If there can be said to be a vanishing population in the United States, one demographic immediately stands out: people living with Down syndrome.

Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israeli communities that left 1,200 dead and over 250 kidnapped, Lo’ay Ayyad, 48, a father of two and a successful veteran tour guide in the region, has been largely unemployed as the tourism industry has come to a halt and he has used up almost all his savings.

Daryl Grigsby, the well-known African American commentator, author and convert to Catholicism 25 years ago, hosted a March 7 webinar on the thorny subject of racism, apparent indifference to it and what can be done about it in the Catholic Church.

The Paulist Fathers, a missionary society of Catholic priests, announced March 13 that it would wind down its presence at two universities and three parishes in the U.S., while folding three other initiatives.

Easter is a time of pure and boundless joy. The Easter season lasts 50 days, from Easter Sunday until Pentecost. The joy that comes from the Resurrection cannot be contained in a single day.