Author: Eric Deabill

(OSV News) – Dr. Naomi Whittaker was in the middle of her OB-GYN rotation when she realized that she no longer wanted to practice in women’s health. She was done watching patients experience trauma after trauma due to a lack of science and compassion, among other things.

All of that changed, however, when she found herself in the operating room with NaProTechnology surgeons.

“This is good medicine, this is what women need — this heals them, this heals their heart,” she remembered thinking.

Today, Whittaker is a NaProTechnology surgeon herself. She and other OB-GYNs who practice NaProTechnology, which stands for natural procreative technology, spoke with OSV News.

They defined it as a treatment model or women’s health science that evaluates, diagnoses and treats the underlying causes of infertility and other gynecological and reproductive issues using a natural family planning, or NFP, method called the Creighton Model FertilityCare System, known as CrMS.

For couples struggling with infertility, these doctors wanted them to know: NaProTechnology offers answers.

“Even if we don’t get a baby, they at least feel better that they have answers,” said Whittaker, who is located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

— A focus on natural family planning —

Their comments came ahead of National NFP Awareness Week July 20-26. The week takes place around the anniversary of St. Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical, “Humanae Vitae,” which warns against the dangers of artificial birth control and contraception. NFP methods such as CrMS cooperate with this teaching by allowing couples to avoid or achieve pregnancy by tracking the fertile window of a woman’s cycle.

Dr. Christopher Stroud, an OB-GYN who practices NaProTechnology and the founder of Fertility & Midwifery Care Center and Holy Family Birth Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana, described NaProTechnology as the treatment side of CrMS, particularly the surgical treatment side of it.

“When a couple starts trying to use NFP to achieve pregnancy and they’re not achieving,” he said, “that’s when somebody like me comes in with the NaProTechnology and says, ‘Oh look, you’ve got polycystic ovarian syndrome, you’ve got untreated thyroid disease, you’ve got endometriosis. And we need to operate on you to (treat the endometriosis) or you have blocked fallopian tubes’ or some of these other things that come to light because of the NFP.”

These doctors said they treat patients with infertility and other gynecologic issues while observing their CrMS charts. Different methods track different biological signs, or biomarkers, to follow the phases of a woman’s cycle. CrMS relies on the tracking of cervical mucus.

“That’s the beauty of how we’re designed,” said Whittaker, who talks about the benefits of NaProTechnology on social media, including on Instagram where she has more than 30,000 followers. “Our blood flow, our cervical mucus, our cycle length … even our temperature can all tell us of the nature of the body.”

— An alternative to IVF —

Infertility is common, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Around 1 in 5 U.S. married women ages 15 to 49 with no prior births struggle with infertility or are unable to get pregnant after one year of trying.

A growing number of couples struggling with infertility are turning to in vitro fertilization, or IVF, a procedure where embryos are created in a laboratory and then transferred to a woman’s womb. The doctors speaking with OSV News said that IVF — which the Catholic Church condemns in part because innocent human lives are lost when “excess” human embryos are discarded or put into deep freeze — fails to recognize infertility as a symptom of an underlying condition.

“The body is telling us: I should not be pregnant, I have these issues,” Dr. Teresa Hilgers, an OB-GYN and associate medical consultant at St. Paul VI Institute in Omaha, Nebraska, said.

NaProTechnology, she said, seeks to treat those issues.

— The origins of NaProTechnology —

Both Catholic and non-Catholic patients seek out NaProTechnology, which was inspired by Catholic teaching. Hilgers said that her father, Dr. Thomas W. Hilgers, the founder and director of St. Paul VI Institute, co-created CrMS and developed NaProTechnology after reading “Humanae Vitae” as a medical student.

After the creation of CrMS, couples approached her father with different issues, from abnormal bleeding and miscarriage to infertility.

Their charts “had similar patterns to them when they had abnormalities in their health care,” Hilgers said her father realized. “He understood that the charts were actually telling him something, and he was able to coordinate medical care with the charting system.”

As a board-certified restorative reproductive medicine physician and surgeon, Whittaker said NaProTechnology falls under the umbrella of restorative reproductive medicine.

“It really was the first one to see that biomarkers are a sign of health or not and quantified it scientifically and showed that studies can be done very well that way,” she said. “Then they developed a surgery component.”

