NYPD Detective Jonathan Diller’s Killer Sentenced to 115 Years

By Jessica Easthope

It won’t bring a father, husband and son back, but there was some justice for NYPD Detective Jonathan Diller’s family. At Queens Criminal Court on April 27, Guy Rivera, the man convicted of killing Detective Diller during a traffic stop in Far Rockaway in 2024, was sentenced to 115 years in prison.

“A husband, a father and a son. And a police officer. Guy Rivera respected neither one of those,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said after the sentencing. “On March 25, 2024, not only was Jonathan Diller killed, but they attempted to kill Sergeant Rosen. Guy Rivera will spend the rest of his life in jail.”

A courtroom packed with police officers heard victim impact statements from Detective Diller’s family members. Detective Diller and his partner conducted a traffic stop on March 25, 2024. Guy Rivera, a passenger in the car, refused to comply with the officers’ orders to exit the vehicle. When they tried to remove him, he fired. Detective Diller was shot at point-blank range in the torso below his bulletproof vest and was rushed to Jamaica Hospital, where he died. NYPD Assistant Chief Chaplain Monsignor David Cassato was at the hospital that day.

“You walk into the hospital, there’s just such sadness and grief,” Monsignor Cassato said. “We pray for peace in the heart of his family. And, you know, we pray that somehow God intervenes in his life and brings some sort of measure of repentance.”

Police Benevolence Association President Patrick Hendry said the jury’s verdict after a weeks-long trial was disappointing. Although Rivera was found guilty of aggravated manslaughter, attempted murder and weapons charges, he was acquitted of first-degree murder. Hendry said outside court on April 27 that this is the justice system at work.

“The verdict in this case did not send the right message to the family, and every police officer who wears the uniform. But this sentence, it sent the right message.”

At the time of the shooting, Rivera had 21 prior arrests. District Attorney Melinda Katz said he will only be eligible for parole after the 115 years. Detective Diller left behind a wife and 3-year-old son.

NYC Law Protects Houses of Worship And Right to Protest

By Katie Vasquez

A new New York City bill aimed at protecting the right to pray while preserving the right to protest has gone into effect.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani allowed Intro 1-B to become law, applying specifically to houses of worship. The legislation was proposed following two separate incidents, one outside a Manhattan synagogue and another at Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills.

On Jan. 8, while an Israeli real estate event was taking place inside the synagogue in Kew Gardens Hills, protesters gathered outside shouting remarks.

City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who sponsored the bill, said the measure requires the NYPD to determine if, when, and to what extent security perimeters may be used to protect places of worship. She emphasized that freedom of religion must be safeguarded while also upholding First Amendment rights.

The American Jewish Committee said Jewish New Yorkers have felt unsafe entering houses of worship, particularly as antisemitic hate crimes accounted for 57% of all reported hate crimes in 2025.

Rabbi Brad Hirschfield of the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership said the bill is a step in the right direction but expressed concerns about its scope.

“While I appreciate the buffer zone protecting the area around a space of worship, it doesn’t protect people,” Hirschfield said. “And the idea that you have to choose between protecting people’s right to protest, as we do, as we must in America, does not mean that people should have carte blanche to shout some of the hateful and violent things they have shouted at Jews who happen to support Israel. And this law avoids that by confusing, as people often do, the freedom to worship with the freedom to be who we are as people of faith, which is not limited to the few hours a week we may spend in a house of worship.”

Governor Kathy Hochul has proposed a similar statewide bill that would prohibit protesters from gathering within 25 feet of houses of worship. The proposal was included in this year’s state budget policy agenda, which lawmakers are still negotiating.

Catholic News Headlines for Monday 4/27/26

The man convicted of killing NYPD Detective Jonathan Diller was sentenced to 115 years in prison.

Bishop Robert Brennan led prayers for peace and celebrated the Diocese of Brooklyn’s annual Pro Vita Mass at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph.

