SCRANTON – Next Monday, November 2, Catholics will observe The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, also known as All Souls’ Day.
On this day, we are encouraged to pray for the dead and to remember our loved ones who have gone before us.
Bishop Bambera will celebrate a special Pontifical Mass for All Souls’ Day at the Cathedral of Saint Peter, 315 Wyoming Avenue in Scranton, at 12:10 p.m.
All are invited to attend
(OSV News) – What would you give your life for? This is the question and challenge that Bishop Stephen D. Parkes of the Diocese of Savannah has been putting before young people receiving the sacrament of confirmation as his Georgia diocese prepares for the historic beatification of five Franciscan missionaries who laid down their lives for their Catholic faith on that same soil over 400 years ago.
“This has relevance for today,” he told OSV News in a recent interview, “because in our world today, there’s just so much happening and so much going on. And we hear all these divergent opinions and you think, ‘Well, what do I believe? What do I feel so strongly about that I’m going to shed my blood for it?'”
“We know many are suffering; they’re just struggling today and trying to find their place and wondering how their gifts and talents are going to serve the world,” he said, “And when we embrace something and we feel strongly about it, well, we stand up for it.”
The Georgia Martyrs, five Franciscans from Spain who were martyred in 1597 ministering to the Guale people, without any Spanish military presence, were Friars Pedro de Corpa, Blas Rodríguez, Miguel de Añon, Antonio de Badajóz and Francisco de Veráscola.
“The native peoples adopted them, welcomed them into their culture, and the Franciscans were good at evangelization. So, the five of them, they settled into various missions and they ended up becoming a part of the everyday life of the people,” he noted. “That in and of itself was remarkable.”
Their martyrdom came after Father Pedro de Corpa stood by the Church’s teaching that marriage is between one man and one woman when the soon-to-be chief Juanillo wanted to take a second wife. Juanillo had Father Pedro killed and started an attack on the other Franciscans serving in different missions who were hunted down and killed.
Bishop Parkes observed the distinct personalities of each of the Georgia Martyrs.
“They came from different places in Spain and then they were known for certain things. Blas was a calm and devout pastor,” he said, “Miguel was a gentle musician. Antonio was a gifted communicator and Francisco, he was called the Cantabrian Giant. He was an athlete. Apparently, he was well known to the young people … around St. Simon’s Island, where he ministered. He was a wrestler and he really worked with all the young people. He was very good at connecting with them.”
“Each one would have suffered individually,” he emphasized, “and they would have made that decision to say, ‘I am going to give my life for this.’ And that’s a huge decision.”
“This was almost 200 years before our country was even officially founded,” he added, “it’s very interesting to note that the faith was a part of life in such a way that it made its way to these shores.”
Bishop Parkes first heard of the Georgia Martyrs when he became bishop of the Diocese of Savannah in 2020.
“Immediately upon my arrival,” he said, “I noticed pictures of these five men around in almost every place that I went; but also, people were very excited to tell me (about them), which says something about the devotional life of the people in the local area. That’s been an important part, I believe, of their cause.”
“To get to know them, to spread the word, history is so important,” he added, “especially in our faith, as we well know, we celebrate history. We learn from history. And I notice in Georgia, there’s a great love for history.”
The beatification is the first ever in the state of Georgia and the Southeast United States and the sixth beatification to take place on U.S. soil.
Bishop Parkes noted the Georgia Martyrs’ cause was brought forward in the 1950s by the Order of Friars Minor, the Franciscans, and in 1984, the late Bishop Raymond W. Lessard officially opened it on behalf of the diocese.
Regarding why the beatification was moving forward now all these years later, he said such things take time: both as people become familiar with the story, but also as their story is appreciated more.
“We don’t really know; there’s mystery in it,” he said. “I’ve asked that question, ‘Why is it that it’s happening during my time as bishop?’ And there’s mystery in that. And I say, ‘Well, God has a plan somewhere along the line and I’m very grateful for that because it’s a big opportunity for us to promote our Catholic faith.'”
Bishop Parkes said he hopes the beatification might result in a veneration of the Georgia martyrs by married and engaged couples within the diocese.
