This is a view outside Gemelli hospital in Rome where Pope Francis had a prescheduled colon surgery July 4, 2021. Pope Francis’ recovery from colon surgery continues to go well, the Vatican said. (CNS photo/Guglielmo Mangiapane, Reuters)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Recovering from colon surgery, Pope Francis briefly ran a fever late July 7, leading his doctors to perform a CT scan of his abdomen and chest the next morning to check for signs of infection.

The results of the scan were negative, as were the results of “routine and microbiological examinations,” the Vatican press office said July 8.

“His Holiness Pope Francis spent a quiet day, eating and moving unassisted,” the press office said in its daily update on how the pope is recovering after undergoing a three-hour surgery July 4 at Rome’s Gemelli hospital.

As with any operation, but especially intestinal surgery, infection is a major post-op concern.

Before the passing fever, the press office said, Pope Francis had sent a message of “paternal closeness” to the “young patients in the nearby pediatric oncology and children’s neurosurgery wards.”

“At this particular moment, he looks toward all those who suffer, expressing his closeness to the sick, especially those most in need of care,” the press office said.

The Vatican’s July 7 midday bulletin, issued before the pope’s temporary temperature, said the doctors had removed his intravenous drip, and that “the post-operative progress of His Holiness Pope Francis continues to be regular and satisfactory.”

“The Holy Father has continued to eat regularly, and infusion therapy has been suspended,” it added.

Announcing that the pope had arrived at the Rome hospital July 4, the Vatican had said he was to undergo “a scheduled surgical intervention for a symptomatic diverticular stenosis of the colon.”

The next morning, the Vatican said the surgery lasted three hours and included “a left hemicolectomy,” the removal of the descending part of the colon, which can be recommended to treat diverticulitis, when bulging pouches in the lining of the intestine or colon become inflamed or infected.

Three days after surgery, the Vatican said, “the final histological examination has confirmed a severe diverticular stenosis with signs of sclerosing diverticulitis,” a hardening of the tissue. The statement seemed to indicate that the biopsy showed no cancerous cells.

“Pope Francis is touched by the many messages and the affection received in these days, and expresses his gratitude for the closeness and prayer,” the Vatican message said.

Pope Francis is expected to remain in the hospital at least until July 11. Since the pontificate of St. John Paul II, the Gemelli hospital, part of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, has maintained a suite of rooms on the 10th floor for use by the pope.

 

 

SCRANTON – Surrounded by family and friends inside the Cathedral of Saint Peter, Mark J. DeCelles was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Scranton by the Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, on Saturday, June 26, 2021.

“I have so many emotions it is hard to name them all,” Father DeCelles, 39, said directly following the 10 a.m. Mass. “I feel cared for, I feel loved, I feel supported.”

More than 150 people attended the Dunmore native’s Ordination Mass. With classes, exams and the seminary experience now behind him, Father DeCelles feels ready to serve the Church of Scranton and its people.

“It feels natural. I’ve been in formation for four years now. I’ve been a deacon for over a year and I feel well prepared,” he explained.

During his homily, Bishop Bambera expressed gratitude to the many people who helped make the joyous day possible.

“I join with this local Church to give thanks – first to God – for the call to priestly service that he planted in Mark’s heart, an invitation built upon the universal call to holiness which all of us have received in Baptism,” Bishop Bambera began.

The bishop also thanked Mark DeCelles for saying ‘yes’ to the Lord’s call, and expressed gratitude for those who have helped him discern and respond to that invitation. The ordaining prelate also acknowledged Mark’s family and friends who have supported, loved and encouraged him along the way.

“I especially thank his immediate family – his brothers, Chris and Sal – and particularly his mother, Mildred, and father, Charles. I don’t know that any candidate for priestly ordination has ever received such powerful formation in the mysteries of our faith as Mark has received from you,” the bishop said. “From the selfless love and commitment to each other that you have all lived as a family on a daily basis, to the dignity with which you have treasured God’s gift of life, to your humble embrace of the crosses that have come your way, to the hope that you have placed in the power of Christ’s life, death and resurrection – you have taught Mark invaluable lessons that most of us take a lifetime to learn.”

For the Gospel reading of the Ordination Mass, Father DeCelles selected a reading from the last chapter of Saint John’s Gospel where the Risen Jesus showed himself to his disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Three times, Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?” In the end, Jesus said to Peter, “Follow me.”

