Parishioners of Saint Ann Parish in Shohola display their “family quilt” outside their church in May. The 7’ x 18’ quilt is made up of squares designed by each parish family.
SHOHOLA – Pictures do not do it justice!
That is how parishioners of Saint Ann Parish in Pike County describe a family quilt just been completed after nearly one year of work.
“It’s awe-inspiring when you look at it,” parishioner Christine Cancemi said. “It was just a great project to do. It was a lot of fun.”
The quilt project began in September 2022 when the parish held a fall Intergenerational Session. The session focused on Church as family and concluded with each family being given a quilt square to decorate however they wished in a way that would represent them.
Squares were also given out after all Masses in an effort to include everyone in the parish. All of the squares were collected at the end of November.
“The individual squares were amazing. The artistry, the magic, it just all came together,” Cancemi explained.
Cancemi led a group of eight women who spent the next five months planning, designing the layout, ironing, embroidering, quilting, sewing, binding, pinning, praying, and stitching the quilt together.
The other members of the Walker Lake Woman’s Club participating in the project are Karen Batalin, Linda Dubowski, Rita Furno, Jean Gannon, Maryann Muschlite, Pat Sheppard and Kathy Weber.
Drawing on a shared belief in faith and community, they designed a quilt rich in sacred symbols and even included several blank squares that can be decorated by new parishioners or anyone who missed the first opportunity to create their square.
“It was stunning. There are no words to describe it. When I took it up to the rectory office, we laid it on the table and just stood there. It was absolutely amazing how the whole thing came together,” Cancemi added.
In May, the parish held its spring Intergenerational Session, where the faithful continued to focus on Church as family with more reflections and readings. The session concluded with the unveiling of the Saint Ann Family Quilt.
The quilt measures approximately seven feet by nearly 18 feet (84” x 215”). The bright, colorful squares, which are all so different, symbolize how the church family is composed of unique, dynamic, individual families coming together to make one beautiful union to glorify God.
The quilt now hangs in the church as a visible sign of the unity and diversity of the Saint Ann Parish family.
Social
WILKES-BARRE – Mother Teresa’s Haven, a shelter for homeless men operated by Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton, will soon have a new, permanent home.
In late April, the Wilkes-Barre zoning hearing board unanimously approved an application for a special exception to establish a homeless shelter above Saint Vincent de Paul Kitchen at 39 E. Jackson Street.
Mother Teresa’s Haven homeless shelter will soon be relocating to the area above Saint Vincent de Paul Kitchen in Wilkes-Barre.
“The shelter has been nomadic since its inception in the 1980s. When Catholic Social Services took over more than a decade ago, we started talking about a permanent location,” Harry Lyons, program director for Mother Teresa’s Haven, said. “You need a permanent location so you have the ability to offer these men showers and somewhere they can send their mail.”
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mother Teresa’s Haven had been located in the basement of Saint Mary’s Church of the Immaculate Conception at 134 S. Washington Street. Prior to that, the shelter had rotated between several churches in Wilkes-Barre.
“We’re grateful to the churches that have supported us all these years but it is time for us to take the next step and provide better services to the men,” Lyons added. “Saint Mary’s was not meant to be a long-term solution. It is a beautiful space and we’re absolutely grateful for it but it was never meant to be a long-term solution.”
In 2022, Mother Teresa’s Haven provided 5,838 individual nights of shelter to men in the community who are experiencing homelessness. That is the highest number of clients served in more than six years.
When the emergency shelter moves into its new location, it will be able to house 20 to 24 men each night. It would be open 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily and would be fully staffed. Security will be provided. Men are able to stay at the shelter a maximum of 30 days and can be granted a 15-day extension if they are taking steps to improve their condition.
“We’re optimistic about the future. The better services we can provide, hopefully the quicker somebody can get through a bout of homelessness. That is the ultimate goal, to get people to self-sufficiency, getting them into a place that is safe, stable and affordable,” Lyons explained.
The new, permanent location will allow Catholic Social Services to offer beds to clients instead of cots and will be beneficial for integrating services in one location. “It makes sense to have the shelter and Saint Vincent de Paul Kitchen right next to each other so people don’t have to wander around downtown as much,” Joe Mahoney, Chief Executive Officer of Catholic Social Services, said during the Wilkes-Barre zoning board meeting. “The more we can provide services in that one location, the better off we’re going to be, the better off our clients are going to be, and the better off the community is going to be.”
Renovation work is expected to begin on the new, permanent location for Mother Teresa’s Haven by late summer or early fall. An expected completion date is not yet known but Catholic Social Services does not anticipate any interruption of services for the men they serve during the transition process.
Social
(OSV News) – A new study indicates Americans are pleased with virtual religious services, but more prefer to attend in person now that the COVID-19 public health emergency has officially ended.
About a quarter of U.S. adults regularly watch religious services online, with 21% using apps or websites to aid Scripture reading, according to a report released June 2 by the Pew Research Center.
Parishioners attend Mass at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton on Sunday, June 11, 2023.
Pew surveyed more than 11,000 respondents in November 2022, well after the pandemic’s peak but before the U.S. government officially declared it over. Over half (57%) said they do not generally attend religious services, either in person or virtually.
Researchers said the online and television worship driven by COVID lockdowns remains popular with 25% of those surveyed. Two thirds of those polled said they were “extremely” or “very satisfied” with the experience.
“When asked why they watch religious services online or on TV, many regular viewers cite multiple reasons,” Pew stated in a summary of the survey data. “But as the COVID-19 pandemic recedes, convenience is the most-commonly selected option — not fear of catching or spreading any illness.”
Worshippers who opt for a mix of in-person and online worship strongly favor the former by a margin of 76% to 11%. Black American adults were found to be “more engaged with digital technology in their religious lives,” with 48% saying they watched religious services online or on television at least once a month, according to the study.
Yet respondents who attended in person expressed even greater enthusiasm for their experience, with 74% extremely or very satisfied with the sermons and 69% with service music.
The preference for in-person attendance is “not shocking,” said Father Thomas Dailey, professor of homiletics and social communications at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.
Post pandemic, the challenge is to use livestream worship creatively as a tool for driving authentic community among the faithful, he told OSV News.
“The number of people who said in the survey they watch online because they can’t otherwise get there is, to me, the reason for continuing to livestream,” said Father Dailey, an Oblate of St. Francis de Sales.
Of Catholic adults who regularly watch religious services online or on TV, 16% said an illness or disability preventing them from attending in person was a “major reason” for watching religious services on TV or online, and 23% identified it as a “minor reason.”
Father Dailey stressed that “the fullness of liturgical participation is hearing the word and receiving the Eucharist.”
“Obviously, you can’t receive the Eucharist online,” he said. “But if there is some mechanism by which we can provide the Eucharist to those not physically present at the celebration of Mass, that’s something that enables people to participate more fully.”
Livestreamed liturgies, combined with extraordinary ministers of holy Communion for the homebound, can do just that, he said.
“The person who can’t get to church can participate in the worship online, and then receive the Eucharist from that Mass with an extraordinary minister bringing it to them,” said Father Dailey. “Obviously, there’s a time gap, but you facilitate participation in the Mass as best one can.”
The same arrangement can benefit merged and rural parishes, where priests are stretched thin to cover the celebration of Mass, Father Dailey said.
“You can imagine Mass being celebrated in the nearest city or deanery church, livestreamed to the distant rural churches, where the faithful gather and can receive the sacrament” from permanent deacons or extraordinary ministers of holy Communion, he said.
That approach avoids “sitting at home watching Mass,” he added.
“Our worship is by definition communal,” said Father Dailey. “It’s about communion with God, yes, but also with one another.”
Social
WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The U.S. Catholic bishops are inviting the faithful to pray for challenges to religious liberty both within the United States and abroad during the upcoming Religious Freedom Week.
The theme for this year’s annual June 22 – 29 event is “Embracing the Divine Gift of Freedom.”
People hold rosaries while participating in a roadside prayer rally marking Religious Freedom Week at St. James Church in Setauket, N.Y., June 24, 2020. The U.S. bishops’ theme for Religious Freedom Week 2023 is “Embracing the Divine Gift of Freedom.”(OSV News photo/CNS file, Gregory A. Shemitz)
“Religious freedom allows the Church, and all religious communities, to live out their faith in public and to serve the good of all,” the event’s website stated. “Beginning June 22, the feast of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher, the USCCB invites Catholics to pray, reflect, and act to promote religious freedom.”
Both saints are English martyrs who fought religious persecution, notably objecting to King Henry VIII’s claims to be the supreme head of the Church of England. Both saints were executed after being charged with treason in 1535.
During this year’s Religious Freedom Week, the faithful are asked to pray, reflect, and act on key areas where there are risks to religious liberty, and seek the intercession of the saints as examples of faithful citizenship.
Two of the days are devoted to prayer for ending religious persecution in Nicaragua and Nigeria. In the former, the regime of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is accused of the persecution of Catholic leaders, including Bishop Rolando Álvarez, who was sentenced in February to 26 years in prison the day after he refused to be deported to the U.S. with more than 200 other Nicaraguan political prisoners. In Nigeria, Christians have faced violence amid political and civil unrest.
Other areas of concern identified by the bishops include praying for the respect of sacred spaces amid incidents of vandalism at Catholic churches and pro-life centers across the country.
Another area is praying for the safety of the seal of the confessional in civil law. Some states are weighing whether or not to make such an expectation, adding clergy to their mandatory reporting laws for child abuse or neglect without an exception for the practice of confession. Church law strictly forbids priests from divulging what is revealed to them by penitents during the sacrament of reconciliation.
The faithful are also asked to pray for the safety of migrants and refugees, and for those seeking to serve them, citing efforts to restrict the ability of Christian groups to care for them as a threat to religious liberty.
Other areas identified for prayer include that schools and universities, hospitals and medical practices, and business leaders build a culture of respect for people of faith and for conscience rights.
The USCCB provides “Pray-Reflect-Act” resources at usccb.org/ReligiousFreedomWeek.
Social
Poconos Corpus Christi Procession Submitted by Desiree Schulz
Sunday June 11, 2023 marked the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ—Corpus Christi for the U.S. Catholic Church. In the words of Pope Francis, “Every year the feast of Corpus Christi invites us to renew the wonder and joy for this wonderful gift of the Lord, which is the Eucharist.”
This year, however, is even more pronounced. In the United States, Corpus Christi Sunday was the kickoff of the Year of the Parish Eucharistic Revival, the 2nd of three parts of the National Eucharistic Revival. Through July 2025, the Church will experience profound renewal in Eucharistic faith and love of this most precious gift. According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “Our Lord promises to reinvigorate our communities with his Real Presence, setting our hearts on fire with his love and lavishing new graces upon our communities.”
Parishioners of St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish in Pocono Pines, PA remembered the Feast of Corpus Christi and kicked off their Year of Parish Revival with a Procession of the Blessed Sacrament along Route 940 on Sunday. More than 100 members, liturgical ministers, altar servers and communicants followed Fr. Paschal Mbagwu as he carried the Holy Monstrance bearing the Blessed Sacrament. Catholics see the real presence of Jesus’ body, blood, soul and divinity in the Sacrament known as the Eucharist.
SCRANTON – When Cindy Korus looked into her husband John’s eyes while renewing her wedding vows, tears of joy started to form after being together 50 years.
“I had tears in my eyes, saying what the wife is supposed to say, that ‘I take you, John, to be my husband,’ because it has been a long time,” the Larksville woman explained. “You think 50 years is never going to come but it doesn’t take long to get here.”
John and Cindy Korus, parishioners of All Saints Parish in Plymouth, were one of 148 couples that participated in the Diocese of Scranton’s annual Wedding Anniversary Mass at the Cathedral of Saint Peter on June 4, 2023.
The Mass recognizes married couples who are celebrating their 25th and 50th anniversaries this year. In all, the couples participating in the Mass have been married a total of 6,528 years combine.
“It reminds you of the first day we got married,” John Korus said, describing the emotions he felt during the renewal commitment ceremony.
The couple married at Saint Stephen of Hungary Church in Plymouth in 1973, shortly after the Agnes flood one year earlier. The impact of the devastation was still very clear and evident as Msgr. Vincent Grimalia celebrated their wedding Mass.
“Saint Stephen’s was our church. They were still renovating after the flood. There were no pews. It was all folding chairs. There was no carpet back in yet. Everything was simply ‘cleaned up’ and that was it,” Cindy explained.
As the couple reflected on their life together, they say faith has played a central role.
“We have two beautiful children and three beautiful grandchildren. We are very thankful. The Lord has been very, very good to us,” Cindy said.
The Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, served as principal celebrant and homilist for the Wedding Anniversary Mass. During his homily, the bishop reflected on how every marriage is filled with moments of joy, struggle, challenge and disappointment.
“Your marriage has endured because you have come to see it as part of something much bigger than yourselves. You have come to see your marriage as something of a mystery, the mystery of God’s love woven into creation, embraced in your lives, and lived through God’s grace, in your relationship with each other,” Bishop Bambera said.
“The bishop’s homily was beautiful,” Paula Matthews of Swoyersville said.
Paula and her husband, Frank, who are parishioners of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year.
“God has always been an important part of our lives,” Frank added.
When asked what the secret is for a long and happy marriage, many of the couples participating in the Wedding Anniversary Mass had similar answers.
“I think communication is key. You just have to talk things out; you have to talk things over. We raised four children. It wasn’t always easy but it was always joyful,” Jean Pilch said.
Jean and her husband, Lou, who live in Moosic and are parishioners of Divine Mercy Parish, emphasized working together as a team.
“Don’t give up. You have to fight and persevere. Just because something goes wrong, you can’t just throw it away. Our children sometimes wonder how we lasted this long. You just have to keep persevering,” Lou added.
Donald and Janice Fedorchak of Carbondale, who are parishioners of Saint Rose of Lima Parish, shared those same sentiments.
‘Don’t go to bed angry at one another. Always make up before you go to bed and stay in love with one another,” Janice said.
“Give and take,” Donald added, when talking about the secret of their success. “Sometimes you’ve got to give and sometimes you take!”
Social
SCRANTON –The public is invited to celebrate and honor World Refugee Day!
On Saturday, June 24, 2023, 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 ‘Hope Away from Home,’ which focuses on the power of inclusion and solutions for refugees.
The event will be held from 2-4 p.m. at Nay Aug Park in Scranton (on the Greenhouse side of Nay Aug Park). The celebration will include cultural songs and music, refreshments, games and activities for kids.
“World Refugee Day is an opportunity to recognize the resilience and courage of refugees around the world. As a community, we must promote empathy and compassion towards those who have been forced to leave their homes and seek safety in a new country,” Fikile Ryder, Director of Community for Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton said. “We acknowledge the challenges that refugees face and recognize the need for support and solidarity towards their integration and well-being. It’s crucial that we come together to ensure that refugees have access to the resources and support they need to rebuild their lives and contribute to our society.”
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.
“I came to the United States from a refugee camp in Uganda and am so excited about this coming World Refugee Day,” Ushu Mukelo of the Congolese Community of Scranton said. “As a refugee who lived in a refugee camp for more than 12 years, it reminds me of the sense of togetherness. Scranton has been a very hospitable city and your presence just reinforces that.”
Several community agencies are working together to put together the 2023 World Refugee Celebration, including Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton, The University of Scranton, United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Ignatian Volunteer Corps, Islamic Center of Scranton, Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit, Congolese Community of Scranton, Bhutanese Cultural Foundation Scranton Association, Saigon Corner Vietnamese Restaurant and Pennsylvania Department of Education – Migrant Education Program.
Social
ROME (CNS) – Pope Francis had a restful, peaceful first night at Rome’s Gemelli hospital after a successful three-hour operation June 7 for a hernia.
He has been informed of the many messages of “closeness and affection” from well-wishers and he “expresses his gratitude, while asking for continued prayers,” said Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, in a written statement June 8.
A statue of St. John Paul II is seen outside of Rome’s Gemelli hospital June 8, 2023, where Pope Francis is staying in the papal suite on the top floor after undergoing surgery to treat a hernia June 7, 2023. Because of his frequent visits over his three-decade pontificate, the Polish pope affectionately called the hospital “the third Vatican” after his second “home” at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo outside of Rome. (CNS photo/Justin McLellan)
The medical staff in charge of monitoring the 86-year-old pope’s post-operative recovery said that “Pope Francis had a peaceful night, managing to rest extensively,” Bruni said.
The pope “is in good general condition, alert and breathing on his own. Routine follow-up examinations are good. He will observe the necessary post-operative rest for the entire day,” June 8, Bruni added.
The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, asked that Catholics “keep Pope Francis and all those in the hospital in your prayers.”
“As Pope Francis recovers from surgery, he is strengthened by faith in the healing power of our merciful God,” he said in a written statement released June 7. “Jesus always walks with us and is even closer whenever we need healing and comfort.”
Pope Francis underwent a three-hour abdominal surgery “without complications” June 7 to treat a hernia, according to the Vatican press office.
The 86-year-old pope was taken to Rome’s Gemelli hospital shortly after his general audience June 7. He was put under general anesthesia and underwent abdominal surgery to treat a hernia that developed at the site of abdominal incisions from previous operations, Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the chief surgeon operating on the pope, said at a news conference at the hospital following the operation.
Speaking to journalists after the surgery, Alfieri said Pope Francis had a number of internal scars and adhesions from two operations many years ago, possibly in Argentina; one was to treat peritonitis — inflammation of abdominal tissue — caused by an infected gallbladder and another to treat hydatid disease caused by cysts containing a parasite. It was this last operation that had left behind scars in the pope’s abdominal tissue where another hernia had developed.
Alfieri said that during the three-hour operation adhesions were found between the intestine and the membrane that lines the abdomen, that for months caused an “aggravating, painful” intestinal blockage.
The adhesions were freed during the surgery and the opening in the abdomen’s wall that led to the hernia was repaired with prosthetic mesh.
Alfieri, who also operated on the pope in 2021, said the pope had no complications and responded well to the general anesthesia he was administered during this surgery and the one in 2021 that removed part of his colon.
The chief surgeon underscored that, in both operations, all affected tissue had been benign.
“The pope does not have other illnesses,” he said.
Alfieri explained that while the medical team that follows the pope had been discussing the scheduled operation for several days, the final decision to operate was not taken until June 6, when Pope Francis briefly visited the hospital for a medical checkup and tests.
“It was not urgent,” he said, “or else we would have operated on him then.”
Before going to the hospital the pope seemed well and in good spirits, holding his general audience as usual, riding in the popemobile, blessing babies, walking with a cane and meeting special guests afterward. He had held two private meetings before the general audience in St. Peter’s Square.
Vatican News reported he arrived at the Gemelli hospital around 11:30 a.m. local time in the compact Fiat 500 he often rides in. The windows of the papal suite on the 10th floor of the hospital were opened just after 6 p.m.
Alfieri noted that shortly after the surgery Pope Francis was already working and making jokes, and had asked the surgeon in jest: “When are we doing the third (surgery)?”
While Alfieri said recovery for this operation typically lasts about seven days. Vatican News reported that the pope’s audiences have been canceled until June 18 as a “precaution.”
Bruni said June 7 that, for now, all events the pope was scheduled to attend after June 18 were still on his calendar and had not been canceled.
Pope Francis was scheduled to meet with 29 Nobel Peace Prize winners at the Vatican June 10 for an event to celebrate human fraternity. Before going to the hospital, the pope encouraged its organizers to continue with the event as planned without him, a statement from the foundation organizing the event said.
This was Pope Francis’ third hospitalization at the Gemelli hospital, the most recent was from March 29 to April 1 when he was admitted for an acute respiratory infection.
Social
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Individuals become Christian because they have been touched by Christ’s love, not because they have been convinced or coerced by someone else, Pope Francis said.
The Catholic Church needs missionary disciples who have hearts like St. Thérèse of Lisieux and who “draw people to love and bring people closer to God,” he told people at his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square June 7.
“Let us ask this saint for the grace to overcome our selfishness and for the passion to intercede that Jesus might be known and loved,” he said.
Pope Francis carries a white rose as he approaches a reliquary containing the relics of St. Thérèse of Lisieux before the start of his general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican June 7, 2023. He announced he was planning on issuing an apostolic letter dedicated to her for the 150th anniversary of her birth. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)
The pope continued his series of talks about “zeal” for evangelization by focusing on St. Thérèse, the 19th-century French Carmelite nun who is patron saint of missions and a doctor of the church.
Before beginning his general audience talk, the pope walked with his cane to a large reliquary containing the relics of St. Thérèse that was placed on a table near where he sits to deliver his catechesis. He placed a large white rose before the ornate reliquary and stood a few moments in prayer.
During his catechesis he announced he was planning to dedicate an apostolic letter to her to mark the 150th anniversary of her birth this year.
Pope Francis has said he has a special devotion to the saint, once telling an interviewer that he used to keep a photo of this 19th-century French Carmelite nun on his library shelf when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires. He told journalist Sergio Rubin in 2010, “When I have a problem I ask the saint, not to solve it, but to take it in her hands and help me accept it, and, as a sign, I almost always receive a white rose.”
St. Thérèse displayed patience, trust in God and a “spirit of humility, tenderness and goodness,” that God “wants from all of us,” Pope Francis has said.
During his Wednesday general audience talk, the pope asked Christians to find inspiration in the life of St. Thérèse, who lived “according to the way of littleness and weakness,” defining herself as “a small grain of sand.”
She lived in poor health and died at the age of 24, but “her heart was vibrant, missionary,” the pope said.
The Carmelite nun wanted to be a missionary and served, from her monastery, as a “spiritual sister” to several missionaries, accompanying them through her letters and prayers, he said.
“Without being visible, she interceded for the missions, like an engine that, although hidden, gives a vehicle the power to move forward,” Pope Francis said. “Such is the power of intercession moved by charity; such is the engine of mission!”
Therefore, missionaries are not only those who “travel long distances, learn new languages, do good works and are good at proclamation,” he said. “No, a missionary is anyone who lives as an instrument of God’s love where they are” so that “through their witness, their prayer, their intercession, Jesus might pass by.”
St. Thérèse’s daily resolution was to “make Jesus loved” and to intercede for others, the pope said. “Following the example of Jesus the Good Shepherd, her zeal was directed especially toward sinners.”
Apostolic zeal never works with proselytism or coercion, he said. “One does not become a Christian because they are forced by someone, but because they have been touched by love.”
“The church needs hearts like Thérèse’s, hearts that draw people to love and bring people closer to God,” he said.
The pope ended the audience with his usual greetings to special guests and then went to Rome’s Gemelli hospital for abdominal surgery that was scheduled for that afternoon. He was expected to remain for several days, according to the Vatican press office.
Social
WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Prior to the first anniversary of a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its prior abortion precedent, pro-life activists lauded legislation passed in multiple states while advocating for additional support services for women and families facing unplanned pregnancies.
The Supreme Court issued its historic decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization June 24, 2022, little more than a month after Politico leaked an earlier draft of Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion. 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.
A memorial stone dedicated to the unborn children of the world is seen at St. Patrick Parish Cemetery in Smithtown N.Y., Jan. 22, 2021. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)
The Dobbs case involved a Missisppi law banning abortion after 15 weeks, in which the state directly challenged the high court’s previous abortion-related precedents in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The Supreme Court ultimately overturned its own prior rulings, undoing nearly a half-century of its own precedent on the issue.
Under Roe and its ensuing precedents, 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 50 years later, estimates now are generally considered to be 23-24 weeks, with some estimates as low as 22 weeks.
While supporters often described Roe as settled law, opponents argued the court in 1973 improperly legalized abortion nationwide, a matter that should have been left to legislators in Congress or state governments. Many, including the Catholic Church, also argued that abortion is murder and its legalization should be opposed on moral grounds. 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.
In a June 6 statement marking the first anniversary of Dobbs, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, said, “We have much to celebrate.”
“By the grace of God, the nearly fifty-year reign of national abortion on demand has been put to an end. Roe v. Wade — a seemingly insurmountable blight on our nation — is no more!” Bishop Burbidge said. “Over the past year, while some states have acted to protect preborn children, others have tragically moved to enshrine abortion in law — enacting extreme abortion policies that leave children vulnerable to abortion, even until the moment of birth. … The work that lies ahead continues to be not just changing laws but also helping to change hearts, with steadfast faith in the power of God to do so.”
Bishop Burbidge said the “task before us begins with the knowledge of the truth and our courage to speak it and to live it with compassion,” calling for the faithful to show “radical solidarity” with women facing an unexpected or challenging pregnancy.
“In this shifting political landscape, we persist confidently in our efforts to defend life,” he said. “The work that lies ahead continues to be not just changing laws but also helping to change hearts, with steadfast faith in the power of God to do so. The task before us begins with our knowledge of the truth and our courage to speak it and to live it with compassion.”
Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life organization, told OSV News the first post-Roe year has been “amazing in so many ways” in reducing abortion. Mancini said the sheer overturn of Roe itself “is a huge accomplishment.”
“I’m not sure many of us thought that would happen in our lifetime,” she said.
