants and trees on its land.But it’s far from easy.“Clearly, running a completely organic vegetable garden presents challenges, partly because insects are aggressive, and we use natural predators in the soil to control them,” Bianchi said. “No chemical fertilizers or insecticides are used.”He added that soil drainage and water conservation are also challenges.“This type of soil drains very well, so to conserve water, we add coconut fiber to retain moisture. And it’s watered with a drip irrigation system specifically to target the plants and avoid wasting water,” he said.Part of an organic agriculture also means respecting the seasons, he said. “Right now, the winter crops are being planted, while the summer crops are being harvested.”
 
 The fresh produce grown in the vegetable garden and orchard in Vatican City feeds the Benedictine nuns living in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery and supports the nearby Missionaries of Charity-run soup kitchen. | Credit: Governorate of Vatican City State
 
 The end-of-summer harvest includes tomatoes, eggplants, green beans, zucchini, cucumbers, and peppers, while the fall and winter crop has broccoli, spinach, lettuce, and pumpkins.According to Vatican Media, the garden also includes garlic, basil, and a Peruvian variety of chili peppers known for its intensity. Kiwi plants were also added recently at the request of the Argentinian nuns.Next to the garden is a small orchard of around 15 citrus trees, some of which are 150 years old.“At this time, we’re planting savoy cabbage,” Bianchi said. “In short, whatever is in season. … So whatever is planted is because nature dictates it at that moment. The plants are grown from seed. We don’t use lab-grown plants.”A historic collection of gardensBianchi, who has worked for more than three decades in the Vatican Gardens, “is the one with the most expertise in this field, and he is now passing that knowledge on to a new gardener,” Giampaolo said.The expert gardener is part of a team of around 35 gardeners and administrators who oversee the Vatican’s green spaces and provide the flower arrangements for papal ceremonies.
 
 Stefano Giampaolo, left, head of the Gardens and Environment Service of Vatican City, and expert gardener Gilberto Bianchi, right, the main caretaker of the orchard and vegetable garden commonly known as “the pope’s garden,” share their expertise with EWTN News in the Vatican Gardens on Sept. 9, 2026. | Credit: Hannah Brockhaus/EWTN News
 
 “People expect to see a single garden, but in reality, as the name suggests, they are the Vatican Gardens — a collection of gardens,” Giampaolo said.The Gardens date to the mid-13th century, when Pope Nicolas III moved the papal residence from the Lateran Palace to the Vatican, had the city state’s walls built, and ordered the creation of a lawn, orchard, and “viridarium” — a Roman-style garden with flowerbeds and a fountain.Today, Giampaolo said, “there are countless different species, both trees and flowers. This is because, over time, the gardens have been enriched by donations and the search for specific botanical material, to the point of becoming a true botanical garden.”“Visitors are often struck by the diversity of the spaces — so many different gardens contained within this small area.”Ultimately, he said, the gardeners hope to one day eliminate all synthetic fertilizers and pesticides from their care of the entire Vatican territory.“It’s a process — the transformation of all the Gardens into organic ones,” he said.

