Month: July 2022

WASHINGTON (CNS) – The chairmen of four U.S. bishops committees said July 27 that proposed regulations from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on abortion, transgender services and other procedures threaten the Catholic Church’s ability “to carry out our healing ministries” and others’ ability “to practice medicine.”

They called the proposed regulations — a 308-page document released July 25 by HHS — “a violation of religious freedom and bad medicine.”

“They mandate health care workers to perform life-altering surgeries to remove perfectly healthy body parts,” the bishops said. “Assurances that HHS will honor religious freedom laws offer little comfort when HHS is actively fighting court rulings that declared HHS violated religious freedom laws the last time they tried to impose such a mandate.”

They added: “The proposed regulations announce that HHS is also considering whether to force health care workers to perform abortions against their will or lose their jobs. We call on HHS to explicitly disavow any such intent.”

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops released the joint statement from Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman, Committee on Pro-Life Activities; Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, chairman, Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development; Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco, chairman, Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth; and Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, chairman, Committee for Religious Liberty.

The proposed HHS regulations would apply to implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s Section 1557, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability or sex – including pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identity – in covered health programs or activities.

In 2020, the Trump administration put in place a final rule that eliminated the general prohibition on discrimination based on gender identity and also adopted abortion and religious freedom exemptions for health care providers. But the courts blocked this rule change.

In 2021, shortly after he was inaugurated, President Joe Biden issued an executive order declaring that his administration would apply the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County in all areas of government — including the ACA.

In a 6-3 ruling, the court held that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is necessarily also discrimination “because of sex” as prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Biden administration’s so-called “transgender mandate” required that doctors and hospitals perform gender-transition procedures on any patient despite any moral or medical objections of the doctor or health care facility.

Last year a number of Catholic health care organizations filed a lawsuit challenging the mandate. A federal court blocked it mandate last August, granting the plaintiffs’ request for a permanent injunction.

The court permanently enjoined HHS, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and all HHS-related divisions, agencies and employees “from interpreting or enforcing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act.”

Also last year, lawyers for the plaintiffs discovered a 74-page legal memorandum attached to a court filing from a consortium of 30 sexual rights groups revealed that HHS had promised to revise its mandates on health plan coverage and performance to include surgical abortion, cross-sex hormones, gender-transition surgeries, gender-affirming cosmetic surgeries and voice modification — along with a host of expanded services dealing with fertility treatments, contraception, abortifacients and sterilizations.

Once the newly released HHS proposed regulations are published in the Federal Register, a period for public comment will begin. HHS said this period will be 60 days after publication. As of July 27, the HHS proposal had not yet been published on the website https://www.federalregister.gov.

“Catholics have been called to care for the sick since the earliest days of our faith,” said the USCCB committee chairmen. “Today, the various agencies and social service ministries of the Catholic Church taken together are equivalent to the largest nonprofit health care provider in the country.”

The church does “this work in fulfillment of the direct command of Jesus Christ and in imitation of his divine ministry here on earth,” they said.

“Catholic health care ministries serve everyone, no matter their race, sex, belief system or any other characteristic,” the bishops continued. “The same excellent care will be provided in a Catholic hospital to all patients, including patients who identify as transgender, whether it be for a broken bone or for cancer, but we cannot do what our faith forbids. We object to harmful procedures, not to patients.”

The bishops said they “will continue to review these proposed regulations and will file more thorough comments at the appropriate time.”

EDMONTON, Alberta (CNS) – After a flight of more than 10 hours from Rome, Pope Francis landed in Edmonton and met briefly at the airport with Indigenous leaders, Canada’s governor general and prime minister before heading to the local seminary for a rest.

Governor General Mary Simon and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walked alongside the pope as an aide pushed him in a wheelchair into an airport hangar for the informal welcome. Four Indigenous drummers heralded the arrival of their special guest.

The pope, governor general and prime minister were greeted by: RoseAnn Archibald, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations; Gerald Antoine, regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations; Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami; and Audrey Poitras, president of the Métis Nation of Alberta.

On the long flight from Rome, Pope Francis kept his habit of making a few brief remarks to reporters traveling with him and then – leaning heavily on a silver cane – walking all the way down one aisle and back up the other to personally greet the more than 75 reporters, photographers and camera operators traveling with him.

“I’m happy to greet you like always,” he said. “I think I can get around.”

The pope had boarded the plane by “ambulift,” a platform that lifted him in his wheelchair to the ITA plane.

Pope Francis told the reporters his visit to Canada July 24-29 would be “a penitential trip” to meet with, listen to and apologize to members of Canada’s First Nation, Métis and Inuit communities, especially those who experienced abuse or attempts at forced assimilation at church-run residential schools.