Bishop Bambera reflected on the meaning of that Gospel passage as it applied to DeCelles’ ordination.

“As Jesus did with Peter, he invites you, Mark, to follow him, in a deep and intimate way. He invites you to love him,” the bishop explained. “Love of God is rooted in an authentic relationship with the person of Jesus. Love of God emerges from our awareness of and gratitude for God’s abiding presence in our lives and the recognition of our unworthiness and our inability to save ourselves. The love of God is given flesh and substance in our feeble efforts to selflessly serve the people of God has entrusted to our care.”

As the newest priest for the Diocese of Scranton, Father DeCelles will serve as a teacher, shepherd and servant for the People of God.

“Always remember, when you teach in the name of Christ the Teacher – when you work for justice, truth and freedom – when you baptize – when you forgive sins in the name of Christ and the Church – when you comfort the sick and the dying – when you serve the poor – and when you celebrate the Sacraments and particularly the Sacrifice of Christ in the Eucharist – you are both a servant of the Church and a member of the People of God. As such, while you are appointed to act on behalf of the Christian faithful for those things that pertain to God, remember that you – like all of us – are in need of God’s continued presence, life and mercy,” Bishop Bambera added.

As he ended his homily, the bishop encouraged Father DeCelles to remain close to God’s people.

“They will look to you for answers to their questions. They will look to see Jesus in the fruits of your prayer, in your words of forgiveness and encouragement, in your work, in the simplicity of your life, in your love and in the Eucharist you celebrate for and with them,” Bishop Bambera noted. “In return, they will love you, they will walk with you, they will support and they will enable you to proclaim with an ever-deepening sense of certainty the words of Peter spoken to Jesus on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, ‘Yes Lord, you know that I love you.’”

The Ordination Mass featured several poignant moments.

During the Litany of Supplication, DeCelles, still a candidate for the priesthood at that point, lied prostrate on the floor of the Cathedral in a gesture of solemn petition. The choir and congregation, through the intercession of all the saints, asked God’s blessing on him.

Then came the laying on of hands, an essential part of the Sacrament of Holy Orders. In complete silence, Bishop Bambera laid his lands upon DeCelles’ head – followed by every priest present – signaling the true fraternity of the priesthood. The Prayer of Ordination followed that, the moment when DeCelles officially became a priest.

After that time, Monsignor Michael J. Delaney vested Father DeCelles for the first time and then the bishop anointed his hands with the Sacred Chrism oil. After receiving his chalice and paten, he received a fraternal kiss of peace, first from Bishop Bambera, then from every priest present.

At the end of Mass, Father DeCelles gave his first blessing as a priest to his mother, Mildred, followed by other family members.

Asked afterward what that moment meant to him, Father DeCelles responded, “My mother and my father, I owe them everything. I’m so conscious of how I have been blessed, how I have been blessed by them and my whole family and friends. If I can give that back to them, and the people of God in any way, that’s all I want to do.”

Father DeCelles received his first assignment as a priest shortly after the Mass ended. He will serve as Assistant Pastor at Saint Nicholas Parish and Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Wilkes-Barre.

 

The youth ministry group at St. Joseph Parish in Miami Beach, Fla., host a eucharistic prayer and candlelight vigil for those who have died and who are still missing June 26, 2021, of the nearby partially collapsed condo in Surfside, Fla. The evening included a walkthrough of the neighborhood close to the condo. (CNS photo/Tom Tracy, Florida Catholic)

SURFSIDE, Fla. (CNS) – After girding themselves with eucharistic adoration, rosary, songs and reflections, the teens, young adults and parish community of St. Joseph stepped out into the night air to solemnly walk to Surfside’s new ground zero.

For three hours – and all the way until midnight – the participants in the June 26 prayer vigil, organized in response to the Champlain Towers South partial collapse, turned their thoughts heavenward: 12 parish families were affected by the tragedy, eight of whom remain missing.

As of June 30, 16 people were confirmed dead and about 145 others were still missing as search and rescue efforts entered their seventh day.

The death toll from the tragic collapse could end up on par with that of the 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City if few or no more victims are rescued from the dismal scene of rubble being televised around the world. In that earlier tragedy, after a two-week rescue effort ended, the fatalities numbered 168.

Fires, winds and intermittent heavy rains have hampered an already logistically challenging rescue effort after the collapsed towers’ floors piled up on themselves in a pancakelike fashion.