Vatican vegetable garden goes 100% organic #Catholic A vegetable garden and orchard inside the Vatican walls, which historically provided food for the pope’s household, is now cultivated using exclusively organic farming techniques.The private garden covers almost a tenth of an acre of cultivable land inside the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery property, where Pope Benedict XVI lived during his retirement and now reside cloistered Benedictine nuns from the Abbey of St. Scholastica in Victoria, Argentina.Sometimes known as “the pope’s garden,” the vegetable plot “has always been a defining feature of the Vatican Gardens because, in fact, the Vatican Gardens were originally created primarily for that purpose — to provide sustenance for the [Apostolic] Palace,” Stefano Giampaolo, a forestry expert and head of the Gardens and Environment Service of the Vatican, told EWTN News.Giampaolo explained that now the plot is more accurately understood as the vegetable garden of the Vatican Gardens — an area that covers roughly half of Vatican City at 57 acres. Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, built inside Vatican City in the 1990s to house nuns who support the ministry of the pope through prayer, has an adjoining vegetable garden and orchard. | Credit: Hannah Brockhaus/EWTN News The Benedictine nuns at Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, who pray for the pope, eat the fruit and vegetables grown in the garden and use them to make jams and other food preserves. The excess produce is given to a Vatican soup kitchen run by the Missionaries of Charity.The move to biological farming techniques has been underway for several years, partly in response to Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, Giampaolo said.The challenges of organicAccording to Gilberto Bianchi, the gardener responsible for the orchard and vegetable patch since 2008, the Vatican has a “desire to respect nature” in how it cares for the plants and trees on its land.But it’s far from easy.“Clearly, running a completely organic vegetable garden presents challenges, partly because insects are aggressive, and we use natural predators in the soil to control them,” Bianchi said. “No chemical fertilizers or insecticides are used.”He added that soil drainage and water conservation are also challenges.“This type of soil drains very well, so to conserve water, we add coconut fiber to retain moisture. And it’s watered with a drip irrigation system specifically to target the plants and avoid wasting water,” he said.Part of an organic agriculture also means respecting the seasons, he said. “Right now, the winter crops are being planted, while the summer crops are being harvested.” The fresh produce grown in the vegetable garden and orchard in Vatican City feeds the Benedictine nuns living in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery and supports the nearby Missionaries of Charity-run soup kitchen. | Credit: Governorate of Vatican City State The end-of-summer harvest includes tomatoes, eggplants, green beans, zucchini, cucumbers, and peppers, while the fall and winter crop has broccoli, spinach, lettuce, and pumpkins.According to Vatican Media, the garden also includes garlic, basil, and a Peruvian variety of chili peppers known for its intensity. Kiwi plants were also added recently at the request of the Argentinian nuns.Next to the garden is a small orchard of around 15 citrus trees, some of which are 150 years old.“At this time, we’re planting savoy cabbage,” Bianchi said. “In short, whatever is in season. … So whatever is planted is because nature dictates it at that moment. The plants are grown from seed. We don’t use lab-grown plants.”A historic collection of gardensBianchi, who has worked for more than three decades in the Vatican Gardens, “is the one with the most expertise in this field, and he is now passing that knowledge on to a new gardener,” Giampaolo said.The expert gardener is part of a team of around 35 gardeners and administrators who oversee the Vatican’s green spaces and provide the flower arrangements for papal ceremonies. Stefano Giampaolo, left, head of the Gardens and Environment Service of Vatican City, and expert gardener Gilberto Bianchi, right, the main caretaker of the orchard and vegetable garden commonly known as “the pope’s garden,” share their expertise with EWTN News in the Vatican Gardens on Sept. 9, 2026. | Credit: Hannah Brockhaus/EWTN News “People expect to see a single garden, but in reality, as the name suggests, they are the Vatican Gardens — a collection of gardens,” Giampaolo said.The Gardens date to the mid-13th century, when Pope Nicolas III moved the papal residence from the Lateran Palace to the Vatican, had the city state’s walls built, and ordered the creation of a lawn, orchard, and “viridarium” — a Roman-style garden with flowerbeds and a fountain.Today, Giampaolo said, “there are countless different species, both trees and flowers. This is because, over time, the gardens have been enriched by donations and the search for specific botanical material, to the point of becoming a true botanical garden.”“Visitors are often struck by the diversity of the spaces — so many different gardens contained within this small area.”Ultimately, he said, the gardeners hope to one day eliminate all synthetic fertilizers and pesticides from their care of the entire Vatican territory.“It’s a process — the transformation of all the Gardens into organic ones,” he said.

The move to biological farming techniques has been underway for several years in response to Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’.

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Filmmakers bet on human craft over AI for animated St. Francis musical #Catholic A 3D animated musical trilogy on St. Francis of Assisi is taking shape in Singapore, with its creators choosing a human-led animation process over AI at a moment when the industry is racing toward it.Director Benjamin Tanaka, executive producer Gabriel Patrick, and composer Ethan Hsu call the project “The Francis Chronicles.” It marks a reunion for Tanaka and Hsu, who first worked together two years ago on “One Church, One People,” the official theme song for Pope Francis’ visit to Singapore in September 2024 — his last Asia-Pacific apostolic visit before his death seven months later. Patrick, a secondary school friend of Tanaka, joined the project in January 2026.“It does feel like God’s providence — the way our paths crossed and intertwined over the last couple of years. We were each called individually first. Ben and Gabriel were both working on an animated short series about Catholic saints, while I was mulling over a faith-based musical project. When we met up late last year at a separate event, we realized the commonalities in our ideas — that was when the seeds for this project were first planted,” recalled Hsu, who is directing the music for the trilogy.
 
 A rendered 3D scene from “The Francis Chronicles” depicts St. Francis praying before the San Damiano crucifix. | Credit: Courtesy of Cantiva Studios
 
 St. Francis, a 13th-century Italian friar from the town of Assisi, has become an enduring symbol of simplicity, peace, and care for creation — echoed in Pope Francis’ second encyclical, Laudato Si’, “On Care for Our Common Home.”Eight months later, the trio set up Cantiva Studios, a Singapore film production company focused on animated features of cultural and spiritual significance for international audiences, with “The Francis Chronicles” as its flagship project.With Pope Leo XIV declaring this year the Jubilee Year of St. Francis of Assisi, the trio felt the time was right to begin the project. “His life has greatly impacted our faiths individually, and what better way to honor him than to use the gifts we have been given in storytelling and music to do just that,” Tanaka said from Cantiva Studios’ newly established production office, when asked why they decided to go ahead with a musical instead of a straight drama. They chose animation over live action, he added, because they hope to reach families with young children.Choosing craft over convenienceThe decision to animate the film by hand, using traditionally trained artists, was not an easy one. AI models can now produce polished visuals in minutes and promise significant savings in time and cost. Patrick, however — a designer by training — argued that nothing matches what human hands bring to a film: “Nothing still beats human-crafted movies in offering the viewer and the artists behind the making of the film the greatest range and freedom of authentic expression.”After extensive consultation with the Franciscan friars in Singapore, who assisted with research into the saint’s life, the trio chose a human-led production process, with artists and animators shaping the film from concept to final frame.
 
 Friar Derrick Yap, left, and Friar John-Paul Tan of the Custody of St. Anthony speak at the Festival of Praise event at the Church of St. Mary of the Angels in Singapore. | Credit: Courtesy of Cantiva Studios
 
 Tanaka, who is making his feature directorial debut with “The Francis Chronicles,” added that Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, released in May, helped crystallize the team’s decision. “Pope Leo XIV’s timely reminder of ensuring the dignity of human labor really struck a chord with us when we finally made the call on whether to use AI,” he said. “We are proud to be making this animated musical in the most human way possible.” For the filmmakers, this decision is not a rejection of technology but one that keeps human judgment and artistry at the center of the creative process.A medieval saint for the modern worldFriar John-Paul Tan of the Custody of St. Anthony sees the timing as significant. “The last decade or so has been a telling sign about the effects of St. Francis and what his life meant then and to our generation today,” he said, speaking from the Church of St. Mary of the Angels in Singapore. He pointed to a remarkable convergence of milestones: the first pope in history to take the name Francis and a series of 800th-anniversary milestones running from the Rule of St. Francis in 2023 through his canonization in 2028. “I think all these milestones culminate to something significant that God is trying to tell us at this moment in history.”Friar Derrick Yap, custos of the Custody of St. Anthony, said he hopes the films will carry that message beyond the Church: “May the eyes of the world be opened to the beauty of creation and come to see it as St. Francis did: Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Brother Fire, and Sister Mother Earth.”
 
 An animator works on a 3D scene for “The Francis Chronicles” at Cantiva Studios’ production office in Singapore. | Credit: Courtesy of Cantiva Studios
 
 From Singapore to the worldFor a small domestic film industry, the ambition is unusual. Singapore-made films represent only a fraction of titles screened locally and face a challenging commercial landscape. A homegrown Catholic animated feature would itself be a rarity. “The Francis Chronicles” aims to go further, telling the story as an international trilogy designed for theatrical and streaming audiences beyond Singapore.To help finance development of the first film, “Francis and the Voice of Creation” — covering his early years and call from God — the trio launched a worldwide Kickstarter campaign on Sept. 8. The funds raised will go toward research, script writing, character designs, and storyboards before animation begins.
 
 A 3D-animated St. Francis of Assisi prays inside San Damiano Church in a scene from “The Francis Chronicles.” | Credit: Courtesy of Cantiva Studios
 
 The second and third films are planned to carry the story through the founding and growth of the Franciscan movement and St. Francis’ final years, when he became the first documented saint in history to receive the stigmata.Aaron Leong is a film and video producer who has been hired by Cantiva Studios for commercial video work on “The Francis Chronicles.”

Filmmakers bet on human craft over AI for animated St. Francis musical #Catholic A 3D animated musical trilogy on St. Francis of Assisi is taking shape in Singapore, with its creators choosing a human-led animation process over AI at a moment when the industry is racing toward it.Director Benjamin Tanaka, executive producer Gabriel Patrick, and composer Ethan Hsu call the project “The Francis Chronicles.” It marks a reunion for Tanaka and Hsu, who first worked together two years ago on “One Church, One People,” the official theme song for Pope Francis’ visit to Singapore in September 2024 — his last Asia-Pacific apostolic visit before his death seven months later. Patrick, a secondary school friend of Tanaka, joined the project in January 2026.“It does feel like God’s providence — the way our paths crossed and intertwined over the last couple of years. We were each called individually first. Ben and Gabriel were both working on an animated short series about Catholic saints, while I was mulling over a faith-based musical project. When we met up late last year at a separate event, we realized the commonalities in our ideas — that was when the seeds for this project were first planted,” recalled Hsu, who is directing the music for the trilogy. A rendered 3D scene from “The Francis Chronicles” depicts St. Francis praying before the San Damiano crucifix. | Credit: Courtesy of Cantiva Studios St. Francis, a 13th-century Italian friar from the town of Assisi, has become an enduring symbol of simplicity, peace, and care for creation — echoed in Pope Francis’ second encyclical, Laudato Si’, “On Care for Our Common Home.”Eight months later, the trio set up Cantiva Studios, a Singapore film production company focused on animated features of cultural and spiritual significance for international audiences, with “The Francis Chronicles” as its flagship project.With Pope Leo XIV declaring this year the Jubilee Year of St. Francis of Assisi, the trio felt the time was right to begin the project. “His life has greatly impacted our faiths individually, and what better way to honor him than to use the gifts we have been given in storytelling and music to do just that,” Tanaka said from Cantiva Studios’ newly established production office, when asked why they decided to go ahead with a musical instead of a straight drama. They chose animation over live action, he added, because they hope to reach families with young children.Choosing craft over convenienceThe decision to animate the film by hand, using traditionally trained artists, was not an easy one. AI models can now produce polished visuals in minutes and promise significant savings in time and cost. Patrick, however — a designer by training — argued that nothing matches what human hands bring to a film: “Nothing still beats human-crafted movies in offering the viewer and the artists behind the making of the film the greatest range and freedom of authentic expression.”After extensive consultation with the Franciscan friars in Singapore, who assisted with research into the saint’s life, the trio chose a human-led production process, with artists and animators shaping the film from concept to final frame. Friar Derrick Yap, left, and Friar John-Paul Tan of the Custody of St. Anthony speak at the Festival of Praise event at the Church of St. Mary of the Angels in Singapore. | Credit: Courtesy of Cantiva Studios Tanaka, who is making his feature directorial debut with “The Francis Chronicles,” added that Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, released in May, helped crystallize the team’s decision. “Pope Leo XIV’s timely reminder of ensuring the dignity of human labor really struck a chord with us when we finally made the call on whether to use AI,” he said. “We are proud to be making this animated musical in the most human way possible.” For the filmmakers, this decision is not a rejection of technology but one that keeps human judgment and artistry at the center of the creative process.A medieval saint for the modern worldFriar John-Paul Tan of the Custody of St. Anthony sees the timing as significant. “The last decade or so has been a telling sign about the effects of St. Francis and what his life meant then and to our generation today,” he said, speaking from the Church of St. Mary of the Angels in Singapore. He pointed to a remarkable convergence of milestones: the first pope in history to take the name Francis and a series of 800th-anniversary milestones running from the Rule of St. Francis in 2023 through his canonization in 2028. “I think all these milestones culminate to something significant that God is trying to tell us at this moment in history.”Friar Derrick Yap, custos of the Custody of St. Anthony, said he hopes the films will carry that message beyond the Church: “May the eyes of the world be opened to the beauty of creation and come to see it as St. Francis did: Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Brother Fire, and Sister Mother Earth.” An animator works on a 3D scene for “The Francis Chronicles” at Cantiva Studios’ production office in Singapore. | Credit: Courtesy of Cantiva Studios From Singapore to the worldFor a small domestic film industry, the ambition is unusual. Singapore-made films represent only a fraction of titles screened locally and face a challenging commercial landscape. A homegrown Catholic animated feature would itself be a rarity. “The Francis Chronicles” aims to go further, telling the story as an international trilogy designed for theatrical and streaming audiences beyond Singapore.To help finance development of the first film, “Francis and the Voice of Creation” — covering his early years and call from God — the trio launched a worldwide Kickstarter campaign on Sept. 8. The funds raised will go toward research, script writing, character designs, and storyboards before animation begins. A 3D-animated St. Francis of Assisi prays inside San Damiano Church in a scene from “The Francis Chronicles.” | Credit: Courtesy of Cantiva Studios The second and third films are planned to carry the story through the founding and growth of the Franciscan movement and St. Francis’ final years, when he became the first documented saint in history to receive the stigmata.Aaron Leong is a film and video producer who has been hired by Cantiva Studios for commercial video work on “The Francis Chronicles.”