Pope Francis also noted that he would be flying to Canada when he usually would lead the recitation of the Angelus prayer. “But let’s do an Angelus here,” he said, referring mainly to his customary Sunday midday address.

With the Catholic Church around the globe marking the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly July 24, the pope’s mini-, airborne-Angelus address focused on how “grandfathers and grandmothers are those who have handed on history, traditions, customs — many things.”

“Young people need contact with their grandparents, to go back to them, to their roots, not to remain there, not, but to carry them forward,” he said, like a tree that draws nourishment from its roots to flower and produce fruit.

As a Jesuit, Pope Francis said he also wanted to urge members of religious orders to treasure their elderly members – “the grandparents of consecrated life.”

“Please, don’t hide them away,” the pope said.

The importance of elders as the keepers of wisdom and as educators of the young was expected to be a recurring theme during the pope’s visit to Alberta, Quebec and Nunavut.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, was accompanying Pope Francis on the trip. He told Vatican News July 23 the pope’s focus would be on acknowledging and apologizing for the past, but also looking at the present and future.

When the pope met April 1 at the Vatican with First Nation, Métis and Inuit representatives, the cardinal said, “the pope expressed shame and indignation at the actions of not a few Christians who, instead of bearing witness to the Gospel, conformed to the colonial mentality and past government policies of cultural assimilation, which severely harmed indigenous communities.”

“Especially painful was the role of some Catholics in the so-called residential school system, which resulted in the removal of many indigenous children from their families,” the cardinal said. Many children endured emotional, physical and sexual abuse at the schools, in addition to being cut off from their native languages, customs and ceremonies.

That past, Cardinal Parolin said, is why Pope Francis described his trip as a “penitential pilgrimage” and will focus on “healing wounds and reconciliation.”

However, he said, the pope’s visit also will include a reflection on Indigenous values that can and should be shared with the wider society and church today.

“Indeed, it can be fruitful for everyone to rediscover many of their values and teachings,” such as concern for family and community, care for creation, the importance of spirituality, the strong bond between generations and respect for the elderly, the cardinal said.

The pope’s trip was planned around the feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus. Pope Francis is scheduled to join Indigenous pilgrims on the feast day, July 26, at Lac Ste. Anne.

At a news conference broadcast on YouTube before the pope’s arrival, Archbishop Richard Smith of Edmonton told reporters, “I believe that this will be a very important moment in the history of our country.”

Father Cristino Bouvette, an Indigenous priest from the Diocese of Calgary, said everything about the papal visit was planned around the Indigenous communities, especially the survivors of residential schools, and their search for justice, healing and reconciliation.

The program, he said, “has been designed with the explicit intention of highlighting and remaining present to the needs and concerns that have inspired the pope to come here in the first place. He probably likes Canada, but he’s not coming here because he likes Canada. He is coming here to address this specific and particular pastoral need as a pastor.”

The Reverend Stephen A. Krawontka, pastor, Ascension Parish, Forest City and St. Katharine Drexel Parish, Pleasant Mount, died on July 19, 2022, at Wayne Memorial Hospital, Honesdale.

Father Krawontka, son of the late Jan and Julia Nowobilska Krawontka, was born in Lapsze Nizne, Poland, on March 27, 1950. He received his early education at Lapsze Nizne grammar school and graduated from Zakopane High School, Poland. Father attended the Papal Faculty of Theology in Krakow where he completed his studies for the priesthood with a Master in Theology. Father was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Krakow on May 22, 1977 by then Karol Cardinal Wojtyla, Pope Saint John Paul II.

Father Krawontka ministered in Poland for thirteen years. He moved to the Diocese of Scranton in July 1990 and was appointed parochial vicar at Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, Dickson City.

With the consent of the Archdiocese of Krakow, Father Krawontka was incardinated into the Diocese of Scranton on November 23, 1993.

Father was appointed parochial vicar at St. Joseph, Hazleton in July 1997 and served for eleven years. In July 2008, he was appointed Administrator, St. Mary, Our Lady of Perpetual Help and Ascension of the Lord Churches, Mocanaqua and St. Martha, Fairmount Springs. In July 2010, Father was appointed parochial vicar at St. Patrick Church, Scranton where he also served as Administrator pro tem and Senior Priest for periods of time.

Father received his next appointment as Senior Priest at Our Lady Help of Christians, Dorrance and St. Jude, Mountain Top in November 2017. In July 2019, Father was appointed pastor at Ascension Parish, Forest City and St. Katharine Drexel, Pleasant Mount where he remained until his death.

