(OSV News) – A coast-to-coast observance this month commemorates the souls of children lost to abortion.
The National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children takes place Sept. 9, with services and gatherings at some 225 locations across the country. About 56 of those locations are gravesites for the remains of aborted children, while the majority are memorials.
People gather for the National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children Sept. 12, 2020, at Allouez Catholic Cemetery in Allouez, Wis. During the hourlong outdoor event, participants listened to speakers, recited the rosary and prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet. On Sept. 9, 2023, services and gatherings were planned at some 225 locations across the country to mark the yearly observance commemorating the souls of children lost to abortion. (CNS photo/Sam Lucero, The Compass)
Now in its 15th year, the event — annually held on the second Saturday of September – is jointly sponsored by two Midwestern-based organizations, Citizens for a Pro-life Society in Michigan and the Pro-Life Action League in Illinois.
Tracing its origins to the 1988 burial of some 1,200 aborted babies at Holy Cross Cemetery in Milwaukee, the occasion — which was initiated in 2013 — has become “an important opportunity for healing from abortion,” Eric Scheidler, executive director of the Pro-Life Action League, told OSV News.
Participants have “really appreciated” the chance to “put the focus on the children’s lives and express sorrow at their passing,” he said.
For women who have had abortions, the chance to express their “regret and mourning” is cathartic, Scheidler said.
He noted the events take place in “locations already set up for difficult emotional experiences: churches and cemeteries,” where “we expect people to shed tears.”
“Whether you were pushed into that choice, or you made it yourself, the reality is that abortion is an incredible tragedy,” said Scheidler. “To hide from that, to deny the impact it had on your life and the shame that goes along with that, isn’t doing anyone any good.”
A willingness to face such pain offers a chance to “reconcile with our pasts … and to ask for God’s healing, to come and infuse our memories and experiences, and transform us.”
He and his fellow organizers have “heard stories of transformation,” he added.
“A grandmother came up to me in tears after one of our services, and she was very upset but incredibly grateful,” Scheidler said. “She couldn’t stop thanking me for allowing her the opportunity to come out and publicly mourn for her grandchild. She’d found out earlier in the week, through an insurance bill, that her first grandchild had been aborted by her daughter, who was on her health plan.”
The various gatherings have taken on renewed significance even after the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion, he said.
“In some states, a whole lot of pro-life activities, such as sidewalk counseling, have come to a halt,” Scheidler said.
Ensuring the “visibility of and education on” the issue of abortion is critical, Lois Dark, coordinator of the Respect Life ministry at St. Simon Stock Parish in Berlin, New Jersey, told OSV News.
With the blessing of its pastor, Father Michael A. J. de Leon, the parish installed a memorial to aborted children at the front entrance of the church.
“Everything we do is in prayer and education,” said Dark, who along with her fellow parishioners will mark the observance with a rosary in front of the memorial. “So many people just don’t know the truth.
“The mourning process never ends,” said Scheidler. “Until the end of the world, we will have to remember all of our dead, including those who were killed through abortion. I think this event points to the future, and we’re modeling the mourning and reparation that will have to be done by the whole of society, if we ever achieve that goal of protecting children from abortion through the whole land.”
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INDIANAPOLIS (OSV News) – Local and national organizers of the National Eucharistic Congress – which will take place in Indianapolis July 17-21, 2024 – have been meeting virtually for some time.
But for the first time, scores of them met in person in Indianapolis Aug. 30 at Lucas Oil Stadium, where in less than a year tens of thousands Catholics will gather for the closing Mass of the historic event — the first such event in 83 years. The congress will launch the third year of a three-year National Eucharistic Revival, an initiative of the U.S. Catholic bishops to renew devotion to the Eucharist.
The Eucharist rests on a paten at the altar in the Cathedral of St. Peter in Wilmington, Del., May 27, 2021. (CNS photo/Chaz Muth)
“The Holy Spirit is inviting the United States to find unity and renewal through a grassroots National Eucharistic Revival,” Jaime Reyna, event lead for the National Eucharistic Congress, said, quoting remarks from a letter written by executive director Tim Glemkowski. “This movement — discerned and approved by the bishops of the U.S. — is critical to rekindling a living faith in the hearts of Catholics across America, unleashing a new missionary chapter at this pivotal moment in church history. … The goal is to start a fire, not a program.”