On June 27, St. Joseph Parish released a list of registered members who had lived in Champlain Towers South, and church leaders pointed out that many others who lived there were likely informally associated with the parish.

The area is popular with tourists and international visitors to Miami Beach, Florida.

“This was definitely a shock, but it is bringing people together in prayer; there has been a lot of people coming here to donate things,” said George Sanchez, parish youth ministry leader and a resident of the Allapattah neighborhood in Miami.

“Our pastor (Father Juan Sosa) wanted the youth to be present and of course we responded with generosity, and we put together the best we could since this is the parish nearest the disaster and it is a place where people can come and pray and be with others who support them,” Sanchez said. “It is just a space we are creating for anyone who wants to come and pray for their loved ones and to incite hope.”

Judith Montalvan, another of the parish youth leaders and a pilgrim to Panama’s Worth Youth Day event in 2019, said the young people publicized the prayer vigil on Instagram and every other social media platform they could think of “so that it would get to the people who need it most at this time.”

“We do know that families from our parish are (missing), so we are just praying and hoping still to have faith that they might be (OK),” Montalvan told the Florida Catholic, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Miami.

“This is a kind of supervised space for people to come and be with God,” she said. “I think in these moments when disasters happen, the one thing we know for a fact is that God is with us, and providing those spaces for people to come feel closer to him in a moment when we feel so alone and scared and all these negative emotions.”

The youth brought with them items and symbols of the fire and rescue, law enforcement and medical communities and placed them around the altar along with donations of flowers.

Carrie Barillas, a member of the pastoral staff at St. Joseph who helped organize the event, said the parish has been inundated with calls of support and people wishing to assist in some way.

“We have had an outpouring of calls over the last three days of people wanting to know about the families and asking what they can do; the parish community has really responded very well,” Barillas said.

“There is so much chaos, if you will, with so many calls and trying to get everything organized and provide spiritual support for those who need it,” she added. “It is an experience you don’t want to have to go through because it is sad, but at the same time you live the joy that Jesus gives us (and) the strength to console and comfort others.”

St. Joseph Parish’s grounds are serving as a kind of hub for both the media and the emergency crews parking their vehicles here. The area is experiencing a constant and growing presence of the curious passing by outside along with law enforcement trying to manage the situation.

Noting the ongoing outreach of St. Joseph Church and neighboring St. Patrick Church, Miami Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski said June 29 that the Catholic Church is “trying to be a consoling and comforting presence in the midst of great pain.”

Making the comments June 29 on the “Conversation with Cardinal Dolan” show on SiriusXM’s The Catholic Channel, the archbishop said that “funerals are being scheduled even as we speak. … Our Catholic cemeteries are working closely with the parishes and the families.”

He added that one of Miami’s archdiocesan priests who was an EMT with the Miami-Dade Fire Department also was “onsite and visiting with people who were his co-workers at one time.”

The best part of the June 26 prayer vigil was the participation of the parish youth, according to Father Juan Rumín Domínguez, parochial vicar at St. Joseph who helped lead the prayers.

“We want to say to our community that Christ is our light, the light of hope in the middle of this difficult situation,” the priest said. “We will pray for the victims and their families and especially we want to transmit our faith and hope in this situation; it is the thing we have to do as Catholics.”

“The rescue workers are working there but this is our language: prayer, and we are praying for them,” Father Dominguez added.

Deacon John Ermer also helped lead the eucharistic adoration. He gave a reflection in which he said the community should keep in mind those individuals who may question their faith as a result of the tremendous crisis.

“Some will find a loss of faith in the situation, wondering how could God let something like this happen, and that is a natural question for us,” he told the congregation June 26.

“We know that God challenges us with hardships throughout our lives. I think we need to pray twice as hard for people who ask that question because it is times like this, facing such tremendous loss, we have to make a decision,” Deacon Ermer said.

“For those of us who are weak, we may turn away from God and be lost forever,” he said. “Let’s pray especially for those people tonight whose faith is under tremendous pressure and who are questioning their faith.”

 

WILKES-BARRE, PA (June 29, 2021) – Saint Vincent de Paul Kitchen in Wilkes-Barre will reopen its dining room to guests on a daily basis beginning Monday, July 5, 2021.

With a decreasing number of COVID-19 cases locally and the availability of vaccines, kitchen staff will once again welcome clients into the dining room at 39 East Jackson Street for a warm, nutritious daily meal between 11:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Additionally, Saint Vincent de Paul Kitchen will also be resuming evening meals as well. Evening meals take place in the dining room every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening from 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. Evening meals will resume at the kitchen Tuesday, July 6, 2021.

“We are excited to reopen our dining room to our neighbors and friends. While we have continued to provide meals every day since the beginning of the pandemic, it is clear the in- person experience of being in our dining room has been missed by many,” Mike Cianciotta, Saint Vincent de Paul Kitchen Director, said. “A lot of people use Saint Vincent de Paul Kitchen for socialization, to see friends and enjoy time together.”

Saint Vincent de Paul Kitchen has continued to serve clients throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic by providing meals in take-out containers since March 2020. In addition to the pre-packaged meals, kitchen staff has also provided extra food for families to take home if needed.

Guests who are fully vaccinated from COVID-19 will not have to wear a mask or facial covering when returning to the dining room. Masks will still be strongly recommended, but not required, for any guests that have not received a vaccine or are partially vaccinated.

In addition to welcoming back guests to the dining room, Saint Vincent de Paul Kitchen will also resume utilizing community volunteers beginning on Monday, July 5, 2021.

In addition to providing its daily meals to the community, Saint Vincent de Paul Kitchen also continues to provide the following services to the community:

    Saint Vincent de Paul Food Pantry is open to the public every Tuesday and Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

    Saint Vincent de Paul Clothing Room is open to the public every Tuesday and Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

 

Pope Francis raises the Book of the Gospels during Mass on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican June 29, 2021. (CNS photo/Remo Casilli, Reuters)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Sts. Peter and Paul were great not just because of their zeal for the Gospel, but because they allowed Christ to enter their hearts and change their lives, Pope Francis said.

“The church looks to these two giants of faith and sees two apostles who set free the power of the Gospel in our world, but only because first they themselves had been set free by their encounter with Christ,” the pope said during his homily at Mass for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul June 29.

The feast day celebration in St. Peter’s Basilica included the traditional blessing of the pallium, the woolen band that the heads of archdioceses wear around their shoulders over their Mass vestments.

The pallium symbolizes an archbishop’s unity with the pope and his authority and responsibility to care for the flock the pope entrusted to him. The pope blessed the palliums after they were brought up from the crypt above the tomb of St. Peter.

According to the Vatican, 34 archbishops from 18 countries who were named over the past 12 months were to receive the palliums, including: Canadian Archbishops Brian J. Dunn of Halifax-Yarmouth and Marcel Damphousse of Ottawa-Cornwall; Filipino Cardinal José Advincula of Manila and Irish Archbishop Dermot P. Farrell of Dublin.

“This sign of unity with Peter recalls the mission of the shepherd who gives his life for the flock,” the pope told the archbishops before concluding his homily. “It is in giving his life that the shepherd, himself set free, becomes a means of bringing freedom to his brothers and sisters.”

Keeping with a long tradition, a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople was present for the Mass and, afterward, went with Pope Francis down the stairs below the main altar to pray at St. Peter’s tomb.

In his homily, the pope reflected on the lives of Sts. Peter and Paul, the “two pillars of the church” who, after experiencing God’s love in their lives, “became apostles and ministers of freedom for others.”

Because of Jesus’ unconditional love, Peter was set free “from his sense of inadequacy and his bitter experience of failure,” the pope explained. While Peter “often yielded to fear,” Jesus “was willing to take a risk on him” and encouraged him to not give up.

“In this way, Jesus set Peter free from fear, from calculations based solely on worldly concerns,” the pope said. “He gave him the courage to risk everything and the joy of becoming a fisher of men. It was Peter whom Jesus called to strengthen his brothers in faith.”

On the other hand, the pope continued, Paul experienced a different kind of freedom “from the most oppressive form of slavery, which is slavery to self.”

Christ also freed Paul “from the religious fervor that had made him a zealous defender of his ancestral traditions and a cruel persecutor of Christians,” he added.

“Formal religious observance and the intransigent defense of tradition, rather than making him open to the love of God and of his brothers and sisters, had hardened him,” the pope said.

God, however, did not spare Paul from “frailties and hardships,” such as illness, violence and persecution during his missions, thus revealing to the apostle that “God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong,” he said.