But, Mancini said, the year following the Dobbs decision has come with many challenges and also introduced “an element of confusion.”
In the months following Dobbs, some women in states that restricted abortion said they were denied care for miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies, or other adverse pregnancy outcomes as a result of unclear abortion legislation.
Pro-life activists said pro-life bills restricting abortion contained exceptions for such circumstances, while 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 months following the Dobbs ruling.
“I think the overturning of Roe has revealed how conflicted our culture is about abortion,” Mancini said. “It shows me our work is still very much cut out for us.”
May 2023 polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 42% of U.S. adults said the Democratic Party best represents their views on abortion, while 26% said the same of the Republican Party. A substantial portion, 32%, said neither major political party best represents their views on abortion.
In the November elections following Dobbs, voters in states across the U.S. either rejected ballot measures meant to restrict abortion, or voted to codify measures protecting the procedure.
“We’ve got a long way to go towards the day abortion is unthinkable,” Mancini acknowledged.
The way forward, Mancini said, must be to “lean into this and do it with a lot of love.”
“And then also, of course, to emphasize the truth that pro-life is pro-woman, whether it’s the support of a pregnancy care center or funding support at the state level,” she said.
Since the Dobbs decision, more than 20 states have moved to ban or restrict abortion. Some states like Texas implemented a near-total ban on the procedure at any point in pregnancy, while others, such as Georgia, banned the procedure after six weeks, effectively before many women know they are pregnant and thus banning most abortions in practice. Other states, including North Carolina, have approved restrictions at later gestational points in an unborn child’s development, such as North Carolina, where a 12-week abortion ban is scheduled to go into effect in July.
Bans or other limitations are blocked pending legal challenges in South Carolina, Arizona, Indiana, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah and Wyoming. South Carolina’s bill, for example, would ban abortion after six weeks if it remains in effect; a judge put a temporary hold on it one day after Gov. Henry McMaster signed it into law, asking the state Supreme Court to review the law. The state’s high court previously struck down similar legislation.
Meanwhile, some other states have moved to keep or expand abortion access within their borders, including Oregon, which allocated about $15 million dollars to pay for travel expenses for women who come to the state seeking abortions. California enacted legislation its Gov. Gavin Newsom said would shield patients and providers who travel from other states to perform or undergo abortions in California from laws in other states. New York enacted similar legislation.
Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa, founder and president of New Wave Feminists, told OSV News that the U.S. birth rate may be one indicator of the long-term impact of the end of Roe.
But the U.S. may already be seeing the effects of the fall of Roe without a substantial shift in the culture toward life. Abortion pills, Herndon-De La Rosa said, are representing a higher share of U.S. abortions, and their impact is still being tallied amid ongoing legal disputes.
“It can feel very defeating sometimes,” she said. “Like that scene from Jurassic Park where they say ‘life always finds a way,’ sometimes it feels like abortion will always find a way, because when a woman is is desperate and terrified and that second line shows up (on a pregnancy test), I don’t know how much laws make a difference if she feels she has no other option.”
Abortion, she said, is a matter of both supply and demand.
“What are we doing to address the demand side?” Herndon-De La Rosa asked, arguing for further increases in affordable housing and child care.
Herndon-De La Rosa said that pro-life bills also need to be crafted carefully so health providers are not discouraged from timely medical interventions to save the lives of women during pregnancy.
The bills cannot “put women’s lives at risk, intentionally or not,” she said.
Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats For Life of America, co-authored a policy proposal in January alongside Catherine Glenn Foster, president and CEO of Americans United for Life, about making birth free to mothers. Day told OSV News the pro-life movement should both seek to address “the needs of women and on bringing the U.S. more in line with Europe as far as limitations on abortion,” noting many European nations limit elective abortion to the first trimester.
“I think there’s a lot to be optimistic about with the pregnancy-support side of things,” Day said, adding that states including Mississippi, the impetus for Dobbs, also expanded resources for pregnant women and new mothers in its abortion restrictions.
Day said a challenge for the pro-life movement is a negative public perception of early limitation bills, which is all the more reason for pro-lifers to “really focus on more than just the limitation.”
“It’s complicated,” Day said. “It’s complicated in part because the Supreme Court made a law (in Roe), and so we’re just trying to move the legislative duties back where they’re supposed to be.”