Director Benjamin Tanaka, executive producer Gabriel Patrick, and composer Ethan Hsu call the project “The Francis Chronicles.”

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Dust and Water in Sagittarius A* – Using the James Webb Space Telescope, an international team of astronomers have discovered that dust and water can form and survive surprisingly close to the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, an international team of astronomers have discovered that dust and water can form and survive surprisingly close to the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

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Controversial ‘Creed of the Ecclesial Base Communities’ included at Mass in Brazil #Catholic On Sept. 7, Bishop José Valdeci Santos Mendes of Brejo, Maranhão, Brazil, celebrated Mass as part of a national Cry of the Excluded event. During the Mass, the "Creed of the Ecclesial Base Communities” (known as CEBs, by their synonym in Portuguese) was read. This creed, developed in 2016, professes belief in “a God/Goddess present in the diverse experiences of the communities: a God who is close, a liberating and revolutionary God, a God who is a member of the CEBs, who works and struggles just as Jesus of Nazareth did.”Following the distribution of the Eucharist but before the final blessing, the bishop — who chairs the Episcopal Commission for Social-Transformative Action of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CEPAST-CNBB, by its Portuguese acronym) — introduced the referenced creed. He called it a “supplication from the youth of Latin America, who stand before God asking him to come to meet us,” and entrusted the creed’s recitation to two young men.“We do not believe in a static, patriarchal, clerical, and hierarchical Church,” stated the text read by the young men at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Conception. “We believe in an inclusive, intergenerational community with a voice of its own. We believe in this Church that struggles, ‘casting its lot with the poor of the earth’ in the face of a dominant capitalist system.”“We believe we are daughters and sons of a ‘Great Homeland’ free from racism and free from rules governing love — embracing all sexual diversity, women, youth, Indigenous peoples, Black people, minorities, and all those at the bottom of the social order.”The Creed of the Ecclesial Base Communities is part of a suggested liturgy outline for Masses, worship services, and public gatherings marking the 32nd Cry of the Excluded — a mobilization bringing together pastoral groups, Catholic organizations, and social movements, held annually on Brazil’s Independence Day. CEPAST has called upon dioceses, pastoral groups, and grassroots movements to strengthen this mobilization within their respective jurisdictions this year.In a message released in June regarding the 2026 elections, the CNBB (National Conference of Bishops of Brazil) stated that “the Catholic Church does not endorse candidates or political parties” but affirmed that the Church, “driven by the Gospel and the mission to proclaim it, promotes life and human dignity, and serves the building of the common good.”Elections, the CEB Creed, and prayersDuring the penitential rite, Mass participants asked for forgiveness for “times when we did not take the country’s destiny seriously during elections” and for failing to speak out against “candidacies backed by economic power that will harm the people and potentially even impose authoritarian regimes.”The other parts of the penitential rite address wars, people living on the streets, real estate speculation, housing movements, violence against women, and femicide.During the Prayers of the Faithful, an intention regarding the elections was also included: “For this election season, that we may have the discernment not to vote for anyone who seeks to jeopardize Brazil’s sovereignty or harbors plans for a coup. May we not vote for politicians and parties that wish to turn the public good into an object of profit. Sovereignty is not negotiable.” The assembly’s response was: “Deliver us, Lord, from all those who use politics to betray the Brazilian people!”CEPAST states it did not draft the liturgy guideCEPAST’s communications office told ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News, that the CNBB commission did not participate in drafting the document. “The ‘Cry of the Excluded’ is a coalition formed by various organizations, and CEPAST did not participate in drafting the liturgy guide,” said Juce Rocha of the commission’s communications team.The National Coordination of the Cry of the Excluded includes among its participants Catholic pastoral groups, organizations, and social movements such as the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), Caritas Brazil, the Workers' Pastoral, the Migrants' Pastoral Service, Base Ecclesial Communities (CEBs), the Landless Rural Workers' Movement (MST), the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB), the Central of Popular Movements (CMP), and the National Confederation of Education Workers (CNTE).The national map for this year’s “Cry” documented activities in all regions of the country. In Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Espírito Santo, a march brought together the faithful, pastoral groups, and representatives of social movements, concluding at St. Peterʼs Cathedral, where Bishop Luiz Fernando Lisboa participated in the mobilization. In Santos, São Paulo, the “Cry” was part of the dioceseʼs official agenda and was attended by Bishop Joaquim Giovani Mol Guimarães.
 
