As a Catholic and someone who has seen what harm to others — inmates and officers — looks like inside of Rikers Island, it’s hard to “pick a side” on Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s push to discontinuing solitary confinement.

Pope Leo XIV calls refugees “missionaries of hope.” The epistle on Dec. 28 tells us we are to don compassion, kindness, and more.

Polish tradition states that when the first star appears in the sky on Christmas Eve, the family can commence their holiday feast.  

Now in its 24th year, the annual Haitian pilgrimage to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., is a vibrant testament to faith and cultural resilience. 

The Blessed Mother is a beacon of constancy and strength, the vessel through which our Redemption enters the world.

Some mornings, I feel the glow of my mother’s faith shining through me. In those moments, I know without a doubt that she went to heaven.

When I first drove into Queens two summers ago, filled with memories of the last two years in missionary life, I knew the borough would become an important part of my journey, yet I could not have known I would be invited to stay.

May this World Youth Day inspire us all to walk together in hope, building a Church not only for our youth but with them; a Church alive with faith, compassion, and joy.

Let us continue to pray for our children, that the seeds of faith we sow today will eventually grow into lives rooted in love for God and service to His Church.

So: Humans have undeniable dignity, there are important truths that can’t be captured in surveys, and we must trust the Holy Spirit. Yet we’re called to be good stewards of our resources and the environment.