Author: Eric Deabill

­ “The challenge that awaits us, then, is to communicate by encountering people, where they are and as they are.”                

—Pope Francis, World Communications Day, 2021

Parishes in the Diocese of Scranton will conduct a second collection on the weekend of May 28-29 for the Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC).

Fifty percent of the funds collected remain in the Diocese to support local communications projects. Funding collected during the campaign help to support The Catholic Light newspaper and CTV: Catholic Television of the Diocese of Scranton which provides Daily livestream and broadcast Masses from the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton, as well as numerous other special events and programs.

The other half support the collective communication work of the bishops of the United States as well as other national projects in the United States and around the world.

In 2020 and 2021, Dioceses across the United States used social media platforms and livestreams as a way to access the Mass and engage with their parish communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. With funding from the Catholic Communication Campaign, the Communications Department of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) worked with social media companies, dioceses, and parishes to bring livestreamed Masses into homes during the pandemic.

CCC funds made available bishop-led roundtables on important issues of racism, gun violence, and care for creation online and through Catholic TV and Catholic Faith Network broadcasts.­ The thoroughly redesigned, mobile-friendly USCCB website—launched in late 2020—was made possible with crucial funding from the campaign.

Each day, hundreds of thousands of users visit the USCCB website to find the daily Mass readings, view the daily reflection videos, and get news and resources that strengthen their lives of discipleship.

When you support the Catholic Communication Campaign, you make vital resources like the daily readings available at no charge to hundreds of thousands of people who rely on them each day. Your contribution helps build Christian community, especially in times like today, when digital communications are critical to how we remain connected.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Saying his heart was broken at the news of at least 19 children and two adults being shot and killed at a Texas elementary school, Pope Francis said it was time to say “Enough!” and enact stricter laws on gun sales.

At the end of his weekly general audience May 25, with thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the pope prayed publicly for the victims of the shooting the day before at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

“With a heart shattered over the massacre at the elementary school in Texas, I pray for the children and adults who were killed and for their families,” the pope told the crowd.

“It is time to say, ‘Enough!’ to the indiscriminate trafficking of guns,” the pope said. “Let’s all work to ensure that such tragedies never happen again.”

Shortly before the audience, Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio, an archdiocese that includes Uvalde, tweeted: “Holy Father Pope Francis, say some prayers for the souls of our little ones killed today and two teachers. Uvalde is in mourning. The families are having a very dark time. Your prayer will do good to them.”

Local authorities said the children and adults were killed by an 18-year-old student from a high school nearby. He also was reported dead and at least three children remained hospitalized for injuries suffered in the attack.

WASHINGTON (CNS) – Several U.S. bishops spoke out against the easy accessibility to guns in the country following a May 24 rampage that left at least 19 children and two of their elementary school teachers dead in Uvalde, Texas.

“Don’t tell me that guns aren’t the problem, people are. I’m sick of hearing it,” Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas, tweeted May 25. “The darkness first takes our children who then kill our children, using the guns that are easier to obtain than aspirin. We sacralize death’s instruments and then are surprised that death uses them.”

The comments came hours after Texas authorities said an 18-year-old with two assault weapons evaded police after crashing his truck near an elementary school close to the U.S-Mexico border and entered the school building at around noon armed with what seemed to be a rifle.

“There was several law enforcement that engaged the suspect but he was able to make entry into the school where he did go into several classrooms and, unfortunately, he did fire his firearm,” Sgt. Erick Estrada, of the Texas Department of Public Safety, told CNN late May 24.

A Border Patrol unit subsequently arrived and one of its officers shot and killed the shooter in the classroom full of fourth graders.

In addition to the dead, reports say 15 children were injured as well as the two law enforcement officers who initially attempted to stop him. Authorities named Salvador Ramos as the shooter and said that prior to arriving at the school, he shot his grandmother, who remains in the hospital.

San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller comforted families outside a local civic center in Uvalde as they waited for news. Along with priests from the Archdiocese of San Antonio, he spent much of the day tending to parishioners and others who needed comfort after the horrific day.

“When will these insane acts of violence end?” the archbishop later said in a statement. “It is too great a burden to bear. The word tragedy doesn’t begin to describe what occurred. These massacres cannot be considered ‘the new normal.'”

“The Catholic Church consistently calls for the protection of all life; and these mass shootings are a most pressing life issue on which all in society must act – elected leaders and citizens alike,” he said. “We pray that God comfort and offer compassion to the families of these little ones whose pain is unbearable.”