 In Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Brazil, a march brought together the faithful, pastoral groups, and representatives of social movements, concluding at St. Peter’s Cathedral. | Credit: Diocese of Cachoeiro de Itapemirim
 
 The same order of service was not followed at all Masses linked to the Cry. At the National Shrine of Aparecida in São Paulo, for instance, the Sept. 7 Mass was celebrated within the context of both the 39th Workers' Pilgrimage and the 32nd Cry of the Excluded. The Mass was celebrated by the archbishop of Aparecida, Mário Antonio da Silva; among the concelebrants was the bishop of the Prelature of Marajó, Pará, José Ionilton Lisboa de Oliveira, president of the Pastoral Land Commission.The Cry was mentioned during the Mass and the homily, but the program used in Brejo was not adopted for the celebration.The Cry of the Excluded first emerged during the evaluation of the second Brazilian Social Week — promoted by the CNBB in 1993 and 1994 — as a way to continue the reflections from that process. The initiative was also inspired by the 1995 Fraternity Campaign, which featured the theme “Fraternity and the Excluded” and the motto “Was it you, Lord?”The first edition took place on Sept. 7, 1995, in 170 locations. In 1996, the CNBB adopted the Cry during its general assembly as part of the Toward the New Millennium Project.Today, the mobilization is led by a National Coordination body comprising the CNBB’s Commission 8, Catholic pastoral groups and organizations, and various social movements and entities — including the CPT, Cáritas Brasileira, the Workers‘ Pastoral, the Migrants’ Pastoral Service, CEBs, the MST, MAB, CMP, and CNTE.According to the event’s organizers, the choice of Sept. 7 is intended to provide a “counterpoint” to the official Independence Day commemoration. The date has also been identified by the event’s organizers as a moment for “political awareness” and the struggle for a “new national and global order.”While the movement’s longtime theme is “Life Comes First!”, the slogan for 2026 is: “In defense of the land, peace, and housing, we raise our voices: Women alive and sovereignty!” National demands include ending the “6×1” (six days of work and one day off) work schedule, ensuring dignified housing, agrarian reform, quality public education, and the defense of the SUS (Unified Health System), as well as combating femicide, racism, and what is termed as “LGBTphobia.”The event’s website states that the choice of Sept. 7 seeks to offer a “counterpoint to the official history of Brazilʼs independence. Contrasting with the civic and military parades that have traditionally marked the day, it calls upon the people — especially the poor and the excluded — to step down from the grandstands, leave passive patriotism behind, and occupy public squares and streets in defense of their rights.”This story was first published by ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Controversial ‘Creed of the Ecclesial Base Communities’ included at Mass in Brazil #Catholic On Sept. 7, Bishop José Valdeci Santos Mendes of Brejo, Maranhão, Brazil, celebrated Mass as part of a national Cry of the Excluded event. During the Mass, the "Creed of the Ecclesial Base Communities” (known as CEBs, by their synonym in Portuguese) was read. This creed, developed in 2016, professes belief in “a God/Goddess present in the diverse experiences of the communities: a God who is close, a liberating and revolutionary God, a God who is a member of the CEBs, who works and struggles just as Jesus of Nazareth did.”Following the distribution of the Eucharist but before the final blessing, the bishop — who chairs the Episcopal Commission for Social-Transformative Action of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CEPAST-CNBB, by its Portuguese acronym) — introduced the referenced creed. He called it a “supplication from the youth of Latin America, who stand before God asking him to come to meet us,” and entrusted the creed’s recitation to two young men.“We do not believe in a static, patriarchal, clerical, and hierarchical Church,” stated the text read by the young men at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Conception. “We believe in an inclusive, intergenerational community with a voice of its own. We believe in this Church that struggles, ‘casting its lot with the poor of the earth’ in the face of a dominant capitalist system.”“We believe we are daughters and sons of a ‘Great Homeland’ free from racism and free from rules governing love — embracing all sexual diversity, women, youth, Indigenous peoples, Black people, minorities, and all those at the bottom of the social order.”The Creed of the Ecclesial Base Communities is part of a suggested liturgy outline for Masses, worship services, and public gatherings marking the 32nd Cry of the Excluded — a mobilization bringing together pastoral groups, Catholic organizations, and social movements, held annually on Brazil’s Independence Day. CEPAST has called upon dioceses, pastoral groups, and grassroots movements to strengthen this mobilization within their respective jurisdictions this year.In a message released in June regarding the 2026 elections, the CNBB (National Conference of Bishops of Brazil) stated that “the Catholic Church does not endorse candidates or political parties” but affirmed that the Church, “driven by the Gospel and the mission to proclaim it, promotes life and human dignity, and serves the building of the common good.”Elections, the