Category: Diocese of Scranton News

(OSV News) – Pope Francis congratulated Catholic Relief Services on the 50th anniversary of CRS Rice Bowl, the Catholic relief agency’s annual Lenten program dedicated to global hunger and poverty alleviation efforts.

CRS, the official international relief and development agency of the Catholic Church in the U.S., is marking the 50th anniversary of its Rice Bowl program this Lent, which has raised more than $350 million to support domestic and overseas poverty relief efforts. The organization has described that effort – with its iconic cardboard donation box – as more important than ever in light of a freeze on much U.S. foreign aid.

“I was pleased to learn that the Rice Bowl program of Catholic Relief Services is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary,” Pope Francis wrote in a letter the group shared with media March 14. “On this auspicious occasion, I express my good wishes to all involved in this noble initiative as well as my gratitude for the faithful in the United States of America, who, through this service, assist the poorest and most vulnerable at home and abroad.”

Pope Francis said that for five decades, during “the holy season of Lent, when the Church invites us to pray, fast, and give alms in preparation for the Easter celebrations,” the Rice Bowl program “has offered a concrete way for Catholics to give alms as they seek to put their faith into action.”

“When caring for our neighbor, we must always remember that charity is to be given without qualifications or limits, as Jesus teaches us in the parable of the Good Samaritan,” he said, referring to the story in Luke’s Gospel. “In doing so, we reflect the closeness, compassion, and tender love of God who cares for all of his children in the one human family.”

CRS’ Rice Bowl initiative combines the traditional Lenten practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving to provide humanitarian aid, spiritual renewal and increased solidarity with those in need.

The funds – 25% of which help local diocesan outreaches, with 75% benefiting CRS programs abroad – support a mission that is “critical to millions,” said Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia, CRS board chair, in a March 5 statement from the organization.

The campaign, launched in 1975 by Msgr. Robert Coll as a local effort in the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania, became a national initiative through its introduction at the Philadelphia-based 41st International Eucharistic Congress in 1976, and its subsequent adoption by the U.S. bishops through CRS.

The Covid-19 pandemic, Pope Francis said in his message, “reminded us that we are members of a global community, ‘all in the same boat,’ where the problems of others are the problems of all.”

“With this in mind, we must continuously strive to help others realize that the serious challenges currently affecting so many of our brothers and sisters, including war, forced migration and hunger, concern all of us,” he said. “Perhaps we could even invite others to compare their daily lives with those migrants and foreigners, so that they might learn how to understand better their experiences and in this way discover what God is asking of us in our own day.”

The program is a reminder of “the importance of working together,” he added.

In 2023, some 733 million people worldwide faced hunger, according to the United Nations’ 2024 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report. Hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition have devastating physical and psychosocial consequences, including insufficient height and weight in children.

In June 2024, UNICEF said that growing inequality, conflict and climate concerns — along with the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic — have left 181 million, or 1 in 4, children in severe food poverty, with the majority living in 20 countries. Of those, 64 million are in South Asia, and 59 million in sub-Saharan Africa.

“It is my hope therefore that the Rice Bowl program and other initiatives offered by Catholic Relief Services will continue to serve as examples of how to fulfill the Gospel’s command to love and serve our neighbor in a communal way,” Pope Francis said. “With these sentiments, I renew my best wishes as you celebrate this anniversary, and upon all who support the Rice Bowl program, I invoke Almighty God’s blessings of wisdom, hope and strength.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis spent the 12th anniversary of his election to the papacy undergoing physiotherapy at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, but he was well enough to celebrate it in little ways.

Along with the health care workers treating him, the pope — who has been hospitalized for nearly a month — had a small celebration to mark the anniversary of his election, complete with a cake and candles, the Vatican press office said March 13.

Hundreds of cards sent from children all around the world also were delivered to Pope Francis, wishing him a happy anniversary as well as a speedy recovery, the press office added.

The 88-year-old pope continued the therapies prescribed, including pharmacological treatment and physical therapy, it said.

A chest X-ray had confirmed continued improvements in his condition, the Vatican said the previous day, though doctors did not state that his double pneumonia had fully cleared.

The pope has been following the Roman Curia’s Lenten retreat by video, listening to the daily meditations led by Capuchin Father Roberto Pasolini, preacher of the papal household. While retreat participants gathered in the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall could not see the pope, Father Pasolini opened his March 13 reflection with a direct message for him.

“Good morning, and a greeting with deep affection and gratitude to our Holy Father on this very special day: the 12th anniversary of his election,” he said.

Since 12 is a number associated with completeness or fullness in the Bible, he said, “we can truly thank God because the gift of Pope Francis to the church and the world is complete. And certainly, in these 12 years, he has had the opportunity to express himself in fullness.”