“Wouldn’t it be beautiful if every household, every marriage that’s being prepared, every couple preparing for marriage knows the story; that they look to the martyrs for their intercession, to these new blesseds — as of Oct. 31 — for their intercession for loyalty, faithfulness, fidelity in their marriage?”
“What a beautiful witness,” he said. “Maybe they’ll have pictures of them in their home, and that would be something that, again, would be part of our local Catholic culture.”
Bishop Parkes said that he attended the beatification of Blessed Fulton J. Sheen in September, calling the experience “beautiful” to be able to “learn more about Fulton Sheen,” who was a “great communicator and touched millions and millions of lives.”
“The story of the martyrs is different,” he said. “It’s kind of delving into our history, our heart, realizing that from hundreds of years ago that holy people walked here in our soil and what they went through for our faith to be here today.”
“We wonder, we struggle with things in our faith or promoting the faith,” he said, “and resistance. What did they face back then? They lost their lives for it, because there was a lack of understanding or an openness about it.”
Bishop Parkes was able to visit St. Catherines Island, the only site of martyrdom that has been identified with certainty where Father Miguel de Añon and Brother Antonio de Badajoz lost their lives. The mission on St. Catherines, rediscovered in the 1980s, is located on the privately owned island, and is closed to the general public.
“They were able to recreate what that Guale village looked like, even to the point where we actually have a place there through the generosity of the St. Catherines Island Foundation, we are able to have an outdoor chapel there,” he said, adding that the diocese planted a group of palm trees on the outline of the chapel.
“I believe 430 of the natives are buried there,” he said. “I went there on All Souls’ Day, my very first visit, and it was just a beautiful experience, connecting with the history.”
Bishop Parkes said the beatification taking place on Oct. 31, Halloween, was no coincidence.
“We had to submit a number of dates to the dicastery, and then it would be approved by the Holy Father,” he explained. “This was our first choice.”
“Halloween has taken a dark turn in these last decades,” he said, “and there’s a lot of nonsense that goes along with it. And I think this is a reminder of what it really is, and that is All Hallows’ Eve and the next day is All Saints’ Day. So we will be having a Mass of Thanksgiving at the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist on All Saints’ Day, where we will recognize obviously all of the saints, but recognize these new blesseds.”
He said, “It’s a great connection, I think, to make, that we should live liturgically. And this is an opportunity for us to live the liturgical life of the Church within our secular calendar.”
He said that having the beatification on a Saturday would also help those traveling from all over the state to attend as the diocese is over 37,000 square miles.
The diocese is expecting over 8,000 people to be in attendance for the beatification and have already had to expand the event to a larger venue.
“I feel as though we’ve put into place and planned all of the tools that are needed for a milestone, memorable, spiritually fulfilling celebration,” Bishop Parkes said. “We’ll let the Holy Spirit take it from there.”
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Catholics must not live their faith in opposition or “hostility” toward modern culture, Pope Leo XIV said, emphasizing that integrating faith and culture is essential to living out the Christian vocation and sharing the Gospel with others.
“The authentic relationship between faith and culture is rooted in the Incarnation,” he said in his address to English speakers during his weekly general audience Oct. 28 in St. Peter’s Square. “Faith, therefore, enriches and brings to fulfillment every culture it encounters, and is itself called to become a culture that is shaped by Christ.”
Throughout history, the Catholic Church has played a significant role in creating educational opportunities, the pope said, noting that many medieval universities arose from the Church and contributed to the development of Western civilization.
The Church continues to promote access to education and culture, he said, citing the Second Vatican Council’s pastoral constitution “Gaudium et Spes” and its call to overcome illiteracy and to ensure that everyone has access to fundamental cultural opportunities.
Pope Leo also emphasized the importance of expanding access to higher education, especially for women, and encouraged Christians to deepen their scientific and cultural knowledge alongside their understanding of the faith.
“The Church promotes culture because it is a good in itself; it is a service to the human being and to the fulfilment of her vocation on earth,” the pope said during his main catechesis in Italian.
