Current News

Recently, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, offered the following challenge: "But nowadays who is making an effort to strengthen marriages, to help married couples overcome their problems, to assist them in the work of raising children and, in general, to encourage the stability of the marriage bond?"

The main responsibility of this office is to promote the necessity and the value of mission-centered expressions and practices of our faith. Each year we invite all our diocesan parish communities to share in the work of our universal Church by celebrating and contributing to World Mission Sunday.

Going to garage sales was nothing new to Jane Mozer, but what she found at one recently was certainly unusual. There among the toasters and knick-knacks was a porcelain container, one that she immediately knew likely held cremated remains.

Physicians, nurses and staff of Mercy Hospital in Buffalo recently gathered for a special award ceremony for being named one of America's 100 Best Hospitals for Orthopedic Surgery.

For the first time in 35 years, the leader of the worldwide Maronite Catholic Church paid a visit to Western New York.

Catholic and Episcopal parishes have followed the example of their shepherds by joining forces to help the needy. Now, a family of Somali refugees will have a home in Buffalo, thanks to the work of the two congregations.

Bishop Richard J. Malone is the first to admit that he wears two hats for the Church. He is not only the "chief shepherd", but also the CEO of a corporation that is the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo.

Pope Francis has given to the Church four major teaching documents - two encyclical letters and two apostolic exhortations. In each of these documents, the pope invites us to deeper, stronger, and more authentic ways of living our faith as friends and followers of Jesus Christ sent on mission to bring the Gospel to the world.

The Telly Awards has named Diocese of Buffalo's Daybreak TV Productions a Bronze winner in the 37th Annual Telly Awards for two video productions, "Building a Basilica" in the documentary category and the Catholic Charities of Buffalo video "Open Hearts Change Lives" in the Charitable/Not-for-profit category.

"To be Catholic and to be American should not mean having to choose one over the other," said Father Robert Zilliox in a Mass that began the two week period known as the Fortnight for Freedom.

I knew what I wrote on my Diocesan Youth Board application was from my heart and every single word was the truth, but I had always been better at writing than speaking.

ROME, ITALY (CNA/EWTN News) - A Vatican conference dedicated to the up-and-coming 'theology of disability' aims not only to end common stigma surrounding persons with disabilities, but to show that their lives are a gift and to help integrate them more fully into the life of the Church and of society.

Raymond Arroyo, longtime right hand man for Mother Angelica, tells the rest of the story about the woman who created the Catholic broadcast empire known as EWTN.

After years in the ministry of healing, Father Richard DiGiulio found himself on the receiving end during a conference in Georgia. During an ecumenical prayer service where guests were prayed over, the knee pain that has bothered the 75-year-old priest for some time vanished.

Bishop Richard Malone reminisces about his Dad and the important role fathers have in the family in this week's "Consider This."

Father's Day is upon us and, much like its maternal counterpart, this holiday is often filled with love and appreciation, heartache and mournfulness, contempt and disesteem, or all of the above.

We have all heard these familiar words, but how can we rejoice when we are grieving? When our hearts are broken from missing the one we love, it can seem almost impossible to even consider that we will ever feel joy again. Each day only seems to hold tears and despair, not hope or laughter.

St. Joseph is an excellent role model for all Christian fathers. His life with Mary and Jesus teaches us to have a lot of faith in God. St. Joseph reminds fathers of the importance of prayer. He teaches fathers to protect their family by his constant protection of Mary and Jesus. He provided for his family as a carpenter and he humbly served the Lord.

Bishop Richard J. Malone and Richard C. Suchan, executive director of The Foundation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, have announced Judy and Tom Beecher, Barbara and Jerry Castiglia, and Betsy and John Sullivan are serving as co-chairs of the "Upon This Rock" capital and endowment campaign.

Once again, the bishops of the United States have asked Catholics to celebrate the annual Fortnight for Freedom, a national effort to educate Americans on the challenges to religious liberty, from June 21 - July 4. This year's theme is "Witnesses to freedom."

