MISSION STATEMENT
We the Catholic faithful of the Diocese of Scranton,
in union with our Holy Father, the Pope, are called
through baptism to share in the mission which Jesus
Christ has entrusted to the One, Holy, Catholic and
Apostolic Church. Priests, deacons, religious and laity,
under the leadership of our Bishop, cooperate to
proclaim the Gospel in accordance with the teaching of
the Church, to celebrate the sacraments, especially the
Eucharist, for the salvation of all, and to witness by
grace to the Kingdom of God so as to promote a culture
of life, justice and peace.
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This Issue:
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Diocese Announces Holy Week Services |
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Helping Christians In The Holy Land |
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Support Needed To Protect Conscience Rights of
Health Care Providers |
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Scranton Bishops Join Protest of Notre Dame
Decision To Honor President Obama |
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Mark Your Calendar |
Diocese Announces Holy Week Services |
Holy Week services throughout the
Diocese of Scranton, which recall the passion
and death of Jesus Christ, begin Sunday, Palm
Sunday, April 5.
Bishop Joseph F. Martino will preside at
the annual Holy Week services at St. Peter’s
Cathedral, Scranton.
The liturgies on Palm Sunday will include
the blessing and distribution of Palm branches,
which play a symbolic role on this day since
they were first used to commemorate the
triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into the city
of Jerusalem. Masses at the Cathedral will be
celebrated at 6:30 and 10 a.m., 12:15 and 5 p.m.
The 12:15 liturgy will be a Pontifical Mass
in conjunction with the observance of World
Youth Day. Accordingly, Bishop Martino is
calling on the youth of the Diocese to join him
at the Cathedral for this liturgy. The Bishop
will remind the young people of their
responsibility to be active witnesses to their
faith and missionaries to others.
As a part of this Palm Sunday celebration,
students in grades 8 and 12 from Catholic
schools and parishes who have received Bishop’s
Youth Awards for 2009 will be present, as well
as young people from parish youth groups and
Catholic schools of the Diocese.
On the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of
Holy Week, Masses will be celebrated at 6:30 and
8 a.m., and 12:10 p.m. On Monday and Wednesday,
confessions will be heard at 7:30 a.m. and 3 to
4 p.m., and at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
Priests serving throughout the Diocese will
gather at the Cathedral on Tuesday, April 7, at
4 p.m. for the Solemn Pontifical Mass of the
Chrism, at which the Holy Oils used during the
conferral of several sacraments throughout the
Church year will be blessed. Bishop Martino will
be the principal celebrant and homilist. All
faithful are welcome to participate in the Mass.
During this Mass, priests and deacons,
along with lay representatives from Diocesan
parishes, acknowledge the Bishop’s role as the
unifying symbol for Church governance and
pastoral guidance. Priests will renew their
ordination promises and receive the Holy Chrism,
the Oil of the Sick and the Oil of Catechumens
to be used in the conferral of the sacraments of
Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Orders and the
Anointing of the Sick.
The three most sacred days of the Church’s
liturgical year, known as the Sacred Triduum,
begin on Holy Thursday, April 9. Sung Morning
Prayer will be held at 8 a.m. The Pontifical
Concelebrated Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper
will begin at 5:30 p.m. Bishop Martino will be
principal celebrant for this commemoration of
the Last Supper that Christ shared with his 12
Apostles. Sung Night Prayer will occur at 9 p.m.
The Sacred Triduum is a solemn time of
prayer, reflection and preparation for the
Church’s central feast of the Resurrection of
Christ from the dead, and serves as a reminder
to the faithful of Christ’s gifts to the
apostles on the night before He died: the
sacraments of Holy Eucharist, the gift of His
own body, blood, soul and divinity; and Holy
Orders, the ordained priesthood. It is also the
setting at which Bishop Martino, assisted by
deacons, will perform the solemn and ancient
re-enactment of Christ’s washing of the feet of
the apostles.
Good Friday, April 10, is the only day of
the Church’s liturgical year on which the Church
suspends the daily celebration of the Holy
Sacrifice of the Mass, as Catholics commemorate
the Lord’s Passion, crucifixion and death for
the redemption of humanity. It is a day of fast
and abstinence.
Good Friday services at the Cathedral will
begin at 8 a.m. with Sung Morning Prayer.
Following confessions from 10:30 a.m. to noon,
the Stations of the Cross will be observed at
12:10 p.m.
The Pontifical Liturgy of Good Friday will
begin at 5:30 p.m. Bishop Martino will lead the
service, which is comprised of a unique
three-part ceremony of Scripture reading of the
Passion of Christ, Veneration of the Cross and
distribution of the Holy Eucharist.
The observance of Holy Saturday, April 11,
will begin at 8 a.m. with Sung Morning Prayer.
Confessions will be heard from 10:30 a.m. to
noon, and 2:30 to 4 p.m. The Solemn Pontifical
Easter Vigil and Mass of the Resurrection will
begin at 8 p.m., with Bishop Martino as the
principal celebrant.
The Easter Vigil ceremony begins in
darkness, with a sense of watchful anticipation
of the Resurrection of Christ. As this most
solemn celebration begins, the priest will bless
the New Fire and light the Paschal Candle either
outside or in the rear of the church. The focus
of the liturgy is on the new life of the Risen
Christ.
On Holy Saturday, the 193 people who have
participated in the Rite of Christian Initiation
of Adults and Children (RCIA) this year will be
officially welcomed at Easter Vigil services at
many parishes throughout the Diocese. They join
tens of thousands of other individuals
throughout the country who will become
fully-initiated Catholics at Easter this year.
Parishes will welcome these individuals into
full communion with the Church during the
observance of the Easter Vigil.
The most joyous day in the Church year is
Easter Sunday, April 12. Bishop Martino will be
principal celebrant and homilist at the 12:15
p.m. Pontifical Mass of the Resurrection at the
Cathedral. Additional Easter Sunday Masses at
the Cathedral will take place at 6:30 and 10
a.m., and at 5 p.m.
Belief in the central mystery of the Risen
Savior unites Christianity in His promise of
life after death that can be achieved despite
the suffering and despair of human life.
Christians celebrate the Risen Lord’s sacrifice
for the redemption of the sins of man after
recalling the events in His life which led to
His passion and death during Lent and Holy Week.
During the Easter season, they renew their
hope for eternal life after their own struggles,
sufferings and deaths, and look forward to new
lives of glory with the Lord.
CTV Covering Holy Week Services
Catholic Television of the Diocese of
Scranton (CTV) will provide live coverage of the
following Holy Week celebrations at St. Peter’s
Cathedral: the Palm Sunday Mass at 12:15 p.m.,
the Chrism Mass on Tuesday at 4 p.m., the Mass
of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday at 5:30
p.m., the Good Friday services commemorating the
Lord’s Passion at 5:30 p.m., and the Easter
Vigil liturgy on Saturday at 8 p.m.
CTV will also carry EWTN’s coverage of the
following Holy Week services from Rome:
* Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square with
Pope Benedict XVI, live at 4 a.m. with an encore
at 8 p.m.
* Chrism Mass with Pope Benedict on Thursday,
April 9, live at 3:30 a.m.
* Mass of the Lord’s Supper with Pope Benedict
on Holy Thursday, live at 11 a.m., with an
encore at midnight.
* Celebration of the Lord’s Passion with Pope
Benedict on Good Friday at 11 a.m., with an
encore at midnight.
* Way of the Cross with Pope Benedict on Good
Friday at 8 p.m.
* Easter Vigil Mass with Pope Benedict on Holy
Saturday, live at 3 p.m., with an encore at
midnight.
* Easter Sunday Mass with Pope Benedict, live at
4:30 a.m., with an encore at noon.
* Pope Benedict’s Easter Message and Blessing,
live at 6 a.m., with encores at 1:30 p.m. and
Monday at 10 a.m. |
Helping Christians In The Holy Land |
VATICAN CITY, (VIS) – Cardinal Leonardo
Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the
Oriental Churches, has sent a letter to the
bishops of the world encouraging them to
participate in the collection for the Holy Land.
Parishes in the Diocese of Scranton will take up
the collection at services on Good Friday.
In the letter, which also bears the
signature of Archbishop Antonio Maria Veglio,
then secretary of the same congregation, now
president of the Pontifical Council for the
Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples,
the two prelates express the Church's “profound
concern” for the position of Christians,
particularly following the conflict in Gaza.
“The wounds opened by violence make the
problem of emigration more acute, inexorably
depriving the Christian minority of its best
resources for the future. The Land that was the
cradle of Christianity risks ending up without
Christians.”
Cardinal Sandri and Archbishop Veglio make
an appeal to help “our Christian brothers and
sisters of the Holy Land who, along with other
inhabitants of vast areas of the Middle East,
have long aspired after that peace and
tranquillity which are still so much under
threat.”
Apart from providing study grants for
priests and seminarians from the Holy Land to
study in pontifical universities, the 2008
collection supported various restoration
projects in, among other places: Jerusalem,
Bethany, Bethlehem, Haifa, Magdala, Nazareth and
Nablus (the Shechem of antiquity). Funds were
also distributed to support parishes, families,
schools and universities, and – through the
Custody of the Holy Land – to various cultural
projects, such as the faculty of biblical
sciences and archaeology of the “Studium
Biblicum Franciscanum” in Jerusalem. |
Support Needed To Protect Conscience Rights of
Health Care Providers |
The U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) is inviting public comment on a
proposal to rescind an important December 2008
federal regulation. The 2008 regulation
implements and enforces three federal laws
protecting the conscience rights of health care
providers, especially those at risk of being
discriminated against because of their moral or
religious objection to abortion.
As they did when the conscience regulation
was first proposed, pro-abortion groups are
again trying to flood HHS with comments
attacking conscience rights. Their chief
message: Rescind the regulation because
conscience clauses (which they call “refusal” or
“denial” clauses) interfere with women’s
“access” to health care. These groups want to
force doctors, nurses and hospitals to violate
their consciences or leave the profession.
The Catholic community and others must
speak out so this will not happen. The public
has until April 9 to submit comments.
