The recent rash of shootings in the U.S. is further evidence that secular life is moving in a dangerous direction that demonstrates a lack of respect for the dignity of life. 

The Lord’s gift to us is His peace. It is part and parcel of the very nature of God as the Divine Mercy. Sunday, we celebrated that Divine Mercy in a special way as we concluded the Easter Octave. 

This Lenten season the churches of the Diocese of Brooklyn saw a year of growth and celebration after the inauguration of the Lenten Pilgrimage. 

Catholics celebrate over the next few days our high holy days, ones in which we see how the paschal mystery — the passion, death, and resurrection of Our Savior Jesus Christ — redeems the cosmos. 

On Monday, April 3, churches in the Archdiocese of New York, the Diocese of Brooklyn, and the Diocese of Rockville Centre will celebrate “Reconciliation Monday,” an opportunity where parishes will offer the sacrament of penance to all who wish to come during several hours over the day.

“It is a duty to guarantee persons with disabilities access to buildings and meeting places, to make languages accessible,
and to overcome physical barriers and prejudices,” Pope Francis said late last year.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has long been a persecutor of the Catholic Church in the Central American country, and the communist leader recently stepped up his attacks.

The pope was asked about a purported “gay lobby” among priests at the Vatican who protect each other. He condemned any such lobby, and said it was important to “distinguish between a person who is gay and someone who makes a gay lobby.” 

The Diocese of Brooklyn held two gatherings last weekend, showcasing the strength of faith within. The first saw Bishop Robert Brennan returning to the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, New York, where he was once a seminarian, to welcome 27 young men for a vocation retreat on Feb. 25.

One of the great traditions in the city of Rome is the Station Church Pilgrimage. Sponsored by the Pontifical North American College, the U.S. seminary in the Vatican, it is an opportunity to attend Holy Mass at a different church or basilica in Rome.