Category: Diocese of Scranton News

SCRANTON (Jan. 23, 2026) – In advance of a significant winter storm forecast to impact northeastern and north central Pennsylvania this weekend, the Diocese of Scranton is offering guidance to parishioners as they prepare for potentially hazardous conditions.

The National Weather Service is predicting significant snowfall, with total accumulations of one foot or more possible in some areas. The storm is expected to affect the region from late Saturday night through Monday morning, and officials warn that travel could become difficult to impossible at times.

The Diocese strongly encourages the faithful to exercise caution and prudent judgment when making travel decisions for Mass this weekend. Parishioners are strongly encouraged to attend a Saturday Vigil Mass in their parish if possible.

The Church teaches that participation in Sunday Mass is a serious obligation; however, canon law (church law) also recognizes that there are grave causes that might prevent participation in the celebration of the Eucharist.

Examples of grave causes can include unsafe travel conditions, in addition to personal sickness or care of the sick, being temporarily or permanently homebound, or lack of transportation.

If a person is prevented from attending Sunday Mass in person, they are strongly encouraged to view their parish livestream Mass or participate in the televised Mass from the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton on CTV: Catholic Television of the Diocese of Scranton. The Mass is broadcast live every Saturday at 5:30 p.m., and is rebroadcast on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The Mass is also available on the Diocese of Scranton website and the Diocese of Scranton YouTube channel.

Parishes make their own determinations regarding the celebration or cancellation of Masses, religious education classes, and parish activities based on local conditions. Parishioners are encouraged to check their parish social media page/website before heading out.

The Diocese of Scranton asks all parishioners to follow guidance from state and local emergency officials throughout the duration of the storm and expresses gratitude to our clergy and parish leaders for their pastoral care and dedication to the safety of all throughout the coming days.

SCRANTON – In advance of National Disability Awareness Month in March, the Diocese of Scranton will hold its annual Mass for Persons with Disabilities on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, at 12:15 p.m. at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton.

All people, including those with special abilities, have gifts to contribute to the life of the Church. The Diocese of Scranton embraces and welcomes the talents of all individuals in building up the Kingdom of God.

The Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, will serve as principal celebrant and homilist at this special Mass.

The Mass is open to everyone. It will be broadcast live on CTV: Catholic Television of the Diocese of Scranton. The Mass will also be livestream on the Diocese of Scranton website, YouTube channel and links will be provided on all Diocesan social media platforms.

Partners in the annual Mass for Persons with Disabilities include Saint Joseph’s Center in Scranton and the Order of the Alhambra.

SCRANTON – The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, will be the principal celebrant for the Diocese of Scranton’s annual Mass for the World Day of the Sick on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, at 12:10 p.m. at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton.

Celebrated each year on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the World Day of the Sick invites the faithful to pray in a special way for those who are ill, the elderly, and all who suffer, while also honoring the compassionate service of caregivers, healthcare professionals, family members, and all who accompany the sick with love and dignity.

The World Day of the Sick Mass at the Cathedral of Saint Peter will feature the Liturgy of the Anointing. Any person who wishes to receive the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick will be invited to approach the bishop/priest with their hands open and palms facing up. The bishop/priest will anoint both the forehead and hands of the sick person, accompanied by prayer for healing, strength, and peace.

CTV: Catholic Television of the Diocese of Scranton will provide a live broadcast of the Mass for those unable to attend. The Mass will also be livestream on the Diocese of Scranton website, YouTube channel and links will be provided on all Diocesan social media platforms.

The World Day of the Sick was established in 1992 by Saint John Paul II as a moment of prayer, reflection, and spiritual closeness for the entire Church, calling attention to the face of Christ present in those who are sick and vulnerable.

For the 2026 celebration, Pope Leo XIV has chosen the theme: “The compassion of the Samaritan: Loving by bearing the pain of the other.”

