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:
|
| Day
of Prayer and Penance for Peace in Middle East |
| USCCB
Official Commends President For Stem Cell Veto |
| Father
Bonacci Joins Office for Clergy Formation |
| Catholic
Relief Services Collection Is July 29-30 |
| General
Intercessions |
Day of Prayer and Penance for Peace in Middle
East |
Pope Benedict
XVI, in response to the worsening situation in
the Middle East, has proclaimed this Sunday,
July 23, as a special day of prayer and penance,
inviting the pastors and faithful of all the
particular Churches, and all believers of the
world, to implore from God the precious gift of
peace.
In particular, the
Supreme Pontiff hopes that prayers will be
raised to the Lord for an immediate cease-fire
between the sides, for humanitarian corridors to
be opened in order to bring help to the
suffering peoples, and for reasonable and
responsible negotiations to begin to put an end
to objective situations of injustice that exist
in that region. The Holy See Press Office issued
a statement that says, in part:
“In reality, the
Lebanese have the right to see the integrity and
sovereignty of their country respected, the
Israelis the right to live in peace in their
State, and the Palestinians have the right to
have their own free and sovereign homeland. At
this sorrowful moment, His Holiness also makes
an appeal to charitable organizations to help
all the people struck by this pitiless
conflict.” |
USCCB Official Commends President For Stem Cell
Veto |
Richard M.
Doerflinger, deputy director, Secretariat for
Pro-Life Activities, United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops (USCCB), commended President
Bush for his remarks and actions regarding
proposed legislation on stem cell research.
Yesterday, the
president vetoed H.R. 810, which would have
forced U.S. taxpayers to encourage the
destruction of human embryos for their stem
cells. He later gave an address at the White
House.
“The president
insisted that progress in treating devastating
diseases must be pursued in ways that are both
effective and morally sound,” Mr. Doerflinger
said in a statement. “Illustrating his theme
was the presence in the (White House) East Room
of children who were adopted when they were
‘spare’ frozen embryos, and of patients who
are grateful for the treatments they received
for brain damage, leukemia and other conditions
using adult and umbilical cord blood stem cells.
Their support for the president’s approach
dramatized the need to uphold all human lives
equally, not destroy some in the quest to help
others.”
In addition to
vetoing H.R. 810, President Bush signed into law
S. 3504, a bill unanimously approved by both
chambers of Congress to prevent the grotesque
practice of “farming” unborn children in
human or animal wombs in order to harvest their
tissue for research.
A third bill, to
fund ways to obtain cells with the properties of
embryonic stem cells without creating or harming
human embryos (S. 2754) failed to receive the
two-thirds support needed for expedited approval
in the House despite receiving unanimous Senate
approval. However, Mr. Doerflinger thanked the
president for offering use of his executive
authority to ensure that this promising avenue
of research is funded.
“We join the
president in inviting Congress and the
scientific community to work together on this
issue for the good of all. As he said in his
address, ethics and science must not be placed
at odds, but work together to serve the cause of
humanity,” Mr. Doerflinger. |
Father Bonacci Joins Office for Clergy Formation |
Bishop Joseph F.
Martino has appointed Jesuit Father Louis A.
Bonacci to the Office for Clergy Formation.
Father Bonacci
joins Msgr. Vincent J. Grimalia, V.G., Secretary
for Clergy Formation, and Father Thomas M.
Muldowney, assistant vocation director, in that
office.
The Office for
Clergy Formation is responsible for promoting
vocations to the Diocesan priesthood, Diocesan
seminarians, the permanent diaconate and ongoing
formation of priests and deacons. The office
also provides support for the life long
cultivation and enrichment of vocations in the
life of the ordained, and support for young men
searching for meaning in their lives as they
seek to discover whether God is calling them to
the Diocesan priesthood.
Father Bonacci
will serve as a spiritual director for priests
and deacons, be a resource for further
information on spiritual direction and ongoing
formation, and produce an on-line newsletter for
both priests and deacons. In addition, he will
give days of reflection for priests and deacons,
and develop programs and activities for the
Diocesan clergy.
Father Bonacci
holds an S.T.L. in Spiritual Theology from the
Gregorian University, Rome, and earned his S.T.D.
from the International Marian Research Institute
(IMRI) at the University of Dayton. His
dissertation was done under the direction of
Father Johann Roten, S.M., director of the IMRI,
on Mary, the Mother of Jesus, in the Life and
Works of St. Ignatius Loyola.
Father Bonacci
spent a year in training to give the Spiritual
Exercises of St. Ignatius at the Jesuit
Center for Spiritual Growth and Development at
Wernersville, under the direction of its
founder, Jesuit Father George Schemel.
Father Bonacci has
been giving directed Spiritual Exercises
at Jesuit universities, teaching theology as an
adjunct professor, training faculty and students
in the giving and receiving of the Spiritual
Exercises, and doing spiritual direction for
interested faculty, staff and students since
1978. He has been at The University of Scranton
since the fall of 2003. |
Catholic Relief Services Collection Is July
29-30 |
The annual
Catholic Relief Services Collection is scheduled
for the weekend of July 29-30 in the Diocese of
Scranton. This collection helps build the
Church’s social ministry by funding the work
of five agencies:
Catholic Relief
Services, the official international relief and
development agency of the U.S. Catholic
community, assists people in 99 countries on the
basis of need; Catholic Legal Immigration
Network, Inc., provides a full range of legal
and support services to Catholic programs
directly representing poor immigrants; Migration
and Refugee Services of the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) annually
resettles one quarter of the refugees admitted
to the United States; Social Development and
World Peace of the USCCB advocates for poor and
vulnerable people and for international peace
and justice; and The Holy Father’s Relief Fund
assists victims of natural disasters and other
emergencies around the world.
In announcing the
local collection, Bishop Joseph F. Martino
referred to the story of the Last Judgment, in
which Jesus reminds us to care for those in
need.
“When we act
with compassion, generosity, and commitment to
justice for the ‘least among us,’ we act as
his true disciples,” the Bishop said. “I am
requesting your support for the Catholic Relief
Services Collection to continue the theme Jesus
in disguise, which reminds us of the
presence of Christ in every one of our brothers
and sisters in need.” |
General Intercessions |
| Men and women
from every parish in the Diocese of Scranton are
serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, many in
dangerous parts of the world such as Iraq.
Pastors are therefore urged to seek God’s
protection for them through praying for them
during the general intercessions offered at
every Mass of obligation.
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