Current News

2 programs honoring the memory of Gary Tatu who founded Harvest House with wife, Linda.

WASHINGTON—On World AIDS Day, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, Chair of the USCCB Committee on International Justice and Peace, along with Sean Callahan, President and CEO of Catholic Relief Services, urge full funding of U.S. and global HIV and AIDS programs in the FY 2019 budget request. Their position was outlined in a letter sent to the Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

WASHINGTON—To commemorate the United Nations International Day for the Abolition of Slavery on December 2, 2017, the Coalition of Catholic Organizations Against Human Trafficking (CCOAHT) is asking seafood producers, distributors and seafood retailers to make public, through packaged product labeling, their efforts to fight human trafficking in their product supply chains. According to CCOAHT, consumers are not receiving enough information needed to make moral purchasing decisions.

Catholics in the Diocese of Buffalo will have the opportunity to "give to those who have given a lifetime" as part of the collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious, to be held in parishes Dec. 9-10. Coordinated by the National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO) in Washington, D.C., the annual appeal benefits 32,000 elderly Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests whose religious congregations lack adequate retirement funding.

At St. John Vianney School in Orchard Park, students have been learning about science, technology, religion, engineering, the arts and mathematics as a school participating in the diocesan STREAM program. As December rolls around, they are preparing to take what they have learned to the X-STREAM by making their own video games.

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY — Niagara University capped off its 2017 celebration of Vincentian Heritage Week by announcing the coordination of a partnership that will donate leftover food items from its dining halls to two of its nonprofit community partners.

Last month, St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Tonawanda held a training session for Catholics looking to incorporate exercise into their daily prayer. Colleen Scariano and Deanne Miller, the co-founders of SoulCore, held a training session intended to introduce others to teaching the experience they first began in Carmel, Ind.

The St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute Alumni Association is pleased to announce that the following individuals will be placed on the Fine Arts Wall of Honor: Artie Kwitchoff '84, Christopher Markus '87, Zachary Cain '98 and JJ Wright '03.

A Live Nativity will bring the Christmas story to life during Hilbert College's 20th annual Christmas celebration from 2 to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 3. The celebration will include a children's Christmas party, complete with a visit from Santa, following the nativity.

TONAWANDA — Adam Gorski plans to make his mark in the world through his sports writing.

Harmonia continues its tradition of a cappella Advent and Christmas music, performed in the beauty of candlelight.

More than nine weeks after Hurricane Maria tore through Puerto Rico, many residents of the island are trying to pull their lives back together somewhere else. For at least 400 of them, that somewhere else is Buffalo. That's why Holy Cross Catholic Church on the city's lower west side assembled a day long outreach in the parish hall to provide counseling from agencies offering social services, housing, employment counseling, medical insurance, food, furniture and schooling.

This past September, four students of the Catholic faith entered the ranks of transitional deacon. They are in a unique place in their education. They are still students, not yet priests, but have been granted some of the faculties of clergy. These four men will spend about nine months developing their craft before being ordained to the priesthood this spring.

Christmastime is always special at the Response to Love Center in Buffalo, and this year will be no different. Director Sister Johnice Rzadkiewicz, CSSF, is especially tuned in to what people need through prayer, and believes that her mission is to go where God is leading her. For the last few years, the focus has been on the specific needs of locals.

Fifty years is a long time to endure forced suffering.

You may have seen the movie "Hidden Figures" (and if you haven't, you should). It's the story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program. It is a story not only of their talent and their ability to overcome obstacles, but also of the challenges and roadblocks that African-Americans (especially women) faced in the early '60s.

Catholic Health has agreed to purchase the Immaculate Conception Convent at 5229 South Park Ave. in Hamburg from the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph. The agreement provides for the continued residence of the congregation. The sale is expected to close on Dec. 28.

In July, Sister Dominica Hooper, OP, professed perpetual vows, the final step in becoming a Dominican Sister of Mary. Last month, Sister Dominica and her parents spoke about her experience and the importance of religious vocations today.

WASHINGTON, DC - Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice, Florida, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, called for amendments to the Senate tax reform proposal to "ensure a just and moral framework for all."

IRONDALE, ALA. (CNA/EWTN News) - EWTN Global Catholic Network has introduced a new service allowing free on-demand access to a large library of its video content, with more than 12,000 programs available, and more being added regularly.

DENVER, COLO. (CNA) - Sexual misconduct allegations against Republican candidate Roy Moore have brought Alabama's special election to fill a U.S. Senate seat into the national spotlight.

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

Bishop Richard J. Malone announced the diocesan Upon This Rock capital and endowment campaign has raised $107 million since February 2016, surpassing its goal of $100 million, thanks to the donations and efforts of 27,000 benefactors who gave gifts of varying sizes. The bishop made the announcement during a press conference Nov. 20.

The Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican's highest judicial court, has ruled that Bishop Richard J. Malone, bishop of Buffalo, was within his rights to issue a decree on Aug. 14, 2013, closing St. Ann Church on Broadway in Buffalo.

LEWISTON — St. Peter School has been formally accepted into Cohort 4 of the Buffalo Diocese STREAM initiative. STREAM is an integrated approach to education that brings science, technology, religion, engineering, the arts and mathematics to all students in all grades. The goal is to better prepare students for successful careers in the 21st-century workforce in a field where jobs for recent graduates are in high demand.

While many people lament the problems caused by the use of social media, there are countless pearls of wisdom that are shared every day on outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. While often the platform for instant news, political rants and the need people have to put themselves out there, inspiration can also be found in cyberspace. A recent tweet by Pope Francis was an attention getter. The pope tweeted, "Our contagious joy must be our first testimony of the closeness and love of God."

Rabbinic Jewish writings present their understanding of God and of our lives. Read what they write on the purpose of pronouncing a blessing/thanksgiving over food. Their insight occurs in a discussion of an apparent conflict between two Scripture verses.

WASHINGTON— Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice, Florida, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, expressed "great disappointment" over the House of Representatives' passage of the deeply flawed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, calling on the Senate to work toward legislation that fixes the problems with H.R.1. The full statement reads as follows:

WASHINGTON, DC (CNA/EWTN News) - The House of Representatives on Thursday passed a major tax reform bill, which had drawn caution from the U.S. bishops, who had warned that it could place additional burdens on the working poor.

VATICAN CITY (CNA/EWTN News) - On Wednesday, Pope Francis called out the common habit of chatting with people around you before Mass, stressing that this is a time for silent prayer, when we prepare our hearts for an encounter with the Lord.

VATICAN CITY (CNA/EWTN News) - Pope Francis sent a message Thursday to a conference on climate change, telling participants the problem is something that can't be ignored, but must be met with a proactive desire to develop effective solutions.

The word "brotherhood" is used a lot around St. Francis High School. The Athol Springs institution, steeped deep into Franciscan values, uses the term to describe the all-male student body. Where the teachers provide the education and the friars imbue the Franciscan values, it is up to the students themselves to support one another.

In September, the Diocese of Buffalo began implementing a new faith formation curriculum, "Forming Disciples." To prepare parish leadership for this transition, diocesan staff from the Department of Lifelong Faith Formation have visited over 155 parishes to discuss it and answer questions. Parishes are being supported to develop their own implementation plans, likely to spread out over two to three years, rather than a few months.

Each day in the Diocese of Buffalo, permanent deacons assist priests and participate in the liturgy in parishes throughout Western New York. Last month, Deacon Timothy Chriswell, who was appointed the head of the diaconate program in the diocese on Sept. 1, spoke about the role of deacons in the Catholic Church, as well as what differentiates the unique vocation of deacons from that of priesthood.

A new initiative to develop a pastoral plan that would offer more support for Catholic marriages and families was approved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops during their Fall General Assembly in Baltimore Nov. 14. Bishop Richard J. Malone of Buffalo presented the case before the bishops, calling on the body to take a new look at the issue.

Father John N. Reuther, a Consolata missionary priest, died Nov. 1, 2017, at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital in Williamsville. He was 79.

As part of a humanitarian effort to help children in need throughout the world, St. Mary Parish in Canaseraga has formed a committee to raise money to purchase a van for Sister Stan's Children Inc., to help Sister Stan Terese Mario Mumuni, of the Marian Sisters of Eucharistic Love, transport children to her orphanage in Ghana. Sister Stan has made it her life's goal to help "spirit children," infants born with birth defects who would otherwise have been rejected by their families.

Deacon Miguel Santos has been to hell and back. He saw death, destruction and despair during a two-week stay in Houston while offering relief to the victims of Hurricane Harvey. He has also seen strangers helping strangers, and people forgoing aid because others need it more.

A recent family collaboration resulted in $200,000 to benefit Our Lady of Victory Organizations via their ongoing capital campaign. The campaign, entitled The Campaign for "Father Baker's" ­- Continuing His Legacy of Caring, which started in 2012, has now reached $11.5 million of its $12 million goal to enrich the lives of people in the Western New York area. The capital campaign runs until Dec. 31.

One of the Diocese of Buffalo's own military veterans received a special recognition just before Veterans Day. Msgr. Dino J. Lorenzetti was inducted in The Buffalo and Erie Country Naval and Military Park's Wall of Honor on Nov. 10.