Month: September 2024

SCRANTON – The Diocese of Scranton’s annual Red Mass will be celebrated on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, at 12:10 p.m. at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton.

The Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, will be the principal celebrant. Rev. Joseph Marina, S.J., President of The University of Scranton, will be the homilist.

Historically, the Red Mass is attended by judges, lawyers and legislators for the purpose of invoking God’s blessing and guidance in the administration of justice. Its traditional name is derived from the color of vestments worn by the celebrants of the Mass, symbolizing the tongues of fire, which indicate the presence of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, the robes of the attending royal judges were, in ancient days, bright scarlet.

The public is invited to the Red Mass to pray for those in the legal, judicial and governmental profession. Members of the county bar associations from across the 11-county Diocese and the Diocesan Tribunal staff are also invited to participate.

Attendees will be asked to pray that decision-makers always serve the truth and to make and apply laws in ways that are right and just.

Catholic Television of the Diocese of Scranton will broadcast the Red Mass live and a livestream will be available on the Diocese of Scranton website and social media platforms.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – With some prudence, Catholics can benefit spiritually from the messages and spiritual practices associated with the alleged apparitions of Mary in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, said the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

“This does not imply a declaration of the supernatural character of the phenomenon,” nor does it mean that the tens of thousands of alleged messages from Mary published by the supposed “seers” are authentic, the dicastery said in a long “Note About the Spiritual Experience Connected with Medjugorje,” released Sept. 19.

With the approval of Pope Francis, the dicastery did, however, recognize “the abundant and widespread fruits, which are so beautiful and positive,” associated with devotion to Mary, Queen of Peace, and with pilgrimages to Medjugorje.

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, dicastery prefect, presented the note at a news conference Sept. 19. He said he had not met with the alleged visionaries, but that once the notification was prepared, he wrote to the six of them with some “suggestions” about the future. He provided no further details.

The cardinal also showed reporters the official “nihil obstat” — a declaration of no objection — issued by Bishop Petar Palic of Mostar-Duvno, the diocese where Medjugorje is located, authorizing public devotion there to Mary, Queen of Peace.

While it is possible that a pope could go further and make a declaration about whether the alleged apparitions and messages have a supernatural origin, Cardinal Fernández said he asked Pope Francis if he wanted to move in that direction and the pope said, “Not at all.”

The devotions in Medjugorje began after six young people, aged 10 to 16, said Mary began appearing to them in June 1981. Three of them say they still have apparitions of Mary each day, while the other three have them only on special occasions.

The Vatican’s positive judgment of the spiritual experience connected to Medjugorje highlighted: “abundant conversions; a frequent return to the sacraments, particularly, the Eucharist and reconciliation; many vocations to priestly, religious and married life; a deepening of the life of faith; a more intense practice of prayer; many reconciliations between spouses; and the renewal of marriage and family life.”

“It should be noted that such experiences occur above all in the context of pilgrimages to the places associated with the original events rather than in meeting with the ‘visionaries’ to be present for the alleged apparitions,” the dicastery added.

The 10,000-word notification looked in-depth at hundreds of the “alleged messages,” highlighting the positive, orthodox character of most of them while cautioning that some contain questionable theological affirmations or appear to be more a reflection of the young people’s thoughts than what the church would expect from Mary.

Archbishop Aldo Cavalli, the resident apostolic visitor to Medjugorje, is charged with determining whether to allow the publication of alleged messages revealed in the future or alleged messages from the past that have not yet been published, the notification said.

At the news conference, Cardinal Fernández said the wording of some of the messages is “not exactly from St. Thomas Aquinas.” As an example, he pointed to one about the faithful departed being happy when Masses are celebrated for them, a statement which could give the impression that even those in purgatory can be happy.

A key principle in the church’s evaluation of phenomena like Medjugorje, the note said, is that “when one recognizes an action of the Holy Spirit in the midst of a spiritual experience, it does not mean that everything belonging to that experience is thereby free from all imprecisions, imperfections, and areas of possible confusion.”