Pope Francis encouraged Christians to be free from fear like Peter and, like Paul, to be free “from the temptation to present ourselves with worldly power rather than with the weakness that makes space for God” and “free from a religiosity that makes us rigid and inflexible.”

“Peter and Paul bequeath to us the image of a church entrusted to our hands, yet guided by the Lord with fidelity and tender love,” the pope said.

“A church that is weak, yet finds strength in the presence of God. A church set free and capable of offering the world the freedom that the world by itself cannot give: freedom from sin and death, from resignation, and from the sense of injustice and the loss of hope that dehumanizes the lives of the women and men of our time,” he said.

 

June 29, 2021

Since the conclusion of the Spring General Assembly of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), there has been significant attention (and in some cases misinformation) on the vote taken to draft a document on the meaning of the Eucharist in the life of the Church.

A great deal of media coverage has focused on the question of whether to deny an individual or groups of people Holy Communion. In reality, this question was not up for a vote or debate at the meeting. Bishops made no decision about barring anyone from receiving Holy Communion.

The vote taken by the full body of bishops tasked the USCCB’s Committee on Doctrine to begin the drafting of a teaching document on the Eucharist. For the last several years, helping all people understand the beauty and mystery of the Eucharist has been an important goal for bishops – especially after a 2019 Pew Study found that many Catholics do not understand or believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

As indicated to all bishops at the recent USCCB meeting, the document would include a section on the Church’s teaching on the responsibility of every Catholic, including bishops, to live in accordance with the truth, goodness and beauty of the Eucharist we celebrate – but the document would not be disciplinary in nature.

The Eucharist is an amazing gift from the Lord that He has given to us as nourishment for our souls. Each Catholic is called to continual conversion and Bishop Joseph C. Bambera, along with his brother bishops, have repeatedly emphasized the obligation of all Catholics to support human life and dignity and other fundamental principles of Catholic moral and social teaching.

In addition to the proposed document, the USCCB Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis has detailed plans for a three-year National Eucharistic Revival, which would aim to share the love of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist with the world. This revival has the opportunity to have a tremendous impact – as it would be designed to affect every level of the church, from the home and parish to the national stage.

To learn more about the proposed document on the Eucharist, the Bishops’ vote to approve the drafting of the document or the planned “Eucharistic Revival,” please click here.

His Excellency, Bishop Joseph C. Bambera, announces the following appointments, effective as follows:

Clergy Assignments: 

Reverend Mark J. DeCelles, to Assistant Pastor, St. Nicholas Parish and Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Wilkes-Barre, effective July 20, 2021.

Reverend J. Duane Gavitt, from Pastor, Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Wilkes Barre to Pastor St. Elizabeth’s Parish, Bear Creek, and St. Rita Parish, Gouldsboro, effective July 20, 2021.

Reverend Thomas J. Maloney, from Sacramental Minister, St. Elizabeth’s Parish, Bear Creek, effective July 20, 2021.

Reverend Patrick D. McDowell, from Pastor, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Weston, to Pastor Emeritus, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Weston, effective June 30, 2021.

Reverend James R. Nash, from Pastor, St. Faustina Kowalska Parish, Nanticoke and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish, Lake Silkworth, to Pastor Emeritus, St. Faustina Kowalska Parish, Nanticoke and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish, Lake Silkworth, effective August 11, 2021

Reverend Carmen J. Perry, from Pastor, St. Luke Parish, Stroudsburg, to Chaplain, Mercy Center, Dallas, effective July 20, 2021.

Monsignor Joseph G. Quinn, J.D., J.C.L., from Pastor Our Lady of the Snows Parish, Clarks Summit, to Pastor, St. John Neumann Parish, Scranton and St. Paul of the Cross Parish, Scranton, effective July 20, 2021.

Reverend Brian F. Van Fossen, from Pastor, St. Joseph the Worker Parish, Williamsport, to Pastor, St. Faustina Kowalska Parish, Nanticoke and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish, Lake Silkworth, effective August 11, 2021.

Reverend Joseph D. Verespy, to Pastor, Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Wilkes Barre, effective July 20, 2021.  Father Verespy will continue to serve as Pastor, St. Nicholas Parish, Wilkes Barre.

Reverend John J. Victoria, from Chaplain, Mercy Center, Dallas, to retirement for reasons of health, effective July 20, 2021.

