NEWS

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis met a former prime minister of Israel and a former Palestinian foreign minister who believe they have a workable peace plan for the Holy Land. Ehud Olmert, who served as the Israeli prime minister from 2006 to 2009, and Nasser al-Kidwa, the Palestinian foreign minister from 2005 to 2006, met Pope Francis Oct. 17 in the library of the Apostolic Palace.

At the mental health ministry in our diocese people hear these words daily - “You are not alone.” This is something for us all to be incredibly proud of. Peoples’ lives are being positively changed and God is transforming hearts. Because this ministry is so desperately needed by so many experiencing struggles, the positive echoes are reverberating around the globe, which can be seen in the numerous dioceses, and even countries, that are turning to our ministry as an example.  

Almost from the time she met Bishop John Dolan, Barb Rechterman sensed that one day she would work with him. One of 10 children, Rechterman lost her oldest sister to suicide in 1998. In the time leading up to her death, Rechterman recalls how, as she describes it, her sister “lost God in the process” of her mental-health struggle. 

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The celebration of World Mission Sunday is a popular day for a pope to canonize new saints -- not only those who ministered or gave up their lives in lands traditionally known as mission territories, but women and men from every walk of life and from around the world. The 2024 celebration of World Mission Sunday Oct. 20 will be no different. Pope Francis is scheduled to declare saints: Blessed Giuseppe Allamano, founder of the Consolata Missionaries; eight Franciscan friars and three Maronite laymen who were martyred in Syria in 1860; Canada-born Blessed Marie-Léonie Paradis, founder of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family; and Blessed Elena Guerra, an Italian nun who founded the Oblates of the Holy Spirit.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Most people claim they want unity, but usually they mean they want others to unite around their own point of view, which gives rise to conflict, Pope Francis said. "We all want unity, we all desire it from the depths of our heart," the pope said, "and yet it is so difficult to attain that even within marriage and the family union and concord are among the most difficult things to achieve and even harder to maintain."

NOTE: Christ in Our Neighborhood is a parish-based program consisting of small groups that gather in the home weekly to discuss and pray through the upcoming Sunday Mass readings. Find out more at Christ in Our Neighborhood - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix (dphx.org) This coming Sunday, we celebrate the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The question the Christ in Our Neighborhood reflection asks us is: Are you a person who likes to be noticed or receive accolades?

Catholics from parishes throughout the Diocese of Phoenix took to the streets Oct. 14 carrying a 50-foot rosary to pray for the protection of unborn babies and the defeat of Proposition 139. A 25-foot Winnebago wrapped in messages that warned of the dangers of the ballot proposition travelled alongside the peaceful prayer march that snaked its way through East Valley morning traffic.  “Prop 139 allows late term abortion” and “Prop 139 will increase child trafficking” were among some of the bold wording featured on the RV.

Fr. Estevan Wetzel is taking on two very different roles this fall; one he planned for, one he didn’t. Both involve a core aspect of any priest’s mission: sharing Jesus and the beauty of the Catholic faith, seeing the Lord water those seeds and helping others experience the peace, joy and fullness of a walk with God in this life, amid their joys and struggles. Neither of his new ministries fall within the traditional church setting.

“Who doesn’t want to be a superhero?”   These were the words of Fr. Kurt Perera, director of Vocations for the Diocese of Phoenix and formator at St. Mary’s House, who spoke to a packed church during a special vocations Mass earlier this month at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Tempe, Ariz.   The congregation was brimming with young boys and men.  During his homily, Fr. Perera spoke about the reality that God calls ordinary men to do extraordinary things for His Kingdom through the priesthood, and he boldly invited everyone present to be open to the possibility that the Lord might be calling them or someone from their own family to this profound way of life.

In a heartfelt celebration of nearly a century of service, Catholic Charities Community Services marked its 91st anniversary with a special Mass presided by Bishop John Dolan at Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Parish in Scottsdale, Ariz., last week. The occasion highlighted the organization's ongoing commitment to instilling hope in the lives of Arizona's most vulnerable residents since its founding in 1933.