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Bulletin announcements from the Diocese of Buffalo for the week of July 13, 2015.

ASUNCIÓN, PARAGUAY (CNA/EWTN News) - Pope Francis tossed aside his prepared remarks in a talk to thousands of Paraguay's young people - urging the crowd to go against the cultural current and to live for Jesus with a "free heart."

ASUNCIÓN, PARAGUAY (CNA/EWTN News) - In the final homily of his trip to South America Pope Francis said that a key aspect of Christian spirituality and evangelization is to have a welcoming attitude toward others, especially those most in need.

Throughout the Diocese of Buffalo, evangelization has taken on new life with the recent Catholics Come Home campaign, a media effort to welcome back fallen-away Catholics. However, evangelization must begin in individual parishes for them to continue thriving. One such person responsible for this Church mission is Adam Pasternack, director of evangelization at St. Amelia Parish in Tonawanda.

Bishop Richard J. Malone talks about the pope's encyclical "Laudato Si," on care for our common home and reads part of Pope Francis' prayer.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (CNA/EWTN News) - For those pilgrims thinking about participating in World Youth Day 2016 in Krakow, Poland, Bishop Frank Caggiano has a message: It will be worth the sacrifice.

Msgr. David M. Gallivan, retired priest of the Diocese of Buffalo, traveled to El Salvador at the end of May to witness the beatification of the martyred Archbishop Oscar Romero.

Sister Mary Thompson, a Sister of St. Mary of Namur, died July 7, 2015. She was 87.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (CNA/EWTN News) - The setting for Pope Francis' address to Congress in September just grew by giant proportions as the public will be able to watch the telecast from outside the U.S. Capitol building.

From his earliest days, Father Dawid Krzeszowski had much in common with one of the newest saints of the Catholic Church. Now parochial vicar of St. John the Baptist in Kenmore, Father Krzeszowski was born in Poland near the birthplace of St. John Paul II. Today, he continues to share his faith and his heritage with many American parishioners.

By the time you read this, it will officially be summer. After such a long, crippling winter, where should we enjoy these lovely summer days? In downtown Buffalo, of course.

VATICAN CITY (CNA/EWTN News) - On the first full day of his apostolic journey to South America Pope Francis had already drawn more than 1 million people to his first public Mass in Guayaquil, the Vatican's spokesman estimates.

Sister Mary Georgette Zielinski died June 14, 2015, in the Blessed Mary Angela Care Center in Buffalo, at the age of 68.

History has shown dictators don't have a lot of success in the long run. Christian leadership, however, has been going strong for 2000 years.

GUAYAQUIL, ECUADOR (CNA/EWTN News) - During a Mass said on Monday, the first full day of his visit to Ecuador, Pope Francis called for prayers that the upcoming Synod on the Family might discern the needs of the family, an institution irreplaceable to society.

Members of a lay association in the diocese has taken on the special ministry of praying by the bedside of the sick and dying. Representatives from the group, "Disciples of Divine Mercy in the Holy Face of Jesus," recently appeared on the Eternal Word Television Network to talk about the ministry.

There are many statements in Pope Francis' encyclical "Laudato Si" (Praise be to you, O Lord!) that are key to the implications of the Holy Father's second encyclical letter. The theme of the mutuality of the humankind-earth relationship is a primary one. The world of nature serves humankind in so many ways. The pope reminds us to be profoundly grateful for that service, and to remember that we humans are called also to serve the earth, particularly by doing all that we can to preserve it from further destruction.

SAN DIEGO, CALIF. (CNA/EWTN News) - Few love stories can say that they began at the age of eight. But for Jeanette and Alexander Toczko, they couldn't have imagined life any other way.

Sister Mary T. Johnson, of the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, returned to the Lord July 1, 2015, in the St. Elizabeth Motherhouse Health Care Center, at the age of 99.