CEB Creed, and prayersDuring the penitential rite, Mass participants asked for forgiveness for “times when we did not take the country’s destiny seriously during elections” and for failing to speak out against “candidacies backed by economic power that will harm the people and potentially even impose authoritarian regimes.”The other parts of the penitential rite address wars, people living on the streets, real estate speculation, housing movements, violence against women, and femicide.During the Prayers of the Faithful, an intention regarding the elections was also included: “For this election season, that we may have the discernment not to vote for anyone who seeks to jeopardize Brazil’s sovereignty or harbors plans for a coup. May we not vote for politicians and parties that wish to turn the public good into an object of profit. Sovereignty is not negotiable.” The assembly’s response was: “Deliver us, Lord, from all those who use politics to betray the Brazilian people!”CEPAST states it did not draft the liturgy guideCEPAST’s communications office told ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News, that the CNBB commission did not participate in drafting the document. “The ‘Cry of the Excluded’ is a coalition formed by various organizations, and CEPAST did not participate in drafting the liturgy guide,” said Juce Rocha of the commission’s communications team.The National Coordination of the Cry of the Excluded includes among its participants Catholic pastoral groups, organizations, and social movements such as the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), Caritas Brazil, the Workers' Pastoral, the Migrants' Pastoral Service, Base Ecclesial Communities (CEBs), the Landless Rural Workers' Movement (MST), the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB), the Central of Popular Movements (CMP), and the National Confederation of Education Workers (CNTE).The national map for this year’s “Cry” documented activities in all regions of the country. In Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Espírito Santo, a march brought together the faithful, pastoral groups, and representatives of social movements, concluding at St. Peterʼs Cathedral, where Bishop Luiz Fernando Lisboa participated in the mobilization. In Santos, São Paulo, the “Cry” was part of the dioceseʼs official agenda and was attended by Bishop Joaquim Giovani Mol Guimarães. In Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Brazil, a march brought together the faithful, pastoral groups, and representatives of social movements, concluding at St. Peter’s Cathedral. | Credit: Diocese of Cachoeiro de Itapemirim The same order of service was not followed at all Masses linked to the Cry. At the National Shrine of Aparecida in São Paulo, for instance, the Sept. 7 Mass was celebrated within the context of both the 39th Workers' Pilgrimage and the 32nd Cry of the Excluded. The Mass was celebrated by the archbishop of Aparecida, Mário Antonio da Silva; among the concelebrants was the bishop of the Prelature of Marajó, Pará, José Ionilton Lisboa de Oliveira, president of the Pastoral Land Commission.The Cry was mentioned during the Mass and the homily, but the program used in Brejo was not adopted for the celebration.The Cry of the Excluded first emerged during the evaluation of the second Brazilian Social Week — promoted by the CNBB in 1993 and 1994 — as a way to continue the reflections from that process. The initiative was also inspired by the 1995 Fraternity Campaign, which featured the theme “Fraternity and the Excluded” and the motto “Was it you, Lord?”The first edition took place on Sept. 7, 1995, in 170 locations. In 1996, the CNBB adopted the Cry during its general assembly as part of the Toward the New Millennium Project.Today, the mobilization is led by a National Coordination body comprising the CNBB’s Commission 8, Catholic pastoral groups and organizations, and various social movements and entities — including the CPT, Cáritas Brasileira, the Workers‘ Pastoral, the Migrants’ Pastoral Service, CEBs, the MST, MAB, CMP, and CNTE.According to the event’s organizers, the choice of Sept. 7 is intended to provide a “counterpoint” to the official Independence Day commemoration. The date has also been identified by the event’s organizers as a moment for “political awareness” and the struggle for a “new national and global order.”While the movement’s longtime theme is “Life Comes First!”, the slogan for 2026 is: “In defense of the land, peace, and housing, we raise our voices: Women alive and sovereignty!” National demands include ending the “6×1” (six days of work and one day off) work schedule, ensuring dignified housing, agrarian reform, quality public education, and the defense of the SUS (Unified Health System), as well as combating femicide, racism, and what is termed as “LGBTphobia.”The event’s website states that the choice of Sept. 7 seeks to offer a “counterpoint to the official history of Brazilʼs independence. Contrasting with the civic and military parades that have traditionally marked the day, it calls upon the people — especially the poor and the excluded — to step down from the grandstands, leave passive patriotism behind, and occupy public squares and streets in defense of their rights.”This story was first published by ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

This past Sept. 7, the “Creed of the Ecclesial Base Communities” was included as part of a Mass marking Brazil’s annual “Cry of the Excluded” event.