Before their evening meditation, Archbishop Vittorio Francesco Viola, secretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, read a message from the Curia sent to Pope Francis to mark his anniversary.

From the Vatican and from many other places around the world, he said, “the prayer of the people of God rises unceasingly, and we join ourselves in spiritual communion.”

“Holy Father, in this Jubilee year, we grow in hope that the message of peace and fraternity, to which we are constantly called by your magisterium, may spread among nations and among all people of goodwill,” he said, “and that in everyone the desire to be disciples of the Lord, witnesses of the Gospel, and builders of the kingdom of God may grow.”

Archbishop Filippo Iannone, prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, led the recitation of the rosary for Pope Francis which has been taking place every night since shortly after his hospitalization.

“With the recitation of the rosary, let us invoke Mary, health of the sick, for the health of the Holy Father Francis,” he said.

After taking place at 6 p.m. Rome time in the St. Paul VI Audience Hall to coincide with the Curia’s retreat, the nightly rosary for Pope Francis will return to St. Peter’s Square March 14 at 7:30 p.m. local time.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis’ condition continues to be stable and a chest X-ray “confirmed the improvements recorded in the previous days,” his doctors said, but without saying his double pneumonia had cleared up completely.

The 88-year-pope is still using high-flow oxygen through a nasal tube during the day and “noninvasive mechanical ventilation” with a mask overnight, said the medical bulletin published March 12 by the Vatican press office.

In their bulletin of March 10, the pope’s doctors had said that the pope’s continued stability and incremental improvements in his breathing and blood tests had led them to lift their “guarded” prognosis, although they insisted he continued to need hospitalization. The bulletin March 12 continued to speak of the “complexity” of the pope’s illness.

The physicians leading the team of doctors treating Pope Francis have met reporters only once and that was Feb. 21, when the pope had been in the Gemelli hospital for one week.

The team is led by Dr. Sergio Alfieri, director of medical and surgical sciences at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, and Dr. Luigi Carbone, vice director of the Vatican health service. At their February news conference, they said the whole team of doctors and Pope Francis himself approve what is released by the Vatican in the evening medical bulletins.

Pope Francis has continued watching the livestream of the morning and afternoon meditations offered to cardinals and senior members of the Roman Curia at their annual Lenten retreat, the bulletin said. He also “received the Eucharist, devoted himself to prayer” and then to physical therapy, which is designed to prevent the problems associated with limited movement during a prolonged hospital stay.

Capuchin Father Roberto Pasolini, preacher of the papal household, began the Curia retreat March 12 by saying, “Good morning, and may it be a good morning especially for our Holy Father, to whom we offer our greetings, our affection and our prayers at the beginning of this day.”

The dates for the traditional Lenten retreat were announced before Pope Francis was hospitalized Feb. 14. During the retreat, he does not hold his weekly general audience and usually does not schedule private audiences either.

For the first three Wednesdays that he was hospitalized, the Vatican press office published the text of the catechesis prepared for the general audiences. But since no audience was scheduled for March 12, no text was released.

A group of 85 pilgrims from Russia had planned their Jubilee pilgrimage to Rome before the date for the retreat was announced and before Pope Francis was hospitalized.

So, led by Archbishop Paolo Pezzi of Moscow, they walked more than two miles to the Gemelli hospital March 11 and spent an hour praying for Pope Francis, reciting the rosary in Russian and a Marian litany in Latin.

“We understood that we could not see him physically, but we tried to meet him spiritually, to intensify our spiritual bonds with him,” Moscow Auxiliary Bishop Nicolai Dubinin, who also was part of the group, told Vatican News March 12. “Each pilgrim experienced this moment intensely. The meeting with the pope had been highly anticipated, but we felt very strongly the closeness with him.”

The rosary, recited at the end of the Curia’s retreat March 12 was led by Cardinal George Koovakad, prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and the main organizer of Pope Francis’ trips abroad.

Members of the Curia, he said, were joining “the Christian faithful and members of other religious traditions who are offering prayers and sacrifices for the Holy Father.”

“And also with many nonbelievers who appreciate and love Pope Francis and are worried about his health, we entrust the Holy Father and all the sick to the maternal protection of Mary,” the cardinal said.

“We unite our invocations to those of the poor because their prayers are the most effective, as sacred Scripture suggests, especially in the Book of Sirach, which says, ‘Prayer from the lips of the poor is heard at once,'” Cardinal Koovakad said.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The U.S. Department of Education said March 11 it planned to cut about 50% of its workforce. Such cuts could also impact Catholic education, experts told OSV News.

