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Warning against a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and ongoing conflicts elsewhere, Pope Francis has called for a day of fasting, penance and prayer for peace in the world Oct. 27. “War does not solve any problems, it only sows death and destruction. It increases hatred, multiplies revenge. War erases the future,” he said at the end of his general audience talk in St. Peter’s Square Oct. 18.

Lauren-Carmel Sirak, second-grade teacher at Our Lady of Sorrows School, Hamilton, was recognized Oct. 12 during the annual Catholic Schools Mass in St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, Freehold, as the recipient of the New Jersey Nonpublic School Teacher of the Year Award for 2023.

In response to the continued tensions and violence that erupted into warfare between Gaza and Israel on October 7, Bishop David J. Malloy of Rockford, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on International Justice and Peace, calls for prayers for peace in the Holy Land. Click to read the statement.

The Catholic Church recognizes October as Respect Life Month, when we consider more deeply why every human life is valuable and reflect on how to build a culture that protects life from conception to natural death. To help with the many emotions and challenges that are naturally a part of end-of-life, the NJCC has developed a two-part video series. The first video, which discusses the pastoral response to end-of-life issues, features Jennifer Ruggiero, secretary, Secretariat for Family and Pastoral Life for the Diocese of Metuchen. The second video, which features Charles C. Camosy, Ph.D., professor of medical humanities at the Creighton University School of Medicine, focuses on physician-assisted suicide and the impact it has as it advances in our society. Click to watch the videos.

As people of both faith and reason, Catholics are called upon to bring truth to political life in a manner consistent with the mission of our Lord, a mission that He has called us to share. Too often, politics becomes a contest of powerful interests, partisan attacks, sound bites, and media hype. The Catholic Church calls for a different kind of political engagement, one shaped by the moral convictions of well-formed consciences and focused on the dignity of every human being, the pursuit of the common good, and the protection of the weak, marginalized, and vulnerable.

The New Jersey Catholic Conference (NJCC) has announced that its public relations director, John W. Hardiman, has been named director of communications and public relations to better reflect his increasing role and responsibilities for the organization. Hardiman joined NJCC in November 2021 with 27 years of public affairs experience and more than 15 years of leadership experience ...

The following link will take you to an Action Alert from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, asking for Catholics to urge Congress to maintain critical food security programs in the Farm Bill! Please act now! https://www.votervoice.net/USCCB/Campaigns/106852/Respond

The New Jersey Catholic Conference (NJCC) has announced a significant increase in nonpublic school transportation funding in the Fiscal Year 2024 state budget, with the per-pupil ceiling being raised to $1,165 from $1,022.

Dr. George Corwell, director of the Office of Education for the New Jersey Catholic Conference, testified on behalf of the Council for American Private Education (NJ CAPE), in front of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on April 25.

Dr. George Corwell, director of the office of education for the New Jersey Catholic Conference, testified on behalf of the Council for American Private Education (NJ CAPE), in front of the Assembly Budget Committee on March 27.

In his annual meeting with the worlds’ Vatican diplomatic ambassadors on January 9 of this year, His Holiness Pope Francis spoke powerfully to the gathering representatives about “the defense of life,” threatened as he stated, “by the ‘alleged’ right to abortion.”

The New Jersey Catholic Conference (NJCC) has reviewed the consumer alert regarding Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) issued jointly by the attorney general and the Division of Consumer Affairs.

The New Jersey Catholic Conference submitted testimony opposing a proposed rule by Health and Human Services that would compel healthcare workers to participate in procedures to which they are morally or religiously against, or face possible discrimination charges. To read the testimony, click HERE.

As Catholics who believe in the intrinsic dignity of life from conception to natural death regardless of race, creed, or socioeconomic status, we welcome the United States Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. In its ruling, the Supreme Court has corrected the duplicitous reasoning in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which permitted the lawful killing of innocent life. Click HERE to read the full statement

For almost 50 years, pro-life Catholics and people of good will in the United States have prayed fervently, lobbied hard, participated in marches and raised their voices consistently that the fateful 1973 decision of the Supreme Court “Roe v. Wade” would be overturned. Given the strident and unrelenting advocacy of those who have supported abortion over the years, it seemed an almost unreachable goal. Today, that goal has been achieved. Click HERE to read the full statement

The United States Supreme Court’s ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to overturn the 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide recognizes that even the most helpless and dependent human beings have a right to life and possess inherent dignity and worth. Click HERE to read the full statement.

WASHINGTON - In response to the Supreme Court of the United States issuing its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities issued the following statement. To read the full statement click here.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, On this past Tuesday, once again, we were made painfully aware of another horrific act of violence and the tragic loss of innocent human life that followed. The school shooting in Uvalde, Texas repeated an all too familiar scene that pours salt in a wound that never seems to heal. As we pray for all the victims, especially the 19 children and 2 teachers who were killed, we must constantly pray for their families that will never be the same and for healing in our country that desperately needs the peace that comes from God.

Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., has issued the following statement in response to the recent mass shootings: The disciples of Jesus that form the Archdiocese of Newark join our hearts and prayers for the anguished families of Uvalde, Buffalo and many other communities across this country, including Newark, the city in which I live and love. The slaughter of children and teachers yesterday in Texas, and the surge of violence in communities nationwide, cannot be easily explained but must not be dismissed as a perverse “new normal.”

Lifting up in prayer the souls of the children and teachers killed Tuesday at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and united in grief with their parents and families, the words of St. Matthew’s Gospel account of the massacre of the holy innocents in Bethlehem come to my mind: