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Several hundred Sisters of Mercy of the Americas gathered for a Walk for Water in Buffalo on Friday morning, June 23. The threat of lightning shortened a walk planned from the sisters' conference site to Canalside, but did not put a damper on their commitment to advocating for the human right to water. A blessing followed a walk up and down Main Street with Community leaders and representatives from the nearby Seneca and Cayuga Native American Nations.

Teens in this day and age are often bombarded with daunting and overwhelming decisions that need to be made in a timely fashion. For many, the decisions include where to go to high school or college, what career path they should choose, and how they want to live their lives. These important and life-changing decisions can leave teens feeling frustrated, confused and misguided. It was not until I started living on call to the Holy Spirit, and truly listening to God's plan for me that I began to feel confident in my choices.

Plans are underway for a pilgrimage to Panama for World Youth Day 2019. Father Michael LaMarca will lead a group to Central America in January 2019 for the spiritual event. Due to the winter dates, there will be no diocesan pilgrimage from the Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, who have organized trips to Denver, Paris, Toronto, Cologne and Krakow in past years.

When we think of the phrase "faith at work," some conventional images might come to mind: caring for the poor, a teacher explaining the faith, but we don't need to have an openly religious job for our faith to be relevant. Any honest and upright work is holy and an opportunity to grow closer to God. As St. John Paul II once reminded us, Jesus himself worked as a carpenter, and "Through their work, people share in the Creator's work."

This month, I want to share some of the teachings of Pope Francis in his apostolic exhortation "Amoris Laeticia" on the Christian education of our children.

As part of the Diocese of Buffalo, Catholic Cemeteries serves as a means for members of the community to mourn, bury and pay their respects to their departed loved ones. In serving the same clientele, Catholic Cemeteries has formed a strong bond with Stone Art Memorial Company Inc., the 160-year-old business that specializes in unique stonework to be put in cemeteries, mausoleums and other locations.

On the afternoon of April 26, Bishop Richard J. Malone received a special gift, a prayer book containing a compilation of prayers from the St. John the Baptist Parish community in Kenmore, from three of its parishioners. The bishop met with Ray Metzger, treasurer of the parish's Holy Name Society; Mary Porter, who originally came up with the idea for the book from her sister, a former Sister of St. Mary of Namur, and Porter's grandson, Ethan Franz, currently a fourth-grade student at St. John the Baptist School.

WASHINGTON—The President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston as well as the Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration, Bishop Joe S. Vásquez of Austin, and Chairman of the USCCB Committee on International Justice and Peace, Bishop Oscar Cantú of Las Cruces, have sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, John F. Kelly, urging him to defer deportation of those persons to Iraq, particularly Christians and Chaldean Catholics, who pose no threat to U.S. public safety.

WASHINGTON—Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski, Bishop of Springfield, Massachusetts and Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs have issued a joint statement in response to Sunday's attack on worshipers outside a mosque in London.

Sister Carmela Correia, OSF, died June 17, 2017, at St. Elizabeth Motherhouse in Allegany. She was 98.

Sister M. Winifred Fox died June 6, 2017,in the Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse in Clarence. She was 88.

Franciscans from all corners of the nation arrived in Buffalo to be inspired and enlightened at the annual Franciscan Federation Conference. Over 250 sisters, brothers, priests, and a few seculars who have answered the Third Order Regular call gathered at the Adam's Mark in downtown Buffalo for the weekend beginning June 16.

LEWISTON, NY - Under a clear blue, nearly-summer sky on Monday morning, students at St. Peter R.C. School broke ground for what will be the school's new playground. One student per grade was selected via a lottery to participate in the actual digging, each donning a matching shovel and hard hat. Construction of the playground will begin over the summer and means students should have a dedicated space for outdoor learning, active play, team sports and physical activity by the first week of the next school year.

WASHINGTON, DC - World Refugee Day 2017 will take place June 20th with celebrations noting the contributions of refugees occurring locally, nationally and globally. The international day provides an opportunity to raise awareness about the global refugee situation and the success of resettled refugees. The world is experiencing the largest forced migration crisis since World War II with more than 65 million people forcibly displaced from their homes, including 21 million refugees worldwide.

Father Charles Zadora has a pretty low-key outlook of his 50 years as a priest.

Throughout the winter months and this spring season, several parishes sponsored successful diaper drives and baby showers, collecting items to serve families of the St. Gianna Molla Pregnancy Outreach Center. As an outreach of the Pro-Life Office of the Diocese of Buffalo, St. Gianna's serves mothers, fathers and young families during and after pregnancy, providing material, emotional and spiritual support. Families facing challenges in providing for their babies are referred to the center by social service agencies. Through generous parish and individual responses to their needs, they are provided with diapers, wipes, clothing and other items fundamental to the daily care of their children. The families are grateful not only for the material assistance, but also for the care and hope offered at the center.