Charles Russo, the Joseph Panzer Chair in education and research professor of law at Marianist-run University of Dayton in Ohio, told OSV News, “this is a significant shift that raises questions about the federal role in education.”

“While the department has long been criticized for inefficiency, cutting half its workforce will undoubtedly disrupt programs that provide oversight and funding, particularly for students with disabilities and those in need,” Russo said.

Sister Dale McDonald, vice president of public policy at the National Catholic Educational Association and a sister of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, told OSV News that possible impacts on Catholic education will hinge on the details of the cuts.

“A lot depends on: What are they cutting?” she said. “Are they cutting funding as well as the services, or are they just shifting it around?”

The announcement from the Department of Education cast the reduction in its workforce as part of its “final mission.”

“Today’s reduction in force reflects the Department of Education’s commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement. “I appreciate the work of the dedicated public servants and their contributions to the Department. This is a significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system.”

President Donald Trump has long argued that his administration wants to “move education back to the states where it belongs.”

In a subsequent interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, McMahon confirmed the move was part of a directive from Trump on a campaign-trail promise to shutter the department.

“That was the president’s mandate, his directive to me, clearly, is to shut down the Department of Education, which we know we’ll have to work with Congress, you know, to get that accomplished,” McMahon said, casting the layoffs as “eliminating what I think is bureaucratic bloat.”

Closing the department would require congressional authorization. Legislation to do so would be unlikely to clear the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold.

McMahon said that the agency’s remaining staff will continue to oversee money appropriated by Congress for the agency’s expenditures and key programs such as Title I, which grants some financial aid to school districts for children from low-income families, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, which provides resources for children with disabilities to receive a public education.

But when asked by Ingraham what IDEA meant, McMahon replied, “I’m not sure I can tell you exactly what it stands for, except that it’s the programs for disabled and needs (students).”

“This is my fifth day on the job,” McMahon, who was confirmed by the Senate on March 3, said.

Russo said that for students in public schools, which rely on federal funding and oversight in areas such as special education, Title IX protections, and low-income student support, a “weakened department could mean further reduced funding and enforcement, shifting greater responsibility to states.”

“Some may step up, but others may struggle, leading to uneven educational opportunities,” he said.

Catholic education, although a type of private school, will not be unaffected, he added.

“Catholic schools benefit from federal programs such as Title I funding for low-income students, already very limited IDEA support for students with disabilities, and grants for technology and teacher training,” he said. “While Catholic schools operate independently, they still depend on federal resources, often administered through state agencies.”

If education funding and programs were scaled back, Russo said, “Catholic schools could face challenges accessing resources for their most vulnerable students.”

“At the same time, if the department’s influence over education policy diminishes, fewer parents may opt to send their children to Catholic schools,” he said.

Sister Dale expressed concern that if the department were ultimately closed, and some of the programs it oversees were shifted to other departments, the grant structures of the other departments would differ in a way that could negatively impact private education.

“Our participation has always been different from public school participation,” she explained about Catholic schools. “And you know, we don’t get any money, we get equitable services under the law.”

For some programs, Sister Dale said, “equitable services” means that Catholic schools are given a portion of funding requisite with their percentage of the area’s overall student population.

“So that’s something we have to pay attention to,” she said. “We don’t want to be subjected to everything that the public schools are because of the money. But, you know, our kids, parents, taxpayers’ money is in that pot of money, and so they should get some services for it.”

Some states have been more or less friendly to Catholic education, she added.

“Don’t forget, we’re 10% of the whole (student) population, but that 10% is, you know, it’s about 5 million students,” Sister Dale said. “So it’s important that we don’t just get swept away, if it just goes to a state and they just decide to throw all the money into some program that we can’t participate in.”

Senate Democrats and Republicans alternately criticized and praised the move.

“This appalling move will hurt kids & teachers everywhere—in red & blue states, in urban & rural communities, in kindergarten classrooms & on college campuses,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., wrote on X.

But Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., wrote, “I fully support President Trump’s mission to tackle the U.S. Department of Education to better serve America’s students. DC control isn’t working. We’re going backwards. Test scores haven’t improved. Let’s try something different.”

Russo argued that education policy “should prioritize student needs over bureaucracy.”

“If the goal is reform, a balanced approach — reducing inefficiencies while maintaining support for key programs — would serve students best,” he said. “At this point, of course, it still remains to be seen how this all plays out as the nation seeks to continue to provide all students with the equal educational opportunities to which they are entitled.”

(OSV News) – Cardinal Robert McElroy was installed March 11 as the eighth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Washington, during a nearly two-hour liturgy in which he encouraged the faithful of his new archdiocese to be “pilgrims of hope in a wounded world.”

