Category: Diocese of Scranton News

SCRANTON – The public is invited to celebrate and honor World Refugee Day!

On Saturday, June 22, 2024, everyone is invited to join local Scranton refugee communities for a time of sharing, learning, fellowship and celebration that honors global refugees. This year’s theme is, ‘A World Where Refugees Are Always Welcomed,’ which focuses on the power of inclusion and solutions for refugees.

The event will be held from 2 – 4 p.m. at Nay Aug Park in Scranton (on the Greenhouse side of Nay Aug Park). The celebration will include cultural songs and music, refreshments, games and activities for kids.

World Refugee Day is an annual international day, designated by the United Nations, to celebrate the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home countries to escape conflict or persecution.

Several community agencies are working together to put together the 2024 World Refugee Celebration, including Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton, the Church of Saint Gregory in Clarks Green, The University of Scranton, United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Ignatian Volunteer Corps, Islamic Center of Scranton, Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit, Congolese Community of Scranton, Bhutanese Cultural Foundation Scranton Association, Saigon Corner Vietnamese Restaurant, The Hexagon Project, and Pennsylvania Department of Education – Migrant Education Program.

More volunteers and community partners are always welcome to participate.

SCRANTON – Since becoming involved in scouting four years ago, Thomas Cain of Jermyn has made many new friends and gained more self-confidence.

“As a boy scout, I try to advance by myself and not with other people. I try to do it on my own,” the sixth grader said.

On April 20, 2024, Cain was one of ten young people who received awards as part of the Diocese of Scranton’s annual Scout Mass at the Cathedral of Saint Peter.

Cain, who is a parishioner of Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Parish, was one of seven students to receive the Ad Altare Dei award, which centers on the Sacraments and equips a scout to take their place as a maturing Catholic.

The three other scouts received the Pope Pius XII emblem, which reflects the ideal of the youth’s growing awareness of the Word of God as well as their place in the world.

Ethan Stangline of Pleasant Mount, who is a parishioner of Saint Katherine Drexel Parish, also received the Ad Altare Dei award.

“Ad Altare Dei meant a lot of hard work and long determination. We had to answer questions based off how scouting relates to Baptism and the Sacraments and how it affects our daily lives,” the seventh grader explained.

Award recipient Ryan Fagan of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Throop said earning his Ad Altare Dei award was an important milestone.

“I think it means a lot because I learned a lot more than I knew before – mostly about marriage and baptism. The other Sacraments I knew somewhat about, even though Confirmation I didn’t know much about though,” Fagan said.

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

After handing each scout his award, he congratulated them on their accomplishments.

“We are extremely proud of you. You are a wonderful sign to all of us – of the young Church of this Diocese – and of a future that is bright and hope-filled because of you,” Bishop Bambera said. “We are richly blessed by all of you.”

In the days following the Mass, the Boy Scouts of America announced a change in name – becoming “Scouting America” in Feb. 2025 – but it will not affect affiliated Catholic scout troops, the executive director of the Catholic Church’s official committee overseeing Scouting programs in the U.S. told OSV News.

“It doesn’t really impact us at all,” said John Anthony, who heads up the National Catholic Committee on Scouting, which sponsors Catholic Scouting.

WILKES-BARRE – It was nearly standing room only inside Saint Nicholas Church in Wilkes-Barre on April 21, 2024, as the faithful gathered to celebrate the World Day of Prayer for Vocations.

The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, served as principal celebrant of the 12:15 p.m. liturgy, which was celebrated in Spanish.

“In every stage of our life, we all come to a pause where we don’t know where to head. In times of trouble and need, we look up to God and ask him to clear a path and step into the next path of our life,” Angel Munoz of Saint Nicholas-Saint Mary Parish, said after the celebration. “It was an honor to have the Bishop here.”

The Mass was filled with many young people, some who say they considered a call to religious life because of the strong faith of their family.

“At a young age, I knew it was a possibility,” Marie Vazquez Perez of Saint-Nicholas-Saint Mary Parish, explained. “We come from many generations that are very religious, my grandmother and my mother, so I knew that was always a possibility. It didn’t happen for me, but I did think about the paths that I could take.”