New Yorkers of many faiths are backing new legislation that would create buffer zones around houses of worship while preserving the right to protest.

The family of a World War II soldier finally laid him to rest in Brooklyn after his remains were identified more than 80 years after he was declared missing in action.

April 29 on Currents News: Pulse of the Parish, St. Andrew the Apostle

By Currents News

The door to ESL teacher Lanell Schultheis’ classroom is always open, because everyone is welcome at the parish house of St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Queens – no matter where they come from or what language they speak.

Her mission is simple: teach them English, one word at a time.

TONIGHT AT 7: Man Convicted in the Killing of NYPD Detective Jonathan Diller Receives Sentence

By Jessica Easthope

Guy Rivera has been sentenced to 115 years to life in prison after being convicted for fatally shooting NYPD Detective Jonathan Diller and attempting to murder NYPD Sergeant Sasha Rosen in Queens on March 25, 2024.

In Queens, Flushing First Friday Club Turns Restaurant Into Place of Worship

By Christine Persichette

For some Catholics, faith extends well beyond the walls of a church. Every first Friday of the month, members of the Flushing First Friday Club gather at Verdi’s restaurant in Whitestone to celebrate Mass and honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The tradition, which has endured for more than six decades, transforms the banquet hall into a sacred space where tables become pews and the faithful come together in prayer and community.

Barbara Eivers, 90, the club’s program chair, said she loves attending Mass outside of a traditional church setting. “I love attending mass outside away from church to show people that faith is everywhere — everywhere we are,” she said.

The devotion calls Catholics to attend Mass and receive Holy Communion on nine consecutive first Fridays. Eivers recalled the promise attached to the practice.

“We’ve been promised a happy death if you make the Fridays,” she said.John Golden, board chair, has been part of the club for decades after being recruited by one of its original members.

“It’s important to keep the Catholic faith going in reference especially to honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” he said.

Carol White, club president and a retired nurse, said the gatherings offer more than just a meal and Mass. “The camaraderie, the spiritual uplift. We always have wonderful guest speakers,” she said.

The club sends notices to about 18 Queens churches to invite parishioners, but all are welcome.

The cost is $48, which covers a five-course meal.For decades, the Flushing First Friday Club has kept a simple but powerful mission alive — bringing faith, friendship and devotion to the Sacred Heart into the heart of everyday life.

Renewed Push for Father Capodanno Sainthood Enters Crucial Phase

By Currents News and Paula Katinas

As supporters of Father Vincent Capodanno’s canonization cause marked the 60th anniversary of the late Navy chaplain’s arrival in Vietnam, there was renewed hope that the effort was gaining momentum.

The Dicastery for the Causes of Saints is expected to decide whether to recommend to Pope Leo XIV that he declare Father Capodanno venerable in May. In the meantime, Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, approved the creation of a novena for Father Capodanno’s cause.

While the novena took place from March 30 to April 7, to coincide with Holy Week, Father Daniel Mode, who wrote the novena, encourages the faithful to continue to pray it.

“It was an honor to do that,” said Father Mode, a Navy chaplain who is part of the historical committee for the canonization cause. “You can pray [the novena] anytime between now and May, or even after May.”

Father Mode wrote the Novena with the Father Vincent Capodanno Guild, a 4,000-member organization helping to promote the cause.

Father Capodanno, a Staten Island native who served as a chaplain during the Vietnam War and was killed in 1967, was declared a Servant of God in 2006, marking the first step toward sainthood. If he is declared venerable, it would mark the second step.

Father Capodanno arrived in Vietnam during Holy Week in April 1966 and earned the nickname of “The Grunt Padre” for his insistence on living, eating, and sleeping in the same conditions as the Marines (known as grunts) he was serving with.

He was killed by enemy fire while trying to shield a wounded corpsman with his body during an attack by the North Vietnamese in the Que Son Valley in central Vietnam on Sept. 4, 1967.

