People with disabilities were often overlooked and faced discrimination in various health care policies and practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, said the Pontifical Academy for Life.

People with disabilities were often overlooked and faced discrimination in various health care policies and practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, said the Pontifical Academy for Life.
The father-daughter reunion at a Catholic school in suburban Chicago was weeks in the making. U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Konrad Otachel recently made a surprise visit to St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic School in Palatine to see his daughter, Naomi, a kindergartner.
Praying for families around the world who have been restricted to their homes because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pope Francis included mention of victims of domestic violence.
Finding the best ways to accompany and strengthen local families on their journey of faith was the focus of a lay ministry conference in Flushing last Saturday.
I worked a lot of hours and have no regrets… What I have learned is that I could have managed my stress better, set boundaries and switched off work issues when I was with the family…
In “Amoris Laetitia” (“The Joy of Love”), Pope Francis’ postsynodal apostolic exhortation on the family, there is passion and devotion, but also heartache and sweat. The “magic” he wrote about is not momentarily sparkly, but the result of prayer, grace, hard work and a willingness to apologize – time and time again.
Good news, Mom and Dad! Take comfort in this Year of Mercy, because you’ve been living and teaching the corporal and spiritual works of mercy for years.
“When it comes to making gravy, there are two kinds of people,” I said to my 10-year-old grandson this past Christmas. “Flour people and cornstarch people. We’re cornstarch people.” He nodded.
Family life is beautiful and important. It is in a family that a child comes to know that he or she is loved and first learns to love others. It is in the family where a child first recognizes the gift of faith and the obligations of charity. While beautiful and important, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, also reminds us that no family is perfect.
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, As we begin Respect Life Month, we can hardly forget the great witness to life that Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, gave on his visit to the United States. In a simple and direct way, he touched the heart of the issue when it comes to preserving life from beginning to end. It is the family that preserves life. It is the family that is responsible for giving life, nurturing life from its beginning to its end. His wonderful talk to families, on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia during that Saturday Prayer Vigil for the Festival of Families, was truly remarkable.