Category: 2024 News

WILKES-BARRE – Two long-time Catholic educators in the Diocese of Scranton, who have spent their careers instilling the values of compassion, integrity, and a love for learning in their students, were recognized for their accomplishments at this year’s Diocesan Teachers’ Institute Mass on Sept. 16, 2024.

Heather Feher and James Renfer were each presented with the Saint John Paul II Award by the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, inside Saint Nicholas Church.

The award recognizes 25 years of dedicated service to Catholic education in the Diocese of Scranton.

“I believe in Catholic education,” Feher said. “I love being able to pass my values onto the children.”

For the last 18 years, Feher has taught kindergarten at Saint Nicholas/Saint Mary School in Wilkes-Barre. She previously spent six years teaching kindergarten at Gate of Heaven School and one year teaching pre-school at Saint Mary’s Byzantine School.

Feher said she loves teaching kindergarten because the kids are excited about coming to school each day.

“I like when they accidentally call me ‘mommy.’ Now that I’m getting older, I’ve been called ‘grandma’ twice this year,” she joked. “I also love it when they come back from Holy Redeemer High School and visit us all right before they graduate. I love when I see them all grown up.”

Renfer started his teaching career in 1999 teaching sixth-through-eighth grade at Sacred Heart School in Dupont. He then moved to Wyoming Area Catholic School, where he taught fourth grade for 13 years, and for the last five years has been teaching eighth grade.

“It’s important that we keep the faith going in the schools,” Renfer said.

As their fellow educators applauded them after the awards presentation, both Feher and Renfer said their success is a direct reflection of the incredible educational community that surrounds them.

“We’re all very close. They’re wonderful people,” Renfer said of his fellow Catholic educators.

“We are a family,” Feher added. “We’re very close. I’ve made a lot of good friends.”

WILKES-BARRE – As he began his presentation to teachers in the Diocese of Scranton, Dr. Brett Salkeld struck a deal with his audience.

“If I can convince you that math can be taught from a Catholic point of view, will you come along with me for the ride?” he asked.

The crowd filled with hundreds of educators, seated inside the Holy Redeemer High School auditorium, willingly agreed.

Over the next hour, Dr. Salkeld explained how faith can be integrated into math – and many other aspects of a school curriculum – from literature and language, to science, art, and even health.

“Kids naturally want to ask the big questions,” he said. “We have to be willing to engage in the big questions.”

For example, in his math analogy, Dr. Salkeld focused on a question most teachers have heard before: “Why do we need to study math?

He said simple answers like “to graduate,” “to gain marketable skills,” and “to be a productive citizen,” all miss the mark.

“In a Catholic school, if a student asks, ‘Why should I study math,’ we can answer something like, ‘You are created to know and love God and God’s works, and math is a unique and powerful way to explore the beauty and order of creation.’”

He even acknowledged a simpler answer, “because you can,” would suffice.

“There is nothing else we know in creation that does math and it is amazing that human beings do math,” he said. “Math is a tool in our toolkit to take care of creation. You’re using math to develop some potential that God built into creation.”

Dr. Salkeld served as the keynote speaker for the 2024 Diocesan Teachers’ Institute. He based his presentation off his book, “Educating for Eternity: A Teacher’s Companion for Making Every Class Catholic,” which explained every subject can – and should – be taught from a Catholic worldview.

During his presentation, Dr. Salkeld, who serves as the Archdiocesan theologian for the Archdiocese of Regina, Canada, said teaching every subject from a Catholic perspective does more than just prepare students for the job market, it forms people who can change the world.

He also stressed that it should not be just “one more thing” to do in the classroom. Using the approach authentically, no matter what the class or age being taught, is a way to explain and model eternal truths to students.

However, he stressed, especially as his presentation drew to a close, that educators should not simply “add things that feel forced or contrived.”

“The point isn’t to add ‘Catholic’ to check a box. Teaching from the Catholic point of view does not require mentioning God or the church in every single class,” he said.

“Do it when it is appropriate and when it makes sense. Do it when it is authentic. Sometimes when you’re just doing quadratic equations, if you’re pursuing the truth, that is fine.”

WILKES-BARRE – As he gathered with Catholic educators and administrators to kick off the 2024-2025 school year, the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, reminded each of them of the unique role they play in our diocese.

“More than you realize, you have a treasure to share with our children,” Bishop Bambera said, emphasizing the incredible privilege they have to share the gift of faith and the Eucharist with their students.