“What hope we could bring to our world as the Church of Washington if we could truly help our society to see others more as God sees them — beloved children, sisters and brothers,” Cardinal McElroy said during the Solemn Mass of Installation at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Referencing the Jubilee Year and its theme “Pilgrims of Hope,” Cardinal McElroy called on his new flock to “unswervingly understand our vocation as disciples of hope.”

“It is all too easy for every one of us to let the limits of earthly worries and perspectives erect prisons in our souls that shut us off from the expansive presence of the Resurrection in its fullness,” he said. “We must refuse to be overpowered by these prisons, and instead journey together as a local Church, companions in faith and in fragility to embrace the same risen Lord that Mary of Magdala encountered in the garden so many centuries ago.”

Cardinal McElroy, the former bishop of San Diego, was named by Pope Francis on Jan. 6 to replace the retiring Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, who served as the archbishop of Washington from 2019 until this year, and is now archbishop emeritus.

Again stressing the need for the faithful to bring hope to the world, Cardinal McElroy encouraged those at the Mass to “strive even more deeply to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ into our lives and our nation and our world.”

In his homily, Cardinal McElroy said it was “vital for our local Church” to embrace “the hope that comes from seeing the world as God sees it.”

“Everything that we know on this earth, every blessing that we receive and every hope that we have is rooted in God’s beneficent desire for the whole of humanity,” Cardinal McElroy said. “God is the Father of us all. And God sees us as equal in dignity and moral worth.”

He reminded the faithful that “it is God who bestows mercy on us and calls us in turn to become bestowers of mercy upon others,” and as such, “mercy and compassion must be our first impulse when confronted with sin and human failure,” he said.

“Hope arises when we confront ourselves as we truly are, understand that the bountiful mercy of God is without limit, and undertake the call to live out the teachings of the Church and be sacraments of mercy to others. We are a Church which believes that love and truth do meet. That is precisely our glory as the children of God,” he said.

Cardinal McElroy lamented that “divisions of race and gender and ideology and nationality flourish in the world of politics, religion, family life and education. The poor and the migrant are daily dispossessed, and the dignity of the unborn is denied.”

“The only effective witness that our Church can give to the world is to view every conflict which surrounds us through the eyes of God,” he said.

About 3,500 people packed the National Shrine for the installation Mass that was offered in both Spanish and English. Among those in attendance were officials from the federal government, the District of Columbia, Maryland and California.

More than 1,300 additional people followed the Mass virtually via the National Shrine’s livestream. The Mass was also broadcast over the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN).

In his homily, Cardinal McElroy also thanked his family “for their nurturing of my faith and my life”; his fellow priests and religious who “have been so critical to my formation as a priest and a bishop”; and to his friends who “have enriched my life and taught me much.”

For more than 20 minutes before the Mass, prelates processed to the shrine’s altar to participate in the installation. More than 280 priests — including those from the Archdiocese of Washington, the Diocese of San Diego and others — led the procession that included about 70 bishops and archbishops and eight cardinals.

The participating cardinals — in addition to Cardinal McElroy and Cardinal Gregory — were Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States; Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl, archbishop emeritus of Washington; Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey; Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago; Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York; and Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, the retired archbishop of Boston.

In remarks at the beginning of the Mass, Cardinal Gregory noted that “with jubilant hearts, we say welcome” to Cardinal McElroy and that “the Church of the Archdiocese of Washington rejoices today at the gift of a remarkable new shepherd.”

“We have been graced with the blessings of a man of wisdom, hope and gentility in Cardinal Robert McElroy,” Cardinal Gregory said. “Soon all of the community of faith and our neighbors everywhere will all come to know him as one who stands in our midst as a genuine servant of the Gospel.”

Cardinal Gregory also told Cardinal McElroy that the faithful of the Archdiocese of Washington are “hopeful souls all in search of Christ Jesus and who will follow your lead in pursuit of him.”

Prior to reading Pope Francis’ proclamation appointing Cardinal McElroy, Cardinal Pierre encouraged the new archbishop of Washington to “familiarize yourself with the people who make up this Church: the clergy, the consecrated, and all the baptized.”

“You will enjoy many opportunities to affirm the works of grace and the expressions of discipleship that are alive within this Christian community,” the apostolic nuncio told Cardinal McElroy. “Through a genuine encounter with the people of God, and with their priests, you will share with them the life of the risen Christ, and journey with them to the house of the Father.”

In his official letter of appointment, Pope Francis called Cardinal McElroy a “venerable brother” and urged him to “commit yourself diligently to the work of preaching the Good News … (and) devote yourself to the growth of the People of God both in the theological virtues as well as in a humanity worthy of the Lord’s disciples.”

The pope also called on the faithful of the Archdiocese of Washington to show their new archbishop “filial love and compliance in faith.”

