Category: 2024 News

WILKES-BARRE – There is no question that the eighth graders at Saint Nicholas-Saint Mary School appreciate their teachers – but that didn’t mean they would show them any mercy on the volleyball court.

On Tuesday, Jan. 30, the Wilkes-Barre school held its annual 8th grade vs. teachers volleyball game in the school gym as part of Catholic Schools Week 2024.

Leading up to the game, eighth grader Megan Ohrin, predicted a fun time.

“We’re going to get some good competition going between us,” she said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s going to be really funny.”

Patrice Perry, a third-grade teacher, said she loves Catholic Schools Week because there are different activities – like the volleyball game – that take place each day.

“The kids are thrilled to see their teachers out there – being one of the kids,” Perry explained.

The teachers – who wore black t-shirts with their name ‘Breakroom Bandits’ on the front – ended up taking home the win in the fiercely-fought competition in front of the whole school.

“We get so close with them,” eighth grader Lilah Hilal said of her teachers. “All the teachers have helped me so much.”

“We have great teachers,” Ohrin added. “Everyone knows everyone. Everyone is really close.”

Teachers are the backbone of Catholic Schools. While many think Catholic Schools Week is just for students, in reality, it also helps to honor teachers, administrators, staff and volunteers who help to create a family-like atmosphere in every building.

“We always call it our Saint Nick-Saint Mary family because that is what we are every day. Faculty, student, staff, everyone works together,” Perry explained.

HAZLETON – An estimated 1,500 people packed into the gymnasium at Holy Family Academy on Jan. 21, 2024, to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Altagracia.

The colorful celebration was filled with beautiful music and brought together several parishes in the greater Hazleton area that have Spanish Masses.

“What we had today was a big celebration, three parishes together and everybody as Dominican, but we also got people from other communities who are not Dominican because they enjoy gathering together,” Father Neftali Feliz-Sena, Assistant Pastor, Annunciation Parish, said.

Our Lady of Altagracia is the patroness of the Dominican Republic.

“She is the Queen of the Universal Church and the Hispanic people in particular have a great love for their mother. You see how mothers are revered and honored in their culture and it falls into line very naturally that the mother of God, who is our mother, would be the mother of Dominicans and all of us,” Father Kevin Miller, Pastor, Annunciation Parish, explained.

The Mass was filled with young people, multi-generational families, and many others coming together to celebrate their culture and heritage.

“They never want to forget how important it is to keep their language and to be able to practice their faith with love and joy,” Father Miller added.

The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, served as principal celebrant and homilist for the special celebration. At the beginning of the liturgy, the crowds cheered and applauded as Bishop Bambera was presented with a handmade mitre for the Eucharistic celebration.

During his homily, the Bishop reminded the crowd that Mary was the first disciple of Jesus.

“Mary was not only a recipient of God’s mercy but also an instrument through which that same mercy poured into the lives of others,” Bishop Bambera said.

Jose Rafael Rodriguez, parishioner of Annunciation Parish, said he was amazed at the turnout for the celebration.

“The love for Altagracia is humongous,” he said. “We love her kindness and what she does for the Dominican people. She is our protector.”

SCRANTON – Just two days after the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., the faithful in the Diocese of Scranton gathered together at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton for the annual ‘Mass for Life’ on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024.

The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, served as principal celebrant and homilist.

“The overturning of Roe has given the Pro-Life cause great hope. It has not, however, ended the work that still needs to be done to create a culture of life in our land. And that, brothers and sisters, is why we pray so intently at this Mass today,” Bishop Bambera said during his homily.

The bishop said we all must work to preserve and protect human life at all stages, from conception to natural death.

“Our greatest efforts in building a culture of life are discovered when we courageously speak the truth, as Jesus has proclaimed it, and when we, in turn, respond to those whose beliefs fall short of treating all lives with dignity and respect with respect, dignity and love,” he added.

Those who attended the Mass were encouraged to bring new packages of diapers and wipes to be donated to local mothers and babies in need.

Because of the generosity of the faithful, more than 2,200 diapers were collected at the Mass. The diapers were all given to the Providence Pregnancy Center in Scranton, Saint Joseph’s Center in Dunmore and Catholic Social Services.

All three organizations say they are always in need of donations. Currently, workers say their biggest needs are newborn diapers and newborn clothing. Donations can be made directly to any one of the three organizations.