“It is faith that serves as the foundation for all that we teach – rooted in servant leadership – that we both are called to model and instill in the lives given to our care. That sets us apart and gives us our unique Catholic identity,” he added.

During his homily for the Diocesan Teachers’ Institute Mass on Sept. 16, 2024, the Bishop asked the hundreds of educators gathered inside Saint Nicholas Church to reflect on the mission statement of our Diocesan School System.

“Many of the children and families who come into our lives are poor. Some are materially poor, but far more are spiritually and emotionally poor. Yes, they come seeking an education. But they also come looking for meaning and purpose in their lives,” Bishop Bambera said. “Parents come with hopes for their children. And children come trusting in you to love and respect them and to give them a way forward in life.”

Several priests, including many that have direct connections to specific schools, concelebrated the Diocesan Teachers’ Institute Mass.

Before the celebration of Mass began, Kristen Donohue, Diocesan Secretary for Catholic Education/Superintendent of Catholic Schools, provided a brief welcome.
“Today, we celebrate positive moments and reflect on the opportunities for growth, professionally, spiritually, and emotionally,” she said. “We recognize the true joy it is to be part of one of the greatest missions of the church – Catholic education.”

Prior to the final blessing at the Mass, the Catholic educators and administrators recited the ‘Prayer of Commitment,’ asking God to strengthen their commitment to the ideals of Catholic education. Part of the prayer asks God for the courage to fulfill their duties each day.

“I place my trust in you, O God, and ask for the grace to fulfill my duties faithfully and conscientiously each day,” the educators said together. “Enable me to be your worthy disciple as I proclaim in word and deed your message of truth, justice, and peace through this commitment to Catholic education with the Diocese of Scranton.”

In addition to celebrating the Diocesan Teachers’ Institute Mass each year, Bishop Bambera has made it a priority to visit every Catholic school each school year, celebrating Mass with students and visiting classrooms.

Bishop Bambera has already celebrated Mass with Holy Cross High School in Dunmore and Holy Family Academy in Hazleton this year. The Masses will continue throughout the school year, ending in early May 2025, at Epiphany School in Sayre and Saint Agnes School in Towanda.

SCRANTON – In a special Mass held at the Cathedral of Saint Peter on Sept. 28, 2024, eight men were officially admitted as candidates into the Diocese of Scranton’s Permanent Diaconate Formation Program.

The Mass, attended by clergy, family, and friends, marked a transformative moment for both the candidates and the Diocese.

The candidates are: William Chechel, Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Brodheadsville; Daniel B. Cosacchi, Ph.D., Saint Gregory Parish, Clarks Green; Jeffrey R. Kovaleski, Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish, Dickson City; Thomas J. Krzan, Saint Jude Parish, Mountain Top; Kevin J. Martin, Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Brodheadsville; Stephen O. Muntzenberger, Saint Jude Parish, Mountain Top; Justo Paula-Martínez, Saint Teresa of Calcutta Parish, Scranton; and Paul M. Zwolan, Saint Therese Parish, Shavertown.

“It was a very exciting day for me and all the other candidates,” Chechel said. “It has been maybe a ten-year process of me discerning.”

“I’ve always had a closeness to God and always felt that it was important to share his Word on salvation,” Kovaleski added.

The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, served as principal celebrant for the Mass, emphasizing the importance of service, humility, and commitment to the Church during his homily.

“You are being given the opportunity to deepen your resolve to follow the Lord Jesus and to serve the People of God. Just as the first disciples, you have been chosen for this role,” Bishop Bambera said. “With this formal recognition of your candidacy, you enter a new and deeper phase of formation to prepare you for the singular seal of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Holy Orders.”

During the Rite of Admission to Candidacy, each aspirant was called by name and presented himself before Bishop Bambera. Each man made a promise to complete his formation and form his heart and mind in service to the Church.

The candidates, aged between 38 and 61, represent a diverse array of backgrounds, professions, and life experiences. Among them are educators, mechanics, and company managers, all united by their desire to serve as permanent deacons.

In the Diocese of Scranton, the Permanent Diaconate Formation Program takes five years to complete. The first year, which is considered the aspirancy year, focuses heavily on discernment – not only for the men – but for the Church as well.

“The Rite of Candidacy means that these men have heard the call of God and are responding to it, and that the Church has formally entered into their process of discerning a call to serve as deacons,” Father Mark DeCelles, Director of the Permanent Diaconate Formation Program, explained. “Deacons, in a special way, share in Jesus’ ministry of being a leader and an example of service.”