More than 25,000 have already registered for the event, said Reyna.
“We just have a lot of people who are excited about gathering,” he noted. “Remember that feeling after COVID when people just wanted to come back together? It’s almost the same way, that there’s that spiritual connection of wanting to come together and pray and for the many different reasons that people are just wanting to come together.”
In addition to general and breakout sessions, the five-day event will be filled with opportunities for prayer, worship and the sacraments, said Father Patrick Beidelman. The pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Indianapolis is chair of the National Eucharistic Congress liturgy committee.
“We’ll have a large Mass each day, three at the Indiana Convention Center and the closing Mass at Lucas Oil Stadium, … and opportunities for confession all over the place,” he said, adding that St. John the Evangelist Church across from the convention center “will be turned into a place of perpetual adoration starting on Wednesday evening through Sunday.”
The route of a massive Eucharistic procession during the congress is still being determined, he noted.
The day before the five-day congress opens, Catholics from around the U.S. participating in pilgrimages leading to Indianapolis will converge on the city. Planning is well under way for “Eucharistic caravans.” There will be four, each following a different route and each with its own name: the “Marian Route” the “Juan Diego Route,” the “Seton Route” and the “Junipero Serra Route.” Pilgrims on all four routes will begin their journeys with Pentecost weekend celebrations May 17-18, 2024, leaving May 19. They will all reach Indianapolis July 16, 2024.
In his remarks Aug. 30, Reyna spoke with excitement about the speakers scheduled for the general and breakout sessions at the National Eucharistic Congress. Among them are well-known Catholic speakers, including priests, religious and bishops.
The church is diverse, Reyna also noted, and event coordinators are taking that into consideration. In addition to programming in English and Spanish, he said the congress team is working with existing ministries to address other language needs as well.
“We’re talking about Vietnamese, Native Americans, Asian-Pacific Islanders and others,” he said.
The team also is cognizant of engaging those with special needs.
“We are working with national ministry organizations, like the National Catholic Office for Deaf Ministry,” said Reyna. “We also (are) trying to be as inclusive as possible for all our brothers and sisters, including those who may have some physical disabilities, to make sure that they are able to participate and to see how we can accommodate and serve them.”
The event will involve “hundreds if not thousands” of volunteers, said Nikki Slater of Maribeth Smith & Associates, the Indianapolis-based event planning firm contracted to coordinate the National Eucharistic Congress.
While registration for specific volunteer opportunities and shifts will go live next spring, Slater noted that a section of the congress website — https://www.eucharisticcongress.org — will be created soon for people to sign up as interested in volunteering.
The Knights of Columbus are providing many volunteers as well.
“I’m on the volunteer committee, so I’m working with NEC to figure out where they need volunteers,” Scott Schutte said after the meeting in an interview with The Criterion, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Schutte is state deputy of the Indiana Knights of Columbus. “I’ve got guys who are all excited about being part of the event.”
His current efforts are focused on the four routes pilgrims will walk from the north, south, east and west portions of the United States, all meeting in Indianapolis just before the National Eucharistic Congress begins.
“We’re trying to get with diocesan coordinators (for the routes) to find out where the Knights can provide water, food, a place to rest, maybe direct a little traffic, whatever, or at least participate in some way,” said Schutte.
He noted that the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council is a national sponsor for the congress.
“We want to give our 33,000 men the opportunity to be involved,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of Indianapolis Archbishop Charles C. Thompson, Christopher Walsh, the archdiocesan chancellor, said it is “a tremendous honor to be the host diocese for this historic event.”
He noted the archdiocese’s commitment to the effort. But he also recognized the vital help from all of the local organizers — including state and local police, firemen and emergency medical services — for their help “in making this event the success that we certainly know it is going to be.”
Walsh called the National Eucharistic Congress “truly an event for all, as all are united in the mystical body of Christ.
“That is what this is about, and certainly about representing the real presence of Christ in the world today through this event.”
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ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM MONGOLIA (CNS) – The Synod of Bishops is not a television show or a parliamentary debate, and its discussions will not be open to the public or to reporters, Pope Francis said.
“We must safeguard the synodal climate,” the pope responded Sept. 4 when asked by journalists about access to the discussions at the assembly of the Synod of Bishops Oct. 4-29.