Even though Perez did not pursue a religious life vocation, she still participates in her parish by helping with religious education, Our Lady of Guadalupe activities and the choir.

“I think he is still calling me in many different ways,” she added.

Adriana Sosa, who participated in the Mass as an altar server, agrees.

I feel God calls me in many ways. Throughout life, I have been dedicated to helping out a lot of people,” Sosa said. “He has made me into someone who volunteers.”

ENCOURAGEMENT, ADORATION KEY TO FOSTERING PRIEST VOCATIONS, NEW REPORT SHOWS

Personal encouragement and Eucharistic Adoration are crucial in fostering vocations to the priesthood, according to data from a newly released report.

On April 15, Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate released the 2024 “Survey of Ordinands to the Priesthood,” a report made directly to the Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The CARA report was released just days before the World Day of Prayer for Vocations.

Most respondents said they had first considered a vocation to the priesthood when they were 16 years old, and the average age of ordination was 34, a number consistent with the range of 33-37 reported since 1999.

CARA’s executive director, Jesuit Father Thomas Gaunt, told OSV News that direct encouragement of young men to consider priestly life is a “perennial factor” in vocations, with 89% of the respondents, or nine in 10, reporting they had received such support – usually from a parish priest (63%), friend (41%) or parishioner (41%).

“You could almost say that … no one shows up at the seminary who was not encouraged,” Father Gaunt said.

Eucharistic adoration also emerged as significant in vocational discernment, with 75% of the respondents noting they had regularly prayed before the Blessed Sacrament prior to entering the seminary.

 

 

WILKES-BARRE – On April 28, Cathy Swoboda was celebrating the past and looking forward to the future.

The parishioner and business manager of Saint Robert Bellarmine Parish was one of several hundred people who attended a special Mass of Thanksgiving at Saint Aloysius Church in Wilkes-Barre, recognizing the 125th anniversary of the worship site.

“It is a milestone for the church. We have been through so much, starting with the Flood in 1972 and COVID recently,” she said. “For me, 125 years is a celebration of the past and hope for the future.”

Swoboda credits the kindness of her fellow parishioners – and the serenity of the building itself – for making the church a welcoming place.

“I’m involved in everything that goes on in this church because I want to be, not because I have to be. The people are wonderful. Everybody is sweet and kind to each other. We have a great time at our annual bazaar. It’s just a special feeling you have when you walk in the church,” she added.

The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, served as principal celebrant and homilist for the 125th Anniversary Mass. Father Richard Cirba, pastor, concelebrated the liturgy along with Father Kevin Mulhern, former pastor, and several other native sons of the parish, including Father Andrew Sinnott and Father James Nash.

“It was just a glorious day. The weather is beautiful and we’re happy to welcome back some of the native sons of the parish,” Father Cirba said. “One hundred twenty-five years is a milestone and it would be remiss for us to just let it go by without acknowledging it so it brought great excitement and enthusiasm for the people.”

As he began his homily, Bishop Bambera thanked parishioners for the opportunity to celebrate with them and called the Mass a “beautiful gathering.”

In reflecting on the Gospel message for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, involving Jesus as the vine and his followers as the branches, Bishop Bambera explained how we are all interconnected – with a shared faith in the Risen Jesus and all those who have gone before us.

“I’d invite you today, here in this church, to let your memories flow,” he said. “Maybe this is the church where you and your children were baptized. Maybe this is where you received your First Communion 60 or 70 years ago, or maybe it is the place where you were married and began a family.”

The Bishop reminded those at the Anniversary Mass, however, that a “parish” is not just a building or a structure, it is the people of God.

“We are celebrating nothing less than the power and presence of God in our lives,” Bishop Bambera noted.

The faithful who attend Saint Aloysius Church are very thankful they currently have two seminarians who are discerning a path to the priesthood – Andrew McCarroll and Peter Stec. McCarroll is expected to be ordained a transitional deacon on May 25 and would likely be ordained a priest next summer and Stec will be attending college seminary this coming fall.