The new candidates will spend the next four years studying and training before their ordination as permanent deacons. Permanent deacons may preach, proclaim the Gospel, prepare couples for marriage, witness marriages and conduct funeral services, in addition to other duties.

Following Mass, the candidates and their families joined Bishop Bambera for a reception in the Diocesan Pastoral Center.

Thomas Krzan began the discernment process after receiving a personal invitation from the clergy of his parish.

“The Holy Spirit was able to pull me out of my comfort zone and I’m glad that he did and I’m glad that I answered the call,” he said.

Through the diaconate program, Krzan is hoping to be able to touch those who feel forgotten or left out.

“We’ve been doing a lot of work in the nursing home and people really appreciate that we’re there. They thank us for coming and they sometimes applaud that we’re there, so it’s the poor and forgotten that I’m looking forward to helping,” he explained.

Justo Paula-Martínez feels the same way.

Through the help of an interpreter, Paula-Martínez, who is a native Spanish speaker, said the service work he is already doing in his parish has been very fulfilling.

“In our church, we have a program with the CIC (Community Intervention Center). We take food to the homeless and the needy and I love working with the people and serving the people,” he said. “I just hope to serve all, that the people get to know me, but I get to know them.”

HARRISBURG – Rain showers did not dampen the spirit of thousands of pro-life Pennsylvanians rallying at the State Capitol Complex on Sept. 23, 2024.

The fourth annual Pennsylvania March for Life brought a crowd of at least 5,000 people to Harrisburg from every corner of the commonwealth to voice their support for protecting the human dignity of every life – including the unborn.

“I have been here every year since it has been going on and it’s just uplifting to see all the people that believe we need to protect the unborn because it is a slippery slope. Once we start killing babies, we don’t value human life,” Doris Bush of Williamsport said.

Bush, a parishioner at Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Bastress, attended the Pennsylvania March for Life with several of her sisters.

“We are never going to stop until we stop killing babies in the womb,” she explained.
The PA March for Life is also a family tradition for Ryan Rupprecht of Old Forge. The parishioner of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Dupont walked alongside his father, John, who has attended every national March for Life in Washington since the mid-1970s.

“We never missed a march. Every march, he managed to bring the family down to D.C., we went through rainstorms, snowstorms, whatever it took,” Ryan said. “Any day we can stand up and give a voice to the voiceless is a great day and we’ll do whatever it takes. We will never stop fighting.”

Several groups across the Diocese of Scranton sponsored bus trips to bring people to the PA March for Life.

Jacob Gensel, a senior at Holy Redeemer High School in Wilkes-Barre, took a Diocesan-sponsored bus to the rally with several other students involved in his school’s pro-life club.

“It fires you up to see more young people and it encourages you to fight,” Gensel said. “It is really nice to see that we have multiple schools throughout the commonwealth here today. Hopefully we’re going to be able to take some of this back and use it to get more club members and spread the word a little bit more.”

The Pennsylvania Family Institute hosts the PA March for Life in partnership with the national March for Life organization.

In a pre-march rally, speakers peacefully advocated for pro-life protections for women and the unborn. Rally speakers included Wendy Burpee, Executive Director of Genesis Women’s Clinics, who extends a helping hand to mothers, babies, and families to build a culture of life.

“We give them the opportunity to see their unborn children. We give them the chance to hear the heartbeat of that little baby and we give them the love and support that they need so that they can choose life,” Burpee told the crowd.

Abortions are legal in Pennsylvania up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. After that, abortions are available if the pregnancy would risk the life or health of the mother.

Jeanne F. Mancini, President of March for Life Education and Defense Fund, encouraged those in the crowd to contact their state lawmakers, urging them to oppose the Reproductive Freedom Act (House Bill 2304).

She said the legislation would repeal long-standing laws that protect women, children and babies, including the parental consent requirement for minors to undergo an abortion, the 24-hour waiting period, informed consent for women before having an abortion and protection for babies born alive during a failed abortion.

“Your commitment gives me hope,” Mancini told the crowd. “You are a beacon of hope lighting the way for a future that embraces the beauty and the dignity of every human life.”

As he wrapped up his walk around the Capitol Complex, Dr. Francis Schell of Luzerne, criticized HB 2304, saying it would strip away the life-affirming laws that protect Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable.