Explaining the pope’s choice of the theme, the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development said the theme “highlights an aspect of love of neighbor: love needs concrete gestures of closeness, through which we enter into the suffering of others, those who are ill, especially those who at the same time experience poverty, isolation and loneliness.”

“Like the good Samaritan who bent down to help the injured man along the road, the Christian community is also called to stop and help those who suffer and be evangelical witnesses of closeness and service to the sick and most vulnerable,” the dicastery said.

Please plan to join us on Feb. 11!

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – A group including Catholic organizations announced Jan. 21 a new partnership — The Catholic Immigrant Prophetic Action Project — that aims to assist the Catholic Church in the U.S. in organizing a robust response on behalf of migrants and refugees in the country, including those with legal status, who are affected by mass deportation efforts.

The project — a partnership between the Hope Border Institute, a group that works to apply the perspective of Catholic social teaching in policy and practice to the U.S.-Mexico border region, and the Center for Migration Studies of New York — aims to assist the Catholic Church in the U.S. in offering a robust response on behalf of migrants and refugees through research, communications and other support. The project will directly support dioceses and archdioceses to strengthen the Catholic Church’s response to mass deportations, organizers said.

On a call announcing the partnership, Bishop Brendan J. Cahill of Victoria, Texas, who is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, pointed to the USCCB’s November “special pastoral message on immigration,” which voiced “our concern here for immigrants” at the bishops’ annual fall plenary assembly in Baltimore.

That statement, he said, “showed the unity of the bishops on the dignity, God-given, of every human person, and our almost unanimous desire to take that public. We oppose indiscriminate mass deportation, as the bishops are united in our statement.”

J. Kevin Appleby, senior fellow for policy at the Center for Migration Studies and the former director of migration policy for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the conference’s special pastoral message “really puts the wind at our backs in terms of doing this work.”

A key focus of the partnership, Appleby said, will be assisting dioceses in organizing events and communications related to migration issues.

“How can we amplify what the Church is doing, both in the print media, but also in social media?” he said.

The partnership will also develop response plans in the event immigration enforcement officers come to sensitive locations like schools, hospitals or churches, he said.

Dylan Corbett, executive director of the Hope Border Institute, said on the call, “Now, thinking about this current moment, our historic contribution as Catholics right now needs to be in the public square, in coordinated and collective action, promoting healthy tension, overcoming polarities, building peace, moving beyond the fracturing and the blame seeking and the side thinking.”

“This is what evangelization looks like in 2026: Productive tension is the pathway towards meaningful change,” he said.

Catholic social teaching on immigration balances three interrelated principles — the right of persons to migrate in order to sustain their lives and those of their families, the right of a country to regulate its borders and control immigration, and a nation’s duty to regulate its borders with justice and mercy.

Previously, Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis — an area that has become a flashpoint in the nation’s immigration policy debate — wrote in a Jan. 20 opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal that what once was “a difficult policy discussion” has increased in urgency as it is “playing out on the streets here.”

“If recent events in Minnesota have clarified anything, it’s that we can no longer put off the hard work of immigration reform,” Archbishop Hebda wrote. “Each year of inaction has made the debate louder, angrier and less humane.”

(OSV News) – Pope Leo XIV is currently evaluating an invitation by U.S. President Donald Trump to join his “Board of Peace,” an international body chaired by the president to oversee the governance and reconstruction of Gaza, the Vatican secretary of state said.

Speaking with journalists after an event at the Franciscan-run Pontifical University Antonianum in Rome Jan. 21, Cardinal Pietro Parolin confirmed that Vatican City State was among the countries that received an invitation to join the board.

“I believe I read that Italy is also considering whether or not to join,” Cardinal Parolin said, according to Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference. “We too have received this invitation: the pope has received the invitation, and we are considering what to do; we are looking into it.”

The board, which was formally announced by the White House Jan. 16, will serve as an oversight mechanism for the second phase of the Trump administration’s “Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict.”