“I’m proud just to be able to see the history of this community, especially as I’m discerning my vocation and preparing for ordained ministry, to see all the men who went before me in priestly service to our Diocese,” McCarroll said at the conclusion of the Anniversary Mass. “To see that rich history of service, not only just to this community, but also the Church of Scranton.”

While McCarroll has seen the South Wilkes-Barre community change demographically over the years, he believes there is a lot of hope for the future.

“It is good to see that we’re still proclaiming the Gospel … because Christ’s message is still true, then, as it is now,” McCarroll noted.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The elderly must not be accused of saddling younger generations with their medical expenses and pensions — a notion which foments intergenerational conflict and drives older people into isolation, Pope Francis said.

“The accusation that the elderly ‘rob the young of their future’ is nowadays present everywhere,” the pope wrote in his message for World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, a church celebration that will take place July 28.

Even in the most advanced and modern societies “there is now a widespread conviction that the elderly are burdening the young with the high cost of the social services that they require, and in this way are diverting resources from the development of the community and thus from the young,” he wrote in the message released May 14.

Such a mentality “assumes that the survival of the elderly puts that of the young at risk, that to favor the young it is necessary to neglect or even suppress the elderly,” he wrote.

Yet the pope stressed that “intergenerational conflict is a fallacy and the poisoned fruit of conflict.”

“To set the young against the old is an unacceptable form of manipulation,” he wrote.

The pope’s message expanded on the theme chosen for this year’s world day which was taken from the Book of Psalms: “Do not cast me off in my old age.”

The 2024 celebration marks the fourth edition of World Day for Grandparents and the elderly. In 2021, Pope Francis instituted the world day to be observed each year on the fourth Sunday of July, close to the liturgical memorial of Sts. Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus.

In his message for this year’s celebration, the pope emphasized that “God never abandons his children,” even as they grow weak and “can risk appearing useless.” But today, a “conspiracy surrounding the life of the elderly” often results in their abandonment by those close to them.

“The loneliness and abandonment of the elderly is not by chance or inevitable, but the fruit of decisions — political, economic, social and personal decisions — that fail to acknowledge the infinite dignity of each person,” he wrote.

The pope explained that such a phenomenon occurs “once we lose sight of the value of each individual and people are then judged in terms of their cost, which is in some cases considered too high to pay.”

Unfortunately, he said, the elderly themselves can succumb to this cost-benefit mindset; “they are made to consider themselves a burden and to feel that they should be the first to step aside.”

Pope Francis identified the decline of communal structures in society and the widespread celebration of individualism as other factors behind the isolation of the elderly, “yet once we grow old and our powers begin to decline, the illusion of individualism, that we need no one and can live without social bonds, is revealed for what it is.”

The pope then recounted the Bible story in which the elderly Naomi encourages her two daughters-in-law to return to their hometowns after the death of her husband and children since she sees herself as a burden to them. “Her words reflect the rigid social and religious conventions of her day, which apparently seal her own fate,” the pope wrote.

While Orpah returns home, grateful for the encouragement, Ruth “is not afraid to challenge customs and inbred patterns of thought” and “courageously remains at her side,” he wrote.

The pope encouraged all people to “express our gratitude to all those people who, often at great sacrifice, follow in practice the example of Ruth, as they care for an older person or simply demonstrate daily closeness to relatives or acquaintances who no longer have anyone else.”

Pope Francis also pointed out how in poorer countries elderly people are often left alone because their children are forced to emigrate, and in regions ravaged by conflict young men are called into conflict while women and children flee for safety, leaving elderly people alone in areas “where abandonment and death seem to reign supreme.”

In a statement released with the pope’s message, Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life, which organizes the world day, lamented the “bitter companion” that is loneliness in the lives of elderly people.

“Attending to our grandparents and the elderly,” he said, “is not only a sign of gratitude and affection, but a necessity in the construction of a more human and fraternal society.”

The cardinal’s message was also accompanied by pastoral guidelines and liturgical resources for parishes and dioceses. The guidelines suggest that Catholics visit the elderly people within their own community, share with them the pope’s message and pray together.

The document said that to involve the elderly in the day, “older people can be asked to offer special prayers for young people and for peace.”

“The ministry of intercession is a real vocation of the elderly,” it said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The troves of knowledge stored in archives and libraries must be made available and accessible to all people, especially as they increasingly depend on technological means for their knowledge, Pope Francis said.

Scholars overseeing archives and managing libraries must have “a great openness to discussion and dialogue,” Pope Francis told professors and students from the Vatican’s archival and library sciences schools May 13. He encouraged them to develop “a readiness to welcome,” especially the marginalized and those suffering “material, cultural and spiritual poverties.”

The pope encouraged the members of the two schools — the Vatican School of Paleography, Diplomatic and Archival Studies and the Vatican School of Library Studies — to avoid becoming complacent in distributing knowledge, particularly given the “decisive and epochal cultural challenges” of modern day, noting the problems of contemporary scholarship “related to globalization, to the risk of a flattening and devaluation of knowledge.”

He highlighted humanity’s “increasing complex relationship with technology,” the challenges of engaging with and studying traditional cultures, making sources of information accessible to all and the responsibility of scholars to “defend all from the toxic, unhealthy and violent things that can lurk in the world of social media and technological knowledge.”

Pope Francis also urged the scholars to avoid “self-referentiality” and to share their ideas and experiences with other academic institutions.

Marking the 140th anniversary of the archival school and the 90th anniversary of the school of library sciences, the pope said that such anniversaries are not meant “just to honor old glories” but to “look forward to the future, to have the courage to rethink yourselves in the face of demands from the cultural and professional world.”

The pope praised the “decisive characteristic” of the two schools: their “eminently practical” and “concrete” approach to problems and studies, which he said enables them to come into contact with past knowledge and transmit it to future generations.

“Confronting the realty of things is worth more than ideology,” he said. “Ideologies always kill.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis reiterated the Vatican’s willingness to aid in a comprehensive prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine.

“I renew my appeal for a general exchange of all the prisoners between Russia and Ukraine, assuring the willingness of the Holy See to favor any effort in this regard, especially for those who are gravely injured and ill,” he said after praying the “Regina Coeli” in St. Peter’s Square May 12.

In February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said more than 3,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war had been freed from Russian captivity, and the United Arab Emirates mediated an exchange of 100 prisoners between Russia and Ukraine that same month.

The pope also appealed for prayers for peace in Ukraine, Palestine, Israel and Myanmar in remarks to people gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

During an airborne press conference April 30, 2023 — some 14 months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine — Pope Francis confirmed that “the Holy See has acted as an intermediary in some exchanges of prisoners” between the warring nations.

The pope had also expressed his hope for a general exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine in his message “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world) after celebrating Easter Mass this year; he called for a swap of “all for the sake of all!”

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, expressed optimism around the pope’s calls for a prisoner exchange in an interview published April 27, noting that “the pope’s appeal has been taken up and acted upon.”

After praying the “Regina Coeli” the pope also noted that May 12 was the church’s celebration of World Communications Day, for which the Vatican had chosen as its theme “Artificial Intelligence and the Wisdom of the Heart.”

“Only by restoring a wisdom of the heart can we interpret the demands of our time and rediscover the way toward a fully human communication,” he said.

And, as Italy and several other countries celebrated Mother’s Day, Pope Francis encouraged people to be grateful for all mothers and to “pray for the mothers who have gone to heaven.”

“Let us entrust mothers to the protection of Mary, our heavenly mother,” he said before asking the visitors in the square for a big round of applause for all mothers.

(OSV News) – A change in name for the Boy Scouts of America will not affect affiliated Catholic scout troops, the executive director of the Catholic Church’s official committee overseeing Scouting programs in the U.S. told OSV News.

“It doesn’t really impact us at all,” said John Anthony, who heads up the National Catholic Committee on Scouting, which sponsors Catholic Scouting, the official Catholic organization that uses all BSA programs and activities in line with Catholic teaching and aims to form youth into both good citizens and “committed disciples of Jesus Christ.”

Bishop Michael W. Fisher of Buffalo, New York, (also an Eagle Scout) serves as the episcopal liaison for the committee to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

On May 7, the BSA announced in a news release that it would rebrand itself in 2025 as Scouting America in order to reflect “the organization’s ongoing commitment to welcome every youth and family in America to experience the benefits of Scouting.”

The announcement comes on the fifth anniversary of the BSA welcoming girls into the Scouts BSA program for youth 11-17; and six years after allowing girls into the Cub Scouting program for youth ages 5-10.

These flagship youth programs, however, still maintain separation by gender: Cub Scouts can be in either single-gender units called “packs,” or part of a mixed pack with boys and girls organized into smaller subgroups by gender called “dens.”

Scouts BSA troops, however, are single-gender only. Once Cub Scouts crossover to the Scouts BSA program, girls can join all-girl troops and boys can join all-boy troops.

While boys and girls experience the same Scouting program in most countries today, philosophical differences over Scouting in the early 20th century led to the Boy Scouts of America and Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. developing separate and distinct youth programs. The two organizations have clashed over the course of their history — especially recently over the BSA’s decision to open its Scout program to girls — and a merger is considered unlikely.

The BSA has also had co-ed programs for decades prior to its decision to include girls into Cub Scouting and Scouts BSA, including the Sea Scouting, Venturing, and Exploring programs.

According to the BSA, Scouting America currently serves more than 176,000 girls and young women across all programs, including over 6,000 who have earned the rank of Eagle Scout.

BSA President and CEO Roger A. Krone said in the release about the organization’s name change to Scouting America that “though our name will be new, our mission remains unchanged.”

Anthony told OSV News that the same is true of Catholic Scouting, which counts more than 97,650 Scouts from over 5,000 Catholic units across the country, representing separate boy and girl Scouting formations.

“We support the Scouting program, but we work with the local dioceses and those committees and help people understand that if you’re going to have and call it a Catholic Scouting program, you’d better be Catholic,” said Anthony, who worked full-time for the BSA for 38 years, most recently as an executive regional director in South Florida.

Catholic Scouting partners closely with parish and school-based faith formation as well as youth ministry outreaches, offering age-appropriate religious activities and emblems. Catholic discipleship, service and spiritual development are essential goals of the organization, which is also encouraging members to participate in the National Eucharistic Revival and the National Eucharistic Congress.

“The local bishop decides how the program is going to be administered (in his diocese),” Anthony said. “He appoints the chairman and the chaplain; (and) he approves of members of the local diocesan Catholic committee.”

Anthony told OSV News that fears about the implications of the BSA name change to Scouting America may have been sparked by one media outlet’s choice of photograph to accompany its story on the news.

“You don’t see the person’s face, but the (scout’s) neckerchief slide (clasp) is the rainbow color,” he said. “That gets people going. … You couldn’t use the photo of everybody camping or having a good time or (showing) they’re in church?”

Following the BSA’s announcement, at least one Catholic group issued a blog post “listing all the alternative programs to Boy Scouts — and one they recommend is Catholic Scouting,” said Anthony, chuckling.

According to the BSA, the rebranding to Scouting America will be effective Feb. 8, 2025, when the organization marks its 115th anniversary.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Abortion advocates in at least 15 states are seeking to qualify ballot measures for November that would enshrine abortion protections in law or their state constitutions, and some efforts recently got a step closer.

Maryland and Florida will have efforts to enshrine abortion protections in their state constitutions on the ballot. A comparable effort in New York was tossed off the ballot — for now — when it was blocked May 7 by a judge who found that state lawmakers failed to follow procedural rules for passing constitutional amendments. Supporters plan to appeal. Abortion is legal in the Empire State through 24 weeks but with broad exceptions after that point.

Maryland’s Catholic bishops issued a statement May 8 objecting to the November 2024 ballot measure in that state. “This is an important time for us to reiterate our commitment to the protection of all human life,” they said. “We oppose the ‘Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment’ as it contradicts the fundamental principles of respect for human dignity and the inherent right to life.”

“Our opposition to this initiative is rooted in our unwavering concern for the well-being of women and children. Abortion not only ends the life of an innocent child but also poses significant risks to the physical, emotional and spiritual health of women,” said the statement signed by Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori, Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory of Washington and Bishop William E. Koenig of Wilmington, Delaware. All have members of their flock who live in Maryland.

In encouraging Catholics and others to reject the amendment, they said abortion perpetuates a “throwaway culture” and that the amendment would divert resources from women’s well-being, risk the rights of health care workers and limit the ability of elected officials to respond to changing needs or information.

Efforts for similar amendments to qualify for the ballot are still underway in several states including Arizona and Montana, where closely watched races for the U.S. Senate also will take place.

In Missouri, supporters of such a ballot measure said May 3 they turned in more than 380,000 voter signatures — more than double the 171,000 required to qualify for the ballot. The office of Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, a Republican, must verify the signatures in order for the measure to be placed on the ballot.

Earlier this year, the Catholic bishops of Missouri urged all Catholics and people of goodwill “to not sign any petition that would put this amendment on the ballot.”

“The Catholic Church supports and defends society’s most vulnerable, especially women and children, through accompaniment, social services, and material assistance,” the bishops said.

“A misleading proposed amendment to the Missouri Constitution suggests that a ‘right to an abortion’ is needed to protect women, while the amendment could actually put women at risk and endanger preborn children,” they said. “This ballot initiative would legalize abortions in this state and remove long standing health and safety standards for women. In addition, this initiative does nothing to reduce or eliminate the underlying social causes for abortion and does not further a true culture of life in the state.”

Missouri Right to Life led a “Decline to Sign Campaign” to educate and activated “countless Missourians to fight the battle to ‘Keep Missouri Pro-Life!'”

On May 1, supporters of an abortion ballot measure In South Dakota also said they collected enough signatures to qualify.

Ballot measures on abortion have so far proven elusive for the pro-life movement in previous elections in 2022 and 2023, despite achieving their long-held goal of reversing Roe v. Wade when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision, which overturned the 1973 Roe decision and related precedent establishing abortion as a constitutional right. After that decision returned the abortion issue to the legislature, some states moved to expand access to abortion, while others passed legislation limiting the procedure or providing new revenue streams of support for women and families facing unplanned pregnancies.

Ohio voters on Nov. 7, 2023, approved a measure to codify abortion access in that state’s constitution, legalizing abortion up to the point of fetal viability — the gestational point at which a baby may be capable of living outside the uterus — and beyond, if a physician decided an abortion was necessary for the sake of the mother’s life or health. The Ohio results were not an outlier, as they followed previous losses for the pro-life movement at the ballot box when voters in California, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Vermont and Kansas either rejected new limitations on abortion or expanded legal protections for it.

After victories at the ballot box, abortion advocates across the country sought similar outcomes in their own states.

In Montana, that state’s Supreme Court in April allowed an effort to add additional protections for abortion through a ballot measure to move forward. That state currently permits abortion at any point prior to fetal viability.

Montana’s Catholic Bishops Austin A. Vetter of Helena and Jeffrey M. Fleming of Great Falls-Billings wrote a May 3 message urging “all people of goodwill to decline to sign the petition to place this dangerous amendment on our ballot.”

“Trusting in God, we invite all Montanans to pray for the defeat of this Constitutional Initiative and stand in defense of women, children and all those threatened by this extreme proposal,” their message said.

The Catholic Church teaches that all human life is sacred from conception to natural death, opposing direct abortion as an act of violence that takes the life of the unborn child.

After the Dobbs decision, church officials in the U.S. have reiterated the church’s concern for both mother and child, and called to strengthen available support for those living in poverty or other causes that can push women toward having an abortion.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – “The time has come for a new Jubilee when once more the Holy Door will be flung open to invite everyone to an intense experience of the love of God that awakens in hearts the sure hope of salvation in Christ,” Pope Francis said in a document formally proclaiming the Holy Year 2025.

Christians must “abound in hope” to be credible witnesses of God’s love, he wrote, and they can give signs of that hope by having children, welcoming migrants, visiting prisoners, working for peace, opposing the death penalty, helping young people find a job, pressuring rich countries to forgive the debt of poor countries, praying for the souls in purgatory and lobbying to divert money from military spending to food aid.

The document, called a “bull of indiction,” specifies that the holy year will open at the Vatican Dec. 24 this year and close Jan. 6, 2026, the feast of Epiphany. Pope Francis also asked bishops around the world to inaugurate the Holy Year in their dioceses Dec. 29 this year and celebrate the conclusion of the Jubilee locally Dec. 28, 2025.

During a brief ceremony in front of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica May 9, Pope Francis handed the document to the archpriests of the papal basilicas of St. Peter, St. Paul Outside the Walls and St. Mary Major, the vicar of the archpriest of the Basilica of St. John Lateran and to top officials of the dicasteries for Evangelization, the Eastern Churches and Bishops.

Msgr. Leonardo Sapienza, an apostolic protonotary and official of the papal household, read excerpts from the document, which is titled, “Spes Non Confundit,” (“Hope Does Not Disappoint”).

“Hope is born of love and based on the love springing from the pierced heart of Jesus upon the cross,” Pope Francis wrote in the document.

In a world seemingly marked by war, divisions, environmental destruction and economic challenges, hope can seem hard to come by, he said. But “Christian hope does not deceive or disappoint because it is grounded in the certainty that nothing and no one may ever separate us from God’s love.”

In addition, people need to look around and seek signs of hope, he said. “We need to recognize the immense goodness present in our world, lest we be tempted to think ourselves overwhelmed by evil and violence.”

People’s yearning for peace, their desire for a relationship with Jesus and growing concern for the environment are all signs that hope still exists, the pope wrote.

“The desire of young people to give birth to new sons and daughters as a sign of the fruitfulness of their love,” he said, is another sign of hope and one that “ensures a future for every society.”

But the “alarming decline in the birthrate” in many countries shows how governments and communities must work together to support young couples who want to give that sign of hope to the world, he said.

The theme for the holy year is “Pilgrims of Hope,” and in the document Pope Francis called on Catholics not only to strengthen their own sense of hope, but also to “be tangible signs of hope for those of our brothers and sisters who experience hardships of any kind.”

Listing prisoners as the first category of people in need of hope, the pope said he wants to open a Holy Door in a prison although he provided no further details. But he asked governments around the world to consider jubilee amnesty and pardon programs and urged greater efforts to ensure those who have completed a sentence are assisted in their return to society.

He called on all Catholics, but especially bishops, to “be one in demanding dignified conditions for those in prison, respect for their human rights and above all the abolition of the death penalty, a provision at odds with Christian faith and one that eliminates all hope of forgiveness and rehabilitation.”

Pope Francis also called on the church to take special care of young people, who are supposed to be “the embodiment of hope,” but often seem overwhelmed by “an uncertain and unpromising future.”

And migrants, who leave their homelands in search of a better life for themselves and their families, also need support to keep their hope alive, he said, adding that “their expectations must not be frustrated by prejudice and rejection.”

Pilgrims of hope also should help the souls in purgatory, the pope wrote as he introduced a discussion on a key feature of jubilee celebrations: indulgences, which the church describes as a remission of the temporal punishment a person is due for their sins.

“Every sin ‘leaves its mark'” even after a person has received forgiveness and absolution through the sacrament of reconciliation, he said. “Sin has consequences, not only outwardly in the effects of the wrong we do, but also inwardly, inasmuch as ‘every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death, in the state called Purgatory,'” he wrote, quoting the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

“The evil we have done cannot remain hidden; it needs to be purified in order to enable this definitive encounter with God’s love,” the pope said. “Here we begin to see the need of our prayers for all those who have ended their earthly pilgrimage, our solidarity in an intercession that is effective by virtue of the communion of the saints, and the shared bond that makes us one in Christ, the firstborn of all creation.”

“The Jubilee indulgence, thanks to the power of prayer, is intended in a particular way for those who have gone before us, so that they may obtain full mercy,” Pope Francis wrote. He said a full set of norms for the jubilee indulgence would be published later.