| Welcome, Guest |
You have to register before you can post on our site.
|
| Online Users |
There are currently 277 online users.
» 0 Member(s) | 272 Guest(s)
Applebot, Baidu, Bing, Google, Yandex
|
|
|
| Leo XIV-Appointed Bishop Ends Diocese’s Only Latin Mass After 20 Years |
|
Posted by: Stone - 1 hour ago - Forum: Vatican II and the Fruits of Modernism
- No Replies
|
 |
Leo XIV-Appointed Bishop Ends Diocese’s Only Latin Mass After 20 Years
gloria.tv | August 9, 2026
Bishop Mark A. Eckman, 67, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, will bring an end to the traditional Latin Mass at St. Titus Church in Aliquippa after nearly 20-years.
Bishop Eckman was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh in 2021. In June 2025, Leo XIV promoted him to Bishop of Pittsburgh.
In a letter dated 7 August (see below), Monsignor Eckman announced that the final Mass to be held at St. Titus using the 1962 Missal is scheduled for 4 September.
The remaining two traditional Latin Masses in Pittsburgh are offered by the Institute Christ the King in Brighton Heights and by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X in the West End.
Bishop Eckman said his predecessor, Bishop David A. Zubik, received Vatican permission in 2022 to continue the Mass at St. Titus. The initial two-year authorization was extended in September 2024 for another two years.
The Bishop didn't seek another extension, “The permission to celebrate according to the older ritual in a parish church was only ever meant to be temporary,” he wrote.
He added that the Vatican expected Catholics to be brought toward the Novus Ordo.
![[Image: xpnjeu210nm8vbenb22d4iwmm3jjx1z1qxuu0ao?...1786439723]](https://seedus2043.gloriatv.net/storage1/xpnjeu210nm8vbenb22d4iwmm3jjx1z1qxuu0ao?secure=hXEIiFN8uSi_Ku-9DRSKNA&expires=1786439723)
![[Image: kapyo6d3xzw9f7piub4b13on0nfusk83oufm1o8?...1786364447]](https://seedus0275.gloriatv.net/storage1/kapyo6d3xzw9f7piub4b13on0nfusk83oufm1o8?secure=GjpkLdMrg38BHgGCvoi2EA&expires=1786364447) |
|
|
| Holy Mass in Pennsylvania [Philadelphia area] - August 16, 2026 |
|
Posted by: Stone - 2 hours ago - Forum: August 2026
- No Replies
|
|
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass - Feast of St. Joachim
w/Commemoration of the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
![[Image: ?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Ffdrsada0k7d...7bb5577de3]](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Ffdrsada0k7d51.png&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=3988f4c2343eaecfd7546c619602e281b8a6e8ef46d8b63fc9bd537bb5577de3)
Date: Sunday, August 16, 2026
Time: Confessions - 9:00 AM
Holy Mass - 10:00 AM
Location: Clarion Hotel
76 Industrial Highway
Essington, PA 19029
Contact: rosamystica3329@gmail.com
|
|
|
|
| Livestream @9:30 a.m.: 11th Sunday After Pentecost August 9, 2026 |
|
Posted by: Deus Vult - 11 hours ago - Forum: August 2026
- No Replies
|
 |
Fr. Hewko's Mass for the Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost will be
livestreamed at 9:30 a.m. edst
August 9, 2026 (NH)
SEND YOUR GUARDIAN ANGEL TO MASS
O holy angel , at my side,
Go to this chapel for me,
Kneel in my place at Holy Mass
Where I desire to be.
At Offertory, in my stead,
Take all I am and own,
And place it as a sacrifice
Upon the Alter Throne.
At Holy Consecrations bell,
Adore with Seraph's love.
My Jesus hidden in the Host,
Come down from Heaven above.
And when the Priest, communion takes,
Oh, bring my Lord to me,
That His sweet heart may rest on mine,
And I His temple be.
|
|
|
|
| Artificial Intelligence used to design brand new viruses |
|
Posted by: Stone - 08-07-2026, 07:12 AM - Forum: Health
- No Replies
|
|
Artificial Intelligence used to design brand new viruses
![[Image: 7656d9b0-9223-11f1-b2ab-0dd01740f9f6.jpg.webp]](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/5119/live/7656d9b0-9223-11f1-b2ab-0dd01740f9f6.jpg.webp)
Assistant professor Brian Hie, pictured on the left with a colleague, said of the work "this was new territory for us"
BBC | August 6, 2026
Artificial Intelligence has been used to design brand new viruses that are fully functional and can replicate in the laboratory, say US researchers.
It is the first time whole genomes have been successfully designed by AI.
The resulting 16 novel viruses were created to infect bacteria and pose no threat to people.
The breakthrough has been labelled a "very significant turning point" in science that could unlock a new era for treating disease. But experts have also warned AI-designed viruses raise "urgent" safety and security concerns.
AI tools are rapidly advancing and have already been used to design new antibiotics.
But that is relatively simple compared with designing a new viable virus from scratch.
"This is a next step in the complexity that's designable by generative AI, this is the first time generative AI has been used to design a complete genome, it's something that can replicate and have other functions inside cells… this was new territory for us," Brian Hie, assistant professor at Stanford University, told the BBC.
The technology works similarly to large language models, like ChatGPT, which predict sequences of text.
In this instance the AI models, known as Evo1 and Evo2, predict the language of life rather than words.
The AI models were trained on genetic codes from viruses, bacteria, plants and people.
They were then refined to produce a type of virus, known as a bacteriophage, which infect only specific species of bacteria.
The AI models were trained on genetic codes from viruses, bacteria, plants and people
The Stanford researchers picked the most promising 302 AI designs and synthesised them in the lab. Of these, 16 proved effective at killing E. coli bacteria.
Samuel King, a PhD student in the lab, said they realised the phage were working in the early hours of the morning.
The phage were placed on petri dishes growing a layer of bacteria on them and the scientists waited for signs their new viruses were enjoying the feast.
"We were starting to see these clear spots and it was just extremely exciting," says King. When the results were shared with the wider team "the room spontaneously burst into applause", Hie recalls.
Developing new phage could lead to new ways of treating infections that have become resistant to antibiotics.
Phage therapy is seen as a potential solution to the rising tide of bacterial infections that cannot be treated with antibiotics
But the breakthrough also points to the ability of AI to design new biology that goes beyond the natural world – what is known as synthetic biology.
Hie argues this has the potential to "massively improve human health" by developing new drugs and therapies.
But concerns have already been raised that the same technology could be used maliciously to create new diseases.
In a commentary accompanying the publication in the journal Science, Dr Thomas Inglesby and Dr Moritz Hanke from the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins University wrote that the findings raise "urgent biosafety and biosecurity questions".
They said it was no longer a question of "whether generative viral genome design will exist" but whether it can be used without "enabling serious harm".
For example, they said new viruses with the potential to cause disease "should not be pursued".
The researchers themselves took steps to maximise safety. They excluded viruses that could infect complex organisms from the training database, performed the research on phage rather than viruses that infect people and it all took place in a secure laboratory.
Hie argues even existing safeguards go a long way towards "ensuring that the technology is used for good".
From computers bits to atoms
Viruses are not alive and it would take another significant leap for AI to generate living organisms.
The genetic code of the phage is around 5,400 base pairs (letters) long. The smallest genome of a living cell is around 500,000 base pairs. The human genome is three billion base pairs.
Hie says "it would probably be a lot of work, but not impossible" to attempt some simple organisms and they were "definitely interested in working towards" that.
Prof Marc Güell, from the synthetic biology lab at Pompeu Fabra University in Spain, said the study was a "very significant turning point" because for the "first time in history, we are beginning to design biology on a computer".
He said it "allows us to dream of exciting possibilities for tackling humanity's greatest challenges" such as developing phages to tackle disease, enzymes to treat genetic disorders and antibodies that could be used in immunotherapy.
Prof Patrick Cai, chair of synthetic genomics at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, said the study was an "important milestone".
"The significance extends far beyond phages – it suggests that genome language models are beginning to learn the design principles encoded by evolution, opening the door to AI-assisted genome writing."
|
|
|
|
| St. Catherine of Genoa: Treatise on Purgatory |
|
Posted by: Stone - 08-06-2026, 06:36 AM - Forum: Resources Online
- Replies (2)
|
|
Treatise on Purgatory
by St. Catherine of Genoa
Translated from the original Italian
With a Preface by His Eminence Cardinal Manning
"In iis quæ de Purgatorio determinata non sunt ab Ecclesia standum est iis quae sunt magis conformia dictis et revelationibus Sanctorum." — St. Thomas, in 4 sent. dist. 21, quæst. 1, a. 1; quoted by Bellarmine, lib. ii., c. vii., de Purg.
Fourth Edition
London: Burns & Oates, Ltd.
New York, Cincinnati, Chicago: Benziger Bros.
Preface to the First Edition
The Treatise of St. Catherine of Genoa on Purgatory has never, it seems, been as yet rendered into English. The present translation, therefore, which is both faithful and excellent in language, will be most acceptable to those to whom this wonderful book has hitherto been closed.
Although Our Lord, by His Apostle, has forbidden to women the public ministry of teaching in His Church, He has nevertheless reserved for them a great and resplendent office in the edification of His mystical Body. The lights and inspirations bestowed upon them, according to the words of the prophet Joel — "In the last days, saith the Lord, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; . . . and upon My servants and upon My handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit" — are among the prerogatives bestowed upon the Church by the day of Pentecost; and their dignity is among the glories of the Mother of God, whose daughters and handmaids they are.
Two of the great festivals of the Catholic Church had their origin in the illumination of humble and unlearned women. The Feast of Corpus Christi was the offspring of the devotion of the Blessed Juliana of Retinne; the Feast of the Sacred Heart of that of the Blessed Margaret Mary; to St. Catherine of Sienna Our Lord vouchsafed the honour of calling back again the Sovereign Pontiff from the splendid banishment of Avignon to the throne of the Apostolic See; to St. Teresa the special gift of illumination, to teach the ways of union with Himself in prayer; to Blessed Angela of Foligno the eighteen degrees of compunction, and His own five poverties; and to St. Catherine of Genoa an insight and perception of the state of purgatory, which seem like the utterances of one immersed in its expiation of love.
Benedict XIV tells us, in his work on the Beatification and Canonisation of Saints, that the works of St. Catherine of Genoa were examined and approved by the theologians of Paris: intending, no doubt, the examination by the Sorbonne in 1666, by direction of the Archbishop of Paris; and again by the Sacred Congregation in the cause of her canonisation.[^1] The source from which she drew the sweet and consoling illumination set forth in the following pages, on the mysterious sufferings and bliss of purgatory, was a life of continued pain and of ardent consuming love; of perpetual expiation, and of absolute conformity to the will of God. And of this she says:
Quote:"This way of purgation which I see in the souls in purgatory, I feel in my own mind, chiefly in the last two years; day by day I feel and see it more clearly. I see my soul to be standing in the body as in a purgatory conformed and like to the true purgatory. . . . All the things I have hitherto said I see and touch; but I can find no fit words to express as fully as I desire to say it; and what I have said I feel to be working spiritually within me, and therefore I have said it."[^2]
The Saint was born in Genoa, in 1447, of the family of Fieschi. Her parents married her to Giuliano Adorno, of a noble Genoese house. After his death she served the sick in the Great Hospital, where her body, still perfect and visible, is venerated over the high altar in the choir of the religious which is attached to the wards, and looks down upon the external Church; and her memory is blessed among the Saints as the Seraph of Genoa.
H. E. Manning
All Souls Day, 1858
[^1]: Ben. XIV. *de Beat, et Can. Sanct.* lib. ii. c. xxvi. 2
[^2]: *Trattato del Purgatorio*, c. xvii.
|
|
|
|
| Our Lady statue destroyed in latest attack on New York Catholic church |
|
Posted by: Stone - 08-06-2026, 06:27 AM - Forum: Anti-Catholic Violence
- No Replies
|
|
Our Lady statue destroyed in latest attack on New York Catholic church
Police are investigating the latest attack on St. Rita Roman Catholic Church in Queens, where a man reportedly used a hammer to destroy a statue of the Blessed Mother.
![[Image: StRitaVandalism2-e1785953411240.jpeg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/StRitaVandalism2-e1785953411240.jpeg)
Vandalized statue of Our Lady, St. Rita Roman Catholic Church, Dutch Kills section of Queens, New York.
St. Rita's Church/Diocese of Brooklyn
Aug 5, 2026
NEW YORK (LifeSiteNews) — A man smashed a statue of the Virgin Mary at a parish church in Queens that has suffered multiple acts of vandalism in the past two years.