Parish Life Coordinator Assignment:

Mr. Anthony Butel,  from Parish Life Coordinator, St. Elizabeth’s Parish, Bear Creek and St. Rita Parish, Gouldsboro, effective July 20, 2021.

 

 June 25, 2021                                                                  

HARRISBURG, PA – The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference today praised the PA Senate for passing HB 184 by Rep. Dawn Keefer (R-Cumberland, York). The bill increases criminal penalties for those convicted of aiding or encouraging a minor or someone with an intellectual disability to commit suicide.

The measure has already passed the House and will head to the Governor’s desk for his signature.

“This has been a growing problem throughout all of society, due in large part to the popularity of social media,” said Eric Failing, the Executive Director of the PCC. “There are people who will prey upon those who are thinking of taking their own lives by trying to actually convince them to do it. These victims should be getting professional help instead of listening to hateful people on-line who only want to harm others. We must send a message to them that this will not be tolerated.”

Failing noted the hard work and leadership of Rep. Keefer in pushing the bill through both chambers. Keefer called the bill “Shawn’s Law” in honor of Shawn Shatto, a young woman in her district who took her own life after she was given a step-by-step guide on how to poison herself by a suicide website.

Failing also praised the courage and determination of Shawn’s mother, Jacqueline Bieber, who has advocated for the bill, even in the face of attacks from those who defend the kind of guidance that was given to her daughter.

The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference is based in Harrisburg and is the public affairs arm of Pennsylvania’s Catholic bishops.

 

 

UPDATE: Governor Tom Wolf signed all three bills – HB 246, HB 843 and HB 1147 – into law on Wednesday, June 30, 2021.

June 25, 2021                 

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference commended PA Senate members for today’s passage of three bills designed to fight human trafficking. The PCC supports these measures in its on-going efforts to tackle the problem.

“Human trafficking is a scourge that not only still exists, but thrives all around us,” said Eric Failing, the Executive Director of the PCC. “These bills combine to form a strong package of penalties, treatment and youth protection that we believe will help to stop human traffickers and their recruiters.”

The three bills that passed today will now go to the Governor’s desk for his signature. They are:

  • HB 246 by Rep. Natalie Mihalek (R-Allegheny, Washington), which would offer protections for victims of human trafficking in criminal proceedings against alleged perpetrators
  • HB 843 by Rep. David Rowe (R-Snyder, Union), which would require that human trafficking offenses be considered in a parent’s bid for child custody
  • HB 1147 by Rep. Valerie Gaydos (R-Allegheny), which would require sex offender training for those convicted of human trafficking

“Human trafficking is a growing problem, but legislation like this will certainly help in many aspects of the problem,” Failing said. “It was encouraging to see near-unanimous support for these bills in both the House and Senate.”

The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference is based in Harrisburg and is the public affairs arm of PA’s Catholic bishops. 

 

DUNMORE – Nearly 30 young men from across the Diocese of Scranton spent several days this week deepening their faith and learning more about various vocations as part of Quo Vadis Days 2021 at Marywood University.

Participants got a chance to spend time in prayer, listen to several talks and presentations and participate in games, sports and other activities.

Quo Vadis Days began on Sunday, June 20, and ended on the evening of Tuesday, June 22, 2021.

Juan Lugo, a parishioner of Saint Matthew Parish in East Stroudsburg, attended Quo Vadis for the second time this summer.

“Quo Vadis is a really amazing experience. It’s something you get to cherish,” Lugo said. “It’s something that will strengthen your relationship with God and make everything more possible in His sight and everything He has planned.”

Participants also got the opportunity to meet Bishop Joseph C. Bambera, along with several priests and seminarians from the Diocese. While young men could learn more about the process of becoming a priest – they also learned about the vocation of marriage and much more.

“It’s a chance for the young men of the Diocese to really open their minds,” Dominic Tavani, a parishioner of Saints Peter & Paul Parish in Towanda, said.

As this year’s Quo Vadis experience ended, Tavani said he – and the other participants – would take the energy and inspiration back to their home parishes.

“You don’t stop. You keep praying. You keep your mind open. You keep saying ‘yes’ to God. You keep in contact with the friends you made. This is the start of something that helps them change their lives and helps them become the person they’re called to be.”

That is something that Lugo agrees with.

“The main message of ‘where are you going’ is something you can constantly ask yourself on a daily basis. You can put that in any situation. Only God knows where you’re headed,” Lugo added.