“The Board of Peace will play an essential role in fulfilling all 20 points of the President’s plan, providing strategic oversight, mobilizing international resources, and ensuring accountability as Gaza transitions from conflict to peace and development,” the White House said in a statement.

While joining the board would lead to a three-year term, The New York Times reported that Trump is offering countries a permanent seat if they pay $1 billion.

As of now, Norway, which has been at odds with Trump over his desire to acquire Greenland, and France have declined the invitation to join. France’s snub prompted Trump to threaten levying 200% tariffs on French wine if French President Emmanuel Macron refused to join.

Cardinal Parolin said the invitation to join the board “requires some time to answer” and that the request “will not be to participate financially” because “we are not in a position to do so.”

The Holy See, “obviously, finds itself in a different situation than other countries, so there will be a different consideration,” the cardinal said.

The Vatican secretary of state also commented on tensions between the U.S. and Europe as Trump continued his push for Greenland during his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The “important thing is to respect international law,” he said. The ongoing tension with Europe is “unhealthy; the international situation is serious. It’s important to eliminate tensions and discuss controversial issues without creating tension.”

To read the full text of the pope’s message in English, click here.

To read the full text of the pope’s message in Spanish, click here.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – People of faith and goodwill need to take time to acknowledge the needs and suffering of those around them and be moved by love and compassion to offer others concrete help, Pope Leo XIV said.

To love one’s neighbor — whom Jesus identifies as anyone who has need of us — is within everyone’s reach, he said in his message for the 34th World Day of the Sick, observed by the church Feb. 11, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.

“The pain that moves us to compassion is not the pain of a stranger; it is the pain of a member of our own body, to whom Christ, our head, commands us attend, for the good of all,” the pope wrote in the message released Jan. 20.

The theme chosen for the 2026 observance is inspired by the parable of the good Samaritan and Pope Francis’ encyclical on human fraternity, “Fratelli Tutti.”

Titled, “The compassion of the Samaritan: Loving by bearing the pain of the other,” the message focuses on the importance of: encountering and listening to others; being moved by compassion; and loving God through concrete action in solidarity with others.

While traditionally addressed to Catholic health care and pastoral workers, this year’s message is offered to everyone, Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, said at a Vatican news conference to present the message Jan. 20.

The message is offered to everyone because “we’re one body, one humanity of brothers and sisters, and when someone’s sick and suffering, all the other categories — which tend to divide — fade away into insignificance,” the cardinal said.

Asked to comment about how people in the United States should best respond when witnessing violence toward immigrants, Cardinal Czerny said, “I don’t know what to say about the larger picture,” but he said it would be helpful to focus on “the underview” or what should or is happening on the ground.

“There are many situations in which the individual Christian, the individual citizen, can extend their hand or lend their support. And that’s extremely important,” he said. “I suppose we could all hope that those many gestures, many Samaritan gestures, can also translate into better politics.”

The Catholic “struggle for justice,” he told Catholic News Service, gets “its real depth and its real meaning” from daily lived experience helping real people.

Advocacy work, for example, should “evolve out of real experience,” he said. “When, let’s say, your visits to the sick reveal, for example, the injustice of inaccessibility to health care, well then you take it up as an issue, but on the basis of your lived — and indeed pastoral and Christian — experience.”

The good Samaritan shows that “we are all in a position to respond” to anyone in need, he said. “And the mystery, which you can discover whether you are a Christian or not, is that by responding, in a sense, your own suffering is also addressed.”

“Since the major suffering for so many today, young and not so young, is loneliness and hopelessness, by worrying about it less and reaching out to someone who needs you, you will discover that there’s more life than you imagined,” he added.

In his message, Pope Leo said, “To serve one’s neighbor is to love God through deeds.”

In fact, the “true meaning of loving ourselves,” he wrote, involves “setting aside any attempt to base our self-esteem or sense of dignity on worldly stereotypes — such as success, career, status or family background — and recovering our proper place before God and neighbor.”