Today, doctors trained in NaProTechnology exist on every continent except Antarctica, Hilgers said. The three doctors who spoke with OSV News received training at the St. Paul VI Institute and now care for patients who travel to them from across the country and even from across the world.

“I think all of us in the NaProTechnology world experience the same thing,” Stroud said. “People will wait a long time to see you and they’ll travel to see you. … it’s very humbling.”

— An unexpected path —

The doctors speaking with OSV News never planned to practice NaProTechnology, they said.

Hilgers wanted to avoid her father’s line of work until she felt a tap on the shoulder from God. Whittaker thought NFP was unscientific and unreliable until she learned about CrMS and attended a lecture from St. Paul VI Institute as a medical student. Stroud, a convert to Catholicism, switched from doing IVF referrals, contraception and sterilization to practicing NaProTechnology after a priest in the confessional told him to make a change.

At the time, Stroud expected that his career would end; instead, it exploded. For every patient he lost, another two patients appeared. Today, the walls of his practice are covered with photos of his patients’ babies.

— A comparison and contrast with IVF —

These doctors likened comparing NaProTechnology and IVF to comparing apples and oranges. IVF masks a symptom; NaProTechnology identifies and treats the underlying condition, they said.

Stroud gave an analogy: He envisioned a cardiologist prescribing a patient Percocet pills for pain relief because that patient experiences heart pain on the treadmill. Instead of treating what’s wrong with the heart, the doctor is masking the symptom, or the pain.

“In gynecology, that happens every single day,” Stroud said. “The woman says, ‘I’m not pregnant,’ and they say, ‘Let’s do IVF, you’ll be pregnant.’ And the woman says, ‘But aren’t you interested in why I’m not pregnant?'”

Whittaker provided a similar analogy and added that a doctor might order an EKG of the patient to measure and record the heart’s activity. The EKG to a cardiologist is like the chart of a woman’s cycle to a NaProTechnology physician, she said.

For Catholic couples, Hilgers spoke about the philosophical difference between NaProTechnology and IVF.

“NaProTechnology is completely in line with church teaching in the fact that intercourse for a married couple has a procreative and unitive impact,” she said, adding that IVF separates the procreative and unitive aspects.

— A source of healing —

Whittaker said that NaProTechnology not only restores health, but also assesses and addresses mental health, spiritual and marital health. For her part, she said she nurtures the maternal drive of her patients and reminds them that they are worthy of healing.

“When she walks in the door, she’s asking to be a mother, you have to say, ‘You are a mother. Look, you’re here fighting for this baby,'” she said of women struggling with infertility.

NaProTechnology sends a message, she said, that leaves women feeling empowered and loved: “I’m trusting you to tell me what’s going on with your body so I can help work with your body.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Peering at the sunlit skies through a Vatican-owned space telescope and calling the last surviving member of the Apollo 11 spaceflight mission was how Pope Leo XIV celebrated the anniversary of the first crewed moon landing.

U.S. astronaut Michael Collins flew the command module around the moon while Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first humans to land and walk on the lunar surface.

Pope Leo, who would have been 13 years old when the lunar module, the Eagle, touched down, video-called the 95-year-old Aldrin late July 20, “sharing with him the memory of this historic achievement — a testimony to human ingenuity,” the Vatican press office said.

They reflected together on Psalm 8, the office said, which marvels at the limitless grandeur of God, the smallness of human beings in creation and the amazing dignity and power that God has graciously bestowed upon them.

During the return flight back to Earth, Aldrin, a Presbyterian, had read two verses of Psalm 8 from the King James Bible in a radio communication with NASA’s mission control, saying, “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou has ordained; What is man that thou art mindful of him?”

Pope Leo and Aldrin together “reflected on the mystery of creation, its greatness and its fragility,” the press office said July 20, releasing a photo of the pope and Aldrin with his wife, Anca Faur, taken during their video call.

Aldrin then posted on his X account, @TheRealBuzz: “Anca and I were grateful and touched to receive the highest blessing today, from His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV on the 56th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.”

“What an honor! We prayed for good health, long life, and prosperity for all humankind,” the astronaut wrote.

The Vatican press office said Pope Leo blessed the astronaut, his family and his coworkers at the end of the call.

Earlier in the day, Pope Leo visited the Vatican Observatory, the headquarters of a team of Jesuit astronomers and scientists, located on the grounds of the papal summer villa in Castel Gandolfo.

The pope showed great interest in how the observatory’s double astrograph telescope worked to take plate-glass photographs of the night sky, according to video clips released by the Vatican after the visit.