While tutoring in the inner city of Buffalo, Ting Gao discovered students can't learn without the proper tools. Rather than hold a simple collection, the Mount St. Mary Academy senior started a non-profit organization to fill the needs in the lives of the less fortunate.

Bishop Richard J. Malone has announced the appointment of a new liaison for retired priests.

SYRACUSE — Heeding Pope Francis' call to fight "modern forms of enslavement," the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities have taken a congregational stand against human trafficking.

Father Nicholas A. Rossello, a retired diocesan priest, died June 12, 2016, at Mercy House of the Southern Tier in Endicott, near Binghamton in Broome County. He was 86 years old.

EAST AURORA — Christ the King Seminary announced its Summer 2016 Dinner Lecture Series, consisting of four programs centered around the Jubilee Year of Mercy, which will take place in June and July on the seminary's East Aurora campus.

"An exceptionally good trip" is the way Father Matt Nycz describes a recent pilgrimage to Poland. The pastor of Blessed Mary Angela Parish in Dunkirk, who was born and raised in Poland, helped arrange the mid-May trip which included about 30 Catholics from the Diocese of Buffalo.

Mary Queen of Angels Regional Catholic School in Cheektowaga is extremely proud of its status as a STREAM Academy.

VATICAN CITY (CNA/EWTN News) - Pope Francis has offered his prayers and compassion for those affected by Saturday night's shooting at a nightclub in Orlando.

ORLANDO, FLA. (CNA) - Following Saturday night's shooting at a nightclub in Orlando that killed 50 people, Catholic leaders from around the U.S. are offering prayers for the victims and their families.

George Richert, the new director of Communications for the Diocese of Buffalo, makes his first appearance on "Western New York Catholic Weekly," the newsradio show of the Diocese of Buffalo.

The annual UB North Campus Newman Center Bridge Lecture Series begins June 22 and will continue each Wednesday evening until Aug. 10. The lecture series began in July 2003 as a weeklong series of lectures to bridge the gap between the life of the university and the life of the community. It later grew into a summer series every Wednesday.

Bishop Richard J. Malone and 200 pilgrims from the Diocese of Buffalo will travel to Krakow next month to be with Pope Francis. Bishop Malone shares his enthusiasm for the trip and the World Youth Day prayer in "Consider This."

Father Richard Poblocki will celebrate a Mass in honor of St. Josemaria Escriva, founder of Opus Dei, at St. Josaphat Church, 20 Peoria Ave., Cheektowaga, on Saturday, June 25, at noon. Father Escriva was born in Barbastro, Spain in 1902 and ordained to the priesthood in 1925. He founded Opus Dei (Work of God) in 1928.

It was a typical November day, perhaps overcast with a chill in the air. And like so many other mornings when I arrive to St. Amelia Parish in Tonawanda, I opened my email and checked my messages.

We're continuing to evolve our digital strategy, and our newest online feature will make all of our best news as easily available as an email.

As a child, I was taught to listen. This was vitally important at home, at school, and especially at Mass. Today, as the transcriptionist for Daybreak Productions, I am charged with the task of listening to audio files of the Sunday Televised Mass and writing a transcript that is used for Closed Captioning the Mass for the hearing impaired. I'm happy to say that, unlike algebra and perfect penmanship, acquiring the skill of active listening has proven very useful indeed.

AMHERST — St. Leo the Great Parish on Sweet Home Road held a ground breaking ceremony for its new parish center in May. With the help of architect Doug Scheid and the building committee, parishioners were able to view drawings of the projected new parish center weeks prior to the event.

In the Gospel of Matthew 19:14, we read the following: "Jesus said, 'Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'"

Before he passed away this year, Ramblin' Lou Schriver, nicknamed "Western New York's Father of Country Music," was known for having an impact on not only country music, but also radio and broadcasting.

It's not uncommon, when we hit a milestone in our lives, to go back and recapture some of the highlights of our ministry. In doing so, I recalled an incident that occurred very early on in my ministry.