“I genuinely hope that our Christian lifestyle will always reflect this fraternal, ‘Samaritan’ spirit — one that is welcoming, courageous, committed and supportive, rooted in our union with God and our faith in Jesus Christ,” Pope Leo wrote.

“Enkindled by this divine love, we will surely be able to give of ourselves for the good of all who suffer, especially our brothers and sisters who are sick, elderly or afflicted,” he wrote.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Vice President JD Vance is expected to address the 53rd annual March for Life in Washington Jan. 23, organizers of the event said Jan. 16.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Vice President Vance back to the March for Life this year,” Jennie Bradley Lichter, president March for Life, said in a statement. “His presence at this year’s March underscores the importance of this iconic event and the centrality of the pro-life movement to a healthy conservative coalition. We are honored that he will join us in standing up for the unborn alongside our marchers from all over the country.”

President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House Jan. 16 he recorded a video message for the event.

“I just taped a beautiful piece for them, and they’re going to play it,” Trump said.

Vance’s planned appearance at the rally was first reported by The Daily Wire. A spokesperson for the White House did not immediately respond to an OSV News request for comment.

Just days after taking the oath of office last January, Vance spoke at the 2025 March for Life rally. In his remarks, Vance said, ” … the task of our movement is to protect innocent life. It’s to defend the unborn and it’s also to be pro-family and pro-life in the fullest sense of that word possible.”

“I want more babies in the United States of America,” Vance added. He argued that addressing cost-of-living concerns would be part of this approach.

“We need a culture that celebrates life at all stages, one that recognizes and truly believes that the benchmark of national success is not our GDP number or our stock market, but whether people feel that they can raise thriving and healthy families in our country,” Vance said at the time.

During his 2022 U.S. Senate bid, Vance, a Catholic, said he supported a federal 15-week abortion ban – a measure potentially affecting nearly 6% of abortions in the U.S. But in the days leading up to his selection as the Republican vice presidential nominee, Vance moderated his position on abortion, aligning with Trump that abortion policy should be left to the states. He affirmed Trump, as president, would oppose a federal abortion ban if Congress passed such a law.

Vance said on the campaign trail he also supported mifepristone, a pill commonly used for first-trimester abortion, “being accessible.” Although mifepristone can be used in early miscarriage care protocols, Vance did not qualify his statement. Nearly 9 out of 10 abortions take place within the first trimester, with more than six of 10 abortions performed through mifepristone.

The 2026 event comes shortly after Trump told House Republicans in a Jan. 6 speech to be “flexible” on the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits public funding of elective abortions, in negotiations on health care subsidies — to the disappointment of pro-life groups that support that policy.

The annual March for Life, which calls itself the “largest annual human rights demonstration in the world,” takes place on or around the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which previously legalized abortion nationwide. This year’s event marks the fourth march since the high court overturned Roe and related abortion precedent in its 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., are also among those scheduled to speak at the rally.

(OSV News) – The Vatican has completed the official mosaic portrait of Pope Leo XIV, continuing a centuries-old tradition that marks the election of each new pontiff. The circular mosaic, known as a tondo, was created by the Vatican Mosaic Studio of the Fabric of St. Peter’s and will be installed in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

The pontiff blessed artists Jan. 14, smiling at the sight of his own image, even as he battled a cold.

The tiles for the mosaic tondo were created using the ancient cut mosaic technique and fixed with traditional Vatican oil stucco – at the request of American Cardinal James Michael Harvey, the archpriest of the basilica.

The mosaic tondo, about 54 inches in diameter, was created with vitreous enamels and gold on a metal structure at the Vatican Mosaic Studio of the Fabric of St. Peter’s.

According to the studio’s website, “the history of the Vatican Mosaic Studio dates from the beginning of the sixteenth century, when Pope Gregory XIII Boncompagni decided to entrust the painter Girolamo Muziano with the mosaic decoration of the dome of the Gregorian Chapel of the Vatican Basilica (1578-1580).”

