Current News

What does Mercy look like through the eyes of another person? Bishop Richard J. Malone helps us to answer this question in this week's "Consider This."

EAST AURORA — Christ the King Seminary will conduct its annual fall fundraising campaign throughout the month of September. President-rector Father Joseph Gatto said this year's goal of $355,000 is needed to help keep pace with the seminary's continued growth in enrollment, along with enhancements to campus facilities and classrooms and ongoing faculty additions.

On Sunday, Sept. 18, at 6:30 p.m., St. Bernadette Parish in Orchard Park will release a new youth ministry program. Its pastor, Father Paul D. Seil, said helping middle and high school aged students to become more engaged in their Catholic faith was too important of a goal to abandon after a partnership with another Southtowns parish ended.

St. Mary of the Lake Parish in Hamburg will host a seven-week Life in the Spirit Seminar to introduce the power of the Holy Spirit to those seeking it. The diocesan Office of Charismatic Renewal uses these seminars to renew the zeal for souls, promote the New Evangelization and a culture of Pentecost.

Bishop Timon-St. Jude High School in Buffalo has appointed Michele Battin to serve as the school's newest principal, effective July 1. The high school made the appointment as part of an ongoing transition in leadership model for the historic school.

In providing its services to the community, the Chemical Dependency Treatment Program of Catholic Charities' Monsignor Carr Institute in Buffalo is at the forefront of Western New York's fight against an ongoing epidemic of opioid addiction and related deaths. The center provides help for recovering patients, including counseling and Suboxone, a medication prescribed for associated symptoms.

Each year, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops designates the third Sunday in September as Catechetical Sunday, an opportunity for catechists at the diocesan and parish levels throughout the United States to focus on lifelong faith formation. Since the theme for this year's event is, "Prayer: The Faith Prayed," parishes will focus on devoting themselves to prayer and the understanding of the practice.

Bishop Edward M. Grosz, auxiliary bishop of Buffalo, will present "The Role of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, in the Mystery of Christ and the Church" on Monday, Sept. 26, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Our Lady of Pompeii Parish Ministry Center, 129 Laverack Ave. in Lancaster.

Bishop Richard J. Malone, bishop of Buffalo, will be the principal celebrant and homilist at the annual Red Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral, 50 Franklin St., Buffalo, on Wednesday, Sept. 28, at 12:05 p.m. Hon. Lawrence J. Vilardo, United States district judge, will give remarks at the close of the Mass on behalf of the judiciary.

WASHINGTON - Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities, issued the following statement alerting the public to a deceptive ad campaign calling for taxpayer funding of abortion in the name of the Catholic faith.

Two USCCB committee chairmen have issued a joint statement reaffirming the Catholic Church's teaching on marriage "as exclusively the permanent, faithful, and fruitful union of one man and one woman [and] cannot change."

LANCASTER - Potential students and their parents are invited to attend St. Mary's High School annual open house. Families will be able to meet current students, faculty, and coaches while touring the campus and learning more about St. Mary's.

On Sunday, Sept. 25, Our Lady of Fatima Shrine, 1023 Swann Road, Lewiston, will be the site of the 36th Annual Rosary Crusade for World Peace. The event, which will take place from 2-3:30 p.m., is sponsored by the Niagara Council of Catholic Women of the Diocese of Buffalo. "Mother of mercy, pray for us" is the theme of this year's crusade.

WASHINGTON - Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, responded to a statement issued last week by the chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights upon the issuance of its report on "Peaceful Coexistence."

St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute is pleased to announce the dates for its annual open house for prospective students and their families. The event will take place on Sunday, Oct. 2 from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Monday, Oct. 3 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the school, located at 845 Kenmore Ave. in Buffalo.

On Saturday, Sept. 17, Bishop Richard J. Malone, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, will ordain five men to the holy order of deacon. One gentleman will be a permanent deacon and the other four will continue their studies for the priesthood. This special Mass will be held at 9:30 a.m. at St. Joseph Cathedral, 50 Franklin St., Buffalo.

Last month, Niagara University and Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center affirmed that they will be working together in commitment to promoting revitalization and economic growth in not only the city of Niagara Falls, but also all of Niagara County and Western New York, while encouraging international tourism. On Sept. 9, the men in charge of the organizations signed a memorandum of understanding at NU's Niagara Global Tourism Institute in downtown Niagara Falls, signaling a new era of collaboration.

The Bishop's Committee for Christian Home and Family Visitors Program will have its Annual Meeting and Luncheon with Bishop Richard Malone on Thursday, October 6, at 9:30 a.m., at St. Philip the Apostle Parish, 950 Losson Road in Cheektowaga.

Sister Kathleen Francis Honc, OSF, died Sept. 9, 2016, in the St. Clare Community of St. Elizabeth Motherhouse in Allegany. She was 85 years of age.

The diocesan Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministry held its first-ever "Give Back," a large-scale outreach effort for young people to engage in community service in the name of the Catholic Church. The event, which took place Sept. 10 and allowed dozens of volunteers to help out at a total of 11 service sites, was a success.

During this time of uncertainty, and sometimes even hate, that some of our Hispanic brothers and sisters in Christ are feeling in this country, let us join in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Sister Marie Celeste Sullivan, OSF, died Sept. 7, 2016, at St. Elizabeth Motherhouse in Allegany. She was 87 years old.

Msgr. David Gallivan's life as a priest plays like a sequel to "Forrest Gump." In the past 50 years, the longtime director of the Hispanic Apostolate has had some unique, if not historical, experiences. From working with the poor in Buffalo to walking among cardinals in Washington, he has traveled through war zones, patched roofs and read secret files. Then there was the time he had to act as translator for a Cuban dictator.

On this week's Podcast we talk about upcoming Open Houses at our Catholic Cemeteries with director, Carmen Colao.

"It simply will be cheaper to kill than to treat," said Dennis Vacco as he made a case against physician assisted suicide. The former New York State Attorney General was one of the featured speakers at a forum hosted by the Public Policy Committee of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo.

For the first time in memory, the New York State Council of Catholic School Superintendents has assembled in Buffalo for two days of meetings.

This month on "Our Daily Bread," host Father Paul D. Seil takes a ride out to Arcade, located in the southwest corner of Wyoming County.

They are years away from being eligible to vote, but on their first day of the school year, eighth graders at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament School in Depew got a lesson on Faithful Citizenship.

As we open our schools in this, the 170th year of the existence of the Diocese of Buffalo, we can be proud of the state of our Catholic schools in 2016.

Sister Patricia Friel, OSF, died Sept. 3, 2016, at St. Elizabeth Motherhouse in Allegany. She was 82.

As Walt Disney once said, "If you can dream it, you can do it." The students and staff at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament School in Depew and St. Amelia School in Tonawanda took that a step further by believing that if you can dream it, you can STREAM it.

In his Feb. 13, 2014, address to the Congregation for Catholic Education in Vatican City, Pope Francis stated, "Catholic education is one of the most important challenges for the church, currently committed to new evangelization in a historical and cultural context that is undergoing constant transformation."

VATICAN CITY (CNA/EWTN News) - Pope Francis on Sunday officially declared Mother Teresa of Calcutta a saint of the Catholic Church in front of thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter's Square - a move the entire world has been waiting for.

It's back to school on this week's podcast with Sister Carol Cimino, diocesan superintendent of schools.

On the first day of school, each Catholic elementary school student will go home with a blank registration form to encourage all those who are eligible, but are not registered to vote, to do so in time to vote in the fall elections.

KENMORE — Last month, summer campers investigated Sir Isaac Newton's physics principles at St. John the Baptist School by participating in the school's weeklong STEM/STREAM camp, which incorporates key concepts of science, technology, engineering and math, as well as expanding the focus to include studies in religion and art.

WASHINGTON - The lack of jobs that can support families, particularly among those without access to higher education, has placed heavy burdens on families and communities across the country. This Labor Day, the Church draws close to these families and expresses words of hope, said Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development in the 2016 Labor Day statement.

On September 9, the feast of St. Peter Claver, the U.S. Catholic bishops are urging dioceses, parishes, and other faith communities to participate in a Day of Prayer for Peace in Our Communities. This day complements the ongoing work of a special task force, led by Archbishop Gregory, to help bishops and communities engage the challenging problems connected with race relations.

After living mostly away from his family, a refugee originally from what is now South Sudan was able to reunite with his wife and three of their four children at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, with most of them never before having set foot on American soil. On July 27, Fidele Diing Dhan, who has been working with Reaching Out 2 Africa with Father Ronald Sajdak and Joan Ersing, met his wife, Abang Garang Kuol, and their children Abuk, Lok and Gau at the airport. Dhan, born in what is now South Sudan, has lived here since 2001.

Sister Patricia Reen died Aug. 29, 2016, in Sisters Hospital in Buffalo, at 85 years of age.