Affirming the spiritual value of an alleged apparition or a specific devotion, it said, does not exclude the possibility of “some error of a natural order, not due to bad intentions, but to the subjective perception of the phenomenon.”

For example, it said so many of the messages have Mary allegedly insisting people listen to her that they can give the impression that the alleged messages are more important than the Bible.

“This often-repeated appeal probably comes from the love and generous fervor of the alleged visionaries who, with goodwill, feared that the Blessed Mother’s calls for conversion and peace would be ignored,” the note said. “This insistence becomes even more problematic when the messages refer to requests that are unlikely to be of supernatural origin, such as when Our Lady gives orders about specific dates, places, and practicalities and when she makes decisions about ordinary matters.”

In fact, in many of the messages, the dicastery said, Mary “asks that her messages be listened to, but she also subordinates them to the incomparable value of the Word revealed in the Holy Scriptures.”

The dicastery drew particular attention to the alleged messages’ description of Mary as “Queen of Peace” and how they rightly offer “a vision that is theocentric and very rich in the true meaning of peace. According to this understanding, peace signifies not only the absence of war; it also has a spiritual, family, and social meaning.”

“A constant call to abandon a worldly lifestyle and excessive attachment to worldly goods appears in the messages, along with frequent calls for conversion, which makes true peace in the world possible,” it said.

Cardinal Fernández said that with a little “good sense,” most Catholics will be able to distinguish between the alleged messages that are spiritually beneficial and those that are imprecise or simply unimportant, like one in which Mary tells the young people her birthday is Aug. 5 and not Sept. 8, as celebrated on the church’s calendar.

Asked if he had ever been to Medjugorje, the cardinal said he had during a trip to Europe with two confreres to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their ordinations, which would have meant the trip was in 2011 or 2012. The cardinal said he had not wanted to go — he preferred Venice or Florence — but one of the priests was a “fanatic” and they gave in.

Although the bus journey was not easy, the cardinal said what he found in Medjugorje was “an environment of prayer and peace” and a desire among the pilgrims to change their lives.

“We prayed, and it did us well,” he said.

(OSV News) – A new report identifies what researchers call “three big myths” about faith and politics in the U.S., concluding that the nation is less polarized around such issues than popularly believed — and that faith leaders are key to healing division in American society.

The findings were shared Sept. 17 by More in Common, a nonpartisan research and civic nonprofit based in New York, in a 140-page report titled “Promising Revelations: Undoing the False Impressions of America’s Faithful.”

The study drew on data collected from a representative sample of over 6,000 U.S. citizens polled at various intervals during the period September 2023 through August 2024. More in Common teamed up with polling companies YouGov and ROI Rocket for several rounds of surveys and focus groups, while also conducting online research, social media analysis and conversations with faith and community leaders.

While the nation’s heated social discourse might suggest a deep connection between faith and political polarization, “the findings in this study challenge some key parts of the story that we have been hearing about our polarized landscape,” such as “narratives that evangelicals are chiefly concerned with politics, that the relevance of religion is fading, that young generations feel distant from their faiths, and that religious Americans are mostly intolerant of others,” said the report’s executive summary.

In contrast, “the evidence shows something different to what we might expect: more shared values, more desire to keep faith distinct from partisan politics, more longing to transcend divisions, more respect for each other, more commitment to pluralism and more desire for guidance and help from local faith leaders and institutions in navigating this difficult time in American life,” said the report. “We also find less intolerance towards other faiths, and less of a generation gap within faith communities.”

The report noted three critical misperceptions about the relationship between faith and politics in the U.S., particularly with regard to evangelical Christians — that faith is “all about politics,” that faith is “becoming irrelevant in Americans’ lives,” and that religious Americans are “intolerant.”

More in Common researchers found that “non-evangelicals significantly overestimate the importance evangelicals place on their political identity and partisan affiliation” — by as much as 10 times, with the estimate that 41% of evangelicals say political party affiliation “is their most important identity” and the actual response at just 4%.

Evangelicals are also seen to be more affiliated with the Republican Party (63% estimate) than they actually are (46% actual), with the data revealing evangelical Christians hold “a wide range of political views” and prioritize religion, family and general American identity over their political party choices, said researchers.

