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When Josh and Maria Gehl leave for three months of training in September, they will begin serving a two-year assignment in another country.

Mother Teresa was quoted as saying that the problem with the world is that we draw the circle of our family too small. This quote may not be true for everyone, but it definitely was true for me.

The Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministry installed the 2016-2017 Diocesan Youth Board in June in the Catholic Center in downtown Buffalo. These 10 new members will follow a long tradition of teens helping other teens by planning youth ministry activities for the diocese.

The Olympics have not yet begun, but the Western New York Catholic has brought home some gold. The diocesan newspaper received four awards at the Catholic Press Association's annual media conference held June 1-3.

A lot of sharing and caring took place at Christ the King Seminary recently, along with a lot of learning and square dancing, as 40 teens took part in the Christian Leadership Institute.

In August, the diocesan Department of Lifelong Faith Formation will welcome a well-known speaker on Catholic adult faith formation to Immaculate Conception Convent of the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph in Hamburg. From 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 17, "Engaging Adults: Presented by Vibrant Faith" will include Leif Kehrwald of Vibrant Faith, a family faith development coordinator.

It was American Protestant theologian Reinhold Niebuhr who famously declared that the Christian teaching on original sin is "the only empirically verifiable doctrine of the Christian faith."

The 2016 Appeal for Catholic Charities of Buffalo ended on a high note this evening as Bishop Richard J. Malone took to the stage at Kleinhans Music Hall immediately prior to the Forte Tenors concert to announce this year's campaign surpassed its $11 million goal, with cash and pledges received totaling $11,108,356.45.

VATICAN CITY (CNA/EWTN News) - During his Angelus address Wednesday Pope Francis offered prayers for the victims of Tuesday's deadly attack on an Istanbul airport, asking that God would convert the hearts of those who choose violence.

VATICAN CITY (CNA/EWTN News) - On Tuesday, Benedict XVI gave his second public speech since his final day as Pope, expressing gratitude for a lengthy priesthood and for Pope Francis' "goodness," which he said moves him deeply.

The Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Divine Child began in the Diocese of Buffalo in 1927 to help thousands of children of Italian immigrants in need of religious instruction. Some original members of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Divine Child gathered recently at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Buffalo for Mass to remember their origins and to be recognized by the Italian Federation.

WASHINGTON, DC (CNA/EWTN News) - On Monday, the Supreme Court struck down a 2013 Texas law regulating the safety of abortion clinics, saying in a 5-3 decision that it put an undue burden on a women's right to an abortion.

Since 1845, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul has worked to provide material and spiritual assistance to those who need it most. The director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Buffalo spoke about St. Vincent's Door, a fund the local society is creating with the goal of helping women and children who are now in transition and need help after surviving domestic violence or other hardships.

Recently, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, offered the following challenge: "But nowadays who is making an effort to strengthen marriages, to help married couples overcome their problems, to assist them in the work of raising children and, in general, to encourage the stability of the marriage bond?"

Catholic and Episcopal parishes have followed the example of their shepherds by joining forces to help the needy. Now, a family of Somali refugees will have a home in Buffalo, thanks to the work of the two congregations.

Bishop Richard J. Malone is the first to admit that he wears two hats for the Church. He is not only the "chief shepherd", but also the CEO of a corporation that is the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo.

Pope Francis has given to the Church four major teaching documents - two encyclical letters and two apostolic exhortations. In each of these documents, the pope invites us to deeper, stronger, and more authentic ways of living our faith as friends and followers of Jesus Christ sent on mission to bring the Gospel to the world.

"To be Catholic and to be American should not mean having to choose one over the other," said Father Robert Zilliox in a Mass that began the two week period known as the Fortnight for Freedom.

ROME, ITALY (CNA/EWTN News) - A Vatican conference dedicated to the up-and-coming 'theology of disability' aims not only to end common stigma surrounding persons with disabilities, but to show that their lives are a gift and to help integrate them more fully into the life of the Church and of society.

Raymond Arroyo, longtime right hand man for Mother Angelica, tells the rest of the story about the woman who created the Catholic broadcast empire known as EWTN.

Bishop Richard Malone reminisces about his Dad and the important role fathers have in the family in this week's "Consider This."

Bishop Richard J. Malone and Richard C. Suchan, executive director of The Foundation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, have announced Judy and Tom Beecher, Barbara and Jerry Castiglia, and Betsy and John Sullivan are serving as co-chairs of the "Upon This Rock" capital and endowment campaign.

While tutoring in the inner city of Buffalo, Ting Gao discovered students can't learn without the proper tools. Rather than hold a simple collection, the Mount St. Mary Academy senior started a non-profit organization to fill the needs in the lives of the less fortunate.

Bishop Richard J. Malone has announced the appointment of a new liaison for retired priests.

"An exceptionally good trip" is the way Father Matt Nycz describes a recent pilgrimage to Poland. The pastor of Blessed Mary Angela Parish in Dunkirk, who was born and raised in Poland, helped arrange the mid-May trip which included about 30 Catholics from the Diocese of Buffalo.

Mary Queen of Angels Regional Catholic School in Cheektowaga is extremely proud of its status as a STREAM Academy.

VATICAN CITY (CNA/EWTN News) - Pope Francis has offered his prayers and compassion for those affected by Saturday night's shooting at a nightclub in Orlando.

George Richert, the new director of Communications for the Diocese of Buffalo, makes his first appearance on "Western New York Catholic Weekly," the newsradio show of the Diocese of Buffalo.

Bishop Richard J. Malone and 200 pilgrims from the Diocese of Buffalo will travel to Krakow next month to be with Pope Francis. Bishop Malone shares his enthusiasm for the trip and the World Youth Day prayer in "Consider This."

We're continuing to evolve our digital strategy, and our newest online feature will make all of our best news as easily available as an email.

In the Gospel of Matthew 19:14, we read the following: "Jesus said, 'Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'"

Before he passed away this year, Ramblin' Lou Schriver, nicknamed "Western New York's Father of Country Music," was known for having an impact on not only country music, but also radio and broadcasting.

It's not uncommon, when we hit a milestone in our lives, to go back and recapture some of the highlights of our ministry. In doing so, I recalled an incident that occurred very early on in my ministry.

George Richert has gone from reporting the news to making sure the Good News gets reported. The former Channel 4 personality became the director of Communications for the Diocese of Buffalo this past March. Richert, 49, fills a spot left vacant since Kevin Keenan's departure in 2011.

As part of their STREAM education, middle school students from 10 diocesan schools viewed the screening of the documentary, "Finding Noah," about an expedition to the summit of Mount Ararat in Turkey to search for scientific evidence of Noah's Ark. The screening took place at the Buffalo Museum of Science.

It's the end of an era for the Western New York Catholic. After 32 years of headlines and deadlines, managing editor Rick Franusiak will retire.

Bishop Richard J. Malone has announced the following clergy appointments.

Bishop Richard J. Malone addresses the Obama administration's instruction to schools that allow students to use a restroom consistent with whatever gender identity they choose. The bishop shares Pope Francis' message of "...young people accepting their body as it was created" in this latest episode of "Consider This."

VATICAN CITY - Thirteen-year-old Veronica Cantero Burroni fulfilled a dream on Wednesday, when she got to see Pope Francis, who offered her a warm embrace at the end of his general audience.

Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora held a pastoral conference in May on the growing problem of opioid, prescription and other drug overdoses in the region. The event had a range of speakers who addressed this serious issue and suggested ways to respond.