Yet the development of human knowledge and culture also raises new and deeper questions, prompting believers to reflect more deeply on their faith, he said.
Faith itself is interwoven with culture through traditions, art, poetry, thought and science, Pope Leo said. Quoting St. John Paul II, he said “a faith that does not become culture is a faith that is not fully embraced, not fully thought through, not faithfully lived.”
Faith is not limited to any one culture, but can take root in all cultures, shaping them according to the example of Jesus Christ through charity, service and recognition of God as Father, he said.
“In this way, the Church draws from the various cultures all that is good, beautiful and true, in order to embody and transmit the message of the Gospel,” the pope said.
He urged theologians in particular to collaborate with experts in other disciplines, arguing that intellectual inquiry and religious formation should develop together.
The pope said that cultural expression can open people’s minds to fundamental questions about the meaning of the world and human existence, helping prepare them to receive the Gospel.
Catholics, he said, must strive to understand the cultures they live in, rather than approach the modern world with opposition.
“Achieving a mature and responsible synthesis between faith and culture is, in fact, a necessary condition for persevering in the Christian vocation,” he said, as well as for communicating the faith to others in a credible way.
(OSV News) – A new report indicates that 60% of adult Catholics in the U.S. believe racism exists within their local community, with about 4 in 10 (39%) saying they have experienced racial discrimination generally.
That figure was higher among Black Catholics (66%), Hispanic Catholics (54%) and Asian Catholics (54%).
In addition, 10% of Catholics polled said they have experienced racial discrimination within their parish community, and 11% within Catholic education.
Black Catholics are also more likely to experience racial discrimination within their parish and in Catholic education, according to the report.
The findings were released Oct. 26 in “Experiences of Race, Diversity, and Racism: A National Survey of Adult Catholics.”
The report, published by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, was funded by the Sisters of Charity Ministry Foundation in Cincinnati; the Jesuits USA East Province in New York; the Sisters of the Precious Blood in Dayton, Ohio; the Baltimore-based National Black Catholic Congress; and individual CARA donors.
CARA researchers Mark M. Gray and Ali Mumbach conducted the national survey between May 15 and June 30 among 2,401 self-identified Catholics.
Gray told OSV News that one key takeaway from the report was the impact of faith formation on the issue of racism, which Catholic teaching denounces as a sin and incompatible with God-given human dignity.
“It does appear that the more formation you’ve had as an adult, you probably have a better understanding of the Church’s teachings, and that’s showing up in the results here,” he said.
CARA partnered with enterprise software survey firm Qualtrics, which used its opt-in sampling panels for the study.
The data was statistically adjusted to ensure the sample of adult Catholics aligned with recent estimates from the General Social Survey, one of the most widely used for social science research on the American public.
The online survey was available in both English and Spanish.
Most (53%) of the adult Catholics described themselves as non-Hispanic white, with 38% Hispanic or Latino. Another 5% of the respondents were African American, Black, African or Afro-Caribbean, while 3% identified themselves as Asian, Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian. American Indian, Native American, Native Alaskan or Indigenous participants represented 1% of the survey pool.
Survey respondents were evenly split between male and female, with their ages most typically between 45 and 49. Generation X (born 1962 to 1981) accounted for 39% of the survey participants.
The survey’s typical respondent fell between ages 45-49, and most (88%) had become Catholics by the time they were teenagers. The majority (81%) reported attending a parish near their home.
Gray said the data showed respondents were “least likely to experience racism” in parishes, compared to other social contexts.
He pointed to the survey’s question on racism in several institutions, which found that U.S. adult Catholics tend to see racism as an issue — either “a great deal” or “a lot” — for police (36%), government (35%), housing (34%) and business (31%).
Among Hispanic Catholics, government (44%) was viewed as a significant context for racism, while Black Catholics (54%) viewed racism as a key issue regarding the police.
“Black Catholics also are especially likely to see racism as being this kind of an issue for business (49%), housing (45%), and education (41%),” said the report.