Erroneous assumptions about faith and political affiliation “carry significant consequences,” fostering what researchers called “collateral contempt,” or “the tendency for animosity towards political opponents to spill over to religious groups … perceived to be aligned with one political team.”

That animosity can in turn provoke “generalized hostility towards entire faith communities based on their supposed political affiliation,” the report said.

Although several studies by Pew and Gallup have tracked significant declines in religious affiliation in the U.S. — trends that More in Common researchers call “important” — the general public “underestimates the value Americans, especially younger Americans, still place on personal faith and belonging to faith communities.

“In fact, our research found that most Americans (73 percent) see their faith as an important part of who they are,” said the report. “Young generations of Jewish and Muslim Americans, in particular, value their Jewish and Muslim identity much more than commonly assumed.”

Specifically, said the report, “the decline in trust in institutions is impacting Americans’ relationship with religious institutions and houses of worship.”

A third “perception gap” centers on the view of religious Americans as “intolerant,” although report data showed that “the majority of Americans across religious groups value religious pluralism and want the United States to be a place where people of all religions feel that they belong,” said the report, with 78% of evangelicals and 75% of Muslims sharing that ideal.

While “many Americans see the United States as a country founded on values inspired by Christian principles … most do not see a conflict between recognizing the many ways in which Christianity shaped America through past centuries, and their personal commitment to building a pluralistic society,” the report said.

Faith leaders have a vital role to play in resolving such disjunction and discord, as they still enjoy high levels of trust and are “well positioned to mitigate the toxic national polarization that faces the country,” said researchers.

By drawing on their faith traditions — and by “highlighting shared values and practices such as self-reflection, humility, kindness, and dignity” — faith leaders “can build common ground, reduce fear, and foster unity,” researchers said.

Kindness and respect for human dignity were the values most highly esteemed by study participants, regardless of religion, researchers found.

“This report shines a light on the enormous potential of America’s faith communities to heal divisions and foster a more united society,” said Jason Mangone, executive director of More in Common. “It’s time we move beyond the misperceptions that have distorted the public narrative about faith in America and embrace the vital role faith leaders can play in building bridges across divides.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The second session of the Synod of Bishops on synodality, set to bring 368 bishops, priests, religious and laypeople to the Vatican, will begin by asking forgiveness for various sins on behalf of all the baptized.

As synod members did before last year’s session, they will spend two days on retreat before beginning work; that period of reflection will conclude Oct. 1 with a penitential liturgy presided over by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican announced.

The liturgy will include time to listen to the testimonies of three people: one who suffered from the sin of abuse, one from the sin of war and third from the sin of indifference to the plight of migrants, according to a Vatican statement announcing the liturgy.

Afterward, “the confession of a number of sins will take place,” said the statement, released Sept. 16. “The aim is not to denounce the sin of others, but to acknowledge oneself as a member of those who, by omission or action, become the cause of suffering and responsible for the evil inflicted on the innocent and defenseless.”

According to the Vatican, the sins confessed will include: sins against peace; sins against creation, sins against Indigenous populations and migrants; the sin of abuse; sins against women, family and youth; the sin of “using doctrine as stones to be hurled”; sins against poverty; and sins against synodality or the lack of listening and communion.

The liturgy is open to all but is specifically geared toward young people, as it “directs the Church’s inner gaze to the faces of new generations,” the Vatican said.

“Indeed, it will be the young people present in the Basilica who will receive the sign that the future of the Church is theirs, and that the request for forgiveness is the first step of a faith-filled and missionary credibility that must be reestablished,” it said.

Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the synod, said that in addressing young people, the church wants “to communicate to them and to the world that the church is in a dynamic of conversion.”

“After all, this is the path to holiness, not that there is no sin but that we recognize our limits, our weakness, that we are open to conversion, to learning, always with the help of the Lord,” he said.

Presenting details for the upcoming synod session at a news conference Sept. 16, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, relator general of the synod, said most of the participants would be the same as those who participated in the first assembly, which was held in October 2023, though 25 changes were made for different reasons, such as health problems.

