Monsignor Ronald Hicks - Bishop of Joliet and soon to become the new Archbishop of New York - first met Pope Francis on 29 June 2015. After Francis’s death, he wrote about that meeting on Diocoliet.org on 5 May. Back then, he was standing in Saint Peter’s Basilica with Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich. Cupich had been installed as Archbishop of Chicago in November 2014. In January 2015, he appointed Rev. Hicks as his Vicar General and in 2018 his auxiliary bishop. “Now Is Your Chance” In June 2015, Archbishop Cupich asked his Vicar General in the Basilica, “Have you ever met the Pope?” When Hicks replied, “No,” Cupich grasped his arm and said with a smile, “Well, now is your chance.” He led Hicks briskly toward Pope Francis and introduced him in Italian, saying, “Holy Father, this is Ron Hicks, my Vicar General, and he speaks Spanish.” Francis turned to Hicks and began speaking in Spanish. Hicks recalls: “From that moment forward, whenever we encountered one another, we spoke …More
Bishop Hicks is not a sychophantic type of personality, he is his own man. You will find that out. Here in Joliet we've seen a reasonable man. When some bishops were quick to eliminate the Latin Mass such was not the case with Bishop Hicks. Things have not changed on that front. He supports parishes and priests instead of undermining them as in other places. He is a man of prudence and caution who loves his Catholic faith. New York will thrive under his guidance.
THE TRIBUTE - Web Series Introduction THE TRIBUTE is a powerful new web series giving voice to New Zealand's Covid vaccine-injured. Please watch this moving introductory teaser. Coming Mid-January 2026! In the fight against Covid-19 countless New Zealanders stepped up – some coerced under threat of losing jobs or freedom, others trusting the call to join the "team of five million." But for thousands, that vaccination event was life-altering—they were harmed. Produced by acclaimed filmmaker Gaylene Barnes (River of Freedom 2023) and filmed by award-winning cinematographer Mark Lapwood — THE TRIBUTE is a heartfelt, confessional-style bi-weekly web series that honours the resilience of vaccine-injured Kiwis and the families who lost loved ones. These brave individuals share: -The shock of sudden health loss and the battle for medical acknowledgement -Dismissal and stigma from the system while fighting for care and support -The anger of discovering hidden risks – denied true informed …More
[St. Robert Bellarmine – XVI-XVII Century A.D.; Montepulciano, Grand Duchy of Tuscany/Rome, Papal States; (Aged 78); Cardinal; Rector; Professor; Doctor of the Church; Role in Giordano Bruno & Galileo cases] “But perhaps the lovers of the world may reply, " It is very difficult to die to the world, whilst we are living in it; and to despise those good things which God has created for our enjoyment." To these words I answer, that God does not wish us entirely and absolutely to neglect or despise the riches and honours of this world. Abraham was an especial favourite with God; and yet he possessed great riches. David also, and Ezechias, and Josias, were most powerful kings; and at the same time most pleasing to God: the same may be said of many Christian kings and emperors. The good things of this life, therefore its riches, honours, and pleasures are not entirely forbidden to Christians, but only an immoderate love of them, which is named by St. John, " the concupiscence of the flesh, …More
“But perhaps the lovers of the world may reply, " It is very difficult to die to the world, whilst we are living in it; and to despise those good things which God has created for our enjoyment." To these words I answer, that God does not wish us entirely and absolutely to neglect or despise the riches and honours of this world. Abraham was an especial favourite with God; and yet he possessed great riches. David also, and Ezechias, and Josias, were most powerful kings; and at the same time most pleasing to God: the same may be said of many Christian kings and emperors."
California Church Fined $1.2M Appeals to Supreme Court: Calvary Chapel San Jose is an evangelical Protestant church in California. It was fined over $1.2 million for refusing to enforce COVID-19 mask mandates during services in 2020–2021 and has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the penalties. The church argues the fines violate religious freedom and the First Amendment, citing exemptions for secular institutions. After losing in California courts, it petitioned the Supreme Court, which is expected to decide in spring 2026 whether to hear the case.
Tue Dec 16, 2025 - 3:28 pm EST WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — A Christian church in California that was ordered to pay $1.2 million in fines for refusing to enforce local mask mandates as it continued to hold services in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 outbreak has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the lower court’s ruling. “This case stands as one of the clearest examples of government overreach against a church in modern American history,” declared Advocates for Faith & Freedom, the attorney group that has long represented Calvary Chapel in San Jose (CCSJ), California, and its Pastor Mike McClure, in a statement shared with LifeSiteNews. Advocates for Faith & Freedom (AFF) is now working in partnership with the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ) in D.C. to petition the Supreme Court. CCSJ began to openly defy its Silicon Valley county’s harsh lockdown rules after an initial two months of compliance in 2020, recognizing the serious spiritual needs of their congregants …
Genesis 49:1-2, 8-10 “Judah, shall your brothers praise —your hand on the neck of your enemies.” The text speaks of descendants; it prefigures Christ. The homage paid to ancestors is listening to the Heart of God. Matthew 1:1-17 “Jesus Christ, the son of David, son of Abraham” Jesus is of the lineage of David and Abraham. Biblical texts: NAB-RE Normand Thomas.
Pope Leo XIV has appointed Auxiliary Bishop Ramón Bejarano of San Diego as the new Bishop of Monterey, California. Born on July 17, 1969, in Laredo, Texas, Monsignor Bejarano was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Stockton on August 15, 1998. On February 27, 2020, Pope Francis appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of San Diego, run by Cardinal Robert McElroy, one of the most progressive prelates in the American hierarchy. “All Are Welcome” Eucharist In June 2024, Bishop Bejarano presided over an “All Are Welcome” Eucharist at St. John the Evangelist Parish in San Diego. The service was presented as an outreach to practicing homosexuals. At the end of the service, he offered a special blessing for homosexuals: "Help us embrace that our beloved LGBTQ+ siblings and all who feel marginalized by the Church are beautifully and wonderfully made in Your image." He continued: "Bless our LGBTQ ministry so that we may continue to grow by your grace and bring all people to the knowledge and love …More
2 Timothy 4:3-4 "For the time will come when they will not listen to the sound doctrine, but having itching ears, will heap up for themselves teachers after their own lusts, and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn away to fables."
December 17 SECOND DAY Novena of aguinaldos Or Christmas PRAYER TO BEGIN Every day By the sign of the holy cross... Most benign God of infinite charity that you loved men so much, that you gave them in your son the best pledge of your love, so that made a man in the bowels of a Virgin, he was born in a manger for our health and remedy. I, on behalf of all mortals, give you infinite thanks for such sovereign benefit. In return from Him I offer you the poverty, humility and other virtues of your humanized Son, begging him for his divine merits, for the discomforts with which he was born and for the tender tears he shed in the manger, have our hearts with deep humility, with lit love, with total contempt of everything earthly, so that the newborn Jesus has in them his cradle and lives eternally. Amen. Glory to the Father (x 3) It is read about every day. December 17 SECOND DAY Consideration The Eternal Word is about to take its nature created in the holy house of Nazareth, where Mary and …More
Bishop in California - He Has Apologized to Homosexuals