Most of the survey’s respondents agreed with statements derived from Church documents addressing racism. Almost three quarters (74%) affirmed racism is sinful; 74% concurred racism can take the form of a sin of omission, where injustice is left unchallenged; and 67% supported tackling “policies and institutional barriers” to eradicate racism.
Yet awareness of pastoral letters and other documents by the U.S. Catholic bishops on racism remains incomplete, with roughly half of respondents saying they were “very” or “somewhat” aware of a given document, and the other half saying they were “not at all” or “not very aware.”
At the same time, said the report, “Black Catholics are generally more likely than others to be ‘very aware’ of many Church letters, statements, or documents.”
Just about one third (28%) of adult Catholics said they had heard preaching on racism in a parish homily over the past year. That number was higher for Black (43%) and Latino (34%) Catholics.
Close to half of adult Catholics (49%) said they would like to hear more at their parishes about Church teaching on racism.
The report found that 47% of U.S. adult Catholics — and 57% of Black Catholics — feel that canonizing Black, brown and Indigenous faithful is important.
At the same time, the report found that most respondents (46%) considered racism a social rather than religious (16%) issue. Another 30% viewed it as a political problem and 24% considered it economic in nature. Thirty-two percent said racism was “all of the above” and 8% said none of those options applied. Asian Catholics (45%) were more likely than others to view racism as a political issue, said the report.
Racism (38%), along with healthcare (38%), ranked behind other issues described as “among the most important” by respondents, behind inflation and the cost of living (73%); unemployment (45%), poverty, hunger and homelessness (43%); immigration (41%); and fuel and oil prices (39%).
(OSV News) – Two weeks after Pope Leo XIV’s surgery for lung cancer, his doctor confirmed he can fly to South America according to the previously released schedule, with Uruguay, Argentina and Peru planned as stops for his Nov. 6-17 trip, the longest trip of the pontificate so far.
“Based on his current clinical status, as well as the instrumental and laboratory tests performed, there are no contraindications that would prevent him from undertaking his upcoming apostolic journey to Latin America as planned,” Dr. Luigi Carbone, the papal doctor said in a statement released by the Holy See Press Office Oct. 26.
The pope “is following medical recommendations with great care and diligence, and with a deep determination to continue serving the Church,” the statement read, confirming that the apostolic trip to South America “will proceed according to the program previously published.”
“The Holy Father looks forward with great joy and enthusiasm to this journey,” it added, highlighting that the trip — to the continent where Pope Leo served as a missionary and where he was a bishop — will offer “opportunities to strengthen the bonds of communion with the local Churches, encourage the faithful in their mission, and bring a message of faith, hope, and peace.”
“I am looking forward to returning to the continent where I’ve experienced so many moments of my life,” Pope Leo said, according to the statement. “May this journey be an occasion for us to open our hearts to one another, strengthen our communion as brothers and sisters, and renew our commitment to proclaiming the Gospel with joy.”
— Advance team lands in Peru for final preparatory visit —
Msgr. Guillermo Inca Pereda, coordinator of Pope Leo XIV ‘s visit to Peru, confirmed to Peruvian TV station TVPE Noticias that the news about Pope Leo’s surgery never interrupted preparations for the trip and that the third advance team mission from the Vatican arrived in Peru Oct. 26.
The media speculated that parts of the schedule could be altered, especially the high altitude trip to Cusco, which is located 11,1500 feet above sea level, and it is recommended that even a healthy person adjust before planning intense activities.
Msgr. Guillermo confirmed however that Cusco — on the papal itinerary for Nov. 15 — was not excluded from the papal visit to Peru.
“Nothing is ruled out. Everything remains as the Holy Father envisioned it. He always wanted to go to Cusco because it holds an important significance: the encounter with the popular faith and religiosity of the region,” he told the Peruvian television channel. “He wants to be there. That’s why I believe Cusco will always be on his list,” he said.
However, Peruvian organizers remain extra cautious regarding the trip, and for his Nov. 11-16 encounter with the nation, “he will have a specialized ambulance, as befits a head of state, which will accompany the delegation at all times,” Msgr. Guillermo said.