In the early morning of August 1, an unidentified man was seen on video surveillance footage jumping over the fence into a courtyard belonging to St. Rita Roman Catholic Church in the Dutch Kills section of Queens in New York.
According to QNS, the man used a hammer to smash a statue of the Blessed Mother, decapitating it and causing it to fall off its pedestal. The Diocese of Brooklyn said it was the fourth act of vandalism at St. Rita’s Church since 2024.
Previous attacks on the parish church included the smashing of a stained-glass window, vandalism of a statue of St. Jude inside the church, and the defacing of a statue of St. Francis of Assisi in April when a man spray-painted the word “PAGAN” on the sidewalk in front of the statue.
The New York City Police Department Hate Crimes Task Force has opened an investigation into the case. The suspect has been described as having a light skin complexion and dark hair.
Anyone with information regarding this crime is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477) or, for Spanish, 888-57-PISTA (74782). Citizens may also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org or on X (@NYPDTips). All calls and messages are strictly confidential.
A similar attack happened at another Catholic Church on Long Island in May. As LifeSiteNews reported at the time, parishioners at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in East Islip, New York, were shocked to discover the violent desecration of a Sacred Heart statue. The head of Jesus Christ had been severed from the statue body and later discovered in nearby bushes.
|
|
|
|
| Thieves take relics of St. Martin of tours from Catholic church in Germany |
|
Posted by: Stone - 08-04-2026, 06:51 AM - Forum: Anti-Catholic Violence
- No Replies
|
|
Thieves take relics of St. Martin of tours from Catholic church in Germany
The theft from St. Martinus Church comes as Germany continues to record the highest number of documented church arson attacks in Europe.
![[Image: Untitled.png]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Untitled.png)
Catholic Church of St. Martinus in Neuss-Holzheim, Germany
Wikimedia Commons
Aug 4, 2026
(LifeSiteNews) — Burglars have stolen relics of St. Martin of Tours from a Catholic church in Germany.
The Catholic Church of St. Martinus in Neuss-Holzheim, North Rhine-Westphalia, was targeted by burglars.
As local media reported, unknown perpetrators gained access to the church through a side entrance during the night leading into July 30. Once inside, they reportedly smashed a small pane of glass at the front of the altar and stole the relics of St. Martin – the church’s patron saint – that were kept behind it. A missal was also stolen; however, according to Volker Esser, the vice chair of the parish council, it was recovered a short time later, a few streets away, found underneath a car.
The theft was not the first break-in at the church. According to German newspaper Westdeutsche Zeitung, as early as January 2023, perpetrators who remain unknown to this day had broken into the church’s sacristy, where they left behind a “scene of devastation.”
“Large holes had been smashed into some doors, wood splinters were scattered across the floor, and signs of forced entry were visible on other doors,” the newspaper reported.
At the time, the perpetrators had targeted numerous sacred objects. About six months after that break-in, some of the stolen items resurfaced under mysterious circumstances: residents discovered a monstrance and several chalices on the roof of a garage.
According to media reports, the perpetrators were likely injured during the most recent break-in after conspicuous bloodstains were found on the altar. While the material damage caused by the break-in was not particularly high, “the sentimental value certainly is,” said parish priest Andreas Süß, who expressed his shock at the crime to Westdeutsche Zeitung: “For us as a parish, it is unimaginable how anyone could break into a church. There seems to be a complete lack of respect for a house of God.”
Süß announced that he would perform a blessing of the altar. He also said that options for additional security measures are to be examined promptly.
Europe has seen an increase in attacks on churches in recent years, including burglary, vandalism and arson. According to the latest OIDAC Europe report, Germany experienced the highest number of documented arson attacks on church buildings with 33 in 2024.
|
|
|
|
|
![[Image: ?u=https%3A%2F%2Fart-facts.com%2Fwp-cont...8887ed1f28]](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fart-facts.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F10%2FAssumption-of-the-Virgin-by-Annibale-Carracci.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=3c8206f1d1cd630e16b194a5554a71fb6b985a9d8815b3adaec7c28887ed1f28)
![[Image: s-l1200.jpg]](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/720AAOSwUeRhqRfE/s-l1200.jpg)