Father is survived by sisters, Teresa Klapacz and her husband, Peter; Maria Olszowska and her husband, Wlodek; a brother, Emil Krawontka and his wife Marta and numerous nieces and nephews.

A viewing will take place at Ascension Parish, Forest City, on Monday, July 25, 2022, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Vespers will be celebrated at Ascension Parish at 7:00 p.m.

A Pontifical Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.L., Bishop of Scranton, on Tuesday, July 26, 2022, at 11:00 a.m., at St. Jude Church, Mountain Top. The Mass will be livestreamed. Anyone wishing to pray via livestream, please visit the St. Jude webpage at https://www.stjc.org.  A viewing will also take place Tuesday morning, at 10:00 a.m., prior to the funeral Mass.

Interment will be in Calvary Cemetery, Drums.

SCRANTON – Thousands of people have been making their way to the Basilica of the National Shrine of Saint Ann in West Scranton this week for an annual pilgrimage that has been ongoing for 98 years.

The Solemn Novena in honor of Saint Ann, the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary, began on Sunday, July 17, and will continue for nine days, culminating with the celebration of the Feast of Saint Ann on Tuesday, July 26.

“It is such a holy place. As soon as you walk on the grounds, you can feel it. It is inspiring and a time when you can reflect on your faith,” Novena volunteer Debbie Coval said.

Coval and other volunteers have been happy to see so many worshippers turn out over the first few days.

“With all of the bad stuff going on, it’s good to see a lot of people practicing their faith,” volunteer Noah Palauskas added. “Everybody is extremely friendly here. You can come and make new friends without even trying.”

The guest preacher for this year’s Novena is Passionist Father Paul Fagan.

“Each day is more energizing,” Father Fagan said, indicating he is preaching about Saint Joseph, the son-in-law of Saint Ann, this year.

“We started with looking at Saint Joseph generally and for the rest of the Novena, we’re taking a title of Saint Joseph each day and reflecting on that,” he explained.

Carol Ann McNulty of Laflin has been coming to the annual Novena for more than 25 years. She says Saint Ann has blessed her with health, happiness, holiness and prosperity.

“When I have asked Saint Ann to intercede for my family, if it were health problems or whatever it may be, she has come through for us,” McNulty explained. “My brother who had cancer, we brought him here for the very first time when he was going through treatments. When he came, he was amazed at the size of the Saint Ann statue and he said he felt different after he left, it was like a special blessing he received.”

This year, the tradition of blessing the faithful with a relic of Saint Ann has returned after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saint Ann Novena devotions will include outdoor Masses and Novenas (weather permitting) at 8 a.m., 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. The 11:45 a.m. Mass and Novena will be celebrated indoors, except on Sundays, and the 3:30 p.m. Novena service is offered inside the main Basilica church.

Bishop Joseph C. Bambera will celebrate the Solemn Closing of the Novena on the Feast of Saint Ann, July 26, at 7:30 p.m. The Mass in Polish will be celebrated at 1:30 p.m., featuring Polish hymns.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Humanity can no longer ignore the cries of the earth that is suffering due to greed and the excessive consumption of its resources, Pope Francis said.

In his message for the World Day of Prayer for Creation, the pope said the current climate crisis is a call for men and women, especially Christians, to “repent and modify our lifestyles and destructive systems.”

“The present state of decay of our common home merits the same attention as other global challenges such as grave health crises and wars. Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience,” he wrote in his message, which was released by the Vatican July 21.

The theme of the World Day of Prayer for Creation, which will be celebrated Sept. 1, is “Listen to the voice of creation.”

Reflecting on the theme, the pope said that there is “a kind of dissonance” when one listens to the “voice of creation.”

“On the one hand, we can hear a sweet song in praise of our beloved Creator; on the other, an anguished plea, lamenting our mistreatment of this our common home,” he said.

The pope said the earth has fallen “prey to our consumerist excesses” and to a “tyrannical anthropocentrism,” an attitude in which people think they are the center of the universe. Such an attitude is at odds “with Christ’s centrality in the work of creation.”

Exaggerated self-centeredness, he said, has led to the loss of biodiversity and the extinction of countless and has greatly impacted the lives of the poor and vulnerable indigenous populations.

“As a result of predatory economic interests, their ancestral lands are being invaded and devastated on all sides, provoking a cry that rises up to heaven,” he said.

Furthermore, the pope said, younger generations feel “menaced by shortsighted and selfish actions” and are “anxiously asking us adults to do everything possible to prevent, or at least limit, the collapse of our planet’s ecosystems.”