“In the case of Santa Cruz, the possibility of having an ambulance helicopter is being considered in case of any eventuality. In addition to his own doctor, there will be a Peruvian doctor prepared to attend to any situation,” the prelate said of another high altitude town in the Andes Mountains, which the pope plans to visit Nov. 14.
— Doctors report post surgery progress —
Papal medical team confirmed in the Oct. 26 statement that the pope’s “recovery continues to progress,” and that since returning to the Vatican Oct. 17, “the Holy Father has gradually resumed his activities, adjusting his daily schedule in consultation with his doctors to prioritize his recovery while continuing to fulfill the responsibilities of his ministry.”
The papal doctor said that while the pope “has maintained important appointments and public engagements” he also had “appropriate periods of rest.”
“The Holy Father remains deeply grateful for the prayers and affection he has received from throughout the world and for the dedicated care of the medical professionals who have accompanied him during his recovery,” the statement read.
“Dr. Luigi Carbone confirms that the Holy Father’s recovery after the surgery continues, and the latest medical examinations attest to his good health and favorable clinical condition.”
— Longest and most demanding trip to date —
Pope Leo XIV will travel more than 19,000 miles on 14 flights during the November trip to Peru, Argentina and Uruguay, according to the full schedule the Vatican released Sept. 21, which the Vatican did not indicate would change in the Oct. 26 statement.
The Nov. 6-17 trip will be the first papal visit to Latin America of Pope Leo’s pontificate. Over 12 days, he will celebrate nine public Masses, visit seven cathedrals and preside over two stadium prayer vigils. The trip culminates with a return to Chiclayo, Peru, where he served as bishop from 2015 to 2023.
The journey begins Nov. 6 with a flight of more than 14 hours and 6,900 miles from Rome to Montevideo, Uruguay. The return flight from Lima, Peru, to Rome covers 6,700 miles. In between, the pope will travel to a new destination nearly every day, including a 2,200-mile flight from Buenos Aires to Lima and a military helicopter flight Nov. 14 to the Andes mountain town of Santa Cruz de Succhabamba, Peru.
By comparison, Pope Leo traveled 11,000 miles over 11 days during his trip to Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea earlier this year.
(OSV News) – A new study has been launched by The Catholic University of America to explore why some priests choose to exit their ministry within a few years of ordination.
“There is a perception among some bishops and other Catholic leaders that there has been an increase in the number of men leaving priestly ministry in their early years,” said university official Sara Perla. “We wanted to find out whether that has any basis in the numbers, and if so, what might be contributing to it.”
The university’s research initiative, funded by the Knights of Columbus, will “deepen understanding of the factors behind why Catholic priests decide to leave public ministry,” said lead researcher Brandon Vaidyanathan, professor of sociology at the university and director of its Institutional Flourishing Lab.
Stephen Cranney, data scientist and lecturer in the university’s global studies department, is also collaborating on the study, along with sociologists Maureen Day, visiting research fellow at Villanova University; Joseph Davis of the University of Virginia; and Caitlin Fitzgerald, a sociology doctoral student at the University of Notre Dame with previous experience in conducting several large-scale studies.
The survey — the results for which will be released sometime in the fall of 2027 — will combine quantitative and qualitative methods, with the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University compiling the data set.
That anonymized data will include priests ordained for U.S. dioceses over the past 20 years, from 2006 to 2025.
Jesuit Father Thomas P. Gaunt, executive director of CARA, told OSV News that roughly 9,000 U.S. diocesan priests were ordained during that period — and tracking their current status to determine which have left the priesthood is a significant undertaking.
“We’ve got 9,000 names, and we have to figure out where every one of them is today,” he said.
Father Gaunt explained that his team is relying on open-source research, such as Google queries on individual priest names, in addition to checking against diocesan clergy lists and resources such as The Official Catholic Directory, an annual statistical overview of the U.S. Catholic Church endorsed for use by the nation’s bishops.
The open-source searches enable the CARA researchers to account for changes in priestly status — such as medical leave, death and temporary assignments elsewhere — that take place between directory and website updates, said Father Gaunt.
The process is a “one-by-one” inquiry, he said — and, he added, “the dilemma is being able to identify and then contact those who have left the priesthood.”