 

SCRANTON – More than 100 people came together at the Cathedral of Saint Peter on Jan. 24, 2024, to observe the global Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Christians were among those gathered at the Cathedral to uphold our commitment as disciples of Jesus, whose hope was that all of His followers may be one.

“As we put our faith into practice, we come to learn from one another, to see what we have in common and where we differ,” Monsignor Vincent Grimalia, Coordinator for Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations for the Diocese of Scranton, said in welcoming the crowd. “The parable of the good Samaritan teaches us to show love in spite of our differences as children of God.”

The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, led the Ecumenical Prayer Service. Bishop Bambera serves as the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.

He urges Christians throughout the United States to unite across denominational lines and pray for peace.

“Given the paralyzing nature of polarization and tragedy of war that have spread throughout our world today, the importance of living the love of Christ in our own circumstances cannot be overemphasized,” Bishop Bambera said. “May Christians throughout our country come together across denominational lines to pray for peace in our world and an end to the sad divisions that prevent us from fully loving each other as Christ loves us all.”

The theme for this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity was, “You shall love the Lord your God … and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)

The Reverend Rebecca Barnes of Saint Luke Episcopal Church in Scranton focused on that theme and the Gospel reading of the good Samaritan as offered a sermon.

“‘Who is my neighbor’ is a central question in our church, in our congregations and communities, in our ecumenical and interfaith conversations today. It is a question in our society at large,” Mother Barnes said. “Though we may not wish to admit it, I wonder how often do we think that people with whom we disagree or people who are different than us, don’t really deserve God’s mercy, don’t really deserve saving.”

In using the Gospel parable, she explained that “mercy is a gift freely given” by God, who uses it “for our weaknesses, our distress, our fear and our anxiety.”

In a world where that mercy might currently be in short supply, Mother Barnes challenged those in attendance to be like the good Samaritan and be courageous enough to act as each other’s neighbor.

“Together, we are called to be agents of God’s love, mercy, and healing. We are called to love God and love our neighbor. That is everyone – because we are all made in the image of God. We are all children of the one God – and so – we are all more than even neighbors. We are brothers and sisters, one of another,” she said.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity started in 1908 when Father Paul Wattson, SA, the founder of the religious order, the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, conceived of the idea of a Christian Unity Octave – an observation of eight days of prayer – for an end to divisions between Christians.

Since the Second Vatican Council, it has been co-organized by the World Council of Churches and the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.

SCRANTON – The Diocese of Scranton was honored and privileged to welcome the Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, Bishop of Sunyani, Ghana, to northeastern Pennsylvania on Jan. 30, 2024, for a brief pastoral visit.

Bishop Matthew celebrated the 12:10 p.m. Mass at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton and visited several parishes where eight priests from the Diocese of Sunyani are currently ministering locally.

“On behalf of the Diocese of Sunyani, the priests, religious and lay faithful, I would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Bishop Joseph (Bambera) and the entire diocese for receiving our priests into your diocese and being kind and making life possible for them here in the United States,” Bishop Matthew said.

Father Gerald W. Shantillo, Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia, welcomed Bishop Matthew to the Cathedral at the start of the Mass on behalf of Bishop Bambera.

“It is so good to have Bishop Matthew with us today. He is the Bishop of a younger diocese, only 50 years old, but it is alive and vibrant with the faith,” Father Shantillo stated.

Two years ago, Father Shantillo accompanied Bishop Bambera for a pastoral visit to the Diocese of Sunyani and was struck by the faith of the African people. He explained the important role each Ghanian priest is having in our community.

“I can tell you, the people of Scranton, no matter where I go, tell me they are grateful for your priests who are here ministering to them and they love them just like one of our own priests from this diocese,” Father Shantillo added.

After preaching a homily on forgiveness – in which he told the crowd forgiving those who have offended us is one of the important teachings of Christ – Bishop Matthew ended the Mass by showcasing his visit highlights the universality of the Catholic Church.

“We thank you for the contributions, help, and assistance that this diocese has given to my diocese. We are grateful to you,” Bishop Matthew said. “It is where we see the Church as one universal Catholic Church, otherwise, how else could I have come to be here, sitting in the chair of my brother Bishop, speaking, and proclaiming the Word of God and praying with you.”

To view the Mass celebrated by Bishop Matthew, visit the Diocese of Scranton’s YouTube channel.