“Some of the legislation they’re trying to introduce here would make abortion with no limitations, including after birth,” Dr. Schell explained. “Kids would get what they call ‘comfort measures.’ You would think ‘comfort measures’ would include food and warmth. They do not. They let the baby die after birth.”

BISHOP BAMBERA DELIVERS HOMILY DURING CLOSING MASS OF PA MARCH FOR LIFE

Catholic Bishops from around the Commonwealth joined their parishioners during the fourth annual Pennsylvania March for Life.

They also led the faithful in Mass at Saint Patrick Cathedral before and after the event.

The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, was the homilist for the closing Mass at 1:30 p.m., which followed the March. The principal celebrant was Archbishop Nelson Perez of Philadelphia.

During his homily, Bishop Bambera said the Lord counts on each of us to spread the Gospel of Life.

“The Lord counts on us to be light in the midst of darkness, to be hope in the midst of despair and to be his presence embracing and respecting every human life made in the image and likeness of our Creator,” Bishop Bambera said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis called on divided Christians to overcome their doctrinal differences and walk together in love, expressing hope especially for greater unity between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.

Speaking during his general audience in St. Peter’s Square Oct. 16, the pope acknowledged historical differences among Christian communities, but he stressed that the path forward lies in reconciliation.

“Among Christians, there are so many differences,” he said, “but the important thing is that these differences are reconciled in the love of walking together.”

As part of his ongoing catechesis on the Holy Spirit, Pope Francis spoke about the historic split between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, known as the Great Schism of 1054.

One issue that led to the division was the Catholic Church’s addition of the Latin term “filioque” — meaning “and from the Son” — to the Nicene Creed, which signaled that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son. This theological disagreement, along with other cultural and political factors, contributed to the long-standing rift between the two branches of Christianity.

Yet Pope Francis expressed hope that the issue would become “one of the main reconciled differences” between the churches since the dialogue between them has meant their disagreement “has lost the harshness of the past and today allows hope for full mutual acceptance.”

Even while differences remain, he said, “we can value the most important prerogative for us that is proclaimed in the article of the creed, namely that the Holy Spirit is the ‘giver of life,’ that is, life-giving.”

At the moment of humanity’s creation, he said, God breathed life into Adam, and “now, in the new creation, the Holy Spirit is the one who gives believers new life, the life of Christ, supernatural life, as children of God.”

“Where, in all of this, is the great and consoling news for us?” he asked. “It is that the life given to us by the Holy Spirit is eternal life.”

“Faith frees us from the horror of having to admit that everything ends here, that there is no redemption for the suffering and injustice that reign supreme on earth,” the pope said. “The Spirit lives in us, it is in us.”

After his main speech, Pope Francis asked visitors in the square not to forget countries experiencing war: Ukraine, Palestine, Israel and Myanmar.

“Brothers and sisters, let us not forget that war always, always, is a defeat,” he said. “Let us not forget this and pray for peace and fight for peace.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – If members of the Synod of Bishops are serious about sharing their experience of “synodality” with all members of the Catholic Church, then they must identify concrete ways to do so, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich told members.

“If we keep this treasure only for ourselves, we transform it into a privilege” rather than a service to the whole church, Cardinal Hollerich, the synod relator general, told members Oct. 15 as they began discussing the third and final part of the synod’s working document.

Titled “places,” the section focused on promoting synodality — listening to each other more attentively and cooperating more readily — “from the perspective of the places that are the tangible contexts for our embodied relationships, marked by their variety, plurality and interconnection, and rooted in the foundation of the profession of faith, resisting human temptations to abstract universalism.”

Cardinal Hollerich said the challenge is to make sure members of the church who are not present in the synod hall can experience synodality “not only through our recounting it, but through the renewal of our churches.”

“The aim of our work in the coming days,” he said, “is to propose instruments that make that easier.”

The 368 synod members were to discuss the “places” section of the working document through the morning of Oct. 18. The final week of the synod would be devoted to discussing, amending and approving a final document from the gathering. Voting on the final document was scheduled for the evening of Oct. 26 and the closing synod Mass was to be celebrated Oct. 27.

Before Cardinal Hollerich’s introduction, Benedictine Mother Maria Ignazia Angelini, a theologian and spiritual adviser to the synod, encouraged synod members to recognize how faith always is lived in a concrete place with specific cultural influences, but also how Jesus broke through rigged walls of place, class and culture.