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3 young Lebanese men turn small Bible study into largest in the Middle East #Catholic A year ago, three young Lebanese men started a small Bible study group in their parish hall. Today, it has grown into what organizers describe as the largest Bible study initiative in the Middle East, with more than 3,000 people taking part in the gatherings.Each session follows a simple but carefully structured program. It begins with approximately 40 minutes devoted to explaining and exploring a passage from the Bible, followed by approximately 15 minutes of spiritual reflection. Participants then move on to an interactive segment featuring games and questions about the Bible or other topics related to the Christian faith, such as Marian apparitions. The gatherings are free and held under the supervision of Catholic priests.Behind each session, however, lies an extensive preparation process. Jimmy Chaaya, one of the initiative’s founders, explained that he seeks to vary the topics from week to week and studies the selected passage with a hermit.His research includes examining the original Greek words in Scripture, their meanings, and the cultural context in which they were used alongside the Church Fathers’ interpretations of the text. He also consults Jewish writings, geography books, papal homilies, and other sources. Once his research is complete, Chaaya submits the material to several priests for review and approval before presenting it to participants.
 
 More than 3,000 people now attend a Bible study in Lebanon, believed to be the largest in the Middle East, which was started by three young adults. | Credit: Charbel El Hajj
 
 Initially, the Bible study gatherings took place on Mondays. As attendance grew, the team added a second session on Tuesdays and is now preparing to introduce a Wednesday gathering as well. Chaaya said the team hopes to expand beyond its current location in the town of Antelias.To that end, the organizers are training people to lead similar gatherings in other parts of Lebanon while their long-term vision extends beyond the country’s borders. Charbel El Hage, another founder, said the team hopes to bring the initiative to other countries, particularly in the Middle East, where he sees considerable potential for such efforts to grow.El Hage noted that the initiative has benefited from the support of the Maronite Archdiocese of Antelias from the outset as well as broad support within the Church. This backing, he said, has helped the project develop smoothly.Attendance is not limited to Catholics. According to Chaaya, Christians from various churches and denominations — including Orthodox Christians and Protestants — have joined the gatherings, alongside people from other religious backgrounds, including Muslims. He added that a number of participants are currently preparing to receive the sacrament of baptism.
 
 More than 3,000 people now attend a Bible study in Lebanon, believed to be the largest in the Middle East, which was started by three young adults. | Credit: Charbel El Hajj
 
 Although the initiative is aimed primarily at young people, team member Majd Samia stressed that there are no strict age limits. “Everyone needs Jesus,” he said, which is why the gatherings are open to all. For Samia, the strong turnout reflects young people’s thirst to hear the word of God and explore it more deeply. This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

3 young Lebanese men turn small Bible study into largest in the Middle East #Catholic A year ago, three young Lebanese men started a small Bible study group in their parish hall. Today, it has grown into what organizers describe as the largest Bible study initiative in the Middle East, with more than 3,000 people taking part in the gatherings.Each session follows a simple but carefully structured program. It begins with approximately 40 minutes devoted to explaining and exploring a passage from the Bible, followed by approximately 15 minutes of spiritual reflection. Participants then move on to an interactive segment featuring games and questions about the Bible or other topics related to the Christian faith, such as Marian apparitions. The gatherings are free and held under the supervision of Catholic priests.Behind each session, however, lies an extensive preparation process. Jimmy Chaaya, one of the initiative’s founders, explained that he seeks to vary the topics from week to week and studies the selected passage with a hermit.His research includes examining the original Greek words in Scripture, their meanings, and the cultural context in which they were used alongside the Church Fathers’ interpretations of the text. He also consults Jewish writings, geography books, papal homilies, and other sources. Once his research is complete, Chaaya submits the material to several priests for review and approval before presenting it to participants. More than 3,000 people now attend a Bible study in Lebanon, believed to be the largest in the Middle East, which was started by three young adults. | Credit: Charbel El Hajj Initially, the Bible study gatherings took place on Mondays. As attendance grew, the team added a second session on Tuesdays and is now preparing to introduce a Wednesday gathering as well. Chaaya said the team hopes to expand beyond its current location in the town of Antelias.To that end, the organizers are training people to lead similar gatherings in other parts of Lebanon while their long-term vision extends beyond the country’s borders. Charbel El Hage, another founder, said the team hopes to bring the initiative to other countries, particularly in the Middle East, where he sees considerable potential for such efforts to grow.El Hage noted that the initiative has benefited from the support of the Maronite Archdiocese of Antelias from the outset as well as broad support within the Church. This backing, he said, has helped the project develop smoothly.Attendance is not limited to Catholics. According to Chaaya, Christians from various churches and denominations — including Orthodox Christians and Protestants — have joined the gatherings, alongside people from other religious backgrounds, including Muslims. He added that a number of participants are currently preparing to receive the sacrament of baptism. More than 3,000 people now attend a Bible study in Lebanon, believed to be the largest in the Middle East, which was started by three young adults. | Credit: Charbel El Hajj Although the initiative is aimed primarily at young people, team member Majd Samia stressed that there are no strict age limits. “Everyone needs Jesus,” he said, which is why the gatherings are open to all. For Samia, the strong turnout reflects young people’s thirst to hear the word of God and explore it more deeply. This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

More than 3,000 people have joined a growing Catholic Bible study initiative in Lebanon as organizers launch more days and times throughout the country and beyond.