(OSV News) – Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a Catholic mother of two and beloved disc jockey for the KKFI radio station in Kansas City, Missouri, was killed Wednesday amid a mass shooting following the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade.

“It is with sincere sadness and an extremely heavy and broken heart that we let our community know that KKFI DJ Lisa Lopez, host of Taste of Tejano lost her life today in the shooting at the KC Chiefs’ rally,” the radio station announced on Facebook Wednesday evening. “This senseless act has taken a beautiful person from her family and this KC Community.”

Lopez-Galvan was an active parishioner at Sacred-Heart Guadalupe Church in Kansas City, Missouri, where she was fondly remembered by her fellow parishioners.

Ramona Arroyo, director of religious education at the parish, told OSV News that Lopez-Galvan’s whole family is “devoted to the church.” Her brother, Beto Lopez Jr., is the chief executive officer of Guadalupe Centers, one of the nation’s first social service agencies for the Latino community.

Arroyo said the loss was “devastating” to the community. “She was a beautiful person,” she said, and she expressed her sympathy for Lopez-Galvan’s husband, Michael, saying, “it’s a horrible thing that happened to a good family.”

Monica Palacio, another parishioner who knew Lopez-Galvan, said the shooting was a “tragedy for our whole community because everybody knows the family” and they “grew up within blocks of each other.”

She also noted Lopez-Galvan’s role as host of Tejano Tuesdays at KKFI and as a well-known DJ presence at local weddings and quinceañeras.

“She was an amazing person,” Palacio said. “She was full of joy all the time, no matter where she was.” Palacio remembered Lopez-Galvan as the “life of the party” who “came with red lipstick and a big smile.”

The Kansas City Star reported that Lopez-Galvan, who was in her mid-40s with two adult children, died in the hospital during surgery after a gunshot wound to her abdomen.

Arroyo and Palacio said Lopez-Galvan, a known KC Chiefs fan, was at the parade with her family, including her son and nieces and nephews, and they had heard that other family members had been injured as well.

Father Luis Suárez, parochial administrator of Sacred-Heart Guadalupe parish, remembered Lopez-Galvan in his homily at the Ash Wednesday evening Mass and encouraged the community to unite in prayer amid the tragedy.

ROME (CNS) – In an age when even one’s most intimate thoughts and feelings can become fodder for social media, Lent is a time to cast aside appearances and to find God at work in the depths of the heart, Pope Francis said.

Without realizing it, Christians have become immersed “in a world in which everything, including our emotions and deepest feelings, has to become ‘social,'” the pope said while celebrating Mass at the Basilica of Santa Sabina in Rome to mark the beginning of Lent Feb. 14.

Today, “even the most tragic and painful experiences risk not having a quiet place where they can be kept,” he said. “Everything has to be exposed, shown off, fed to the gossip mill of the moment.”

Dressed in purple vestments to mark the Lenten season, Pope Francis said Lent is a chance for Christians to ensure their relationship with God “is not reduced to mere outward show.”

Lent “immerses us in a bath of purification,” he said. “It means looking within ourselves and acknowledging our real identity, removing the masks we so often wear, slowing the frantic pace of our lives and embracing the truth of who we are.”

The Lenten practices of “almsgiving, prayer and fasting are not mere external practices; they are paths that lead to the heart, to the core of the Christian life,” he added, encouraging Christians to “love the brothers and sisters all around us, to be considerate to others, to feel compassion, to show mercy, to share all that we are and all that we have with those in need.”

The liturgy began with a prayer at the nearby Church of St. Anselm, which is part of a Benedictine monastery on Rome’s Aventine Hill. Chanting the litany of saints, cardinals, joined by Benedictine and Dominican religious, then processed to the Basilica of Santa Sabina – considered the mother church of the Dominican order – for Mass.

Pope Francis, who has regularly used a wheelchair since May 2022, did not participate in the procession. In the basilica the pope blessed the ashes with holy water, praying that “we recognize that we are dust and to dust we will return.”

The pope received ashes from Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, who also was the Mass’s main celebrant at the altar.

In his homily, Pope Francis said “the ashes placed on our head invite us to rediscover the secret of life.”

“We are ashes on which God has breathed his breath of life,” he said. ” And if, in the ashes that we are, the fire of the love of God burns, then we will discover that we have indeed been shaped by that love and called to love others in turn.”