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, who participated last year as an alternate delegate of the U.S. bishops’ conference, will not be at the assembly; Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, who was elected but could not attend in 2023, will take his place as part of the U.S. delegation.

Cardinal Hollerich said that of the 368 voting members, 96 — or just over a quarter — are not bishops. Additionally, he said the number of representatives from other Christian communities participating in the synod without voting privileges increased from 12 to 16 “given the great interest that the sister churches have shown in this synodal journey.”

Jesuit Father Giacomo Costa, special secretary of the synod, said at the news conference that unlike the first session of the synod on synodality’s assembly, which focused on “an awareness and identification of some priorities,” the second session is about “going in-depth” into some of the key points raised during the listening sessions around the world and during the first assembly.

But Cardinal Grech confirmed that some of the more controversial points raised, including about ordaining women to the diaconate, would not be a topic of discussion at the assembly. In March, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had established study groups to examine those issues and report back to him in 2025. But the groups will share a progress report with the synod members at the beginning of the October assembly.

Whereas the synod assembly produced a synthesis report at the end of its first session in 2023, the 2024 session will produce a final document to be given to the pope.

“To date, there has always been a communication to the people of God on the part of the Holy Father,” Cardinal Grech said in response to a question on whether the pope will issue a post-synodal exhortation after the synod.

Another introduction into this year’s session is the organization of four public “theological-pastoral forums” centered on different topics for a deeper understanding of synodality. The forums, hosted in Rome and open to the public, are titled: “People of God as Subject of the Mission”; “The Role and Authority of the Bishop in a Synodal Church”; “The Mutual Relationship Local Church-Universal Church”; and “The Exercise of the Primacy and the Synod of Bishops.”

The forums are intended to respond to the need to “continue the theological, canonical and pastoral deepening of the meaning of synodality for the different aspects of the Church’s faith and to offer theologians and canonists the opportunity to contribute to the work of the Assembly,” a Vatican statement said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – It is not enough to know about Jesus, one must encounter him, be changed by his Gospel and follow him, Pope Francis said.

“I can know many things about Jesus, but if I have not encountered him, I still do not know who Jesus is,” the pope told visitors and pilgrims who joined him in St. Peter’s Square Sept. 15 for the midday recitation of the Angelus prayer.

“It takes this life-changing encounter; it changes one’s way of being, one’s way of thinking, it changes the relationships you have with your brothers and sisters, your willingness to accept and forgive, it changes the choices you make in life,” he said.

In the day’s Gospel reading from St. Mark, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”

Peter responds correctly, saying that he is the Christ, the pope said. However, Peter still has a “worldly” way of thinking that believes the Messiah must be strong and victorious, and can never suffer or die.

“So, the words with which Peter responds are ‘right,’ but his way of thinking has not changed,” Pope Francis said. “He still has to change his mindset; he still has to convert.”

This is the same message for all Catholics, who must ask themselves, “Who is Jesus for me?” he said. It is not enough to respond with something learned in catechism class, to know doctrine and to recite prayers correctly.

“In reality, to know the Lord, it is not enough to know something about him, but rather to follow him, to let oneself be touched and changed by his Gospel. It is a matter of having a relationship with him, an encounter,” he said.

The faithful, he said, should be “bothered” by the questions and ask “who Jesus is for me, and what place does he occupy in my life? Do I follow Jesus only in word, continuing to have a worldly mentality, or do I set out to follow him, allowing the encounter with him to transform my life?”

“Everything changes if you have truly come to know Jesus!” the pope said.

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM SINGAPORE (CNS) – Asked what a U.S. Catholic given a choice between voting for a person who supports abortion or one who supports closing borders and deporting migrants, Pope Francis said one must choose “the lesser evil.”

“Who is the ‘lesser evil’ that woman or that man?” the pope asked, referring to Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. “I do not know. Each person must think and decide in his or her conscience.”

Pope Francis spent 45 minutes answering questions from 10 journalists on his flight Sept. 13 from Singapore to Rome at the end of a 12-day trip. He was asked about the four countries he visited, about sexual abuse, about his future travel plans, about the war in the Holy Land and the Vatican’s relations with China.

