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Iran's world war causes rocket damage to the McGivney House for Christians in Iraq

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Rocket Strikes McGivney House in Erbi l, Iraq Report by the Colombia Magazine staff The chapel of McGivney House in Erbil, Iraq, is shown after a March 4, 2026 rocket strike. The apartment building was constructed with help from the Knights of Columbus to house Christian families displaced by persecution and violence carried out by the Islamic State group. (Photo by Aemel Waad / Chaldean Archdiocese of Erbil) McGivney House, a 140-unit apartment complex in Erbil, Iraq, was partially damaged during a rocket strike March 4. The strike came four days after the February 28 U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran. Built with help from the Knights of Columbus, the complex opened in February 2019 to house Christian families displaced from the Nineveh Plains after the Islamic State group overran the region in 2014. Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda of Erbil, Iraq, stands in front of McGivney House in 2018. (Photo by Claire Thomas) Located in Ankawa, the Christian- majority district of Erbil ...
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Baltimore Sun editorial supports Pope Leo's moral authority to disagree with Donald Trump's wrongminded criticism

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Echo Baltimore Sun editorial (Maryland):    Trump’s attacks on Pope Leo cross a moral line.  Pope Leo is not a politician ❗ In a nation built on the freedom of belief, disagreement with religious leaders is not only permissible but inevitable.  Nevertheless, there is a difference between disagreement and dismissal, between critique and an attempt to diminish moral authority itself. That distinction is at the center of Donald Trump’s recent challenge to His Holiness Pope Leo. For Marylanders, this is not an abstract debate. Ours is the cradle of American Catholicism. From the founding of the Baltimore Basilica to generations of Catholic schools, hospitals and parishes, the Church has played a defining role in shaping both civic and moral life in this state. Millions of Americans and many here at home look to the pope, not as a political figure, but as a moral compass rooted in centuries of teaching and tradition. No public figure, including a pope, is beyond critici...
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Catholic leaders and religious groups pour heartfelt support for His Holiness Pope Leo who speaks from Scriptures

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Our Sunday Visitor support for His Holiness Pope Leo  by Gina Christian. The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH), the oldest and largest Irish Catholic organization in the US, strongly defends the papacy and supports the pope as the moral leader of the Church. Recently, the AOH, led by National President Sean Pender, expressed "deep offense" and strongly criticized US political figures for attacking Pope Leo XIV, asserting the Pope is not a partisan figure. (OSV News) — A number of Catholic organizations are speaking out in defense of Pope Leo XIV, as President Donald Trump doubled down on his harsh criticism of Pope Leo XIV — with Vice President JD Vance, a former Marine Corps corporal and Catholic convert, also claiming the pope should “be careful when he talks about matters of theology” in criticizing the U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran. “In recent days, many Catholics and other people of goodwill have been deeply disappointed by the disparaging comments directed at Pope Leo...
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Catholics oppose Donald Trump's hideosuly inappropriate and unjustified criticism about His Holiness Pope Leo XIV

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Echo opinion shared on social media by Father Kyle Doustou , a priest serving in the Diocese of Portland Maine. I am grieved by the disrespect shown by Donald Trump, President of the United States to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV.  Both his words on social media and to the press were appallingly inappropriate, personal, and vindictive. It was entirely unbecoming, unstatesmanlike and beneath the dignity of his office. But I am even more grieved by how quickly many, including Catholics, have joined in this show of disrespect, echoing the sentiments of the President and dismissing the Holy Father’s call for peace as “liberal” or “globalist,” as though it were just another political opinion to be weighed and discarded. None of us is privy to the intelligence briefings, deliberation, or conversations Leo XIV has had; we are armchair consumers of media, and think we know way more than we actually do. The truth is, we cannot even begin to imagine what the Pope knows that we don't or the weigh...
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God Bless Father "Fred" Morse. We mourn his death and remember his ministry to Maine people

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So sorry to learn about the death of Father Morse. Father Morse had a wonderful way of reaching out to his congregations during his lively celebrations of the Mass. Obituary link here Father Fredrick "Fred" H. Morse (September 26, 1952 - April 4, 2026). Boothbay Harbor, Maine - Father Fredrick H. "Fred" Morse, a Roman Catholic priest of the Diocese of Portland, Maine, entered into eternal rest on April 4, 2026. Father Fred was born in Bangor, Maine, on September 26, 1952, the son of Katherine (Murphy) Morse and Nathan Stanley Morse. Father Fred was the fifth of seven children: Thomas H. Morse (deceased), Margaret Morse Rivers, Michael M. Morse (Cynthia), Mary Morse Dwelley (Thomas), Mark N. Morse (Peggy), and Katherine Morse Fernald (Daniel). In addition to his siblings, he is survived by 13 nieces and nephews, and 22 great-nieces and great-nephews. Father Fred graduated from St. John's Catholic School, John Bapst Catholic High School, the University of Maine, ...
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Easter Season begins on Easter Monday: Pope Leo calls for truth to shine through "fake news"

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Matthew 28:8–15 covers the women’s fearful joy upon finding the empty tomb, their meeting with the risen Jesus, and the subsequent cover-up conspiracy by the chief priests. Jesus commissions them to tell the disciples to go to Galilee, while guards are bribed to claim the body was stolen. Dear brothers and sisters, Christ is risen! Happy Easter! Published in Aleteia  by   Kathleen N. Hattrup Easter Monday, 2026, before chanting the Regina Caeli (Marian antiphon) with pilgrims in St. Peter's Square, Pope Leo considered the Christian call to be heralds of truth. He offered words of hope, saying that even in a world of fake news and falsehoods: "Yet, in the face of such obstacles, the truth does not remain hidden." This greeting, filled with wonder and joy, will accompany us throughout this week. As we celebrate the new day the Lord has made for us, the liturgy proclaims the entry of all creation into the time of salvation: in the name of Jesus, the despair of death is swept...
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Diocese of Portland Maine dedicates sarcophagus in Cathedral sanctuary to the remains of Bishop David William Bacon

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 Echo report published on the Diocese of Portland Maine website. Bishop James Ruggieri  One hundred fifty-one years after his death, the faithful gathered on November 3, 2025, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland for a memorial Mass for Portland’s first bishop and for the blessing of the bishop’s new tomb. Bishop David William Bacon (b. 1813-d.1874), who served as Bishop of Portland from 1855 to his death in 1874, was previously buried in a crypt beneath the cathedral. However, with that area no longer accessible to the public, the decision was made to transfer his remains to a new sarcophagus located within the main cathedral, providing him a place of honor and respect where people are now able to stop and pray. “As we gather to entomb him anew, we are not simply reinterring the past; we are reawakening gratitude and renewing purpose,” said Bishop James Ruggieri, who celebrated the Mass. “Today, as we bless his new sarcophagus and commend his remains to ...
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