PHILADELPHIA.  Two newly appointed Vatican consultants on evangelization told OSV News that prayer, humility and authentic friendship are key to spreading the Gospel, particularly among youth and young adults.

COLORADO SPRINGS. Bishop James Golka will celebrate the annual diocesan Blue Mass on May 16 at 12:10 p.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral. The Mass is celebrated each year to show appreciation of the work done by law enforcement personnel, firefighters and first responders.

SECURITY. Father Terrence Gordon, a member of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter who served as parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception Parish in Security, died April 28 of an apparent heart attack. 

This month marks the eight-year anniversary of Pope Francis’ Encyclical Letter, “Laudato Si’” (On Care for Our Common Home).  When it was initially published in May 2015, it received both praise and criticism from Catholics and non-Catholics alike.  In a somewhat less politically polarized world than the one we are living in today, Francis’ plea for environmental consciousness and care became linked with partisanism.  Progressive, non-Catholics for whom much of the Church’s moral teaching is objectionable, nonetheless praised the letter, while some conservative Catholics took exception, mostly to what were regarded as critiques of capitalism. 

COLORADO SPRINGS. On April 19, a small but dedicated group of prayer warriors walked from Divine Redeemer Church to the Colorado Springs City Hall as an act of reparation for the state of abortion in Colorado.