Cardinal Pierre told the new archbishop of Washington that he was “called by the Holy Spirit to serve almighty God and the people of the Archdiocese of Washington in faith and in love as their shepherd.”

In accepting the mandate to lead the Archdiocese of Washington, Cardinal McElroy promised “to serve faithfully the spiritual needs of this beautiful local Church.”

His proclamation to do so was met with sustained and fervent applause from those gathered in the National Shrine.

After the papal mandate was presented to the College of Consultors and faithful, Cardinal Pierre and Cardinal Gregory then escorted Cardinal McElroy to the shrine’s cathedra (bishop’s throne) and Cardinal Gregory presented him with a crozier, the shepherd’s staff that signifies his leadership of his new flock in the Archdiocese Washington. After he accepted the crozier, the faithful again welcomed their new archbishop with another rousing and sustained standing ovation.

After he was installed, Cardinal McElroy was greeted and welcomed to Washington by representatives of archdiocesan priests, deacons, seminarians, and men’s and women’s religious orders; staff from archdiocesan offices and ministries; Catholic school representatives; parish representatives; and members of other faith traditions.

To highlight the diversity of the faithful of the Archdiocese of Washington, the readings for the Mass were read and prayers were recited in both English and Spanish. Prayers of the Faithful were offered in English, Spanish, Tagalog (one of several Filipino languages), Quechua (an indigenous language of South America), American Sign Language, Chinese, Haitian Creole, and Igbo (the language of natives of southeastern Nigeria).

At the end of the Mass, Cardinal McElroy led the faithful in reciting a decade of the rosary for the health of Pope Francis. “Today we are especially joyous that the pope seems to be doing better,” the cardinal said.

As he processed from the altar, the faithful of Washington again hailed their new archbishop with applause and cheers.

After the installation, Cardinal McElroy hosted a receiving line in the National Shrine’s lower level. There, members of his new flock had the opportunity to meet the cardinal and have their photo taken with him.

On Sunday, March 16, Cardinal McElroy will celebrate an 11 a.m. Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington. As the new archbishop of Washington, he will officially take possession of the cathedral where the “cathedra” (bishop’s throne) that represents the teaching authority of the bishop is located.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – As Pope Francis prepared to spend the 12th anniversary of his election at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, people at the Vatican and around the world were responding to his most frequent personal request.

“From the beginning of his pontificate, we have heard Pope Francis ask us to not forget to pray for him, and that is what we are doing,” said Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, as he led thousands of people praying the rosary for the pope March 10 in St. Peter’s Square.

“It is not only Christians who are doing so, but the faithful of other religions and even many nonbelievers also are joining their hearts around Pope Francis,” the cardinal said.

Pope Francis has made requesting prayers a hallmark of his papacy and a standard way to end a letter or speech.

When the 76-year-old Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, was elected to succeed Pope Benedict XVI March 13, 2013, and came out onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, his words stunned the crowd:

“Before the bishop blesses his people, I ask you to pray to the Lord that he will bless me – the prayer of the people asking a blessing for their bishop. Let us make, in silence, this prayer: your prayer over me,” he said, and bowed to receive the blessing.

And again, before he said good night, he told the crowd, “Pray for me.”

Probably not a day has gone by since then that he hasn’t made the request out loud or in writing.

Four months after his election, on his flight back from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a journalist asked him why he always asked for people’s prayers. “It isn’t normal, we are not used to hearing a pope ask so often that people pray for him,” the reporter said.

“I have always asked this,” the pope responded. “When I was a priest, I asked, but less frequently. I began to ask more often when I was working as a bishop, because I sense that if the Lord does not help in this work of assisting the people of God to go forward, it can’t be done.”

“I am truly conscious of my many limitations, of many problems, of also being a sinner – as you know! – and I have to ask for this,” he said. “It is a habit, but a habit that comes from my heart.”

Pope Francis also often thanks people for their prayers.

“I would like to thank you for the prayers, which rise up to the Lord from the hearts of so many faithful from many parts of the world,” the pope wrote in his text for the Angelus prayer March 2. “I feel all your affection and closeness, and, at this particular time, I feel as if I am ‘carried’ and supported by all God’s people. Thank you all!”

And while no photos of the pope have been released since he entered the hospital, his labored voice was broadcast in St. Peter’s Square March 6 in an audio message thanking the gathered faithful for their prayers.

Hospitalized since Feb. 14 with bronchitis and difficulty breathing, Pope Francis was later diagnosed with double pneumonia. His doctors told reporters he has chronic lung conditions: bronchiectasis and asthmatic bronchitis, caused by years of respiratory problems and repeated bouts of bronchitis.