“Following its success, it was decided to extend this type of decoration also to Michelangelo’s large dome (1603-1612) and to all the domes of the basilica.”

Today, the studio performs a dual function: the conservation of the basilica’s mosaics, with restoration work, and the production of mosaic works for sale to the public.

“Thanks to the skill and experience of its mosaicists, who still use the ancient technical-artistic procedures, works inspired by masterpieces of sacred and profane art are executed. The studio also carries out works on commission and can be visited by appointment,” the studio’s website said.

The mosaic tondo was executed based on a pictorial sketch by Rodolfo Papa, the Vatican said, calling it “an oil on canvas of the same dimensions as the mosaic tondo, specifically conceived for transposition into a mosaic.”

The work will then be installed in the space next to the portrait of Pope Francis, in the right nave of the Basilica, at a height of approximately 42 feet.

The pictorial sketch will be preserved, along with the entire series of portraits of the pontiffs, at the Fabbrica di San Pietro in the Vatican.

(OSV News) – The U.S. bishops are calling the faithful to donate to the annual collection for the Church in Latin America, to help support ministries among the poor in Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean — and to “honor Pope Leo XIV and, above all, serve the Lord who calls us to love our neighbors.”

Many dioceses will take this offering up in their parishes at Masses the weekend of Jan. 24-25.

Supported by the generosity of the U.S. faithful, the collection funds different ministries such as faith formation projects for teenagers, marriage enrichment, prison outreach and evangelization-centered gatherings. They represent the types of initiatives that inspired Pope Leo, then-Father Robert Prevost, “to go to Peru as a missionary,” according to a news release from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The Jan. 8 USCCB statement also pointed out that Pope Leo, while bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, received several grants from the Collection for the Church in Latin America, with which the diocese “improved youth ministry in impoverished parishes, promoted care for the environment and educated thousands of parents, teachers and catechists in the prevention of child abuse.”

Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha of Fall River, Massachusetts, serves as chairman of the USCCB’s Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America, which coordinates this annual collection and grants its funds.

“Pope Leo XIV’s faith journey embodies the spirit of why the bishops of the United States created the Church in Latin America program six decades ago to make an impact in Latin America,” he said in the USCCB statement.

In 2024, the Collection for the Church in Latin America allocated resources to 344 projects of evangelization, formation, and pastoral action in countries including Venezuela, Ecuador, Haiti, Colombia, Cuba and Mexico, according to the USCCB.

“Thanks to the people of God, we are able to help with more than $8 million,” said Father Leo Pérez, director of the Church in Latin America Program of the USCCB’s Office of National Collections, who noted that these resources are invested in “the formation of seminarians and religious women, as well as youth ministry, catechism, lay gatherings, etc.”

A member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary, Father Pérez told OSV News that for the U.S. bishops, it is essential to send resources to countries such as Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti “because they are suffering greatly, and it is not easy to send money to those countries, so we know how to do it, and we are in contact with those most in need in those countries.”

Bishop Emilio Aranguren Echeverría of Holguín, Cuba, said the resources they receive are used for basic needs and invested in formation efforts, such as catechesis for children, adolescents and young people; Christian initiation for adults; formation of pastoral agents; and materials and printing for evangelization.

“Our vehicles are old, and there are also difficulties with fuel and its price, so the aid we receive allows us to run a program to serve these communities,” Bishop Aranguren told OSV News.

Bishop Aranguren also spoke of a pastoral study underway in Cuba “about the functioning of small communities with the traditions of our culture and our religiosity” and the importance of traditions, such as “novenarios” for those faithful who have lost a loved one and who gather for nine days to pray for the eternal rest of his or her soul.

“The generosity of our faithful is very, very great, but what our faithful offer is their service, their actions,” he said, highlighting “the catechist who can offer Saturday afternoon, the visitor to the sick who dedicates two days or two afternoons a week, the lay missionary who moves from one place to another.”

