Uncategorized

By Jay Sorgi • CatholicPhilly.com

Awareness of one’s need for better mental health has grown dramatically in recent decades. That call to personal growth extends universally across faith traditions and demographic lines.

St. Athanasius Parish in Northwest Philadelphia’s West Oak Lane neighborhood is using a series of Saturday gatherings to address that need through the lens of the Catholic faith.

Story by Shaun Boyd | CBS News on MSN 

A bill by Colorado’s Rep. Joe Neguse and Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper would award Ed Dwight the Congressional Gold Medal.

Dwight is the first Black astronaut candidate and oldest man to go into space. The 91-year-old has also owned several successful businesses during his extraordinary life and is a nationally renowned sculptor.

He says, in many ways, his destiny was written by his mom.

“She had this thing beat into my brain that anybody who had the advantage either educationally or financially owed it to the rest of the community,” he said.

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Reverend Simon Peter Engurait, a priest of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux and current diocesan administrator, as the Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux.

Learn more about Bishop-elect Fr. Simon Peter Engurait by watching this video: https://youtu.be/keFk-GBLp6o?si=rMVmr87y4PGbnwuK

Though experts see high living costs and low social support as the main drivers of plummeting birth rates, recent polling has shown that many people forgo having children simply because they don’t want them.

By Daniel Payne | National Catholic Register

For Jonas and Ashley Batemen, the growth of their Mid-Atlantic family has been a “transformative experience.”

The Batemans were married in 2008 and have six children. Prior to getting married, the two “knew we wanted children but had very little discussion about how that would look,” Ashley said.

WASHINGTON – Four dedicated pro-life advocates were honored on August 11 at the 2025 People of Life awards during the Diocesan Pro-Life Leadership Conference in Arlington, Virginia. This year’s honorees are Valerie Washington, Judy Haag, and the late Rita and Mike Marker. Approximately 100 diocesan Catholic pro-life leaders and guests attended the private awards dinner, including Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of Toledo, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington.

The People of Life award recognizes Catholics who have answered the call outlined by Saint John Paul II in The Gospel of Life (Evangelium vitae, 1995) by dedicating themselves to pro-life activities and promoting respect for the dignity of the human person. It is bestowed in honor of their significant and longtime contributions to the culture of life.