He confirmed to a CNN reporter that there’s an effort to connect with Ramos’ family and said he would show them gestures of “tenderness, compassion because they are suffering, too.” He said Ramos’ actions were evil but said he didn’t agree when he heard someone say “that man is evil.”

“No, they were evil actions. Everyone has dignity and the family is suffering, too,” he said. “It’s easy to make remarks that destroy people’s lives … there’s already enough destruction.”

Chieko Noguchi, director of public affairs for the U.S. Conference of Catholic bishops, said the organization joined Archbishop García-Siller in prayers for the community.

“There have been too many school shootings, too much killing of the innocent. Our Catholic faith calls us to pray for those who have died and to bind the wounds of others,” she said in a statement. “As we do so, each of us also needs to search our souls for ways that we can do more to understand this epidemic of evil and violence and implore our elected officials to help us take action.”

In a statement, the Diocese of El Paso, Texas, suggested that a course of action from the Catholic Church could come “in findings ways to more effectively identify people at risk of such behavior and to push for reasonable limits to the proliferation of firearms.”

From Rome, Pope Francis also weighed in, saying: “It’s time to say ‘Enough’ to the indiscriminate trade of weapons!” and encouraged all to be committed in the effort “so that tragedies like this cannot occur again.”

Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich in a May 24 tweet said the right to life trumps the right to have weapons and that “the Second Amendment did not come down from Sinai.”

“The right to bear arms will never be more important than human life,” he said. “Our children have rights too. And our elected officials have a moral duty to protect them.”

In an address to the nation, President Joe Biden recalled his time as vice president when he could not get enough members of Congress to agree on gun control legislation in 2013, a year after 26 people, including 20 elementary school children, were fatally shot by a gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

“As a nation, we have to ask: When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? When in God’s name will we do what we all know in our gut needs to be done?” the president said.

Cardinal Cupich, in his tweets, implored people, not just to lament, but to act.

“We must weep and soak in the grief that comes with the knowledge that these children of God were cut down by a man who was just a few years their senior. But then we must steel ourselves to act in the face of what seems like insurmountable despair,” he tweeted. “As I reflect on this latest American massacre, I keep returning to the questions: Who are we as a nation if we do not act to protect our children? What do we love more: our instruments of death or our future?”

The USCCB has consistently called for gun control.

In a presentation titled “Responses to the Plague of Gun Violence” he delivered Nov. 11, 2019, during the U.S. bishops’ fall general assembly, Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice, Florida, then chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, spelled out the bishops’ support for a ban on assault weapons, universal background checks, a federal gun trafficking bill, regulations on sales of handguns, improved mental health interventions, safety measures and “an honest assessment of violent images and experiences in our society.”

Like much of the American public voicing frustrations after the mass shooting in Texas, Bishop Mark E. Brennan of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, said the country “must now do more than offer prayers and support.”

He called on all, but particularly on lawmakers and gun owners “to work together and take action to ensure the safety of our children, our schools, our churches and our communities.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis and Ukrainian families in Rome will gather May 31 before a statue of Mary, Queen of Peace, to recite the rosary for peace in Ukraine and in other places at war.

Pope Benedict XV had the statue placed in Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major in 1918 as a sign and pledge of people’s prayers for an end to World War I.

“At the end of the Marian month, Pope Francis wants to offer a sign of hope to the world, which is suffering from the conflict in Ukraine and deeply wounded by the violence in the many theaters of active war” around the world, said an announcement from the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization.

For the evening recitation of the rosary, the council said, Pope Francis will be joined not only by Ukrainian families, but also by members of the Scouts, young people who have recently received their first Communion or confirmation, Italian young adults belonging to a Marian prayer group, military chaplains and representatives of the three Queen of Peace parishes in Rome.

The rosary will be livestreamed from Rome and shown in: the Cathedral of the Mother of God in Zarvanytsia, Ukraine; the Syriac Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Deliverance in Baghdad; the Melkite Cathedral of Our Lady, Queen of Peace, in Homs, Syria; and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia in Awali, Bahrain.

The world’s most famous Marian shrines, including Our Lady of Czestochowa in Poland, Our Lady Lourdes in France, Our Lady of Knock in Ireland and Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, also are expected to join in, the council said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis encouraged Catholics to work together in taking care of creation.

After he led the recitation of the “Regina Coeli” prayer with visitors in St. Peter’s Square May 22, the pope invited everyone to take part in “Laudato Si’ Week,” which runs May 22-29.

The special week is an opportunity “to listen ever more attentively to the cry of the earth, which urges us to act together in taking care of our common home,” he said. He thanked the Vatican office promoting the initiative, the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and other organizations taking part.

Laudato Si’ Week is a yearly event marking the anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical, “Laudato Si’: on Care for Our Common Home.”