Bishop Aranguren also emphasized that thanks to the generosity of Catholics in the United States they can meet basic needs, so that parishes have the minimum resources to guarantee the celebration of the sacraments and daily pastoral care in parish offices.

Bishop José Antonio Da Conceição Ferreira of Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, who also serves as the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference’s secretary general, said the annual collection helped Catholics in his country “strengthen our communities and larger processes such as those at the level of the episcopal conference.”

“The needs of the diocese are many because it is a very poor diocese, impoverished by the social, political and economic situation of the country,” the bishop told OSV News. “We have many shortcomings in terms of infrastructure, in terms of supporting the clergy, in terms of being able to launch more pastoral projects.”

According to the United Nations, Venezuela has faced years of economic collapse, political instability, and a humanitarian crisis that has left millions in urgent need of assistance. The recent U.S. military intervention that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro — largely seen as a dictator by the international community — was both celebrated and criticized by many leaders around the world and had caused tensions and uncertainty in the country.

Addressing the needs of his diocese with regard to the collection, Bishop Da Conceição Ferreira said that “there are many dreams and hopes, but sometimes the economic factor is what slows us down a little. It’s not that we’re not working, because we work hard, but the economic factor is sometimes what slows down our work.”

Bishop Da Conceição Ferreira pointed out that thanks to these grants, Catholic leaders have launched new projects or promoted existing ones to give them continuity.

“In the case of my diocese, the youth ministry has carried out some formation processes with young people, and it has truly been thanks to this support that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has given us through its Latin America section,” he said.

“Gratitude must also be expressed in concrete gestures, and I believe that every Catholic who supports this collection is giving thanks to God, which then translates into support for formation and pastoral processes in the churches of Latin America, which are so much in need,” he added. “It is an impetus to continue.”

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The Department of Homeland Security said Jan. 14 it issued an interim final rule reducing wait times for religious worker visas. Catholic advocates were among those who pushed the Trump administration to address the backlog in their visa category.

In its announcement, the department said its regulation change would reduce the wait time applicants are required to remain outside the U.S.

A spokesperson for DHS said in a statement the department “is committed to protecting and preserving freedom and expression of religion.”

“We are taking the necessary steps to ensure religious organizations can continue delivering the services that Americans depend on,” the spokesperson said. “Pastors, priests, nuns, and rabbis are essential to the social and moral fabric of this country. We remain committed to finding ways to support and empower these organizations in their critical work.”

The new rule removes the requirement for R-1 religious workers to reside outside the U.S. for a year upon reaching the visa’s statutory five-year maximum period.

DHS said in its announcement that while R-1 religious workers will still have to leave the U.S., there is no longer a minimum time requirement for them to reside and be physically present outside the U.S. before reapplying for the R-1 visa.

Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Bishop Brendan J. Cahill of Victoria, Texas, chair of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, said in a joint statement, “We are tremendously grateful for the Administration’s work to address certain challenges facing foreign-born religious workers, their employers, and the American communities they serve.”

The DHS announcement came shortly after Archbishop Coakley met with President Donald Trump at the White House, although the topics of their Jan. 12 meeting have not been made public.

The USCCB is among the organizations that have worked to address the religious worker visa backlog. Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, the migration committee’s previous chair, told the bishops’ fall plenary assembly in Baltimore in November that he was “very optimistic” there would be “positive developments in the very near future” on the issue of religious worker visas.

R-1 non-immigrant religious worker visas allow some religious workers outside the U.S. — such as Catholic priests and nuns — to legally enter the U.S. to serve their faith communities. These are initially granted for a 30-month period, with one possible renewal allowing for a total of 5 years, so they can be in the U.S. to carry out ministry work.

While within that window, they can apply for employment-based EB-4 status so they can legally remain in the U.S. without interruption. However, there is a significant backlog for such visas, as there is greater demand than the number of visas issued. That backlog could have a grave impact on the church in the U.S., as the National Study of Catholic Priests — released in 2022 by The Catholic University of America’s Catholic Project — indicated 24% of priests serving in the U.S. are foreign-born, with many of them also subject to visa renewals.