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Students Build Moon Robots for NASA’s 2026 Lunabotics Challenge – Katherine Rauscher, of Michigan Technological University, prepares her team’s prototype lunar robot for its turn during the finals for NASA’s 2026 Lunabotics Challenge competition on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, inside the Astronauts Memorial Foundation’s Center for Space Education at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Forty-seven teams from around the U.S. designed and built remote-controlled robots capable of traversing challenging lunar terrain while constructing regolith-based berm under conditions similar to those the agency will face as it returns to the lunar surface through Artemis.

Katherine Rauscher, of Michigan Technological University, prepares her team’s prototype lunar robot for its turn during the finals for NASA’s 2026 Lunabotics Challenge competition on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, inside the Astronauts Memorial Foundation’s Center for Space Education at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Forty-seven teams from around the U.S. designed and built remote-controlled robots capable of traversing challenging lunar terrain while constructing regolith-based berm under conditions similar to those the agency will face as it returns to the lunar surface through Artemis.

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Telescopes Team Up for New View of Cat’s Eye Nebula – In Euclid’s wide, near-infrared, and visible light view, the arcs and filaments of the nebula’s bright central region are situated within a halo of colorful fragments of gas zooming away from the star. This ring was ejected from the star at an earlier stage, before the main nebula at the center formed. Hubble captures the very core of the billowing gas with high-resolution visible-light images, adding extra detail in the center of this image. The whole nebula stands out against a backdrop teeming with distant galaxies, demonstrating how local astrophysical beauty and the farthest reaches of the cosmos can be seen together in modern astronomical surveys. Together, these missions provide a rich and complementary view of NGC 6543 — revealing the delicate interplay between stellar end-of-life processes and the vast cosmic tapestry beyond.

In Euclid’s wide, near-infrared, and visible light view, the arcs and filaments of the nebula’s bright central region are situated within a halo of colorful fragments of gas zooming away from the star. This ring was ejected from the star at an earlier stage, before the main nebula at the center formed. Hubble captures the very core of the billowing gas with high-resolution visible-light images, adding extra detail in the center of this image. The whole nebula stands out against a backdrop teeming with distant galaxies, demonstrating how local astrophysical beauty and the farthest reaches of the cosmos can be seen together in modern astronomical surveys. Together, these missions provide a rich and complementary view of NGC 6543 — revealing the delicate interplay between stellar end-of-life processes and the vast cosmic tapestry beyond.

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Artemis II Recovery Training – Off the coast of California, NASA’s Artemis Landing and Recovery team and the Department of War that will work together to retrieve the Artemis II crew and Orion spacecraft following their return to Earth and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean are performing a final simulation of their activities, called a just-in-time training, at sea on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. During the training, teams use the Crew Module Test Article, a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft, to simulate as close as possible the conditions they can expect to encounter during splashdown of the Artemis II mission.

Off the coast of California, NASA’s Artemis Landing and Recovery team and the Department of War that will work together to retrieve the Artemis II crew and Orion spacecraft following their return to Earth and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean are performing a final simulation of their activities, called a just-in-time training, at sea on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. During the training, teams use the Crew Module Test Article, a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft, to simulate as close as possible the conditions they can expect to encounter during splashdown of the Artemis II mission.

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The Carbothermal Reduction Demonstration (CaRD) project aims to demonstrate the carbothermal reduction of lunar regolith to produce oxygen on the Moon’s South Pole. For this test, the team integrated the solar concentrator, mirrors, and software and confirmed the production of carbon monoxide.

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Webb Maps Uranus’ Upper Atmosphere – For the first time, an international team of astronomers have mapped the vertical structure of Uranus’s upper atmosphere, uncovering how temperature and charged particles vary with height across the planet.

For the first time, an international team of astronomers have mapped the vertical structure of Uranus’s upper atmosphere, uncovering how temperature and charged particles vary with height across the planet.

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Picture of the day





Margaret D. Foster, seen in her lab. The original caption by the National Photo Company is “Miss Margaret D. Foster, Uncle Sam’s only woman chemist, Oct. 4/19” – that’s possibly a bit misleading, though she definitely was the first female chemist in the United States Geological Survey team.
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Picture of the day
Margaret D. Foster, seen in her lab. The original caption by the National Photo Company is “Miss Margaret D. Foster, Uncle Sam’s only woman chemist, Oct. 4/19” – that’s possibly a bit misleading, though she definitely was the first female chemist in the United States Geological Survey team.
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Picture of the day





Explosive Ordnance Disposal 1st Class Christopher Courtney assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Six (EODMU-6), Det. 16 assists his team members during Special Purpose Insertion Extraction (SPIE) training from an SH-60 Seahawk helicopter. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) shown below the helicopter was launched on this day 50 years ago.
 #ImageOfTheDay
Picture of the day
Explosive Ordnance Disposal 1st Class Christopher Courtney assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Six (EODMU-6), Det. 16 assists his team members during Special Purpose Insertion Extraction (SPIE) training from an SH-60 Seahawk helicopter. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) shown below the helicopter was launched on this day 50 years ago.
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