Global, regional and local events include celebrating the progress made in bringing Laudato Si’ to life and promoting increased efforts through the Laudato Si’ Action Platform, promoted by the dicastery at laudatosiactionplatform.org. The platform is meant to inspire, coordinate and guide Catholic institutions, communities and families to fully implement Laudato Si’.

Events can be found on LaudatoSiWeek.org. Topics to be explored include: how Catholics can fight biodiversity collapse; the role of fossil fuels in conflicts and the climate crisis; and how people can embrace the poor in daily life.

On Tuesday evening, May 24, 2022, the Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, released the following statement on the School Shooting in Uvalde, Texas:

“My heart aches for all of those impacted by today’s senseless school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, especially the young, innocent victims, as well as their parents, families and the entire community. The only way to describe what manifested itself today at Robb Elementary School is unspeakable evil.

“There are far too many families in our nation who have sent their children off to school in the morning yet they never return home in the afternoon.

“I ask all people in the Diocese of Scranton to join me in prayer as we mourn the victims of this terrible tragedy. I ask that we pray also for the wisdom and courage to discover ways to end such senseless violence that has enveloped our land. May the love of Jesus comfort all those who are suffering and in pain.”

 

BUFFALO, N.Y. (CNS) – Bishop Michael W. Fisher of Buffalo joined mourners outside a Tops grocery store where 10 people were killed and three others were injured in what law enforcement authorities said was a racially motivated crime.

Placing flowers and a handwritten note remembering “the souls of our brothers and sisters lost to the acts of violence and racism” at a growing memorial outside the store, Bishop Fisher paid his respects to the victims May 17, the Western New York Catholic reported.

Cheryl Calire, director of pastoral ministries for the Buffalo Diocese, told the Buffalo diocesan news outlet that the bishop’s visit was a way to offer a “prayerful, peaceful way of being present” with others who had gathered at the site.

Bishop Fisher talked with police and fire department officials who were coordinating the investigation at the crime scene as investigators combed the store and surrounding area for evidence that could be linked to the suspect in the mass killing, 18-year-old Payton S. Gendron of Conklin, New York.

All of those who died were Black as was one of the three who were injured.

Police said Gendron, who is white, allegedly was wearing tactical gear and armed with an assault weapon when he entered the supermarket around 2:30 p.m. May 14 and began shooting people he encountered. He has been charged with first-degree murder and remained in custody without bail.

Gendron has entered a plea of “not guilty.” He is scheduled for another court appearance May 19.

Authorities said they discovered a chilling 180-page manifesto that was posted online in which Gendron allegedly stated he wanted to “kill as many Blacks as possible” and claimed some groups are trying to replace white people in the U.S. with people of color.

Accompanied by Calire, Bishop Fisher visited the scene after President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden left the area. The Bidens also laid a bouquet of flowers at the makeshift memorial and grieved with family members of the victims.

In a speech during his visit, the president vowed that “white supremacy will not have the last word.”

Also at the memorial site were Father Paul Seil, pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Buffalo and a chaplain for the Buffalo Fire Department, and Felician Sister M. Johnice Rzadkiewicz, executive director of the Response to Love Center on the city’s east side.

Father Seil met with two deputy fire commissioners, the Western New York Catholic reported. Police officers led Bishop Fisher and Father Seil through part of the crime scene as well.

Bishop Fisher also briefly met with other religious leaders who were at the scene.

“It was a good pastoral visit,” Calire said. “People were coming up to him and asking him to pray for them. It was so nice to see a shepherd in his element. That’s what he has been called to do. And he was on the street with the people bringing comfort just by his presence.”

Shortly after the shooting, Bishop Fisher condemned on Twitter “the scourge of senseless gun violence that has taken the lives of so many across our nation and changed the lives of countless innocent men, women and children must come to an end.”

On May 17, he later updated his remarks saying that innocent people were victimized in the killing spree. “No love was shown in this rampage, only the deepest of hate,” he said.

“This country has struggled for years with the practice of racism and white supremacy that has victimized communities of color and has weakened us all. My hear is so heavy, and I pray for the victims, their families, friends and this community traumatized by this tragedy,” he said in a statement.

“Faith,” he continued, “compels us to reject the abject evil of racism and white supremacy, and to say ‘no’ to terror, and ‘no’ to the intent to silence Black and Brown voices.”

The bishop will host an interfaith prayer service May 23 at St. Martin de Porres Church, located near the grocery store.

Religious communities and individuals participated in an online prayer service May 17 organized by #Onebody, a diverse ministry that addresses racial and social justice.