The pope also visited the observatory’s refractor telescope. The pope, who has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the Augustinian-run Villanova University near Philadelphia, asked U.S. Jesuit Father David Brown to position the massive instrument toward a particular spot for a look.

Father Brown, an astronomer specializing in stellar evolution, serves as caretaker of the telescopes in Castel Gandolfo, and he assiduously followed the pope’s request, maneuvering the telescope and the mechanized platform they were standing on.

St. Paul VI also visited the observatory the night of July 20-21, 1969, looking at the moon through its Schmidt telescope before he watched the actual landing and the first moon walk on television at the papal summer villa.

Messages from religious leaders were among the artifacts collected to be flown on the lunar lander, and they remain there to this day for posterity. The messages include one personally handwritten by St. Paul alongside the printed text of Psalm 8.

St. Paul also sent a message honoring and blessing the three astronauts after they landed on the moon, calling them “conquerors of the moon, pale lamp of our nights and our dreams.” He then met Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin at the Vatican Oct. 16, 1969.

The observatory traces its origins back to an observational tower erected in the Vatican Gardens by Pope Gregory XIII in 1578 so celestial studies could aid the reform of the Western calendar. Over time, a number of posts for celestial observation were set up along the Vatican walls and elsewhere in Rome.

Pope Leo XIII formally established the Vatican Observatory — placed on a hillside behind the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica — in 1891 as a visible sign of the church’s centuries-old support for science. He also let the Holy See take part in a decades-long international survey of the night sky called the “Carte du Ciel.”

The Jesuits have been entrusted with the Vatican Observatory since 1935, when Pope Pius XI decided to move the observatory from the Tower of the Winds in the Vatican to the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo.

Two powerful telescopes were installed there in the 1930s under two separate domes located on the roof of the papal palace.

A separate building in the villa’s gardens houses the historic Carte du Ciel telescope from 1891 and a Schmidt telescope from 1957 that Pope Pius XII purchased with his own money as a gift to the observatory. It also houses an exhibit showcasing historical scientific instruments, artifacts and meteorites from the observatory’s collections.

The Jesuit observatory staff set up a second research center in Tucson, Arizona, in 1981 after Italian skies got too bright for nighttime observation. And in 1993, in collaboration with Steward Observatory, they completed the construction of the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope on Mount Graham — considered one of the best astronomical sites in the continental United States.

(OSV News) – Newly installed Bishop Mark A. Eckman of Pittsburgh has expressed his “great sorrow” over “hateful vandalism” at one of his parish churches, which federal authorities are now investigating. Meanwhile, law enforcement in Kansas told OSV News they’re closing in on suspects who ravaged and scrawled swastikas on a parish building in that state.

At St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church in Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania, an exterior statue of Mary, as well as commemorative plaques on a bell tower and convent door, were spray-painted with anti-Catholic and antisemitic graffiti.

CBS News affiliate KDKA in Pittsburgh reported July 18 that the damage is believed to have occurred between July 8 and 9 at the church, located near Pittsburgh and part of Triumph of the Holy Cross Parish.

The Diocese of Pittsburgh confirmed the “concerning vandalism” to the news outlet, adding the incident — discovered about a week ago — had been reported to authorities.

“The anti-Catholic and anti-Semitic messages left behind have wounded not only the people of this parish but every member of our diocesan family,” Bishop Eckman said in a July 19 statement provided to OSV News. “This holy place, meant for prayer, community, and the merciful presence of God has been violated in a deeply painful way.”

According to KDKA, the Baldwin Borough police department turned the investigation over to the FBI.

Bishop Eckman said in his statement that “the FBI is leading the investigation,” and that the diocese was “cooperating fully with law enforcement.”

“I am grateful for their swift and thorough attention to this matter,” said Bishop Eckman.

Bradford Arick, public affairs officer for the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, told OSV News that Department of Justice policy did not permit him “to confirm nor deny any potential investigation related to this.”

KDKA reported the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh is also aware of the incident.

OSV News is awaiting a response to its request for comment from the parish.

In a separate case of vandalism with Nazi imagery inflicted on a Catholic parish, OSV News has learned that law enforcement has identified three suspects involved in extensively damaging a Catholic parish education building in Olmitz, Kansas.

The former St. Ann School, which appears to currently be used by the parish for religious education activities, was reported vandalized July 10.