The cause for canonization was originally opened in 2006 by the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, with Father Mode as the original apostolater. At that time, he began the process of putting together the positio — the primary document to be presented to the Vatican outlining why the person is deserving of sainthood.

Among the documents used for the positio was Father Mode’s book “The Grunt Padre: Father Vincent Capodanno, Vietnam 1966-1967,” published in 2000.

“As you can imagine, it is a huge document that includes everything; testimonials, baptismal certificates, timelines,” Father Mode said of the positio.

However, the dicastery suspended the canonization process in May 2022 and requested additional information about Father Capodanno, he noted.

Specifically, the dicastery wanted to know more about his life as a priest, “because there were questions about his obedience,” Father Mode said. In addition, the dicastery wanted to know about his relationship with his superiors and whether his final sacrifice (using his body to shield an injured Marine from gunfire) was really a free spiritual offer from the heart or simply a patriotic gesture.

To answer the questions, Archbishop Broglio established a second historical commission (the first one was originally formed at the start of the canonization process), which got to work. Their answers were submitted in May 2024.

As he awaits the dicastery’s decision, Father Mode said he is optimistic.

“I am always hopeful,” he added.

Mar Preece, the vice apostolater for Father Capodanno’s cause, said she is hopeful, as well. “He walked among us and radiated Christ to so many,” she said. “It is us who would benefit from naming him as a saint. But ultimately, God decides.”

Catholic News Headlines for Friday 4/24/26

Pope Leo XIV spoke about peace in Iran, dignity for migrants, and same-sex blessings while answering reporters’ questions aboard the papal plane.

Xaverian High School will break ground on a new Exploration and Innovation Center designed to expand learning space and modernize student opportunities.

The sainthood cause of Father Vincent Capodanno is seeing a renewed push as the Vatican prepares to review the next step in his canonization process.

The Flushing First Friday Club has spent decades turning a Queens restaurant into a place of worship for monthly Mass, prayer, and fellowship.

140 Years Ago: Father Augustus Tolton, First African American Priest, Ordained in Rome

By Currents News

The Archbasilica of St. John Lateran is technically the cathedral of Rome where the pope’s chair as the Bishop of Rome, is located.

Aside from its connection to the Holy Father, the Italian archbasilica also has a unique connection to Catholicism in the United States: the first African-American priest was ordained at St. John Lateran on April 24, 1886, 140 years ago.

His name was Father Augustus Tolton.

Father Tolton was born into slavery in Missouri in 1854, but his mother Martha Jane escaped slavery, taking him and his brother to the State of Illinois when they were still very young.

Growing up in Illinois, he discerned a calling to the priesthood through the mentorship of a local Irish priest. But no seminary in the United States would accept him because of his skin color.

He was eventually accepted to study for the priesthood in Rome, and went to the Pontifical Urban University in 1880.

Six years later, he was ordained a priest at St. John Lateran by Cardinal Giovanni Simeoni. He then celebrated his first Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica.

Father Tolton had expected to be sent as a missionary to Africa, but was instead sent back to his home diocese in Illinois to serve the African-American community.

Cardinal Simeoni explained to him the reason for this:

“America has been called the most enlightened nation; we will see now whether it deserves that honor.”

As a priest, Father Tolton went on to faithfully serve his local community for 11 years before dying of a heat stroke in July of 1897.

In June 2019, Pope Francis declared Father Tolton venerable, moving forward his cause for canonization.

Father Tolton went from slave to priest, but many are praying that he will soon go from slave to priest to saint.

Aboard the Papal Plane From Africa: Pope Condemns Killings in Iran, Speaks on Migration, Same-Sex Blessings

By Currents News and Josephine Peterson

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM MALABO TO ROME (CNS) — Pope Leo XIV, who has repeatedly called for peace and dialogue in the Middle East, went a step further on April 23, condemning the unjust taking of life by governments as violence continues in Iran.