Pope Francis said the Vatican’s July 6 accession to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement was made “in the hope that the humanity of the 21st century will be remembered for having generously shouldered its grave responsibilities.”

While the goal of limiting the increase of the earth’s temperature “is quite demanding,” the pope said it also serves as a “call for responsible cooperation between all nations” to confront the climate crisis by reducing net greenhouse gas emissions to zero.

Presenting the pope’s message at the Vatican press office July 21, Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, said Pope Francis’ message served as a call for bolder action by world leaders attending “this year’s COP27 and COP15 summits on climate change and biodiversity.”

“The planet already is 1.2°C hotter, yet new fossil fuel projects every day accelerate our race toward the precipice,” Cardinal Czerny said. “Enough is enough. All new exploration and production of coal, oil and gas must immediately end, and existing production of fossil fuels must be urgently phased out.”

In his message, the pope highlighted the need to change “models of consumption and production, as well as lifestyles” and transform them into something respectful of creation and integral human development.

“Underlying all this,” the pope wrote, “there is need for a covenant between human beings and the environment, which, for us believers, is a mirror reflecting the creative love of God, from whom we come and toward whom we are journeying.’

“The transition brought about by this conversion cannot neglect the demands of justice, especially for those workers who are most affected by the impact of climate change,” the pope added.

He also expressed his hope that the COP15 summit on biodiversity, which will be in December in Montreal, will adopt new agreements that will “halt the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of species.”

Emphasizing the principles needed to prevent “the further collapse of biodiversity,” the pope appealed to the mining, oil, forestry, real estate and agribusiness industries to “stop destroying forests, wetlands and mountains, to stop polluting rivers and seas, to stop poisoning food and people.”

“How can we fail to acknowledge the existence of an ‘ecological debt’ incurred by the economically richer countries, who have polluted most in the last two centuries,” Pope Francis said.

“Even the economically less wealthy countries have significant, albeit ‘diversified’ responsibilities in this regard,” he added. “Delay on the part of others can never justify our own failure to act. It is necessary for all of us to act decisively. For we are reaching a breaking point.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis’ July trip to Canada was born out of his meetings with the nations’ Indigenous people and was planned around encounters with them, and if the pope’s words “have value elsewhere,” like throughout the Americas, all the better, said the director of the Vatican press office.

Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, briefed reporters July 20 about details of the pope’s visit to Canada July 24-29. He said the pope planned to deliver his nine speeches and homilies in Spanish during the trip.

Asked if the choice of Spanish was meant to send a message to other Indigenous peoples of North and South America, who often suffered the same forms of colonization, Bruni said Pope Francis would be speaking to the people he met, but he also knows that his words can offer solace to other Indigenous people and a challenge to the broader society.

Bruni also noted that more Canadians are likely to understand Spanish than Italian, and it would be easier to find translators from Spanish rather than Italian.

The trip to Canada will be Pope Francis’ 37th foreign journey as pope and Canada will be the 56th country he has visited since his election in March 2013.

Pope Francis himself described the trip as a “penitential pilgrimage” to express, in person and on Canadian soil, his “indignation, sorrow and shame for all that these people suffered,” Bruni said.

Much of the suffering occurred through forced attendance at residential schools where attempts were made to uproot them from their languages, cultures and spiritualities, and where many students suffered emotional, physical and sexual abuse. Many of the schools were run by Catholic religious orders and institutions.

The main themes likely to be treated by the pope, Bruni said, include the impact of the colonialism of the past and of new forms of colonialism on Indigenous communities today as well as the desire of the Catholic Church to walk with the Indigenous communities on a path of truth-seeking, healing and reconciliation.

“These are some of the elements we may find in his words and gestures in the coming days,” Bruni said.

When representatives of Canada’s First Nations, and Inuit communities met Pope Francis at the Vatican in March and April, they asked him specifically for a formal repudiation of the “doctrine of discovery.” The phrase describes a collection of papal teachings, beginning in the 14th century, that encouraged explorers to colonize and claim the lands of any people who were not Christian, placing both the land and the people under the sovereignty of European Christian rulers.

The loss of the land, language, culture and spirituality of the Indigenous peoples of Canada and the foundation of the residential school system all can be traced to the doctrine, Indigenous leaders told reporters after their meetings with the pope.

Asked if the pope is expected to say something about the “doctrine of discovery” while in Canada, Bruni said, “a reflection is underway in the Holy See on the doctrine of discovery” and the study is nearing its conclusion. However, he said he is not certain that a statement will be completed before the papal trip ends or if the pope will speak about it while in Canada.