Pope Francis also recalled the day’s Gospel reading from St. Matthew, in which Jesus tells his disciples not to make a public show of their prayer but to rather “go to your inner room” to pray.

Jesus’ message “is a salutary invitation for us, who so often live on the surface of things, who are so concerned to be noticed, who constantly need to be admired and appreciated,” he said.

The pope urged Christians to “return to the center of yourself,” where “so many fears, feelings of guilt and sin are lurking.”

“Precisely there the Lord has descended in order to heal and cleanse you,” he said. “Let us enter into our inner chamber: There the Lord dwells, there our frailty is accepted and we are loved unconditionally.”

Pope Francis suggested that during Lent Christians make space to incorporate silent adoration into their lives, as practiced by Moses, Elijah, Mary and Jesus.

“Have we realized that we’ve lost the meaning of adoration? Let us return to adoration,” he said.

Like St. Francis of Assisi, Christians should “strip ourselves of worldly trappings and return to the heart, to what is essential,” the pope said. “Let us acknowledge what we are: dust loved by God.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – St. María Antonia de Paz Figueroa, known as Mama Antula, devoted herself completely to helping others experience God’s closeness and compassion, Pope Francis said after he declared the 18th-century consecrated laywoman a saint.

By letting her heart and life be “touched” and “healed” by Christ, he said, “she proclaimed him tirelessly her whole life long, for she was convinced, as she loved to repeat: ‘Patience is good, but perseverance is better.'”

“May her example and her intercession help us to grow according to the heart of God, in charity,” the pope said in his homily after proclaiming her a saint during a Mass Feb. 11 in St. Peter’s Basilica.

St. María Antonia de Paz Figueroa is Argentina’s first female saint. She was closely tied to the Jesuits and continued to lead Ignatian spiritual exercises in Argentina after the expulsion of the order.

Argentine President Javier Miliei was present at the Mass and was to have a private meeting with the pope Feb. 12. At the end of the Mass, the two shook hands, spoke briefly, smiled and laughed. The president, who has made disparaging remarks about the pope in the past, leaned down and gave a big hug to the pope, who was seated in his wheelchair.

Claudio Perusini, whose unexplained recovery from a severe stroke became the second miracle attributed to the new saint, also was present. He has known the pope since he was 17 and he, his wife and two adult children brought the offertory gifts to the pope during the Mass.

Sickness and healing were the key themes in Pope Francis’ homily during the Mass Feb. 11, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and the World Day of the Sick.

Reflecting on the day’s readings, which included St. Mark’s account of Jesus’ “cleansing of a leper,” the pope spoke about other forms of “leprosy” that lead some people, even Christians, to ostracize and scorn others.

Those who were afflicted with Hansen’s disease during Jesus’ time were further wounded by ostracism and rejection because of fear, prejudice and a false religiosity, the pope said.

People were afraid of contracting the disease and they were prejudiced by believing those who were ill were being punished by God for some sin they had committed and, therefore, deserving of their fate, the pope said.

Also, the belief that even slight contact with someone with leprosy made one “impure” is an example of false or “distorted religiosity,” which “erects barriers and buries pity,” he said.

Fear, prejudice and false religiosity represent “three ‘leprosies of the soul’ that cause the weak to suffer and then be discarded like refuse,” he said.

Many people suffering today also are scorned and discarded because of so many “fears, prejudices and inconsistencies even among those who are believers and call themselves Christians,” he said.

The way to tear down those barriers and cure new forms of “leprosy,” he said, is with the same style as Jesus, which is to draw near to those who are shunned to touch and heal them.

Jesus responds to the leper’s cry for help “knowing full well that in doing so he will in turn become a ‘pariah,'” the pope said.

“Oddly enough, the roles are now reversed: once healed, the sick person will be able to go to the priests and be readmitted to the community; Jesus, on the other hand, will no longer be able to enter any town,” he said.

Jesus could have avoided touching the man and instead perform “a distance healing,” he said. “Yet that is not the way of Christ. His way is that of a love that draws near to those who suffer, enters into contact with them and touches their wounds.”

Christians must reflect whether they, like Jesus, are able to draw near and be a gift to others, the pope said. The faithful should ask if they “withdraw from others and think only of ourselves” or believe “the problem is always and only other people.”

This “leprosy of the soul,” he said, is “a sickness that blinds us to love and compassion, one that destroys us by the ‘cankers’ of selfishness, prejudice, indifference and intolerance.”