Images posted to Facebook July 11 by the sheriff’s office of Barton County, Kansas, showed chairs and tables upended, with books and papers strewn across the floors of what appeared to be several rooms. One stairwell was blocked by debris, with furniture, fabrics, crayons and books littering the steps.

In one photo, a large swastika had been formed on a desktop with what appeared to be a white powder. In another image, a chalkboard could be seen with a red swastika, under which was written “all Hail Hitler.”

The markings stood in stark contrast to a banner above the chalkboard that featured an angel blowing a trumpet and the words “Rejoice in the Lord.”

Barton County Undersheriff Stephen Billinger told OSV News July 18 that “several small fires were also set” on the premises.

He said that “someone gave us information” that led law enforcement to three suspects, who are juveniles.

Their identities, along with details of the anticipated charges — which include arson, burglary and criminal damage — will not be released since the suspects are minors, he said.

Billinger added that he and his colleagues are “pretty confident we’ll solve the case.”

“I know it affects a lot of people,” he said. “It’s a terrible crime against the Catholic school. And thankfully, good people came forward and gave us the information we needed.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations denounced both attacks, expressing their solidarity with Catholics and Jews.

“We condemn this apparently bias-motivated attack on a religious institution and urge law enforcement authorities to swiftly apprehend and punish those responsible to the full extent of the law,” CAIR-Kansas Board Chair Moussa Elbayoumy said in a July 11 statement.

CAIR-Pittsburgh executive director Christine Mohamed said in a July 19 statement, “We are deeply disturbed by this cowardly and hateful act targeting a sacred space in our region. No faith community should ever have to face this kind of hatred. We stand in full solidarity with our Catholic and Jewish neighbors and welcome the FBI’s investigation into this incident. Hate has no place in Pittsburgh — or anywhere.”

Both Elbayoumy and Mohamed pointed to CAIR’s “Best Practices for Mosque and Community Safety” as a security resource for faith communities.

Pittsburgh’s Bishop Eckman said he hoped to share more information in the days to come.

“To the faithful who feel shaken, and to all in our wider community, know that your pain is shared,” he said, “and my prayers are with you for comfort and healing.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Summer should be spent cultivating time with God, relaxing and caring for others, Pope Leo XIV said at Mass in a breezy hilltown during his brief summer break.

“During the summer, we have more free time in which to gather our thoughts and reflect and also to travel and spend time with each other,” he said in his homily during Mass July 20 in the Cathedral of St. Pancras Martyr in the town of Albano Laziale, southeast of Rome.

“Let us make good use of this, by leaving behind the whirlwind of commitments and worries in order to savor a few moments of peace and reflection, taking time as well to visit other places and share in the joy of seeing others, as I am doing here today,” he said.

The cathedral had been named the future pope’s cardinal titular church Feb. 6, and then-Cardinal Robert F. Prevost had been scheduled to take possession of it May 12, on the feast of St. Pancras.

“But the Holy Spirit did something else,” Pope Leo said, smiling, in his homily, referring to his election as pope May 8.

The Diocese of Albano still gifted him the same silver platter they had prepared for him as a cardinal, adorned with his coat of arms, during a brief presentation of gifts outside the front entrance of the cathedral. However, “we had to fix the crest,” Bishop Vincenzo Viva of Albano told him, referring to the slight changes needed for it to be a papal emblem.

The pope had walked to the cathedral from a rear exit of the papal villas and gardens near the Jesuit-run Vatican Observatory, which opens onto the town of Albano Laziale. He waved to the hundreds of people lining the streets and watching on giant screens in the square.

After greeting a group of residents and shaking hands with local mayors, he blessed the cathedral with holy water before entering and concelebrating the Mass with the bishop, Cardinal Michael Czerny, U.S. Father Manuel Dorantes, administrative-management director of the nearby Vatican-run Laudato Si’ Center for Higher Education, and others.

In his homily, which reflected on the day’s Gospel reading (Luke 10:38-42) of Martha and her sister Mary, he said, “Service and listening are, in fact, twin dimensions of hospitality.”

It would be wrong, he said, to see Martha’s approach of serving Jesus and Mary’s desire to sit at the Lord’s feet to listen to him “as mutually exclusive or to compare the merits of the two women.”

“Although it is true that we must live out our faith through concrete actions, faithfully carrying out our duties according to our state of life and vocation, it is essential that we do so only after meditating on the Word of God and listening to what the Holy Spirit is saying to our hearts,” he said.