How You Can Help:
1. Go to the Diocese of Scranton website at
www.dioceseofscranton.org
2. On the homepage, click the link for
“Protecting Conscience Rights in Health Care:
Our Voice Is Needed!”
3. This takes you to the U.S. Conference of
Catholic Bishops website containing information
on this issue, suggested language for a comment,
and an easy way to email your comment to HHS.
The deadline for comments is April 9, so
please send a message ASAP. Thank you for your
support! |
Scranton Bishops Join Protest of Notre Dame
Decision To Honor President Obama |
Scranton Bishop Joseph F. Martino and
Auxiliary Bishop John M. Dougherty have joined
with more than a dozen other bishops and
thousands of people throughout the nation who
are publicly protesting Notre Dame University’s
decision to honor President Barack Obama at the
school’s commencement.
In a letter to Notre Dame’s president, Holy
Cross Father John I. Jenkins, Bishop Martino and
Bishop Dougherty cite the extensive anti-life
positions taken by President Obama and describe
the Catholic school’s decision to host him as
the commencement speaker and bestow an honorary
degree on him as a “scandal to the Church.”
They also cite the 2004 statement by the
United States Bishops, which says: “The Catholic
community and Catholic institutions should
not honor those who act in defiance of our
fundamental moral principles. They should not be
given awards, honors or platforms which would
suggest support for their actions.”
Faithful in the Diocese of Scranton can
express their opposition to Notre Dame’s
decision through on online petition sponsored by
the Cardinal Newman Society. The petition can be
found on a new website dedicated to the scandal:
http://www.notredamescandal.com
Below is the letter to Father Jenkins:
April 1, 2009
Reverend John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.
President
University of Notre Dame
400 Main Building
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
Dear Father Jenkins,
The numerous, repeated and extensive
anti-life positions taken by President Obama
merit his recognition as an unequalled,
prominent proponent of the culture of death in
our nation. Given her Catholic identity, the
University of Notre Dame’s receiving the
President as the 2009 commencement speaker and
her bestowing on him an honorary doctorate are
truly shameful, a scandal to the Church and a
major blow to hundreds of thousands who have
sacrificed to bring forth a culture of life in
our midst.
As a Diocesan Bishop and his Auxiliary we
cannot overstress our disapproval of these
actions by the University.
Through its President, His Eminence
Cardinal George, the United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops acted swiftly and consistently
to engage President Obama on human life issues.
Your reported comment that “I think if he is
going to reconsider his views, I think Notre
Dame is the best possible place to begin that
process” demeans, we believe, the intelligent
urgency exercised by the nation’s bishops in
this matter.
Moreover, your argument that honoring
President Obama by granting a degree to him “is
not intended to condone or endorse his position
on specific issues regarding life” is no more
than a blatant rejection of United States
Bishops’ assessment of what Catholic
institutions do when they so act. Their 2004
statement is absolutely clear. “The Catholic
community and Catholic institutions should
not honor those who act in defiance of our
fundamental moral principles. They should not be
given awards, honors or platforms which would
suggest support for their actions.”
“Bishops have a particular responsibility
to promote Catholic universities, and especially
to promote and assist in the preservation and
strengthening of their Catholic identity,
including the protection of their Catholic
identity in relation to civil authorities.” (Ex
Corde Ecclesiae, no. 28) We are convinced
that Notre Dame will one day very much regret
rebuffing not only her own Bishop D’Arcy but
also the USCCB’s efforts to fulfill their
responsibilities in her regard.
Praying this conviction will prove untrue
and that Notre Dame will immediately and
resoundingly proclaim her Catholic identity in
word and act, we are,
Sincerely yours in Our Lord,
Most Reverend Joseph F. Martino, D.D., Hist. E.D.
Bishop of Scranton
Most Reverend John M. Dougherty, D.D., V.G.
Auxiliary Bishop of Scranton |
Mark Your Calendar |
Support Group for Separated, Divorced &
Widowed Persons, April 17 –– 7 to 9 p.m. at
St. Ann Basilica Parish Center, 1200 St. Ann
St., Scranton. Sponsored by the diocesan Office
for Parish Life, this “Beginning Experience”
monthly session offers support to cope with
sorrow, doubt, anxiety and loneliness after
losing a spouse. For more
information/registration, call 489-7769.
Intermediate Sign Language, April 20, 27 &
May 4, 11 Mondays –– 6 to 8 p.m. at Holy
Redeemer High School, Wilkes-Barre. A
continuation of “Introduction to Sign Language,”
this course will present the language of the
Deaf Culture on a higher and broader level of
learning. Presenter: Sister Mary Beth Makuch,
SSCM. Fee: $45. For more information &
registration, call 207-2213 ext. 1107.
Northeastern Pennsylvania Catholic Deaf
Association Interpreted Mass, May 17 –– at
St. Joseph’s Oblate Seminary, 1880 Highway 315,
Laflin. Bible study and Sacrament of
Reconciliation begin at 2 p.m., followed by Mass
signed and interpreted, celebrated at 3 p.m.
Refreshments follow. For more information,
contact Sister Mary Beth Makuch, SSCM, at
207-2213 ext. 1013 –– voice/tdd.
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