“When you make an inquiry with the diocese, very properly they come back and say, ‘It’s none of your business,'” due to “the privacy rights of the individual,” he explained.
A “whole mix” of reasons are cited by diocesan priests who have left their ministry, said Father Gaunt.
“There were those who realized, ‘This is not God’s calling; it’s a mistake,’ and they leave. And in a sense, they’re happy campers,” he said. “There are others who are embittered by (their experience with) the bishop. And then there are others who say, ‘Well, this was a traumatic part of my life, and I don’t want to revisit it.’ They’re not going to go there because it’s too difficult or painful; it’s not a moral issue or anything else.”
At the same time, several dozen former diocesan priests have already opted to be part of the qualitative portion of the study, which will entail “semi-structured” interviews that are “between 60 and 90 minutes” in length, said Vaidyanathan.
“We will look at all the following areas: background and call, formation and ordination, time in ministry, the emergence of doubts and decision to leave, and life after ministry,” he said.
Vaidyanathan clarified that the qualitative portion would focus on men ordained after 2000 and who “left public ministry with the knowledge of their bishop or religious superior within 10 years of ordination.”
The men are not required to have been formally laicized, he said.
In addition, he said, those who were removed from ministry by a canonical process, or who abandoned their ministry without the knowledge of their bishop or religious superior, are excluded from the study.
Perla noted the response to the study’s qualitative segment has been robust.
“Within a week, we received 61 responses to our call for participants,” she said. “This was more than we expected, and speaks to their willingness to share their experiences.”
Perla and Vaidyanathan said they hoped the research initiative would accomplish a number of aims.
“When someone leaves, it is important to ask questions, and to learn from it, for the benefit of the whole Church,” said Perla.
Vaidyanathan agreed, saying the study would also help “bishops and other Catholic leaders to identify and respond to warning signs.”
He added, “It will also help the Church understand the experiences of these men in their own words.”
Perla also pointed to the study’s potential to “enhance public appreciation for the priests who persevere in their vocations for the whole of life, when we honestly confront some of the challenges that they face.
“The faithful generally want to support their priests, and this study may provide us concrete ways to do so,” she said.
VATICAN CITY (OSV News) – Pope Leo XIV urged educators to recognize the challenges facing young people today, saying many struggle with “digital loneliness,” broken families and feeling “paralyzed by the fear of making mistakes” when performance-driven culture turns ruthless.
Addressing participants in the Vatican’s student ministry conference Oct. 22, the pope said many students may feel “anonymous” as they “walk the halls of our schools and universities.”
“How many students also face existential hardship: broken families, digital loneliness, feelings of inadequacy or fear in the face of a future that seems uncertain,” Pope Leo said.
He added that “quite a few young people today are virtually paralyzed by the fear of making mistakes, of not measuring up, of being misunderstood, or of failing to meet expectations.”
“We live in a performance-driven culture that constantly compares and ranks people, sometimes ruthlessly,” he said. “A misguided meritocracy ultimately fails to respect people. This is why many end up giving up before they even try.”
In light of these challenges, the pope said Catholic schools and universities must be “first and foremost a home,” where students feel known, welcomed and valued.
A welcoming environment, he said, is one in which someone “looks you in the eye, remembers your name, notices your absence, and rejoices at your return.”
“Beneath the armor that so many teenagers build around themselves to avoid suffering lies the desire to love and be loved,” the pope said.
“Pastoral ministry in schools and universities will be all the more fruitful the more it focuses on educating the heart — educating the heart in compassion, gratitude, and the ability to be moved by the suffering of others; educating it in praise and the longing for God,” he added.
The pope recommended service to the poor and volunteer work as experiences “where the heart learns to expand,” urging student ministers to help form young people “to become pioneers of a new way of living in the world.”
“Pastoral ministry in schools and universities is called to accompany the slow germination of thought, to teach discernment, and to encourage perseverance in the search for truth,” Pope Leo said.
He explained that in “a welcoming environment, students can express their deep desire to understand and to make sense of reality,” adding that “this is where the true vocation of schools and universities comes into play: the shared search for truth.”