A U.S. television reporter asked him about the choice Catholic voters face between Harris, who supports legalized abortion, and Trump, who wants to severely restrict immigration and has said he wants to deport millions of migrants.

Both attitudes “are against life: the one who wants to throw out the migrants and the one who kills children,” the pope said. “Both are against life.”

In the Old Testament, he said, God’s people are repeatedly reminded to care for “‘widows, orphans and the stranger,’ that is, the migrant. They are the three that the People of Israel must protect. The one who does not care for migrants is lacking; it is a sin.”

And “to have an abortion is to kill a human being. Whether or not you like the word, it is killing,” the pope said. “The Catholic Church does not allow abortion because it is killing. It is assassination. And we must be clear about that.”

Pope Francis was asked if there were situations when a Catholic could vote for a candidate who was in favor of abortion.

“In political morality, generally, they say not voting is wrong; one must vote, and one must choose the lesser evil” in accordance with one’s conscience, he said.

Abortion and care for migrants are both issues the U.S. bishops urge Catholics to consider when voting. In their document, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” however, they say, “The threat of abortion remains our pre-eminent priority because it directly attacks our most vulnerable and voiceless brothers and sisters and destroys more than a million lives per year in our country alone.”

At the beginning of Pope Francis’ trip, a French writer started a rumor that the pope would travel to Paris Dec. 8 for the reopening and consecration of the altar in Notre Dame Cathedral, rebuilt after a devastating fire in 2019.

When asked about that trip, the pope’s response was simple: “I will not go to Paris.”

As for the idea of the 87-year-old pope making a trip to Argentina, his homeland, he was not as clear.

“That is something that still hasn’t been decided,” he said. “I would like to go. They are my people. But there are various things to resolve first.”

However, if he does go, he said, he would want to stop over in the Canary Islands, a Spanish autonomous region in the Atlantic, where thousands of migrants — including many unaccompanied minors — have arrived from Senegal, Mali and other African countries.

Regarding the ongoing clerical sexual abuse scandal, Pope Francis was asked about new revelations in the case of Abbé Pierre, the French priest and founder of the Emmaus Community, who died in 2007 at the age of 94.

As the pope’s trip began, the Emmaus Community announced that new accusations of sexual abuse of women and children had been made against the priest, and French media reported that church officials and leaders of the community had tried to cover up allegations as far back as the 1950s.

“We must speak clearly on these things and not hide them,” the pope said. “Abuse, in my judgment, is something diabolical” because it attacks the sacredness and God-given dignity of another person.

At that point in the Singapore Airlines flight, the pilot interrupted Pope Francis and announced over the loudspeaker that everyone should return to their seats and fasten their seatbelts.

“Your question created some turbulence,” the pope quipped to the reporter.

Nevertheless, the pope remained on his portable chair in the center aisle and continued answering questions.

“The sexual abuse of children, of minors, is a crime,” he said.

After answering two other questions, Pope Francis returned to the topic of Abbé Pierre to tell the reporter, “I don’t know when the Vatican came to know about it. I don’t know because I wasn’t here, and I never thought to research it, but certainly after his death — that is certain.”

On the Vatican’s relationship with China, the pope said, “I am content with the dialogue with China. The results are good. Also, on the nomination of bishops, the work is going forward with goodwill.”

In 2018, the Vatican and the government of China signed an agreement outlining procedures for ensuring Catholic bishops are elected by the Catholic community in China and approved by the pope before their ordinations or installations. The provisional, two-year agreement, already renewed in 2020 and 2022, is up for renewal in October.

The text has never been made public, but the Vatican has complained a couple times in the past six years when China named or transferred bishops in apparent violation of the accord.

The pope also said he welcomed China’s efforts to encourage a peaceful settlement of the fighting in the Gaza Strip.

“I call the parish in Gaza every day, every day,” he said; inside the compound of Holy Family Parish, some 600 people — Christians and Muslims — have taken shelter.