That is why Christians “must make room for silence” and prayer, away from noise and distractions, to “recollect ourselves before God in simplicity of heart,” he said.

“Summer can be a providential time to experience the beauty and importance of our relationship with God, and how much it can help us to be more open and welcoming to others,” the pope said.

“Serving and listening do not always come easily; they require hard work and the ability to make sacrifices,” he said.

It takes a lot of work to be good parents and students and to “understand each other when there are disagreements, to forgive when mistakes are made, to help when someone is sick, and to comfort one another in times of sadness,” he said.

“But it is precisely by making an effort that something worthwhile can be built in life,” he said. “It is the only way to form and nurture strong and genuine relationships between people.”

“Let us make summer an opportunity to care for others, to get to know each other and to offer advice and a listening ear, for these are expressions of love, and that is something we all need,” the pope said.

“Let us do so with courage,” he said, “so through solidarity and the sharing of faith and life, we will help to promote a culture of peace, helping those around us to overcome divisions and hostility and to build communion between individuals, peoples and religions.”

The pope arrived at the papal villas July 6 for a two-week stay, and he was scheduled to return to the Vatican the afternoon of July 20. But after reciting the Angelus to those gathered in the main square of Castel Gandolfo, the pope said he would head back to Rome “in a few days,” specifically, the evening of July 22.

In remarks before the Angelus, the pope reiterated, “We need to take time to rest and try to learn better the art of hospitality.”

“The holiday industry wants to sell us all sorts of ‘experiences,’ but perhaps not the ones we are really looking for,” he said. “Every genuine encounter is free; it cannot be bought, whether it is an encounter with God, with others or with nature.”

The vocation of Christians and the church, he said, is “to be a home open to all” and to welcome the Lord, “who knocks at our door and asks our permission to enter.”

After the Angelus, Pope Leo then visited the Vatican Observatory to help mark the anniversary of the first landing on the moon that took place July 20, 1969.

The Vatican press office said he looked through the main telescope and looked at the other instruments in the observatory, which was built in the 1930s.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Two Catholic service organizations have joined forces to back three new pieces of legislation designed to both help victims of human trafficking and enhance safety for children online.

Representatives of the Alliance to End Human Trafficking and the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd spoke at a Capitol Hill press conference on July 16.

One bill, the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act (H.R. 2961), is a reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act first adopted in 2000. It must be reauthorized every three to five years, but that last occurred in 2018, with funding drawn from various sources since then.

Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., a Catholic and co-chair of the House Pro-Life Caucus, introduced the new bill in April and told the event he hoped to get it to a full House vote in September, after which it heads to a Senate vote, if passage is not blocked there.

Felician Sister Maryann Mueller, a founding member of the Alliance to End Human Trafficking, told OSV News the bill “returns to fundamentals.”

The legislation calls for funding to “create a scalable, repeatable program or model, to be publicly available for distribution online, that can be adapted to address the needs of any school to prevent child labor trafficking, child sex trafficking, and child sexual exploitation and abuse including grooming, child sexual abuse materials, and trafficking transmitted through technology,” and additional funding to find housing for trafficked men and women.

Smith called it “an initiative to end modern-day slavery.”

He would not speak of any challenges that might be involved in getting President Donald Trump’s administration to enforce the bill if it receives both House and Senate passage, preferring to reflect on the challenges of previous presidents, going back to George W. Bush.

Smith found himself saying of the bill’s elements: “It does not say you ‘may’ do it, Mr. President. It says you ‘shall’ do it.”

Previous versions of the bill have died in the Senate, and bipartisan consensus has been difficult to find there, Smith said.

The Trafficking Survivors Relief Act (H.R. 1379) would vacate and expunge convictions of trafficked persons who committed nonviolent crimes, such as participating in identity fraud or selling drugs.

Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, a supporter of the legislation, introduced in February by Rep. Fray Russell, R-S.C., said its purpose is “very, very simple — to clear criminal records for those forced to perform illegal acts while being trafficked.”

Criminal records are an obstacle to finding employment outside of low-wage unstable jobs, as well as renting apartments.

Traffickers find their victims by promising a sexual interest or help with family support or employment, said Heather Heiman, a lawyer and project manager in the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service.

“Most of the survivors I’ve talked to said they felt completely trapped,” she said, adding that all suffer from “extreme trauma.”

The 2024 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons from the United Nations reported that in 2022, the most recent year for which statistics were available, there were 74,785 people “detected” (reported by police as actual cases) as trafficking victims. That represented a 43% increase from 2020 and does not reflect the actual prevalence of the crime.

The Kids Online Safety Act (S.1748), introduced in the Senate by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., specifies a “duty of care” for online platforms, saying they “shall exercise reasonable care in the creation and implementation of any design feature to prevent and mitigate” harms to minors “where a reasonable and prudent person would agree that such harms were reasonably foreseeable by the covered platform and would agree that the design feature is a contributing factor.”

These include eating disorders, depressive and anxiety disorders, online harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse, and distribution and sale of drugs, tobacco and alcohol.

Sister Maryann framed the bill in terms of suicide prevention, citing, as an example, a teen girl she knew who had been coerced into posting for nude photos.

“Every day we delay, our children’s lives are at risk,” she said. “We know that children are very tech savvy” and many can have, for instance, multiple Instagram accounts — “one for their parents, and one they view with friends.”

She said the legislation would “mandate that Congress preserve the sacredness of childhood as a national concern.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – After an early morning attack on the Holy Family Church in Gaza, Pope Leo XIV called for an immediate ceasefire, dialogue and peace in the region.

With Israeli tanks shelling multiple targets in Gaza, witnesses claimed the strike July 17 came from Israeli artillery shells. The Israeli military said in a statement it was aware of the reports of damage and casualties at the church, and that “the circumstances of the incident are under review.”

More than 500 men, women and children had been sheltering at the church, including about 50 people with disabilities and ill children cared for by the Missionaries of Charity. It is the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip.

The early morning raid on the church left three people dead and nine injured, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem told ANSA, the Italian news agency.

Among the wounded were those who were seriously injured, those in stable condition and some with light injuries, the patriarchate said.

Among those hurt was the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, an Argentine of Italian descent whom Pope Francis would call regularly. News photos show the priest sitting with a white bandage wrapped around his right calf at the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City.

A telegram sent by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, on behalf of the pope, stated, “His Holiness Pope Leo XIV was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack on the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, and he assures the parish priest, Father Gabriele Romanelli, and the whole parish community of his spiritual closeness.”

“In commending the souls of the deceased to the loving mercy of Almighty God, the Holy Father prays for the consolation of those who grieve and for the recovery of the injured,” the cardinal wrote.

“His Holiness renews his call for an immediate ceasefire, and he expresses his profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region,” he wrote.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, told Vatican News, “We still have partial information, because communication with Gaza is not very easy, especially today.”

He confirmed that several were wounded, some seriously. “They say it was a mistake by an Israeli tank, but we don’t know. It hit the church, directly at the church,” he said.

Speaking to Vatican News July 12, Father Romanelli said almost everyone in the area beyond the church compound had left. “All around us, there is only death and destruction.”

“Day and night, we are accompanied by the sound of bombs falling even a few hundred meters from the parish. It is absurd, but now, after 21 months, these horrendous sounds of explosions have become an ordinary part of daily life,” he had said.

The Israeli Defense Forces’ offensive in the Gaza Strip came after the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks by Hamas and other jihadist groups operating from the territory.

Speaking to Aid to the Church in Need in mid-July, Father Romanelli underlined that the situation in Gaza was “very, very serious.”

“Another day of war — another hour of war — continues to complicate the lives of tens and hundreds of thousands of people,” he said, urging the world’s faithful to pray and support those affected.

“We ask you to continue helping us — to pray a lot, and to encourage others to pray,” he said. “To seek peace and justice by all means, and also to lend a hand to these poor people.”

Father Romanelli told Vatican News July 12 that there had been a little more than 1,000 Christians in Gaza before the Oct. 7 attack. About 300 managed to get out of the strip when the Rafah crossing with Egypt was still open, he said.

At least 16 Christians were killed in a raid that hit the Orthodox Patriarchate’s St. Porphyry Church in October 2023, Aid to the Church in Need said. An elderly Christian was killed in November 2023, and a month later, a mother and daughter were killed just outside the church when an IDF sniper fired on the grounds of the Holy Family Church.

SCRANTON – Parishioners and visitors are once again descending on Saint Ann Basilica Parish in West Scranton for the annual Solemn Novena to Saint Ann.

This year’s Novena, which begins today and runs through July 26, is a tradition that many faithful look forward to each summer. It is now in its 101st year.

“Saint Ann has touched my life, and I think the Novena is a great thing,” parishioner Ken Weiksner said.

Weiksner, who joined Saint Ann Basilica Parish in 2013, will attend several Novena Masses throughout the next nine days.

“I remember my mom and dad, they used to come and brought me here a few times when I was young,” he added. “People from all over come. They walk, they come by car, it’s a great thing to see all these people here praying together.”

The theme for this year’s Novena is ‘Hope Never Fails,’ echoing the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope.

“I’ve been coming to the Novena since my 20s,” parishioner Doreen Didario explained. “You come to thank God; you come to find peace and tranquility.”

The preachers for this year’s Novena are Father Curtis Kiddy, C.P., of North Palm Beach, Fla., and Father Cristian Martinez, C.P., of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Each day, the preachers will provide encouragement for fostering hope in the everyday circumstances of life.

“It’s so great to come here and be able to pray and be with God,” parishioner Lisa Killino stated.

Responding to growth in the Hispanic community throughout the Diocese of Scranton, the Novena will once again hold a daily Mass and Novena in Spanish at 7:30 p.m. from July 17 through July 25.

The Novena will conclude with the Solemn Closing Mass on Saint Ann’s Feast Day, July 26, at 7:30 p.m., celebrated by the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton.

All faithful are welcome and encouraged to attend Novena Masses and devotions at the times that fit their schedule. Everyone in the community is also invited to visit the food stand located on the Basilica grounds. Proceeds from the sale of food and beverages benefit Saint Ann Basilica Parish.

“The food is very good, and I enjoy being with my family every year,” Tommy Killino added.

SCRANTON – The registration deadline for the Diocese of Scranton’s upcoming Jubilee Year Pilgrimage to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is quickly approaching in just about one month.

In order to ensure that all bus transportation can be arranged, a registration deadline of Aug. 18 has been established.

On Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, will lead a Jubilee Year of Hope Pilgrimage to the Basilica in Washington, D.C.

The day will include opportunities for public as well as private prayer, confessions, touring the National Shrine as well as the campus of The Catholic University of America, and conclude with Mass.

There are two ways to register.

The first way is to visit the Diocese of Scranton website (dioceseofscranton.org) and click on the “Jubilee Year Pilgrimage” tab. You can then fill in your information and pay by debit or credit card or PayPal account.

The second way to register is to contact your local parish office. Many parishes are signing up pilgrims and will forward that information to the Diocese.

The cost of the bus trip is $80 per person. Once all of the registration information is received on Aug. 18, bus roster and arrival/depature locations will be finalized and communicated to attendees at the end of August.

Please note: There is a list of Frequently Asked Questions regarding the Pilgrimage on the Diocese of Scranton website.

Anyone with questions can email Father Andrew Hvozdovic, Diocesan Director of Pilgrimages, at ahvoz87@gmail.com or call (570) 639-1535.

 

SCRANTON – “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”

These words, known as the Great Commission from the Gospel of Matthew, are more than a final command from Christ – they are a call to action for every Catholic to foster a culture of vocations.

That call is bearing fruit in the Diocese of Scranton.

This year, five new seminarians have been accepted into the Diocese’s Program for Priestly Formation – marking the highest number of new candidates in several years. They come from three different countries, four counties, and represent five unique parishes, reflecting the rich diversity and shared faith of the Church in northeastern Pennsylvania.

“This is a sign of great hope,” Father Alex Roche, Diocesan Secretary for Clergy Formation, said. “Their willingness to discern a priestly vocation is a witness to the Holy Spirit actively working among us.”

The candidates accepted this year for the Diocese of Scranton include: Liam Barry, Epiphany Parish, Sayre; Antonio Ingargiola, Saints Anthony & Rocco Parish, Dunmore; Leonel Ojo Gonzalez, Saint Faustina Kowalska Parish, Nanticoke; Roberto Carlos Acevedo Ruiz, Saint Pius of Pietrelcina Parish, Hazleton; and Michael Sullivan, Saint Luke Parish, Stroudsburg.

VOCATIONS ROOTED IN ENCOUNTER

The path to the seminary for each of the men is as varied as their backgrounds.
For Antonio Ingargiola, the call began during a Holy Thursday Mass during his sophomore year of high school.