“If the ‘place’ of the church is always a concrete space-time of gathering, the journey of the Gospel in the world goes from threshold to threshold: it shuns being static, but also any ‘holy alliance’ with the cultural contexts of the age,” she said. “It inhabits them and is led by its life principle — the Spirit of the Lord — to transcend them.”

“We all need to feel a sense of belonging,” Cardinal Hollerich said, “but this need is met through relationships” that are less tied to a specific place — for instance, a parish — than they were in the past, especially if one considers relationships formed and maintained primarily online.

“What does this mean for the fulfillment of our mission of proclaiming the Gospel?” the cardinal asked synod members. “In what ways must we rethink our institutions ‘in the logic of missionary service,’ which takes place in a different context than in the past? What institutional and organizational forms need to be changed and how?”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Since the 2018 Synod of Bishops on young people, listening has emerged as a central element in overcoming the structural and cultural barriers to unity and participation in the Catholic Church, synod members said.

Recent synods convened at the Vatican as well as the worldwide synod on synodality have “shown us the value of listening as a common thread in any process of humanization,” said Sister Liliana Franco Echeverri, a member of the Company of Mary and president of the Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of Religious.

Sister Franco highlighted the 2019 synod on the Amazon as an example of how “listening leads to conversion.” The creation of the Amazonian Ecclesial Conference was proposed at that synod, and it was formally erected by Pope Francis in 2021. Members of the conference include bishops, consecrated religious, priests and deacons, Indigenous people and lay Catholic leaders, each nominated by their bishops’ conferences.

“Truly the power to create transformation, to modify attitudes or structures, lies in listening to God and to the grassroots, to reality,” Sister Franco said, noting that the various synods convened so far have acted as “laboratories” that experiment with the church’s capacity to listen.

“Listening is positioning itself as the way of understanding what the narrative is that God wants to tell us human beings,” she said. “Listening gives us the possibility of drawing close to one another and to God’s love more serenely, sincerely and reverently. Listening truly transforms us and converts us, and I believe we are still in the process of learning that.”

The challenge for the church, she said, is to understand that listening is “the path to our conversion and even the path to credibility in moments that we experience as a church and as a society.”

Rwandan Bishop Edouard Sinayobye of Cyangugu said that the listening at the root of synodality has assisted the church in Rwanda advance in its mission of reconciliation 30 years after the genocide that killed some 800,000 people in his country.

While the killing ended in July 1994, Bishop Sinayobye said its legacy is still felt “as if it happened yesterday,” and that the church continues working to heal people. Catholics are the largest religious group in Rwanda, making up 40% of the population, according to a 2022 U.S. State Department report.

“It is not easy to talk about reconciliation in a country torn apart by genocide, because one must accompany both the persecutor and the victim, and we do this in every parish,” he said. “This synod has helped us considerably, it is a space in which we have deepened our approach to respond to this challenge of reconciliation” by working to “unify Rwandans and to help them live in a spirit of fraternity, in a communal and synodal way.”

The synod “is reinforcing our pastoral mission and our way of living in Rwanda after the tragedy of genocide,” he said.

Latvian Archbishop Zbignevs Stankevics of Riga said that ultimately the task of the synod is to “unlock the gifts and charisms of every baptized person,” promoting co-responsibility and the “decentralization” of the church “but not in a secular or democratic way, in a way of ecclesial and spiritual communion.”

Sister Franco said that to ensure the full participation of each person in the church, the church’s relational structures must be more closely studied to prevent abusive dynamics from arising.

The whole synodal process has highlighted a need to revise relationships, she said, and is calling the church to opt for placing “a culture of care at the heart of the church, for a way of relating to each other that is more similar to the way of Jesus.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Three U.S. cardinals attending the synod on synodality met privately with Pope Francis to speak more in-depth about synodality and the process of discernment, said Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey.

“I had asked for the appointment simply because I think the church is always seeking ways to do better what we think we’re called to do,” the cardinal told reporters during a Vatican press briefing Oct. 11.

“I’ve personally found a lot of hope in this emphasis on a way of being church that’s described as synodality. And it’s something that Pope Francis has thought a lot about. It’s something that he’s practiced” as a Jesuit, the cardinal said.

Cardinals Tobin, Robert W. McElroy of San Diego and Blase J. Cupich of Chicago met with the pope early Oct. 10 in the library of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican. That day, Cardinal Tobin said they met with the pope “to discuss challenges in the United States,” and did not specify further.

He did provide a few more details during a briefing with reporters Oct. 11 when asked what they talked about.

