Saint Joseph Catholic Church

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From today's Gospel: Jesus said to the Twelve: "Fear no one. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. (Matt 10:26-28).

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The general secretaries of the European bishops’ conferences devoted their 53rd annual meeting to the theme of “Being Priests in Today’s Europe: Vocation and Formation.”

Speakers included Archbishop Alfonso Vincenzo Amarante, C.Ss.R., rector of the Pontifical Lateran University, who discussed “The Beauty of the Priesthood at the Service of a Complex World,” and Chiara D’Urbano, a psychologist, who discussed “Psycho-Affective Formation for the Priesthood: Perspectives from the Human Sciences.” Pope Francis wrote the preface to a 2025 book by D’Urbano on vocations and sexual orientation.

The European bishops’ meeting took place in Belgrade, Serbia, on June 14-17.

The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace welcomed the Islamabad Memorandum, signed at Versailles by the presidents of the United States and Iran.

“I commend President Trump and President Pezeshkian for taking the vitally important step of signing a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending hostilities between the United States and Iran and advancing deeper dialogue for lasting peace in the region,” said Maronite Bishop A. Elias Zaidan of Los Angeles. “Preventing further proliferation of nuclear weapons is critically important for avoiding a dangerous escalation of conflict in the Middle East.”

Bishop Zaidan also called for peace in Lebanon:

I call on the United States, Iran, and Israel to now also prioritize an end to the fighting in Lebanon. The disarming of Hezbollah is necessary for peace and development in Lebanon.

Over one million people have been internally displaced, including 400,000 children, and thousands have fled to neighboring Syria, potentially adding to the region’s instability. If the fighting and humanitarian catastrophe continue in Lebanon, I fear that peace across the wider Middle East will remain unreachable.

The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity released the texts for the 2027 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which will take place from January 18-25.

The theme of the week is “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). The 2027 texts were prepared by dicastery and the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches, with the assistance of the Irish Council of Churches and the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference.