Category: Diocese of Scranton News

MOSCOW – While many parishes are busy preparing their religious education programs for the fall, students in many communities are still talking about the fun and learning that went on over the summer!

With concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic easing a little this year, many parishes hosted their normal Vacation Bible School programs.

At Saint Catherine of Siena Parish, dozens of students between the age of three up to fifth grade participated in a program from July 11-15. The theme of this year’s event was “Rocky Railway” and featured an elaborate set of props including a moving train in the parish parking lot.

“We’re celebrating the power of Jesus who has helped us through a difficult time,” Sandy Czyzyk, Director of Religious Education at Saint Catherine of Siena Parish, said. “The train, in a sense, is Jesus’ strength, power and energy.”

The staff at the parish works several months to prepare an interactive program that features bible stories, music, dancing and crafts.

“I love working with the kids. I helped teach the kindergarteners this year and seeing the little kid’s faces light up when they learn about Jesus just makes me so happy,” volunteer Carly Bajor said.

“I’ve been doing Vacation Bible School for about ten years now. What keeps bringing me back is the kids. I love coming back every year and watching them grow up, grow in their faith, make friends and be so excited to be a part of this community,” volunteer Marie LaRosa added.

Many of the students who participated say they loved the week so much, they’re already looking forward to next year.

“I liked the music,” student Nora Sullivan said.

“I learned some nice songs. At bible stories, I learned some pretty neat things,” student Lucca Gabello added.

During the week of June 27-July 1, the parishes of Our Lady of the Snows, Church of Saint Gregory and Saint John Vianney all came together to host a joint Vacation Bible School for all three communities in Clarks Green.

“On Monday, they (the students) came in all timid and shy. On Tuesday, they came running in. Mom and dad didn’t even need to bring them in, they were singing and dancing,” Sue Burke, Director of Faith Formation at Our Lady of the Snows Parish, said. “Knowing that they’re growing in their faith every day just warms my heart.”

The theme for the joint Vacation Bible School was “Spark.”

“We focused on ‘what’s your spark!’ The children were supposed to identify something that gives them purpose and how to use it for God’s plan,” Ruth Fried, Religious Formation Director at the Church of Saint Gregory, said.

The three parishes decided to host a joint Vacation Bible School because all of the parishes are located in the same deanery and their faith formation directors have been networking in an intentional way.

“God brought us together for a reason and we’re here to change the lives of these kids,” Kristin Travis, Director of Faith Formation at Saint John Vianney Parish in Montdale, said. “Saint John Vianney hasn’t had a lot of children attending Vacation Bible School the past several years and we really wanted to have them involved!”

Just like in Moscow, the students who participated say they learned a lot.

“I think it’s fun how they are able to incorporate God into all the activities that we do,” student Gretchen Duffy said.

“I think it’s good that kids from other parishes are coming together as one. A lot of these kids go to school together and know each other so it’s good for them to have a place that they can all come together at the same time,” student Eddie Scavone added.

By the Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton and Catholic Co-Chair

In 1964, the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council issued the Decree on Ecumenism, Unitatis Redintegratio, acknowledging that the restoration of unity among Christians was one of the Council’s principle concerns, reflecting the very prayer of Jesus himself. “What has revealed the love of God among us is that the Father has sent into the world His only-begotten Son, so that, being made man, He might by His redemption give new life to the entire human race and unify it. Before offering Himself up as a spotless victim upon the altar, Christ prayed to His Father for all who believe in Him: ‘that they all may be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, so that the world may believe that thou has sent me’.”

Seven years after the publication of Unitatis Redintegratio, an agreement was reached between the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity of the Roman Catholic Church, some Pentecostal Churches and participants in the charismatic movement within the Protestant and Anglican Churches to enter into dialogue. This agreement set the stage for the first official meeting of the International Catholic – Pentecostal Dialogue that took place in Zurich, Switzerland in June 1972.

With its primary goal of fostering mutual respect and understanding between the Catholic Church and Classical Pentecostal leaders and churches in light of the prayer of Jesus that all may be one (Jn 17:21), the Dialogue has issued six reports throughout the course of the past fifty years, with each report reflecting a particular phase of discussion and prayer. Each phase, in turn, has generally consisted of six to seven years of dialogue on topics related to a particular theme of mutual interest and concern. Themes over the past five decades have ranged from “Evangelization, Proselytism and Common Witness” to “Becoming a Christian, Baptism and the Sacraments” to “Charisms in the Life and Mission of the Church,” among other topics.

In 2020, I was asked to serve as the Catholic co-chair of the Dialogue, working alongside my counterpart from the Pentecostal movement, the Reverend Cecil M. Robeck, Jr., who has been a member of the Dialogue for decades. Meeting in Rome in July of this year to commemorate its 50th anniversary, the Dialogue continued its work in the early stages of its 7th Phase, with the overall theme, Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, (translated: “the law of what is prayed is the law of what is believed”). Our specific focus for this year’s Dialogue work was “Kerygma, Proclamation and the Christian Life,” with papers being prepared by both Catholic and Pentecostal participants that served as the basis for our discussion, prayer and reflection.

For me, in addition to being involved in a discipline of Church life and ministry that has great meaning personally, I felt privileged and blessed to have been given the opportunity to work with a team of outstanding academic scholars and church leaders. Not knowing what to expect as I prepared for my first experience of the Dialogue in person, following a two-year suspension of in-person meetings due to the coronavirus pandemic, the members of the Catholic team helped to make our time together both productive and meaningful through the expertise that they shared, the depth of their faith and their kind and generous spirits. My experience with the Catholic members of the Dialogue was mirrored by the Pentecostal members, each of whom approached our time together with respect, reverence, openness and faith.

As noted in the title of my reflections, the Dialogue is truly international in its composition. Currently, it consists of seven Catholic members, who represent the United States, Columbia, Italy, Nigeria (by way of Switzerland), Hong Kong and Brazil, and eight Pentecostal members, from the United States, Canada, Australia, Ghana and Peru. Thankfully, our meetings were all conducted in English. The various cultures and lands that were represented, however, all served to provide a rich and varied perspective on Church life, worship and ministry.

Our Dialogue group spent six days working together from early morning until early evening, with a break for lunch – but no time for a siesta! Yet, despite the intense schedule, we were fortunate to participate in several notable experiences, from Sunday Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica, to Vespers at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, to a private tour of the Apostolic Palace, conducted by the Diocese of Scranton’s own Monsignor Christopher Washington, who is assigned to the Secretariat of State in the Vatican, to an anniversary dinner hosted in the Vatican Gardens by His Eminence, Kurt Cardinal Koch, Prefect of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

By far, however, our most noteworthy experience was to receive a personal greeting from His Holiness, Pope Francis. His words capture best not only my own personal sentiments as I reflect upon my experience leading the Dialogue but also particularly its goal within the Christian Community. “Our the past fifty years, the Commission, through dialogue and reflection, has journeyed together in order to build bonds of friendship, solidarity and mutual understanding between Catholics and Pentecostals. It is my hope that this important anniversary will strengthen these bonds and renew your zeal to proclaim, as missionary disciples, the joy of the Gospel in the ecclesial community and in society as a whole. In this way, bearing witness to the Lord’s prayer that all may be one (cf. Jn 17:21), you will be able to help our brothers and sisters experience in their hearts and lives the transforming power of God’s love, mercy and grace.”

May we as a Church continue to make the prayer of Jesus our own, that “all may be one,” so that our struggling and divided world may come to believe in the power of Jesus’ life, love and saving grace.

CARBONDALE – This year marked a special milestone for the celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Lackawanna County’s Up-Valley.

The faithful of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Carbondale marked their 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Feast this year.

“It’s the 50th anniversary at our Farview Street location. Our original feast was on Green Street and we moved it once the church was moved to the Farview Street location, so we’re celebrating the 50th anniversary at the Farview Street location and honoring the men that have really kept this tradition alive,” parishioner Josefa Dombrosky said.

The four-day celebration in honor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Carbondale comes with a deep sense of pride.

“The Feast celebration is the heart and soul of this parish. It is a time where we showcase our delicious Italian recipes that have been passed on through generations. The Feast is a place where we come together to celebrate the heritage of the founding members of this beautiful, ethnic parish,” Dombrosky added. “The sense of pride that we carry for this church is deep in our hearts and showing it off makes us glow from inside-out.”

The celebration ended with a Mass celebrated by the Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, on Sunday, July 17, 2022.

“It’s a real privilege for me to be a part of this wonderful celebration,” Bishop Bambera said at the beginning of the special liturgy.

Following the Mass, a procession of the statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel took place throughout the streets of Carbondale’s west side.

For several hours, the statue visited nursing homes and residences to bring the faith out into the community.

“It is very important to our church. It’s an Italian heritage church that we are so proud of,” parishioner Lori Lee explained. “It’s a pilgrimage that we make to honor Our Lady of Mount Carmel.”

After several difficult years dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, participants say the procession was not only a perfect way to live out their faith but build community and invite people in the community to return to church.

“We want people to get back into church,” Lee added.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The oldest member of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Jozef Tomko, died in Rome at the age of 98.

The late cardinal had been hospitalized since the end of June after a fall, and he suffered further complications from COVID-19. He returned to his Vatican apartment Aug. 6 for continued care and died early Aug. 8.

In a telegram with his condolences published by the Vatican later the same day, Pope Francis praised “this esteemed and wise brother who, sustained by deep faith and great foresight, served the Gospel and the church with humility and self-sacrifice.”

The pope praised the late cardinal for his long and fruitful service and for his devotion and witness, exemplified by his praying the rosary every evening in St. Peter’s Square.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica Aug. 11, and his remains will be buried at St. Elisabeth Cathedral in Košice, Slovakia.

He served nearly 16 years as the head of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, which was responsible for coordinating church activities in mission territories, especially Africa and Asia. After he retired in 2001, at the age of 77, he was appointed president of the Pontifical Committee for the International Eucharistic Congresses, until retiring in 2007.

Pope Benedict XVI continued to rely on the retired cardinal’s expertise, appointing him in 2010 to the Vatican commission studying the alleged Marian apparitions at Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

In 2012, Pope Benedict appointed him and two other cardinals to lead a wide-ranging investigation into the so-called “Vatileaks scandal,” a series of leaks of letters exchanged among Vatican officials and between the officials and the pope himself. The cardinals were tasked with helping the pope understand the reasons behind the leaks and the problems they appeared to indicate.

As titular cardinal of the Basilica of Santa Sabina on Rome’s Aventine Hill, it was Cardinal Tomko who distributed ashes to the pope at the traditional Ash Wednesday Mass there.

He served that role for the past three popes, starting in 1996, and he once said he found it “truly difficult” to have to recite to each pope the formula, “Repent and believe in the Gospel!”

“He’s the one who has the full right to say that to me and everyone else,” Cardinal Tomko said.

Cardinal Tomko was born March 11, 1924, in Udavské, Slovakia. During the height of World War II, he came to Rome to finish his studies at the Pontifical Lateran University and the Pontifical Gregorian University, where he earned doctorates in theology, canon law and social sciences.

He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Rome in 1949 after a coup led by the communist party of Czechoslovakia in 1948 meant he was unable to return to his homeland. He was vice rector and later rector of the Czech seminary, the Pontifical Nepomucenum College, between the years of 1950 and 1965.

He worked at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for 13 years, starting in 1966. He also taught at Pontifical Gregorian University from 1970 to 1978, and he served as grand chancellor of Rome’s Pontifical Urban University from 1985 to 2001.

Cardinal Tomko was named undersecretary of the Congregation for Bishops in 1974 and then secretary general of the Synod of Bishops in 1979.

He was ordained a bishop later that year in the Sistine Chapel with St. John Paul II as principal consecrator. The Polish pope elevated him to the College of Cardinals in 1985.

He co-founded a religious journal and the Slovak Institute of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, which later became the pontifical college for priests from Slovakia.

When he became head of the evangelization congregation, he traveled extensively to mission territories, and he helped support the establishment of nearly 180 new dioceses.

Despite his many responsibilities at the Vatican, the late cardinal remained active in pastoral ministry at a number of parishes in Rome. He also was active on an international level in the area of ecumenism, serving as delegate of the Holy See at the World Lutheran Federation and the World Council of Churches in Geneva in 1972. He was part of the executive committee of the Pontifical Mission Societies focusing on challenges facing consecrated life, the laity, and justice and peace.

His death leaves the College of Cardinals with 206 members, 116 of whom are under the age of 80 and eligible to vote in a conclave.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The passing of time in one’s life is meant to be lived as a God-given grace and not a meaningless pursuit to preserve one’s youthfulness, Pope Francis said.

Men and women are “apprentices of life” who amid trials and tribulations “learn to appreciate God’s gift, honoring the responsibility of sharing it and making it bear fruit for everyone,” the pope said Aug. 10 during his weekly general audience.

“The conceit of stopping time – of wanting eternal youth, unlimited well-being, absolute power – is not only impossible, it is delusional,” he said.

The pope continued his series of talks on old age and reflected on Jesus’ farewell to his disciples during the Last Supper, in which he promised to “prepare a place” for them.

The time of life that remains for the disciples, the pope said, mirrors that of old age, which is “the fitting time for the moving and joyful witness of expectation” for one’s true destination: “a place at the table with God, in the world of God.”

Old age, he continued, should not be lived “in the dejection of missed opportunities” but in seeing that “the time of aging that God grants us is already in itself” one of God’s great works.

“Our life is not made to be wrapped up in itself, in an imaginary earthly perfection,” the pope said. “It is destined to go beyond, through the passage of death – because death is a passage. Indeed, our stable place, our destination is not here, it is beside the Lord, where he dwells forever.”

True fulfillment in one’s life, he added, can only be found in God, and “old age brings closer the hope of this fulfillment.”

Old age, the pope said, departing from his prepared remarks, does not need to beautify itself to show its nobility. Instead, it serves as a reminder of one’s mortality and is an invitation “to rejoice in the passing of time” which “is not a threat, it is a promise,” the pope said.

Pope Francis encouraged Christians, especially the elderly, to live their final years of life “in the expectation of the Lord” because in old age, Jesus’ promise becomes “transparent, projecting toward the Holy City of which the Book of Revelation speaks.”

“The elderly are a promise, a witness of promise,” the pope said. “And the best is yet to come. The best is yet to come: It is like the message of elderly believers: the best is yet to come. May God grant us all an old age capable of this!”

LAGOS, Nigeria (CNS) – Nigerian officials identified six suspects arrested in connection with the June 5 attack that killed 40 people at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo.

Maj. Gen. Jimmy Akpor, defense department spokesman, said all were linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province group. He said the arrests were made through a joint effort of military and defense officials.

Akpor said a preliminary investigation showed that “Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza was the mastermind of the terror attack on the Catholic Church in Owo as well as the attack on a police station” in Kogi state June 23. In the second attack, a police officer was killed and weapons were stolen.

Omeiza is sometimes known as Bin Malik. Police also arrested Momoh Otohu Abubakar, Aliyu Yusuf Itopa and Auwal Ishaq Onimisi for the Owo attack, in which attackers sneaked into a Pentecost Mass with explosives. Akpor confirmed Aug. 10 that the four were arrested Aug. 1.

On Aug. 11, Akpor said officials had arrested two more suspects: Al-Qasim Idris and Abdulhaleem Idris.

Officials did not release a motive for the attack.

Ondo Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu said the owner of the house where the attackers stayed before the June 5 attack in Owo also had been arrested.

Nigerian Catholic officials have decried violence against Catholic targets and urged government authorities crack down on armed groups that are carrying out kidnappings and attacks on faith communities.

WASHINGTON (CNS) – The Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade “presents a historic opportunity to reshape society for the better,” said the chairmen of U.S. bishops’ committees on pro-life activities, religious liberty, marriage and family, and domestic policy.

“The injustice of abortion has loosened its grip on our nation’s Constitution,” they said in an Aug. 1 joint statement. “We call on Congress to seize this hopeful moment by coming together around the dignity of every human person and the common good.”

“This begins with the recognition that every human life is an inestimable gift from God with an inalienable right to life deserving of full legal protection,” they said. “We must also recognize that the family — founded upon the love and mutual self-gift of husband and wife — is the first building block of society, and that raising children is both a great gift and a lifelong responsibility.”

The joint statement was issued by the chairmen of four U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ committees: Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori, Pro-Life Activities; New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, Religious Liberty; San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth; and Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, Domestic Justice and Human Development.

“The health, safety and support of the family should be the focus of all good policymaking,” they said.

However, the bishops said, the House has been focused on bills to codify Roe into federal law; require the U.S. government to recognize the validity of same-sex marriages; and create a statutory right for people to access birth control and protect a range of “contraceptive methods,” including chemical abortions.

All of these measures will soon be taken up by the Senate.

They also noted the House is advancing appropriations bills that exclude long-standing provisions prohibiting federal taxpayer funding for abortion and protecting the conscience rights of health care providers.

Meanwhile, they said, Congress has taken no action since Dobbs on measures the USCCB has previously endorsed and continues to support, all of which they said would help to build up a culture of life.

These include:

— The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which prohibits employment practices that discriminate against making reasonable accommodations for qualified employees affected by pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.

— The Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act, which would help low- and middle-income families adopt children by making the current credit fully refundable.

— An expanded child tax credit, including for pregnant women, and a federal paid family leave policy.