“Once we let ourselves be touched by Jesus, we start to heal within, in our hearts. If we let ourselves be touched by him in prayer and adoration, if we permit him to act in us through his word and his sacraments, that contact truly changes us,” he said.

“Thanks to the love of Christ, we rediscover the joy of giving ourselves to others, without fears and prejudices, leaving behind a dull and disembodied religiosity and experiencing a renewed ability to love others in a generous and disinterested way,” he said.

Later, after reciting the Angelus prayer with visitors in St. Peter’s Square, the pope recalled the day’s celebration of Our Lady of Lourdes and World Day of the Sick.

“The first thing we need when we are sick is the closeness of loved ones, health care workers and, in our hearts, the closeness of God,” he said. “We are all called to be close to those who suffer, to visit the sick” the same way Jesus did with “closeness, compassion and tenderness.”

“We cannot be silent about the fact that there are so many people today who are denied the right to care, and, therefore, the right to life!” he said.

In those places where people live in extreme poverty or war zones, he said, “fundamental human rights are violated there every day! It is intolerable. Let us pray for the tormented Ukraine, for Palestine and Israel, let us pray for Myanmar and for all war-torn peoples.”

(OSV News) – Only about 15% of U.S. adults who were raised Catholic said they had remained practicing Catholics attending weekly Mass into adulthood, according to data from the General Social Survey conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.

But what were some of the things that distinguished the families of those children who remained practicing Catholics as adults from those who left the faith entirely? Seeking answers to this question, researchers at Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate and the Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life conducted the “Future Faithful Families Project” study.

The interviews for the study were conducted with 28 individuals from June 2021 to February 2023 and included qualifying participants from past CARA surveys. The study noted “a greater lack of response from the adult children than the parents who had been interviewed,” but added that “it is well known in the social science research fields that it is often easier to recruit participation from older adults than young adults.”

The study found that participants from these families generally described their households as “warmer and more affectionate than the average family.” Most of the participants also indicated “very good communication” within the family.

Another shared thread among those interviewed was having rituals of meals eaten together and prayer, with most indicating that faith was a part of family routines regardless of the routines themselves.

Additionally, all participants emphasized the importance of weekly Mass attendance and nearly all participants reported doing service work and giving to charity, with many doing so through their parish or a church organization.

Mark Gray, director of CARA Catholic Polls, co-wrote the study along with Greg Popcak, co-executive director of the Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life. Gray told OSV News that while the findings from these qualitative interviews were not meant to be taken as some sort of “checklist” of things to keep one’s child Catholic, parents could gain insight from the common responses.

For these families, he said, “their faith wasn’t just something that they went and did on Sunday morning; their faith was present in the household. It was present every day. It came out in conversations about the faith, with prayer, with things that are in the home.”

He also noted that when children would come to the parents with doubts about the faith, most of the parents “went on a journey with their children and said, ‘Well, let’s see why the church teaches this,'” as opposed to strictly shutting down questioning of the church’s teachings.

“It’s a lot of discussion, working through things, thinking about things rather than being this overbearing parental force,” he said.

The study also included an analysis of existing data from the General Social Survey, or GSS, going back to the 1970s, which showed a marked decline in the number of U.S. adults who were raised Catholic and stayed Catholic while still attending Mass weekly.

In the 1970s, “an average of 36% of those who were raised Catholic remained Catholic as adults and attended Mass weekly (peaking at 40% in 1977).” GSS data later showed “this average percentage declined to 32% in the 1980s, 25% in the 1990s, and 21% in the 2000s. In the 2010s, this averaged 15% and was 14% in the 2018 study.”

These numbers exclude those who converted to Catholicism but were not raised Catholic. The study also notes the large number of Catholics who have immigrated to the U.S.

Focusing on the 51% of U.S. adults who were raised Catholic and had remained so between 2010 to 2018, there were some commonalities. Among weekly Mass attendees who had remained Catholic, 81% were “more likely to have been living with both parents at age 16” compared to the 72% who attend Mass less often than weekly or the 63% who left the Catholic faith.

Gray said that the families they spoke with referenced things that “any parent can do,” noting the importance of the child to see their parent be “Catholic every day of the year, not just on Sundays” and for the parent “to listen to their children and have conversations with them, and guide them through what the faith teaches and why the faith teaches it.”