Pope Francis said he could not judge whether Israel’s reaction to the Hamas invasion in October is excessive, “but, please, when you see the bodies of children who have been killed — when you see that because of a presumption that there are some guerrillas there they bomb a school — it’s awful, awful.”

“Sometimes,” he said, “a war is just too much, too much.”

SCRANTON – In a time when communities are more interconnected than ever, the Diocese of Scranton is calling upon its faithful to unite in a transformative effort to support essential Catholic ministries across northeastern and north central Pennsylvania.

The 2024 Catholic Ministries Appeal (Diocesan Annual Appeal) is now underway and comes with a pressing need for donations, vital to sustaining and expanding the life-changing work carried out by the Church.

This year’s Appeal, under the theme ‘Our Call to Service,’ emphasizes the profound impact that every contribution can make. The Diocese of Scranton relies on the generosity of its parishioners to fund essential programs and services that touch tens of thousands of lives and no one parish can do on its own.

“In the Gospel of John, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, reminds us that He came so that we may have life, and have it more abundantly,” Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, said. “These are challenging economic times and there are many people in need who are relying on the Church of Scranton.”

For example, every night, individuals in our local community face the harsh reality of homelessness.

For many years, the search for a safe place to sleep in the city of Wilkes-Barre meant bouncing around from church to church – but hope is on the horizon.

Work on a new, permanent home for Mother Teresa’s Haven, Catholic Social Services’ emergency shelter in Luzerne County, is now underway.

The location will be directly above the Saint Vincent de Paul Kitchen on East Jackson Street.

Donations to the 2024 Appeal will help to ensure the shelter opens and operates – possibly even being able to expand its hours when the winter weather arrives.

“I see us here, being able to provide more services than we can ever imagine right now, because we’re going to have office space here, we’re going to be able to provide more case management,” Joseph Mahoney, Chief Executive Officer of Catholic Social Services, explained.

The need for a permanent shelter has never been more urgent.
Last year, Mother Teresa’s Haven provided nearly 5,400 individual nights of shelter to men in the community.

Harry Lyons has overseen the shelter for the last decade.

“More and more every year, it is regular working people who just can’t make ends meet and lose their housing,” Lyons stated.

Donations to the 2024 Diocesan Annual Appeal help to fund the important work of Catholic Social Services – and along with other funding sources – are helping to turn the new vision for Mother Teresa’s Haven into a reality.

Together, we can end the cycle of uncertainty and hopefully get those experiencing homelessness into permanent apartments.

“When I can keep somebody within Catholic Social Services and get them into a program where I know they’re going to be taken care of, it means the world to me,” Lyons added.

In the past year, Catholic ministries have been at the forefront of addressing critical needs. From providing food and shelter to those in need, to offering educational programs that uplift young people and adults alike, the Church’s outreach is vast.

The goal for the 2024 Appeal is set at $4.5 million, a figure that reflects the growing demand for diocesan programs and the urgent need to address emerging challenges. The funds raised will support vital Catholic ministries, including:

• Catholic Social Services
• Catholic Education
• Catholic Communications
• Vocations, Clergy Care and Support of Seminarians
• Parish Life Initiatives
• Faith Formation and Social Justice Grants to Parishes

Most parishes will celebrate the important work of the Diocesan Annual Appeal on the weekend of Sept. 21 & 22, with pastors showing one of eight videos that have been prepared to highlight the specific programs supported by donations.

Bishop Bambera is asking all faithful to consider how God is calling them to participate.

“Your donations ensure that the light of Christ shines brightly in our midst,” Bishop Bambera said. “By making a sacrificial gift, which can be spread out over the course of several months or done as a one-time payment, we will not just meet people’s immediate needs. We will be building a community of compassion and support, where everyone feels valued and cared for.”

To learn more about the many Catholic ministry programs supported by your donations, or to make a safe and secure online gift, please visit annualappeal.org.

Contributions to the 2024 Diocesan Annual Appeal can also be made by calling the Diocesan Development Office at (570) 207-2250 or mailing a check to: 2024 Diocesan Annual Appeal, c/o Development Office, 300 Wyoming Avenue, Scranton, PA 18503. Please include the name of your parish in the memo line.