“Courage springs from a covenant of trust: from the experience of someone who believes in you before you believe in yourself,” he said. “Jesus did not choose the Twelve because they were courageous; he called them and, through his trust in them, made them capable.”
The pope met with participants in the International Congress for Pastoral Care in Schools and Universities taking place at the Vatican Oct. 22-23. Organized by the Dicastery for Culture and Education, the congress featured speakers from Haiti, Colombia, Chile, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Spain, Lebanon and Zimbabwe. Discussions focused on cultivating interiority, technology, and educating for peace.
The final day of the conference Oct. 23 included discussion of how digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, are changing school environments. Many of the speeches from the congress are available online.
“Dear brothers and sisters, false teachers and deceptive messages promise to provide quick answers to young people’s questions,” Pope Leo said.
“You, however, have chosen to do something greater: to walk with them along the way, until they discover the gifts that God has already placed within them.”
VATICAN CITY (OSV News) – The Vatican’s doctrine office published a new a document Oct. 22 on how to pass on the Christian faith in a time of “epochal change” marked by a “crisis in the intergenerational transmission of the Christian faith.”
The document, titled “Venite ad Me,” meaning “Come to Me” in Latin, was issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and signed by its prefect Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández.
“Venite ad Me” was written in response to a request first made by the late Pope Francis toward the end of his life and was approved for publication by Pope Leo XIV during an Aug. 21 audience with Cardinal Fernandez and Msgr. Armando Matteo, the secretary for the dicastery’s doctrinal section.
The more than 25,000-word document is divided into eight chapters. It discusses “the crisis in the transmission of faith” amid cultural changes, the breakdown of the family, and new digital technologies, underlining the need to communicate the “kerygma,” or the essential proclamation of salvation offered by Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection.
While the impetus for the document came from his predecessor, the text also engages with ideas from Pope Leo’s first encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas” on artificial intelligence.
The document explores the need for the Church to focus on evangelizing adults and catechizing children and teenagers in response to how in many parts of the world “ever fewer parents are fulfilling their responsibility to introduce their children to the living light of the Gospel message.”
The text also touches on the role of the liturgy, beauty and personal witness in passing on the faith and contains a number of personal testimonies ranging from a Colombian man who recounts escaping drug addiction and gang life through a Christian rehabilitation program to a Belgian who says he was struck by a prayer he came across on TikTok.
Described as “a set of considerations,” rather than a doctrinal note, the document asserts it was written to stimulate reflection in the Church and pastoral commitment regarding the transmission of the faith.
“The text examines a variety of points of view without, however, claiming to settle the matter, which remains open to further analysis and development. This means that these Considerations are not marked, as are other documents of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, by terminological precision and systematic treatment, but instead allow a more discursive style, as is especially evident in the section on personal testimonies mentioned above,” the text states in its introduction.
According to Vatican News, many bishops’ conferences contributed to the document, including by submitting the testimonies included in its final chapter.
The document identifies a “crisis in the intergenerational transmission of the Christian faith,” explaining that the family is the “first and most essential place for the transmission of the faith,” but adds that this transmission of the faith within families “has been interrupted in many parts of the world.”
“Venite ad Me” identifies the liturgy as a place where believers are formed from within and calls on pastors to “highlight the richness of the Catholic liturgical heritage.”
“The liturgy is living memory and tradition, generating and shaping Christians capable of bearing witness to the salvation they have encountered: by participating in liturgical prayer, one enters, in fact, into a history, into a shared memory that spans the centuries,” it says.
Noting that beauty can draw people to the faith, the text recommends that “special attention should be given to music,” not merely as “an aesthetic embellishment of celebrations but a missionary tool that works through attraction, making the glory of the Risen One perceptible especially where words struggle to reach.”
The document also highlights the role of the homily and discussed volunteer work as an opportunity to draw closer to the life of the Church. It includes a paragraph stressing the “need to expand opportunities for women to participate in the leadership of ecclesial processes,” noting that the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has “studied this topic extensively and submitted its conclusions to the Holy Father through the Secretariat of the Synod.”