Given the close connections the Indigenous have to the land and to nature, Bruni said, Pope Francis also is likely to speak about care for the environment and climate change, particularly when he visits the Inuit in Iqaluit, Nunavit. The Arctic community already is dealing with the impact of global warming with the shrinking of glaciers, the thinning of sea ice, the thawing of permafrost thawing, coastal erosion and changes in the local wildlife.

WASHINGTON (CNS) – The chairmen of two U.S. bishops’ committees said a measure passed by the House July 15 is “the most unjust and extreme abortion on demand bill our nation has ever seen.”

They implored lawmakers “who see abortion as a legitimate ‘solution’ to the needs of women to abandon this path of death and despair,” urging them to join the U.S. bishops in prioritizing “the well-being of women, children and families” by providing material resources and “personal accompaniment” so “no woman ever feels forced to choose between her future and the life of her child.”

Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee for Religious Liberty, made the comments in a joint statement July 18.

In a mostly party-line vote of 219 to 210, House members approved an updated version of the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2022, which would codify a right to abortion in federal law. An earlier version was passed in March by the House, but it failed to pass in the Senate.

The bill, H.R. 8296, would impose abortion on demand nationwide at any stage of pregnancy and would eliminate pro-life laws at every level of government — including parental notification for minor girls, informed consent, and health and safety protections specific to abortion facilities.

“Answering the needs of women by promoting taxpayer-funded elective abortion, as this bill would do, is a grave evil and a failure to love and serve women,” said Archbishop Lori and Cardinal Dolan.

“Offering free or low-cost abortions, instead of increasing the resources women need to care for themselves and their children, is not ‘choice’ but coercion and callous abandonment,” they said.

“Simply repeating the mantra that abortion is health care doesn’t make it so,” they added. “Deliberately ending the lives of defenseless and voiceless human beings is the antithesis of health care.”

They said H.R. 8296 would likely force health care providers and professionals to perform, assist in and/or refer for abortion against their deeply-held beliefs, as well as force employers and insurers to cover or pay for abortion.

The House also passed the Ensuring Access to Abortion Act, H.R. 8297, which would ban states from punishing those who travel out of state “for reproductive health care.” This vote also was largely along party lines; the measure was approved 223-205.

Archbishop Lori and Cardinal Dolan invited everyone, in Congress and in the country at large, to join the U.S. bishops “in pursuing a vision we presented in ‘Standing with Moms in Need,'” which, they said, “upholds the truth that every human life is sacred and inviolable — a society in which the legal protection of human life is accompanied by profound care for mothers and their children.”

The USCCB issued the statement “Standing with Moms in Need”  earlier this year as the nation awaited the outcome of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a challenge to a Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks. Oral arguments were heard in the case Dec. 1.

The bishops reiterated their statement when a draft of the court’s majority opinion in Dobbs was leaked in early May indicating Roe v. Wade would be overturned.

On June 24, the court upheld the Mississippi law 6-3, but the high court also voted 5-4 to overturn its 1973 Roe decision and 1992’s Casey v. Planned Parenthood ruling, which affirmed Roe.

In the “Standing with Moms in Need” statement, the bishops pledged “to redouble our efforts to accompany women and couples who are facing unexpected or difficult pregnancies, and during the early years of parenthood, offering them loving and compassionate care through initiatives such as ‘Walking with Moms in Need’ and countless others.”

These efforts include ensuring all parishes are places of welcome for pregnant women in need and their families.

In 2020, the U.S. bishops launched the initiative “Walking with Moms in Need,” which aims to engage every Catholic parish “in providing a safety net to ensure that pregnant and parenting moms have the resources, love and support they need to nurture the lives of their children.”

In the “Standing with Moms in Need” statement, the bishops also said they would redouble “our advocacy for laws that ensure the right to life for unborn children and that no mother or family lacks the basic resources needed to care for their children, regardless of race, age, immigration status or any other factor.”

“We are deeply conscious that, after nearly half a century of legalized abortion, more than 65 million children have died from abortion and an untold number of women, men, and families suffer in the aftermath,” they also said.

“Recognizing this pain and loss, we also recommit our committees and urge our dioceses, parishes, and Catholic agencies and institutions: To proclaim God’s mercy after abortion and compassionately accompany women and men who are suffering after an abortion,” they said.

They also pledged to expand the church’s abortion healing ministries.

The “Standing with Moms in Need” was signed by Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez, USCCB president, and the chairmen of eight USCCB committees: pro-life, migration, domestic policy, international policy, Catholic education, communications, evangelization and catechesis, and marriage and family life.