The pope belongs to the Jesuits, a religious order that “has a very strong tradition” in the “difficult” process of discernment, he said.

Discernment is “trying to look at what’s happening under the light of the word of God and listening to people and trying to discover what is God saying to the church and to the churches today. And so that’s what we wanted to talk about,” he said.

Out of the five cardinals and seven bishops attending the synod from the United States, Cardinal Tobin said he and Cardinals McElroy and Cupich met with the pope because the three of them usually talk about these topics.

“It was, as my experience has been with him, was very enriching,” he added.

When asked what he tries to tell his brother bishops who may be more hesitant or unsure about the synodal process, Cardinal Tobin said he sometimes holds up the example of the nationwide “encuentro” process.

The process began at the grassroots level in 1972, and its most recent version culminated in the V Encuentro — the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ multiyear discernment process of pastoral priorities for Latino Catholic leaders that included a national meeting in 2018 and led to a national pastoral plan approved by the U.S. bishops in 2023. The encuentro process has been a new way for bishops and laypeople to listen and work together, finding ways to be united in their common missionary mandate, participants have said. The bishops estimated more than 1 million Catholics had participated in parish, diocesan and regional encuentros in the two years prior to the national meeting in Grapevine, Texas, in 2018.

Cardinal Tobin told reporters Oct. 11, “The Encuentro was remarkably similar to what we’re trying to do on a global scale, that is listening and discerning and proposing.”

“We are blessed” that the United States already has had “a national synodal process that has a proven track record,” he said, which is why he refers to the Encuentro “sometimes to try and sell (synodality) to brother bishops.”

“I said it clearly shows us how the Spirit is speaking to the people of God and what the priorities are. And not only on a national level, but on a diocesan level,” he said. For example, in his archdiocese, the response to the V Encuentro was making it a priority to find “how can we make our communities more welcoming” and providing formation “to be able to be faithful to what we believe we are.”

He said he tells other bishops, “All we have to do is trust this listening that is very evident in the Scriptures and God will be able to do great things through it.”

The cardinal encouraged lay Catholics who “are really struggling with the same old, same old” to stay committed to the synodal process in their parish and diocese even if leadership doesn’t seem to be embracing it fully.

“Don’t go away. Stay there and ask the questions. And, please God, things will change,” he said.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The March for Life Education and Defense Fund Oct. 10 unveiled the theme for its upcoming event: “Every Life: Why We March.”

The 52nd annual March for Life is scheduled for Jan. 24, just days after the winner of the 2024 presidential election will be inaugurated, and it comes amid what the group’s president, Jeanne Mancini, described as a time of “confusion and erroneous messaging” about abortion.

The theme, Mancini told reporters at a media briefing, was selected because the group believes “we really deeply want to do everything possible to encourage that we’re on the right side of history, that we’re in this for the long game, and that we need to lean in.”

“Our theme is returning to the basics, she said, adding, “This year in particular, the topic of abortion has emerged as a major political conversation, both on the national stage and in households across America. So we want to go back to the very basics on showing why life is important. So we plan to return to some of the fetal development truth that we know, just facts, biological facts, that we know to show the beauty of the unborn child. We plan to draw people together in unity, and we plan to just encourage people, really, to know that they’re in this for the long game.”

Mancini said in her travels to state marches, she has encountered discouragement among the group’s supporters about the political landscape just two and a half years after the Supreme Court reversed the Roe. v. Wade decision that prompted the original 1974 March for Life, especially when it comes to ballot measures, which have so far eluded pro-life activists. Voters in Ohio, California, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Vermont and Kansas either rejected new limitations on abortion or expanded legal protections for it as the result of ballot measures since Roe was overturned, and about 10 more will be on the ballot Nov. 5.

As a result, the group wanted to “just to return to the basics, pro-life 101, and especially within that some fetal development, but the fact that every life is inherent human dignity from the moment of conception. Because look at it, it seems like our culture is for our culture is forgotten right now, and that is so important.”

Jennie Bradley Lichter, who was named in September as the group’s president-elect and who will take the reins of the organization after the Jan. 24 event, told reporters she was drawn to the role because “I’ve always loved the March for Life. I love its positive spirit. I love its joyfulness and its youthfulness and the esprit de corps (the common spirit), and I love the doggedness of people who come year after year after year, even when it’s snowing.”

Mancini added the upcoming event will feature Bethany Hamilton, a professional surfer, author and motivational speaker, as the keynote speaker at the event, and its first female athlete to participate in that capacity.