In his autobiography, Pope Francis wrote about the surgery he underwent at the age of 20 to remove the upper lobe of his right lung after suffering a severe respiratory infection.

“It was extremely painful. Extremely,” he said.

When writing or talking about the pope’s lung surgery, people often mistakenly assume doctors had removed the entire right lung. It even was an issue at the 2013 conclave that elected him.

During the lunch break between the third and fourth ballots of the conclave, he wrote in the autobiography, a group of European cardinals invited him to sit with them. They began asking so many questions on so many topics “that I found myself thinking: Hah, it seems like an exam.”

At the end of the meal, he said, a Spanish-speaking cardinal asked him, “Do you have a lung missing?”

After explaining that only the upper lobe had been cut away in 1957, Pope Francis recalled that “the cardinal turned red, uttered a swear word and clenched his teeth: ‘These last-minute maneuvers!’ he exclaimed.”

“It was then that I began to understand” he was being seriously considered as a candidate to succeed Pope Benedict. It happened that evening with the conclave’s fifth ballot.

The Catholic Church in Pope Francis’ native Argentina planned to celebrate the pope’s 12th anniversary March 13 with special Masses in every diocese.

Archbishop Marcelo Colombo of Mendoza, president of the Argentine bishops’ conference, said the Masses, in addition to offering prayers for the pope’s continued recovery, would be a “public witness of our gratitude for his generous dedication, which has borne abundant fruits of pastoral love over the years.”

(OSV News) – In February, when President Donald Trump signed an executive order pledging his administration’s support for in vitro fertilization, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Catholic Medical Association and other groups issued statements opposing the move, highlighting the many ethical problems with IVF.

“As many as one in seven couples trying to have a baby are unable to conceive, and many face significant financial hurdles to accessing IVF,” Trump’s executive order said, and called for policy recommendations “to protect IVF access and aggressively reduce out-of-pocket and health plan costs for such treatments.”

In addressing ethical problems with IVF, the USCCB and the CMA in their statements praised what they said are more effective, root-cause medical approaches, such as FEMM and NeoFertility.

In contrast to IVF, Restorative Reproductive Medicine, or RRM, “provides a thorough evaluation of the cause of infertility and treatment to address it,” CMA said. “RRM methods, including NaPro Technology, FEMM, and NeoFertility, consistently lead to a higher rate of successful pregnancies with reduced risks and financial costs compared to IVF. With a humane and effective option such as RRM, the White House can demonstrate its resolve to promote respect for life to all Americans.”

However Catholics have made little progress with the administration in promoting RRM and an overarching plan to dramatically increase access to RRM and reduce the demand for IVF remains elusive.

“It all starts with the public’s attention and promotion of RRM,” said Dr. Tim Millea, a retired surgeon and the chairman of the CMA health care policy committee. “If there’s no voice calling for it, nobody’s going to listen.

The Catholic Church has long opposed assisted reproductive technology, or ART. The catechism notes that with this approach, “the act which brings the child into existence is no longer an act by which two persons give themselves to one another, but one that entrusts the life and identity of the embryo into the power of doctors and biologists and establishes the domination of technology over the origin and destiny of the human person.”

ART also has led to the destruction of countless human lives. According to MedPage Today, which provides clinical news coverage across all medical specialties, reproductive endocrinologists say that discarding embryos is inherent to the IVF process for several reasons: “They stop growing and won’t lead to a pregnancy; genetic testing reveals chromosomal abnormalities; or some embryos are left over after patients are done building their families.” Additionally, if IVF results “in a multifetal pregnancy, professional guidance recommends reducing the number of fetuses to have a safer pregnancy.”

“(IVF) brings about many new human lives, yet the vast majority of those lives will be frozen or discarded,” Millea told OSV News. “Every life is precious and unique, including those conceived via IVF and allowed to live and develop. Sadly, those lives are very few in comparison to those lost in the clinics.”

According to a chart from the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology that just looks at the chance of live birth resulting from IVF for a new patient shows that for a woman under age 35, the chance of a live birth is 68.5%. The percentage decreases for older women. For women ages 41-42, for example, the percentage is 23.5%, and for women over 42, it is 7.1%.

In addition to the moral issues, ART just isn’t good medicine, said Millea.

“IVF isn’t really assessing the problem — it’s providing more or less a medical shortcut,” he said. “If someone is diagnosed with diabetes, you don’t just say, ‘Well here’s your insulin.’ You say, ‘Let’s find out why you have diabetes and let’s address the causes instead of (only) treating the symptoms.'”

In contrast to ART, RRM seeks to treat the underlying conditions causing infertility. NaProTechnology is one restorative reproductive medicine method developed by Dr. Thomas Hilgers of the St. Paul VI Institute in Omaha, Nebraska.