KENMORE — Kenmore Mercy Hospital announced that it has received national recognition for excellence in nursing from the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Magnet Recognition Program. With this recognition, Kenmore Mercy joins a select magnet community, as only 454 hospitals worldwide have received the designation. Kenmore Mercy is also the only magnet-designated hospital in Western New York.

A final push for the Catholic Charities Appeal 2017.

"A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system," warns Pope Francis in his landmark environmental encyclical "Laudato Si" ("On Care for Our Common Home").

On the first floor of the Catholic Center in downtown Buffalo, the Catholic Union Store offers a wide selection of books, gifts, statues, rosaries, cards, priests' vestments, Bibles and various other Catholic and Christian goods. In February, the store held a grand re-opening celebration with Bishop Richard J. Malone in recognition of newly finished renovations that will allow it to better serve the community.

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. (CNA/EWTN News) - Next year's synod, which will focus on young people, must address their most pressing problems, including indifference and disillusionment, U.S. bishops said at their annual meeting on Wednesday.

Father John Timon, a Vincentian priest, arrived in Buffalo in June 1847 to establish a new Catholic diocese in Western New York. He would serve as the first bishop of the diocese, ushering in religious orders, developing health care, and creating a Catholic identity for the city that would remain 170 years later.

"Persecution has a face," said Bishop Oscar Cantú, of Las Cruces, New Mexico, chairman of the U.S. Bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace, as he presented an oral report to the full body of bishops on the situation of religious discrimination and persecution in Asia and the Middle East.

INDIANAPOLIS—The chairmen of the U.S. Bishops' Working Group on Immigration, and the Committee on Migration, presented an oral report to the full body of bishops on the work done to advance collaboration in developing spiritual, pastoral and policy advocacy support for refugees and immigrants. The presentation took place at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Spring General Assembly in Indianapolis, June 14.

WASHINGTON, DC (CNA/EWTN News) - Online pornography is one of the fastest growing addictions in the United States, on par with cocaine and gambling.

Catholic Charities of Buffalo began a new chapter on Monday, June 12, as the agency celebrated the grand opening of its Wyoming County office on the campus of Community Action for Wyoming County in Building #1, 6470 State Rt. 20A, Perry. About 25 guests attended the event, including Sister Mary McCarrick, Catholic Charities' diocesan director, and Father Richard Blazejewski of St. Isidore's Parish in Perry, who blessed the office.

Bishop Richard J. Malone has announced several clergy assignments including naming a new rector for St. Joseph Cathedral.

On June 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit largely affirmed a nationwide preliminary injunction against implementation of sections of the Administration's executive order that attempted to suspend and limit the U.S. refugee resettlement program and also attempted to ban the entry of people from six Muslim-majority countries.

Vatican City (CNA/EWTN News)- In his message for the first World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis said that the suffering and broken bodies of the poor are where we encounter the body of Christ - and to know Christ we must know the poor.

Pope Francis has named Bishop Charles Thompson, of Evansville, Indiana, as Archbishop of Indianapolis.

Sister Joyce Martin Nalewajk, FSSJ, died June 5, 2017, at Immaculate Conception Convent in Hamburg. She was 88 years old.

Washington—The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People has released their 2016 Annual Report - Findings and Recommendations on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

Thomas Merton may have been the most influential American Catholic author of the 20th century, and some of his most spiritually formative years were spent at St. Bonaventure University. It seems only fitting that the scenic university in Cattaraugus County will host the 15th general meeting and conference for the International Thomas Merton Society from June 15-18.

As a conclusion to the large-scale renovations that took place at St. Mark Parish in North Buffalo over the winter, the parish will welcome the nearing of summer with a formal dedication to the updated church's interior.

TONAWANDA — On June 4, the Inner Harbor Yacht Club hosted its annual "Blessing of the Boats" ceremony with a new name. From now on, the ceremony will officially be designated the "Anne Meyer Memorial Blessing of the Boats," in honor of Anne Meyer, the originator of the event which debuted in 1981.

There was a time when women were expected to wear hats or "chapel veils" in church, and Kate Mazzarini, for one, is glad that became optional in 1962.

It's time again for the annual Catholic Communication Campaign, the campaign that connects people with Christ. Each year, on the second weekend of June - June 10 and 11 this year - parishes throughout the diocese participate in this second collection which helps the men and women in the Office of Communications bring the Good News to you.

TONAWANDA — The 2017 Ken-Ton Friends of Youth Shining Stars Dinner, held April 26 at the Tonawanda Castle, awarded grants to seven deserving college-bound high school seniors.

In its role in serving the Catholic Church in Buffalo, Daybreak TV Productions, part of the Office of Communications' job is to ensure it distributes not just entertainment, but accurate information about the Catholic faith to audiences. Since videographers, producers and others in the field of communications are laypeople and usually not as well versed in theology as clergy and men and women religious, this has led to collaboration between Daybreak staff and other departments in the Catholic Center.

On Communications Weekend in the Diocese we focus on our namesake, the Western New York Catholic, with Managing Editor, Patrick McPartland and Photographer, Dan Cappellazzo.