Category: Diocese of Scranton News

SIMPSON – More than 200 people filled the pews of Saint Michael’s Church one final time June 2, 2024, as a closing liturgy was held for the worship site which has served the Simpson community for more than 121 years.

“Our hearts are heavy, but we give thanks to God for having been able to encounter him in this sacred place,” lector Jean Yamialkowski said in welcoming the faithful to the 2 p.m. Mass. “Words from our Centennial Mass, spoken by Father Hilary Malinowski, continue to have meaning for us today. He said, ‘Here our faith life began, grew and continues to mature. As we look around and feel so much at home today, may we be warmed, enriched and empowered to take with us from this holy place, the most Sacred Presence of God to accompany us on our journey to our eternal home with him.’”

The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, served as principal celebrant and homilist for the closing liturgy. Father Seth D. Wasnock, V.F., Pastor, Saint Rose of Lima Parish and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Carbondale, and Father Joseph J. Mosley, Senior Priest, concelebrated the Mass, along with several other priests who were native sons of Saint Michael’s or who had served the church.

“Saint Michael’s Parish was founded to serve a growing community of predominantly Polish immigrants who journeyed to this portion of God’s kingdom to build a better life for themselves and their families,” Bishop Bambera said during his homily. “My dad’s grandparents, Jacob and Antoinette Pilny, were among its founding members. Ten years after it was established, my mom’s parents, John and Blanche Kucharski, arrived in White’s Crossing after immigrating from Poland a few years earlier and joined Saint Michael’s Parish.”

Bishop Bambera shared several personal, family memories of Saint Michael’s Church because he wanted the faithful to know that it was okay to be both sad and hopeful about the changes that are occurring.

“Let your minds wander a bit today. It’s a good thing to do, a healing experience for all of us, a moment to remember our lives in relationship to Saint Michael’s Church,” the bishop explained. “This day is not only a day of remembrance but a day of gratitude. Gratitude first for the abiding presence of God within us … Gratitude for the bond that exists among us as sharers in the one Body of Christ …. And gratitude for the privilege of being chosen by God to be his presence in our world.”

Following the distribution of Holy Communion, the closing ritual for the church took place. It involved Bishop Bambera and Deacon Patrick J. Massino processing to various parts of the worship site and offering specific prayers. They stopped at the baptismal font, confessional, Stations of the Cross, Statue of the Blessed Mother, Statue of Saint Michael the Archangel, ambo and altar.

Following the procession, all parishioners in attendance were invited to come into the sanctuary of the church one final time to reverence the altar with a bow or a kiss. They then proceeded to the back parking lot, after which time the doors of the church were locked for the final time by Joan Fendrock, who has served as the parish sacristan for more than two decades.

“I think everyone had a little hurt in their heart today, but we have to put it in the Lord’s hands. He will not abandon us. We have turned another chapter in our 121 years,” Fendrock said.

As the closing liturgy took place, Fendrock took Bishop Bambera’s advice, allowing her mind to reflect on the first Easter she celebrated in Saint Michael’s Church 56 years ago. At that time, the Mass was still celebrated in Polish – and to have Polish hymns incorporated into the closing Mass at points brought everything full circle – and put a smile on her face.

“The Lord will never abandon us. We may have trials and sadnesses and sorrows in our lives, but he is always there to carry us over them,” she added.

The decision to close Saint Michael’s Church came as part of the Vision 2030 Process, in which the parishioners of Saint Rose of Lima Parish and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish have been engaged for several years. When analyzing the priority drivers, it was determined that basic operational costs of Saint Michael’s averaged $66,000 annually and the offertory collected was insufficient to meet those needs, in addition to facility studies indicating the church would need more than $800,000 in maintenance over the next decade.

At the conclusion of the closing liturgy, Bishop Bambera led the Blessed Sacrament on a Eucharistic Procession. The faithful processed by vehicle to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, from which they processed on foot to Saint Rose of Lima Church where Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament took place, and a reception was held.

While enjoying refreshments, parishioners also got to enjoy a pictorial slideshow of memories from Saint Michael’s and Holy Trinity churches.

The Sunday 11:30 a.m. Mass which was normally held at Saint Michael’s Church will now be held at Saint Rose of Lima Church in Carbondale.

SCRANTON – The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, has announced that Joseph D. Strubeck has been named Diocesan Secretary for Development. Strubeck was selected from a number of highly qualified candidates following an extensive search process. He began his new position on May 20, 2024.

For the last four years, Strubeck has worked in the Institutional Advancement Division at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, serving most recently as the Director of Advancement Operations and Reporting. In that position, he supervised all gift and pledge processing, provided technical support, and successfully helped King’s College implement a new primary alumni and fundraising database.

“I’m enthusiastic about the future of our Church and excited to contribute to the mission of the Diocese of Scranton in this important role,” Strubeck said of his new position.

Strubeck has a master’s degree in theology and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from The University of Scranton – and for the last several years has been teaching part-time in the King’s College philosophy department. He also has previous experience as a sales representative and business analyst.

“Fundraising and development are so often viewed as obligatory tasks. As someone who is mission-driven, some years ago, I never envisioned myself doing this kind of work. However, my own spiritual discernment has helped me come to view fundraising as ministry. I have found that fundraising provides unique opportunities to share the Good News and empower others to reflect upon their own unique connections to mission,” Strubeck explained. “Looking at all the good work that fundraising supports through Catholic ministries in the Diocese of Scranton, I look forward to helping the faithful throughout our region learn more about how they uniquely contribute to the mission and impact the lives of thousands each day.”

Strubeck’s skills and qualifications will be a tremendous asset to the Diocesan Development Office and all our parishes – as we work to expand our parish stewardship efforts and communicate the important funding that the Diocesan Annual Appeal provides for our local Catholic ministries.

“My past professional experiences have afforded me the opportunity to work in dynamic ways with and among others. I see the Secretary of Development role as a critical link supporting and helping to facilitate conversations that help us collectively care for those most in need throughout our Diocese,” he added. “In my own life, I’ve personally embraced Bishop Bambera’s call to serve through servant leadership and look forward to the opportunity to develop and deepen relationships with the faithful throughout our region. Building financial support for our Diocese over the next several years will be critical to fulfilling our obligations and sustaining Catholic ministries in the future. I firmly believe that every person matters, and that financial contributions large and small will help us not only sustain but help our Church grow in the coming years.”

In addition to his experience in Development, Strubeck has been a member of the Finance Council of Saint John the Evangelist Parish, Pittston, and is a 3rd Degree member of the Knights of Columbus, John F. Kennedy Council 372, Pittston. Both Strubeck and his wife are the products of Catholic education – and their oldest son is currently a student at Saint Nicholas/Saint Mary School in Wilkes-Barre.

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

SCRANTON – Two men ordained as transitional deacons for the Diocese of Scranton were reminded that they must serve generously – and make the example of Jesus’ life their own.

The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, celebrated the Rite of Ordination of Deacons for Thomas J. Dzwonczyk and Andrew T. McCarroll May 25, 2024, at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton.

“I feel very blessed. There was a nervousness beforehand but as soon as we started to walk up that aisle to begin Mass, God was there, God was present and I was in the moment,” Rev. Mr. Andrew McCarroll said. “I really appreciated celebrating with everyone there in prayer.”

Several hundred family members, friends and fellow parishioners of the Ordinandi filled the Cathedral for the Ordination Mass.

“I feel incredible,” Rev. Mr. Thomas Dzwonczyk said. “It was just incredibly humbling to see so much support from friends and family and then to finally have the day arrive from so many years of study and formation, it is beyond words.”

During his homily, Bishop Bambera reminded both men that the cross becomes the measure by which Jesus showed his love for all.

“Jesus calls us to a selflessness in our love that knows no qualifications, conditions or limitations. Faced with such a command, it was no surprise that the first and daily challenge that we face as disciples is choice. Jesus chose to lay down His life for us. He did so freely because there was no greater way to show the depth of His love,” Bishop Bambera said. “For us, and for you, Tom and Andrew, despite your calling by the Lord himself, love is still always a choice that you and each of us must make time and time again. Love costs – but it is worth the investment.”

As deacons, both men can proclaim the Gospel, preach homilies, baptize, preside at weddings, funerals and other prayer services, assist the priest at the altar, and are called to be the living expression of the charity of the Church.

“In short, God’s people will look to you to see Jesus. They will look to see Jesus in your prayerfulness, in your words, in your hard work, in the simplicity of your life, and in your love,” the bishop added. “In return for all that you give them, they will walk with you, they will pray for you, and they will support you every step of the way.”

During the Rite of Ordination, both Dzwonczyk and McCarroll were called forward by name, declaring their intention to be ordained to the Diaconate. They then laid prostrate on the floor of the Cathedral while those in attendance, through the intercession of all the saints, asked for God’s blessing. Bishop Bambera then laid his hands upon the head of both men, saying the Prayer of Ordination, after which they put on a diaconal stole and dalmatic and received a Book of the Gospels.

Both of the newly ordained deacons felt the importance of their call to service at different moments.

“Just to lie down on the floor during the Litany of the Saints, you just feel the weight of everyone’s prayers, everyone singing ‘Pray for Us,” McCarroll said. “I really felt the presence of the saints in the Cathedral, especially the saints of the parishes I have served at, my home parish of Saint Robert Bellarmine and Saint Aloysius Church, those two saints, as well as Saint Boniface and Saint Lawrence, where I’m serving now. They’ve been intercessors for me my entire journey.”

“Having my good friend, Deacon Michael Schultz (of the Archdiocese of Louisville) vest me with the stole and dalmatic, he was tearing up, and I was tearing up,” Dzwonczyk added. “By the Grace of God, I kept it together somewhat, but that was very powerful.”

As transitional deacons, both Dzwonczyk and McCarroll will spend the next year continuing with their seminary formation with the goal of – God willing – being ordained to the Sacred Priesthood next summer.

As both men left the Mass to greet family and friends, the recessional hymn, “Church of God, Elect and Glorious,” reverberated in the Cathedral.

“I know there are some big challenges ahead of me, to open the Scriptures and preach to the people, to minister and serve them, but I know God is present every step of the way,” McCarroll explained. “I cannot thank enough all of our priests, our deacons, our bishop, all of the lay ministers and especially the People of God who have been supporting us and praying for us.”

Dzwonczyk echoed those sentiments, saying, “I’m just overwhelmed by the support. I wouldn’t be here without all of the people who have been praying for me and sending me well wishes.”

 

POCONO PINES – On May 25, 2024, Reverend Paschal Mbagwu, Administrator, Saint Maximilian Kolbe Parish, blessed a newly installed memorial to the unborn on the grounds of the parish located on Pocono Crest Road.

Knights of Columbus Council 13752 obtained the memorial after it became available through parish consolidations, with the assistance of the Yanac Funeral Home in Mount Pocono.

A place was prepared by members of Our Lady of the Lake Council.

ROME (CNS) – Pope Francis encouraged priests to seek out those who are “invisible” in society and he warned against “ideologies” in the church.

According to Italian news reports, one of the ideologies he specified was a gay culture, referring to it, however, by using the same derogatory slang term in Italian that he reportedly used in a closed-door meeting with members of the Italian bishops’ conference in May when describing some seminaries as being marked by a gay culture.

During a closed-door meeting June 11 with about 160 priests from the Diocese of Rome at the Pontifical Salesian University, the pope said it would not be prudent to admit young men with homosexual tendencies to seminaries as candidates for the priesthood, according to the Italian news agencies, ANSA and Adnkronos, citing unnamed individuals who attended the meeting with the pope.

These young men are “good kids,” but they will encounter difficulties that will then show up in the exercise of their ministry, the pope said, sources told the two agencies.

The pope was not condemning gay people, and he reiterated that the church is open to everyone, ANSA reported.

What he was warning against was a kind of “lobby” that turns a homosexual lifestyle into an ideology, sources told Adnkronos. ANSA reported sources said the pope used the derogatory term when talking about the Vatican, saying that “in the Vatican there is an air of” a gay culture, and that it is not easy to guard against this trend.

The meeting at the Salesian University included priests ordained 11-39 years ago, and it was the third and last of a series of meetings with clergy from the Diocese of Rome. The pope met May 14 with some 70 priests who have been ordained 40 years or more, and he met May 29 with priests ordained 10 years or less.

The Vatican press office said the pope “spoke about the danger of ideologies in the church and returned to the issue of the admission into seminaries of people with homosexual tendencies, reiterating the need to welcome and accompany them in the church and the prudential recommendation of the Dicastery for the Clergy regarding their admission to a seminary.”

Among the many issues discussed during the question-and-answer dialogue with priests, the press office said, was the need for parishes to expand their welcome “to everyone, everyone, everyone!”

In response to comments about addressing people’s suffering, the pope said people should be accompanied with closeness, compassion and tenderness, which are three qualities of God.

The importance of pastoral care in hospitals and the difficulties of life in the city of Rome, such as the housing crisis, the spread of drugs and loneliness, were also discussed, the press office said.

“Our job as priests is to go and look for these people” who are “invisible” in society because “the church is either prophetic or it is clerical: it is up to us to choose,” he said.

Responding to the housing crisis, the pope invited religious congregations that own buildings and facilities to be generous, the press hall said. According to ANSA, the pope had been criticizing religious who, despite their vow of poverty, are focused on making money and are speculating on rent prices with the upcoming Jubilee.

Assets are for the community and not for speculation, the pope reportedly said, according to ANSA.

According to the Vatican press office, the dialogue between the pope and priests also touched on the tragedy of the wars underway and the huge amounts of money nations spend on weapons and birth control and that individuals spend on veterinary care and cosmetic surgery.

For this reason, more should be done to promote the church’s social teachings, the common good and peace, the pope said.

The pope thanked the priests for their work and urged them to continue to listen to all those who turn to them and to engage in community discernment.

Rome Auxiliary Bishop Michele Di Tolve, who was present at the meeting, told Vatican News that the pope invited priests “to be strong and meek at the same time, to let the parish feel close to people, like a home among homes and where they can relive an experience of being a family.”

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – “Called to the Fullness of Dignity” is the theme of this year’s Religious Freedom Week of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The observance opens June 22, the feast day of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher, both English martyrs who fought religious persecution. The week ends June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, and includes the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, which is June 24.

Building on this year’s annual report by the USCCB’s Committee on Religious Liberty, Religious Freedom Week 2024 highlights concerns about attacks on houses of worship.

“There is no greater threat to religious liberty than for one’s house of worship to become a place of danger, and the country sadly finds itself in a place where that danger is real,” the committee said in its 48-page report, “The State of Religious Liberty in the United States,” issued in January.

Religious Freedom Week also calls attention to threats to Catholic ministries that serve immigrants.

“In recent years, Christian services to migrants have faced aggressive accusations by both media personalities and political leaders seeking to advance a certain narrative about current immigration trends,” said the June 7 USCCB release on the upcoming weeklong observance. “The attacks on both sacred spaces and ministries to migrants reflect the political and cultural polarization that has come to characterize so much of American life.”

One recent example of political leaders’ aggressive moves against assistance for migrants by churches and other nonprofits is Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s attempt to shut down El Paso’s Annunciation House, a Catholic nonprofit serving migrants. A couple of months after Paxton’s previous effort was blocked by a judge, his office said May 8 it filed an application for a temporary injunction against Annunciation House, accusing it of “systemic criminal conduct in Texas,” including facilitating illegal border crossings or concealing “illegally present aliens from law enforcement.” Annunciation House’s lawyer said those are false allegations.

In his earlier attempt to shut down Annunciation House, Paxton accused it of “human smuggling,” which was denounced by Catholic immigration advocates, including El Paso Bishop Mark J. Seitz.

The special week “encourages Catholics do their part to promote civility by recognizing the dignity of all people and inviting others to do the same,” the release said, adding that “through prayer, education and public action during Religious Freedom Week, the faithful can promote the essential right of religious freedom for Catholics and for those of all faiths.

The USCCB provides “Pray-Reflect-Act” resources at www.usccb.org/ReligiousFreedomWeek. Each day focuses on different religious liberty topics for prayer, reflection and action.

Once again, the Committee for Religious Liberty, in collaboration with the USCCB Secretariat of Catholic Education and Our Sunday Visitor Institute, hosted a religious liberty essay contest. Contestants were asked to share the story of a witness to freedom — a story of the people who inspire us. The top essays from the competition will be published during Religious Freedom Week at www.usccb.org/ReligiousFreedomWeek.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Prior to the second anniversary of a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its prior abortion precedent, pro-life activists said much of their work remains to be done.

Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, told OSV News in a June 10 interview “we realized quickly we have a challenge on our hands,” pointing to losses at the ballot box after the Dobbs ruling, with more such contests on the horizon.

“So after two years, there is still reason to celebrate because we know God’s grace is more powerful than all this, but also, we have to embrace the challenge that faces us,” he said.

The Supreme Court issued its historic decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization June 24, 2022, a little over a month after Politico published a leaked draft of Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion in the case. The leak caused a public firestorm before the court issued its official ruling and is seen as the most significant breach of the court’s confidentiality in its history.

The Dobbs case involved a Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks, in which the state directly challenged the high court’s previous abortion-related precedents in Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992). The Supreme Court ultimately overturned its own prior rulings, undoing nearly a half-century of its own precedent on the issue and returning it to legislatures.

While Roe and its ensuing precedents were in place, states were generally barred from restricting abortion prior to viability, or the point at which a child could survive outside the womb. When Roe was issued in 1973, fetal viability was considered to be 28 weeks gestation, but current estimates are generally considered to be 23-24 weeks, with some estimates as low as 22 weeks as medical technology continues to improve. After the Dobbs ruling, states across the country quickly moved to either restrict or expand access to abortion.

While supporters often described Roe as settled law, opponents argued the court in 1973 improperly legalized abortion nationwide, a matter opponents said should have been left to legislators in Congress or state governments. Many, including the Catholic Church, opposed the ruling on moral grounds that the practice takes the life of an unborn child. Opponents of the ruling challenged it for decades, both in courts and in the public square, such as the national March for Life held annually in Washington.

Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life organization, told OSV News that after Dobbs, there was “so much confusion about what that means and anger and frustration from people who are confused about the inherent dignity of the unborn child and how abortion impacts women. So, I think that we’re still very much in the middle of that reverberation.”

When discussing abortion policy, Mancini said, pro-life advocates should strive “to get very clear” on the specific state, law or situations involved “because there’s a lot of misinformation out there right now.”

In the years following Dobbs, some women in states that restricted abortion said they were denied timely care for miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies or experienced other adverse pregnancy outcomes as a result of medical professionals’ hesitation due to unclear abortion legislation. But pro-life activists said laws restricting abortion contained exceptions for such circumstances. Their opponents claimed bill texts insufficiently addressed those circumstances or lacked clarity on exceptions.

Public support for legal abortion also increased after Roe was overturned, according to multiple polls conducted in the years following the Dobbs ruling. In multiple elections since the ruling, ballot measures on abortion have so far proven elusive for the pro-life movement. In elections in both 2022 and 2023, voters in Ohio, California, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Vermont and Kansas either rejected new limitations on abortion or expanded legal protections for it.

Several states – including Maryland and Florida – have ongoing efforts to enshrine abortion protections in their state constitutions on the ballot, with more states likely to follow suit.

Kelsey Pritchard, state public affairs director for SBA Pro-Life America, told OSV News in an interview that since the Dobbs decision, “we’ve gained major ground in the fight for life.”

“And you look at the states, and today we have 24 states that have laws defending life at 15 weeks or sooner, and 20 of those states have a law that protects babies with a heartbeat,” she said.

Asked about the upcoming ballot measures in November, Pritchard said, “People are literally going to vote in November and their votes could save lives or end lives depending upon how they vote.”

Pritchard said pro-life advocates must respond to “fear-mongering” about state abortion restrictions, including arguing that “there is a life of the mother exception in every single state” with restrictions.

Asked about how pro-life advocates should approach ballot initiatives on abortion, Bishop Burbidge said that efforts have been made, and should continue to be made, “to win minds by proclaiming the truth and proclaiming the Gospel of Life.”

“So we have the truth. So there’s no doubt about it,” he said. “And we’ve proclaimed that clearly and we will continue to do so without compromise. But I think what we’ve learned is that we also have to transform hearts.”

“We have to speak to the hearts of people who love women and love children. So do we. So do we, and we want to be there for every woman and every child,” he added.

Bishop Burbidge said that those seeking to aid the pro-life cause should offer their prayers, and they can sign up for alerts and resources on the committee’s work by visiting respectlife.org.

“I think beyond our role in advocacy too, the Catholic Church has long offered hope, healing, and material support to vulnerable mothers and children,” he said, noting that Walking with Moms in Need and Project Rachel are a means of such support.

The Supreme Court is expected to issue in June a decision in a case concerning mifepristone, a pill commonly used for early abortion as well as for managing early miscarriage, its first major case involving abortion since Dobbs.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Sitting in the Vatican Gardens with the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica as a backdrop, Pope Francis told cardinals and diplomats, including the ambassadors of Israel and Palestine, “Every day I pray that this war will finally end.”

With a representative of Rome’s Jewish community and a representative of the city’s Muslim community in attendance June 7, the pope repeated his call for a cease-fire, his appeal to Hamas to release all the hostages it kidnapped Oct. 7 and his plea that Israel protect civilians in Gaza and allow humanitarian aid to reach them.

The prayer service marked the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis and Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople praying for peace in the Holy Land with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the same spot in the Vatican Gardens.

In 2014 they had planted an olive tree; now it towered over the pope.

“We wish to ask the Lord to give continued growth to the olive tree we planted on that day, which has already become strong and flourishing because it has been sheltered from the wind and watered with care,” the pope said. “Likewise, we must ask God that peace may spring forth in the heart of every person, in every people and nation, in every corner of the earth, protected from the winds of war and nourished by those who daily strive to live in fraternity.”

Holding a green watering can, the pope was joined at the tree by: Raphael Schutz, the Israeli ambassador to the Holy See; Issa Kassissieh, Palestinian ambassador to the Holy See; Rabbi Alberto Funaro of Rome’s Jewish community; and Abdellah Redouane, secretary-general of the Islamic Cultural Center in Rome.

Rabbi Funaro told reporters that events like the pope’s prayer service “somehow help us to go on. If there were one of these initiatives every day, who knows what could happen. We are all here in hope.”

In his brief address, Pope Francis said he was thinking of all the people suffering in the Holy Land today.

“I think of how urgent it is that from the rubble of Gaza a decision to stop the weapons will finally arise, and therefore I ask that there be a ceasefire,” he said. “I think of the families and of the Israeli hostages and ask that they be released as soon as possible.”

“I think of the Palestinian population and ask that they be protected and receive all necessary humanitarian aid,” he continued. “I think of the many who are displaced due to the fighting and ask that their homes be rebuilt soon so that they can return to them in peace.”

The pope said he also was thinking of “those Palestinians and Israelis of good will who, amid tears and suffering, continue to hope for the coming of a new day and strive to bring forth the dawn of a peaceful world where all peoples ‘shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.'”

Repeating the Vatican’s longstanding position on the region, he encouraged everyone to work for “a lasting peace, where the State of Palestine and the State of Israel can live side by side, breaking down the walls of enmity and hatred.”

And, he added, “we must all cherish Jerusalem so that it will become the city of fraternal encounter among Christians, Jews and Muslims, protected by a special internationally guaranteed status.”

At the same time, Pope Francis said, “peace is not made only by written agreements or by human and political compromises. It is born from transformed hearts and arises when each of us has encountered and been touched by God’s love, which dissolves our selfishness, shatters our prejudices and grants us the taste and joy of friendship, fraternity and mutual solidarity.”

“There can be no peace if we do not let God himself first disarm our hearts, making them hospitable, compassionate and merciful — God is hospitable, compassionate and merciful,” he said.

Pope Francis then read the same prayer for peace he had read 10 years ago in the presence of the Orthodox patriarch and the presidents of Israel and Palestine.

“Lord God of peace, hear our prayer,” he said. “We have tried so many times and over so many years to resolve our conflicts by our own powers and by the force of our weapons. How many moments of hostility and darkness have we experienced; how much blood has been shed; how many lives have been shattered; how many hopes have been buried. But our efforts have been in vain. Now, Lord, come to our aid!”