“I watched my pastor wash the feet of the twelve. As I watched this, something came over me and I felt that I could see myself doing that,” he said.

As a sacristan and altar server at his parish, Ingargiola is excited to begin seminary life.

“Being around other guys discerning God’s calling in their life while striving to grow in their faith is very exciting for me,” he added.

Liam Barry, one of the youngest of the group, traces his calling back to his Catholic elementary school and the influence of religious sisters and priests.

“I think altar serving and Quo Vadis (Days) were both really important and meaningful to me because of your ability to be close to priests, deacons, and seminarians,” Barry said.

Barry is particularly drawn to the liturgical prayer life of seminary formation and finds inspiration in Saint Thérèse of Lisieux and Venerable Fulton Sheen.

Michael Sullivan found his call while serving as youth minister for Saint Luke Parish.

“I taught the Confirmation class and was their leader for service hours. We visited the nursing homes, fed the underprivileged at community meals, and evangelized with our participation in the Saint Patrick’s Day parade,” he said.

Through the encouragement of his pastor, Father Michael Quinnan, and programs like Quo Vadis Days and the Ezra 10:4 Men’s Discernment Retreat, Sullivan said his desire to serve grew stronger.

“I look forward to meeting young men on the same journey as me, as we live together, learn together, and follow our call to the priestly vocation together.”

A native of the Dominican Republic, Roberto Carlos Acevedo Ruiz brings with him a wealth of ministry experience – from catechesis and youth missions to Charismatic Renewal and Emmaus retreats.

“I have been motivated by the call that God has made me through my pastoral services in the community where I worked,” he shared.

Leonel Ojo Gonzalez has been discerning for more than a decade.

Hailing from Panama in Latin America, his involvement in adoration, Hispanic Emmaus retreats, and parish ministry has steadily drawn him closer to the priesthood.

“I am motivated because I love the way they (priests) give themselves completely to the service of God and the community,” he said.Inspired by Saint Paul the Apostle, Leonel added, “He is a great model because no matter what you did in the past, if God calls you, you have to be able to change your life.”

BROADER PICTURE OF GROWTH

The increasing number of seminarians for the Diocese of Scranton correlates to national trends noted in the 2025 CARA Report, which surveyed more than 300 men preparing for priestly ordination across the United States.

This year’s findings reaffirm the central role of family life, parish priests, and Catholic schools as key influences in vocational discernment.

Notably, 78-percent of respondents reported regular participation in Eucharistic Adoration, a practice that has been emphasized in Scranton through monthly Holy Hours for Vocations in three different counties.

The Vocations Office also continues to invest in programs like Quo Vadis Days, Fiat Days, Leave a Mark Mass, and Ezra 10:4 Retreats to help men and women discern their call in an atmosphere of prayer, fellowship, and guidance. Adult and youth discernment groups also meet regularly throughout the year.

HOPE, NOT HESITATION

While concern over declining vocations is real, the work of the Holy Spirit in the Diocese of Scranton is providing hope for the future.

“We often hear about the challenges,” Father Roche said. “But when young men give their lives to Christ in this way, it’s a powerful sign that the Church is alive and moving forward.”

If you or someone you know is discerning a vocation to the priesthood or religious life, visit dioceseofscranton.org/vocations for more information. You can also email vocations@dioceseofscranton.org or call (570) 207-1452.

WILKES-BARRE – All families are invited to join Catholic School Services and its Parents as Teachers program for an afternoon of indoor fun and education on Aug. 2, 2025.

The free event, with a back to school focus, will be held from noon to 4:00 p.m. at the King’s College Scandlon Gymnasium, 150 N. Main Street, Wilkes-Barre, 18711. (Free parking available at 133 S. Franklin Street, Wilkes-Barre, 18711)

There will be face painting, free haircuts and eye exams, along with performances and demonstrations by community groups. Several dozen local organizations have committed to participating in the event.

The first 100 children will get free water bottles and dental hygiene kits. There will also be an interactive scavenger hunt to be turned in for prizes, and interactive demonstrations.

The Parents as Teachers program of Catholic Social Services will also be highlighting its program. The program is open for participation from conception until a child reaches kindergarten. A child must be enrolled at least one year prior to kindergarten. There are no income qualifications to participate but families must live within Luzerne County to participate in the Catholic Social Services program.

For more information on the event, or to register your community group to participate, please contact Montie Ford at MFord@cssdioceseofscranton.org.