The document will serve as a starting point for thought by the International Theological Commission, who the text says will devote part of its work over the next five years to the cultural forms of transmitting the faith. Pope Leo appointed 24 new members to the International Theological Commission earlier in the week, just three days before “Venite ad Me” was published.
MILFORD – Knights of Columbus John Paul II Council 13935, serving Saint Patrick and Saint Joseph Parishes in Milford and Matamoras, will be hosting a Memorial for the Unborn on Sunday, Oct. 25, at Saint Patrick’s Community Hall in Milford.
The day’s events will include a memorial service at 4 p.m., followed by a free community dinner.
After the community dinner Ariel Toms, the director of Tri-State Family & Pregnancy Center, a pro-life pregnancy resource center, will speak about the work of the center and current programs and needs.
The memorial service will be officiated by Rev. Joseph Manarchuck and will include pro-life speaker Antonio Perito.
For more information, please visit www.kofc13935.org/memorial.
SCRANTON – Faithful from across the Diocese of Scranton are invited to participate in a joyful celebration as we honor the dedicated contributions of women and men in religious life during the annual Jubilee Mass for Women and Men Religious on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton.
The Mass will begin at 12:15 p.m., with the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, serving as the principal celebrant.
This special liturgy offers an opportunity to give thanks for the invaluable witness, service, and commitment of those who have devoted their lives to God through religious vocations. From teaching in Catholic schools to providing hospital ministry, prayer and pastoral ministry, women and men religious have had a tremendous impact on the life of the Church and the communities they serve.
Following the homily, all those in consecrated life will be invited to stand to renew their vows. This year, more than 2,010 years of consecrated life will be honored and remembered – which will be a powerful reminder of the ongoing importance of vocations to religious life – and our shared responsibility to pray for and support those who answer God’s call in such generous and selfless ways.
The importance of this witness continues today, as religious communities discern how best to serve the Church and respond to the needs of a changing world. In August, more than 1,300 leaders of women’s religious congregations and guests gathered in Orlando, Fla., for the annual assembly of Leadership Conference of Women Religious, marking its 70th anniversary. The gathering emphasized communion, collaboration and the continuing mission of religious life.
CTV: Catholic Television of the Diocese of Scranton will broadcast the Mass live for those unable to attend in person and will provide a livestream on the Diocese of Scranton website, YouTube channel and across all Diocesan social media platforms.
75 Years
Sister Joan Paskert, I.H.M.
Sister Gracette Baker, I.H.M.
70 Years
Sister Anne Mary Boslett, I.H.M.
Sister Regina Burns, I.H.M.
Sister Thomas Mary Dougherty, I.H.M.
Sister Daniel Mary Heisey, I.H.M.
Sister Ann Marie Lynott, I.H.M.
Sister Mary Ellen Malloy, I.H.M.
Sister Ritamary Mayan, I.H.M.
Sister Ann Eulaine McHale, I.H.M.
Sister Robert Mary Murphy, I.H.M.
Sister Elizabeth Mary Wallace, I.H.M.
60 Years
Sister Gail Cabral, I.H.M.
Sister Ann Barbara DiSiano, I.H.M.
Sister Mary Jo Gallagher, I.H.M.
Sister Kathryn Kurdziel, I.H.M.
Sister Francis Rose Lapitino, I.H.M.
Sister Anne Manion, I.H.M.
Sister Janet Milan, I.H.M.
Sister Mariette Quinn, I.H.M.
Sister Mary Rita Smith, I.H.M.
Sister Lorraine Studley, I.H.M.
Sister Lenore Thomas, I.H.M.
50 Years
Sister Mary Elaine Anderson, I.H.M.
Sister Janet Yurkanin, I.H.M.
75 Years
Sister Ruth Ann Fox, R.S.M.
Sister Jane Kelly, R.S.M.
70 Years
Sister Ann Turnbach, R.S.M.
60 Years
Sister Lucille Breslin, R.S.M.
Sister Patricia McDermott, R.S.M.
Sister Jean Messaros, R.S.M.