The R-1 visa rule change, by eliminating the requirement to have residency outside the U.S. for one year before reapplying, is expected to help prevent these religious workers serving U.S. faith communities from having to be reassigned outside the U.S.

In their statement, Archbishop Coakley and Bishop Cahill added, “The value of the Religious Worker Visa Program and our appreciation for the efforts undertaken to support it cannot be overstated.”

“This targeted change is a truly significant step that will help facilitate essential religious services for Catholics and other people of faith throughout the United States by minimizing disruptions to cherished ministries,” they said. “In order to provide the full extent of the relief needed and truly promote the free exercise of religion in our country, we continue to urge Congress to enact the bipartisan Religious Workforce Protection Act.”

That legislation, if enacted, would permit religious workers already in the U.S. on temporary R-1 status with pending EB-4 applications to stay in the U.S. while waiting for permanent residency. The bipartisan legislation was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and in the House by Reps. Mike Carey, R-Ohio, and Richard Neal, D-Mass. In statements at the time, Kaine and Collins both cited priest shortages in their states. All five lawmakers behind the legislation are Catholic.

Miguel Naranjo, director of religious immigration services at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, also known as CLINIC, said in comments to OSV News, “The Department of Homeland Security’s decision to reduce the minimum time foreign-born religious workers must spend outside the country before re-applying for R1 status is a positive and pragmatic step — one that CLINIC, our partners and faith leaders across the country have advocated for.”

“However, while today’s DHS announcement offers welcome relief, religious workers are still required to depart the U.S. after five years, even though they may now return for a new R-1 period without waiting a full year abroad,” Naranjo said.

“This change, while helpful,” he added, “does not fully resolve the challenges facing clergy, particularly as travel bans continue to prevent many from obtaining visas at all. We hope this and future DHS decisions reflect a deeper recognition of the vital role foreign-born clergy and faith workers play in sustaining U.S. congregations, faith-based nonprofits and the communities in which they serve.

In a statement, the Hope Border Institute, a group that works to apply the perspective of Catholic social teaching in policy and practice to the U.S.-Mexico border region, said, “Our foreign-born priests and religious are critical to the fabric of the Catholic Church in this country.”

“Immigrants play a crucial role in the strength of our faith communities, and this was a crucial step to guarantee that many parishes and local communities can have a reprieve from the uncertainty surrounding the ability of their priests and religious to remain in the United States,” their statement said. “However, we still await an end to the attacks on the dignity of every person through mass deportations, which continue to threaten all of our migrant brothers and sisters, who are all part of the crucial foundation of the Church in the United States.”

The regulation change comes as Catholic advocates have expressed concern about some other Trump administration immigration policies.

At their November meeting, the bishops approved a “special pastoral message” — their first since 2013 when they objected to the Obama administration’s contraceptive mandate — voicing “our concern here for immigrants.” The bishops’ special message opposed “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people” and also prayed “for an end to dehumanizing rhetoric and violence, whether directed at immigrants or at law enforcement.”

The statement, which did not name Trump, came as a growing number of bishops have acknowledged that some of the administration’s immigration policies risk presenting the church with both practical challenges in administering pastoral support and charitable endeavors, as well as religious liberty challenges, such as a policy easing restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions at what are seen as sensitive locations, including houses of worship.

J. Kevin Appleby, senior fellow for policy at the Center for Migration Studies in New York and the former director of migration policy at the USCCB, told OSV News that the DHS regulation change was “very good news for the Church in the US.”

He said, “It will help the bishops provide pastoral care to the Catholic faithful nationwide, especially immigrant communities, by ensuring foreign-born clergy can continue their ministries. Moving forward, the bishops will be able to meet the pastoral needs of their flock with confidence.”