“A principled commitment to being pro-life entails a commitment both to protecting all human life, especially the most vulnerable, and to advancing policies that help families to flourish,” the bishops said. “As we accompany every family with prayer and support, those led by single or adoptive parents are close to our hearts.”

They pointed to what they said was “one positive note”: lawmakers’ “meaningful consideration of needed investments in care for our common home in a possible reconciliation framework,” referring to what is now being called the Inflation Reduction Act, which would allocate $369 billion to address climate change.

Among other provisions, the proposal would extend and expand many existing renewable energy credits and create new tax credits for investments in clean energy technologies or energy production. The House has passed the bill and it now awaits a Senate vote.

“Care for creation is also integral to care for human life, and we encourage continued efforts to advance proposals that will protect our common home and promote the well-being of human life and the environment for years to come,” the bishops said.

But with regard to the measures the USCCB supports that would protect all human life and help pregnant moms, single mothers, adoptive families and other families in need, they said that “since Dobbs, too many in Congress have ignored bills that would advance these worthy goals and have focused instead on bills that would attack them.”

“Such legislation places no value on the lives of children until their moment of birth, severs sex and marriage from their meaning, promotes using people as means to ends, and would strip rights of conscientious objection from those who oppose these hallmarks of the throwaway culture,” the bishops said.

They urged “all our elected officials to take action to reach consensus and pass” on the measures they outlined, from an expanded child tax credit to a federal paid family leave policy.

They also called for “further supports for the health and well-being of pregnant and parenting women, assistance with nutrition and affordable housing, environmental restrictions on chemicals that cause birth defects, and provisions to assist low-income families.”

“These are building blocks of our vision for ‘Standing with Moms in Need,'” they said, referring a statement the USCCB issued earlier this year, as the nation awaited the outcome of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

The “Standing with Moms in Need” vision “upholds the truth that every human life is sacred and inviolable — a society in which the legal protection of human life is accompanied by profound care for mothers and their children.”

“Families and individuals, civil society, businesses, nonprofits and religious groups, government officials at all levels — and especially members of Congress — should ask themselves how they are supporting families at this moment, particularly around welcoming new life and raising children through adulthood,” the four USCCB committee chairmen said Aug. 1.

“Catholic social teaching shows the way to a better place — a society marked by justice, mutual support, civility, friendship, mercy and love — than where Congress is now leading,” they added. “We pray that Congress will rise to meet this generational moment.”

 

SCRANTON – In less than one week, the Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, along with Father Gerald Shantillo, Vicar General, and Father Brian J.T. Clarke, Director of the Pontifical Missions Office for the Diocese of Scranton, will begin a journey that will take them more than 5,000 miles from home.

The trio will travel to Africa, participating in a pastoral visit to the Diocese of Sunyani in Ghana.

For many years, the Diocese of Sunyani has generously shared its priests with the Diocese of Scranton. Currently, there are seven priests from Ghana ministering in the parishes of northeastern and north central Pennsylvania.

“It really means a great deal for me, on behalf of the clergy and the faithful of our diocese, to go to the Diocese of Sunyani and to share with their bishop and with all of their people, our deep gratitude for their presence here. It’s a sacrifice to travel halfway around the world and to live in a land that you don’t necessarily understand and know as well as your own home,” Bishop Bambera said.

On Aug. 1, Bishop Bambera invited all of the priests from Ghana who are currently serving in the Diocese of Scranton to join him in celebrating the 12:10 p.m. Mass at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton.

As he reflected on the day’s Gospel from Saint Matthew, where Jesus multiplies the loaves and fishes, Bishop Bambera expanded on the importance of the Eucharist and all priests who make it available to the people.

That includes our brothers from Africa who so generously minister among us.

“We give thanks for all those priests from Ghana and throughout other parts of the world who are generous enough to share with us their ministry, to keep the Eucharist alive and available to all of our people,” the bishop said. “In turn, nourished by the sacrament of the Lord’s Body and Blood, each one of us can go forth and proclaim our belief in the Kingdom of God.”

Bishop Bambera, Father Shantillo and Father Clarke will be on their pastoral visit to the Diocese of Sunyani from Aug. 10-19. During the trip, Bishop Bambera is scheduled to celebrate several Masses with the faithful of the Diocese of Sunyani.

Depending on communication capabilities, Bishop Bambera plans to send updates home to the Diocese of Scranton regarding his visit as often as possible. Those messages will be shared with the faithful of the Diocese on the Diocese of Scranton website and social media channels.