Speaking to reporters aboard the papal flight back to Rome after an 11-day trip to Africa, the pope said, “As a shepherd I cannot be in favor of war,” while addressing the escalating conflict involving Iran.

Since the start of the conflict on Feb. 28, when the United States and Israel launched strikes in Iran, more than 3,000 people have been killed, including an estimated 1,700 civilians, according to human rights groups and Iranian media. A fragile ceasefire remains in place, even as tensions continue to rattle global markets and oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

Until now, Pope Leo had limited his public remarks on the conflict to appeals for peace and dialogue. On the return flight, however, he directly addressed the moral implications of state violence.

“If there is regime change or no regime change, the question is how to promote the values in which we believe without the death of so many innocents,” he said, responding in Italian. “The question of Iran is evidently very complex.”

Responding to a similar question in English, asking whether he directly condemned the reported state violence aimed at Iran’s citizens, he said, “I condemn all actions that are unjust. I condemn the taking of people’s lives. I condemn capital punishment. I believe that human life is to be respected and that all people, from conception to natural birth — their lives should be respected and protected.”

“So, when a regime, when a country takes decisions which takes away the lives of other people unjustly, then obviously that is something that should be condemned,” he said.

Continuing his broader call for peace rooted in dialogue, he said in Italian, “I would like to encourage everyone to make efforts to look for answers that come from a culture of peace and not from a place of hate and division.”

The comments came after a week of criticism from President Donald Trump, who said the pope was “terrible for foreign policy” and questioned his stance on the conflict. Pope Leo declined to engage directly.

“I have no intention of getting into a debate,” he said on April 18, adding that he would continue to advocate for peace.

Throughout the in-flight press conference on April 23, the pope also reflected on themes that emerged during his Africa trip, including governance, and he answered questions on migration and the blessing of same-sex couples.

The pope reaffirmed the position spelled out in the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s publication of “Fiducia Supplicans” (“Supplicating Trust”), which allows Catholic priests to bless a same-sex or other unmarried couple. However, it cannot be a formal liturgical blessing, nor give the impression that the church is blessing the union as if it were a marriage.

The pope was asked how he intended to preserve the unity of the global church on the matter, given a recent decision by Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising to allow priests to bless same-sex couples in his archdiocese, and the clear opposition to such practices by a number of church leaders, particularly in Africa.

“First of all, I think it’s very important that the unity or division of the church should not revolve around sexual matters,” he said.

“We tend to think that when the church is talking about morality, that the only issue of morality is sexual, and in reality, I believe there are greater and more important issues, such as justice, equality, freedom of men and women, freedom of religion, that would all take priority before that particular issue,” he said.

Pope Leo underlined that the Vatican does not agree with more “formalized” blessings of homosexual couples or couples in “irregular situations,” as is spelled out in the Vatican document.

He recalled the meaning behind Pope Francis’ expression of “todos, todos, todos,” meaning “everyone,” as being “an expression of the church’s belief that all are welcome, all are invited, all are invited to follow Jesus, and all are invited to look for conversion in their lives.”

“To go beyond that today, I think that the topic can cause more disunity than unity, and that we should look for ways to build our unity upon Jesus Christ and what Jesus Christ teaches,” he said.

In another question, the pope defended the Vatican’s practice of maintaining diplomatic relations with political leaders, including those criticized by human rights groups, saying such engagement can create opportunities to advocate privately for justice and humanitarian concerns.

“We are actually trying to find a way to apply the Gospel to concrete situations so that the lives of people can be improved,” he said.

On migration, he questioned the role of wealthier nations in driving global inequality.

“What does the global North do to support the global South, and those countries where young people today find no future?” he said, pointing to economic disparities that fuel migration.

While acknowledging the right of nations to control their borders, he stressed that migrants must be treated with dignity.

“We need to treat human beings in a humanitarian way and not treat them worse than house pets,” he said.