“We know we have better success with many of these (infertility-causing) conditions than assisted reproductive technology,” said his daughter, Dr. Teresa Hilgers, also an OB-GYN at the institute and the recent president of the St. John Paul the Great Society of Procreative Surgeons.

“IVF has a fairly low success rate, the pregnancies that arise from IVF have high complications and a much higher preterm and delivery rate,” she added. “I was looking at statistics from 2022, and (the IVF) preterm delivery rate is around 15 percent. With NaProTechnology, it’s half of that.”

But although there’s an effective and ethically sound way to help couples achieve their dreams of parenthood, there’s little mainstream knowledge of restorative reproductive medicine and a disbelief among some in its efficacy.

In 2024, senators introduced the Reproductive Empowerment and Support through Optimal Restoration, or RESTORE, Act, which was supported by the USCCB. Among other things, the bill aimed to use existing funding opportunities in Title X and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Population Affairs, or OPA, to promote medical training in RRM.

OPA administers Title X, a federal grant program enacted in 1970 to provide comprehensive family planning and related preventive health services, particularly to low-income and underserved populations.

An advocacy group called RESOLVE: the National Infertility Association, which is funded in part by IVF clinics, opposed the bill because it promoted “non-scientific treatment methods, health education, and research.” The RESTORE Act has not been reintroduced this session.

A restorative approach to health care seems to fall in line with the philosophy of the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, said Theresa Notare, assistant director of the USCCB’s NFP Program. Little by little, pioneering Catholics doctors have tried to share the news about RRM, but they need a big break, she said. “I’m not sure how to do that (but) we have this opportunity with this current administration that’s interested in ‘Making America Healthy Again,’ ” she said.

The CMA is trying to start a dialogue with the federal government, said Millea. “We’ve got letters going out to 50 different offices in D.C., and we have a list of priorities as an organization for 2025 and the IVF question is solidly on that list,” he said. Millea hopes Catholics will contact their legislators about these issues, as well.

Hilgers believes a massive education campaign of medical professionals and everyday Catholics is needed to move the needle on RRM. “A lot of Catholics don’t know that IVF and intrauterine insemination go against church teaching,” she said. “I’m actually amazed by how many patients come to us who are Catholic who have undergone those treatments elsewhere.”

Medical training would have to undergo a seismic shift, too, said Hilgers.

“Unfortunately women’s health care today is supported by four main pillars: contraception, sterilization, abortion and in vitro fertilization,” she said. “Most of the medical research is geared toward one of those four areas.”

One encouraging sign of growth in this area is a recent $7.5 million gift to endow the Institute for Natural Family Planning at Marquette University in Milwaukee, said Notare. Marquette provides a natural family planning teacher training program for practicing health professionals.

More demand from patients for this type of care and more doctors practicing this type of medicine also is needed, said Hilgers. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2018 there were 499 ART clinics in the U.S.

“There are way more of (them) than us,” said Hilgers. Because of the discrepancy, those who are looking for RRM may have difficulties finding care in their area or may face wait times, especially for surgical treatment. “As my dad says, ‘There is a high demand for our services,'” said Hilgers. “We just need more good help.”

Catholic philanthropists and diocesan officials also could work to promote life-saving RRM care.

“It would be amazing if the dioceses could support local physicians who are Catholic and want to provide this type of health care for their patients, because so many times I think physicians feel isolated and alone, especially OB/GYNS,” said Hilgers.

For their part, the St. Paul VI Institute is fundraising for a new specialty hospital for women of procreative age to increase access and research capabilities. “We dream big here,” she said. “I think it’s OK to dream big on these issues and then work toward making that real.”

(OSV News) – At the start of Catholic Relief Services’ 2025 Rice Bowl initiative – an annual Lenten program blending almsgiving and prayer to provide aid to overseas and domestic aid – OSV News spoke with Rice Bowl founder Msgr. Robert Coll, a retired priest of the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania, about the program as it marks its 50th year.

Through Rice Bowl, participants donate Lenten alms, voluntarily eating simple meals and learning about those who benefit from the campaign worldwide. The program, known for its iconic cardboard donation boxes, provides testimonials and recipes from the countries where CRS serves, and fosters prayerful solidarity among participants.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

OSV News: The Rice Bowl collection aids both domestic and overseas relief and development efforts, with 25% remaining in participants’ dioceses and 75% aiding those abroad. Given the current U.S. government’s suspension of foreign aid, which has impacted CRS initiatives, how do you view this year’s Rice Bowl collection?

Msgr. Coll: Well, I think it could be its strongest moment, because the more funds you receive from the people, the greater pressure you put on governments to assist in a variety of ways.