Chancery bulletin announcements from the Diocese of Buffalo for the week of July 6, 2015.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (CNA) - God and comedy clubs are not generally something most families throw together; then again, most families don't create a cable comedy show either.

As we begin to celebrate Independence Day, Bishop Richard J. Malone talks about the first American Catholic bishop and his prayer written in 1791 for the US government in "Consider This."

Bishop Richard J. Malone announced the following clergy assignments.

BUFFALO - Catholic Charities of Buffalo officials and volunteer leaders reported today the 2015 Appeal exceeded its $10.9 million goal, with cash and pledges received as of June 30, the final day of the Appeal and the organization's fiscal year, totaling $11,152,026.31.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (CNA/EWTN News) - The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the continued use of a drug that has been accused of causing excruciating pain in several controversial state executions.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (CNA/EWTN News) - On Monday afternoon the Supreme Court of the United States temporarily halted Texas' regulations on abortion clinics, which were upheld by an appellate court earlier in the month.

QUITO, ECUADOR (CNA/EWTN News) - Within the walls of the convent in Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Ecuador, the Carmelite nuns are busy making liturgical cloths and the vestments for Pope Francis' July 6-7 visit to the country.

VATICAN CITY (CNA/EWTN News) - During his Mass for the feast of SS. Peter and Paul on Monday, Pope Francis called on the Church's new archbishops to be courageous witnesses who are not ashamed of Christ, and who are convinced by what they themselves teach.

WASHINGTON - Pope Francis' apostolic journey to the United States is "a source of joy and gratitude," said the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in response to the release of the full visit schedule by the Vatican, June 30. Pope Francis will visit Washington, New York and Philadelphia, September 22-27. His visit will include addresses to Congress and the United Nations, the canonization of Blessed Junípero Serra and will culminate in his participation in the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.

Chicken BBQs, lawn fetes and care for creation ... here's your chancery bulletin announcements for the week of June 29, 2015.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (CNA/EWTN News) - Friday's Supreme Court ruling against the traditional understanding of marriage may pose huge obstacles to the free exercise of religion and conscience across the US, the nation's bishops have said in response to the decision.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Supreme Court decision, June 26, interpreting the U.S. Constitution to require all states to license and recognize same-sex "marriage" "is a tragic error that harms the common good and most vulnerable among us," said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

I am bitterly disappointed that the majority of justices of the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to overturn the definition of marriage, which has remained unchanged for more than two millennia. Marriage is the lifelong exclusive union of one man and one woman, a font of unitive life and love as well as the foundation of a stable family and society.

In a wide-reaching decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has declared that same-sex "marriage" is a constitutional right and that states must recognize same-sex unions contracted as marriages in other states.

Members of the diocesan Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministry made a trip to Poland to prepare for World Youth Day 2016 in Kraków.

PHILADELPHIA, PA. (CNA/EWTN News) - Renowned classical tenor Andrea Bocelli is accustomed to performing sold-out concerts around the world. He is comfortable center stage at Carnegie Hall and has sold over eighty million records during his musical career.

In its work with the Western New York community, Catholic Charities is known for ministering to the poor, elderly and people with disabilities. Another facet of its ministry is Delta Development of Western New York Inc., a not-for-profit development company founded in 1988 through the ministry of Catholic Charities and the Diocese of Buffalo, to provide comfortable housing at an affordable price.

Sister Victoria Dixon, of the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity, died June 18, 2015, in the Stella Niagara Health Center. She was 80 years old.

VATICAN CITY (CNA/EWTN News) - Family wounds that aren't dealt with in a healthy and timely manner can have devastating effects on both spouses and children, Pope Francis has said, and encouraged wounded families to work toward healing without letting bitterness build up.

The sentencing of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev came to a close on June 24, when the Boston Marathon bomber was formally sentenced to death after a jury found him guilty of 30 different charges, including using weapons of mass destruction and the murder of a police officer. Three people died and more than 260 people were injured in the April 2013 bombing. 17 of those charges warrant the death penalty.