For example, even if I could buy 100 tons of wheat, I wouldn’t have enough money to transport it across the United States into Africa and then truck it throughout Africa. So that’s where you say, “Look, we have the initiative to pay for these programs. It won’t cost you a cent. All we need is (to buy) the commodities.”

And the idea of Operation Rice Bowl itself is an appeal for the world. If you spell out the initials, it’s “O.R.B.” – Latin for “world.”

OSV News: You began this program in 1975 as an interfaith effort when you were pastor of St. Thomas More Parish in Allentown, Pennsylvania. How did Rice Bowl move from a local to a national initiative, and what are your thoughts about that journey?

Msgr. Coll: We started this program in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and included the Protestant churches plus the rabbi. And it was done on a communal basis in the whole city. On the Wednesday of each week, the newspaper in town would put the (Rice Bowl) menu on the top of the front page for people to follow. So we tried to make it a community thing.

At the same time, the (41st International) Eucharistic Congress was being held in Philadelphia. And it was under the tutelage of Cardinal (John) Krol (then archbishop of Philadelphia). When he heard about the program, he invited us to Philadelphia to explain what was going on. He liked the idea, especially since the theme of the Eucharistic Congress was “The Eucharist and the Hungers of the Human Family.”

And of course, there was the hunger for bread, which was being experienced especially in the Sahel in Africa (part of the 1972-1975 global food crisis). The hunger throughout the world at that time was frightening, I mean, really frightening.

And so on the occasion of the congress, a petition was forwarded to the American bishops. They said they would like to continue the Rice Bowl program throughout America, and that’s how it got started.

At the time, CRS was serving or assisting in the development of over 100 countries in the world. So it was a logical relationship between CRS and Rice Bowl, because a lot of it had to do with the distribution of food.

And, of course, the funds that were made available through Rice Bowl enabled you to do more with the international community, because you could substantiate and put in progress programs immediately, since you were already there (in country). You had the funds, plus you also had, for the most part, the backing of the international community, including Caritas Internationalis (the official humanitarian network of the universal Catholic Church), which was in every country in the world.

I think the satisfaction (of Rice Bowl) comes from the fact that the people understood what you were trying to do. In other words, if there were grave problems in the world, to ignore them would itself be unacceptable as a Catholic and as a Christian.

OSV News: In a 2021 interview, you noted the role of Catholic media in helping to raise Rice Bowl to a national level. Could you recount those details?

Msgr. Coll: At the time of the (1976) Eucharistic Congress, then-Msgr. (later Cardinal) John Foley was the editor of the diocesan newspaper in Philadelphia. And he and I had been friends in the seminary. He did a short story on Rice Bowl and then mentioned it to Cardinal Krol. And the cardinal said, “Well, let’s talk to him.”

And another interesting thing, too, was that Cardinal Korl had invited to the Eucharistic Congress the relatively unknown Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, the archbishop of Krakow.

And so you had kind of a triangle there: He would become Pope John Paul II, Msgr. Foley would become a cardinal, and Cardinal Krol already was just that. They had taken the hunger for food as a serious commitment to the international community. It was a very pleasant marriage. It was natural.

OSV News: Along with material aid, the Rice Bowl initiative incorporates prayer and reflection throughout Lent. Was this your spiritual vision for Rice Bowl?

Msgr. Coll: Our idea was that this was to be a “para-liturgy,” if you will — that the father (of a household), on Wednesday night, would read something from Scripture and his wife would prepare the so-called meal for Rice Bowl, so that you mixed the physical with the spiritual.

And that’s what it became, and it had appeal.

My great fear was that it would become a collection. It was never intended to be a collection. It was intended to be an informative experience for the family.

SCRANTON – The annual Saint Patrick’s Parade Day Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 8, at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton.

All are welcome to attend.

The liturgy is traditionally held in conjunction with the city of Scranton’s annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade. Following the Mass, the Saint Patrick’s Parade is expected to take to the streets of the Electric City beginning at 11:45 a.m.

The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, will serve as principal celebrant for the Mass. Various priests from the Diocese of Scranton are expected to concelebrate.

The Mass will be broadcast live on CTV: Catholic Television of the Diocese of Scranton due to the generosity of the Society of Irish Women.

The Mass will be rebroadcast several times the following week, including Tuesday, March 11, at 8:00 p.m., and Wednesday, March 12, at 10:30 a.m. It will also be available for viewing on the Diocese of Scranton’s YouTube Channel.

Among the other local organizations that participate in the annual Saint Patrick’s Parade Day Mass are the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick, Irish American Men’s Association, Irish Cultural Society, Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Saint Patrick’s Parade Association of Lackawanna County.