This is the official logo for the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. Originally scheduled for 2022, the synod will take place in October 2023 to allow for broader consultation at the diocesan, national and regional levels. (CNS photo/courtesy Synod of Bishops)
“This isn’t a television program where you talk about everything; no, it is a religious moment, a religious exchange,” he told reporters flying back to Rome with him from Mongolia.
The synod process began in October 2021 with a succession of listening sessions on the parish, diocesan, national and regional levels focused on creating a more “synodal church,” where each person feels welcomed, valued and called to contribute and to share the Gospel.
After so many Catholics around the world devoted their time and their prayers to the process, an initial idea was to livestream the general discussions from the synod hall or at least allow reporters some access.
Pope Francis made it clear on the plane that would not happen. An official summary of the day’s discussions — without saying who said what — will be made by the synod’s communication committee, led by Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication.
Beyond the anonymous, summarized points, journalists will try to interview participants to at least get individual points of view about the day’s synod work.
Pope Francis told reporters that each synod member — including women and laymen for the first time — would have three or four minutes to address the assembly. Each address will be followed by three or four minutes of silence “for prayer.”
“Without this spirit of prayer, there is no synodality, it’s just politics, parliamentarianism,” he said.
Having a committee summarize the discussions for the press is necessary “to safeguard the religiosity (of the synod) and safeguard the freedom of those who speak” but may not want to do so publicly, he said.
“But more open than that, I don’t know,” he said. “The commission will be very respectful of the speeches of each person and will try not to gossip, but to recount things about how the synod is progressing that are constructive for the church.”
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Society has slipped into a culture of indifference so pervasive that “our necks are going to get stiff” from constantly turning away from the suffering of marginalized people, Pope Francis said.
The pope’s prayer intention for the month of September is dedicated to “people living on the margins,” and in his video message, he lamented the “throwaway culture” of today’s world which prioritizes economic growth over the wellbeing of people.
A screengrab from Pope Francis’ video message released Aug. 29, 2023, shows his prayer intention for the month of September: “for people living on the margins.” (CNS screengrab/Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network)
“How is it that we allow throwaway culture — in which millions of men and women are worth nothing compared to economic goods — how is it that we allow this culture to dominate our lives, our cities, our way of life?” the pope asked.
“Our necks are going to get stiff from looking the other way so we don’t have to see this situation,” he said.
The video released with the pope’s prayer message showed various realities of marginalized people, including scenes of poverty-stricken slums alongside bustling cities, persons with disabilities, the elderly and homeless.
“A homeless person who dies on the street will never appear among the top stories of search engines or newscasts,” Pope Francis said in his message. “How could we have reached this level of indifference?”
The pope urged people to “stop making invisible those who are on the margins of society, whether it’s due to poverty, addictions, mental illness or disability.” Instead, he asked to “focus on accepting them, on welcoming all the people who need it.”
To counter the throwaway culture, Pope Francis proposed developing a “culture of welcoming” which provides hospitality, shelter, love and human warmth to those in need.
The pope ended his message by soliciting prayers for those “on the margins of society in subhuman living conditions, that they may not be neglected by institutions and never be cast out.”
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ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (CNS) – Greeted with “aaruul,” a dried yogurt cheese, which he tried, Pope Francis arrived in Ulaanbaatar for a four-day visit.
A boy gives Pope Francis scarves as he arrives at the headquarters of the Apostolic Prefecture of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Sept. 1, 2023. Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, the prefect, will host the pope at the prefecture during his four-day visit to the country. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
After the nine-hour, overnight flight from Rome, the pope’s arrival Sept. 1 was low key. Battsetseg Batmunkh, Mongolia’s foreign minister, met him at Chinggis Khaan International Airport and had a brief meeting with him in the airport VIP lounge.
Afterward, the pope was driven into the city for a day of rest at the headquarters of the Catholic Church in Mongolia, the Apostolic Prefecture of Ulaanbaatar.
During his flight from Rome, the pope, who had said he was going to the “heart of Asia,” told reporters traveling with him that Mongolia is a vast country with a very small population and a great culture that needs to be understood more with the senses than with the intellect. He also suggested they listen to the music of 19th-century Russian composer Alexander Borodin, who wrote “In the Steppes of Central Asia.”
The ITA plane carrying the pope flew over northern China rather than over Russia, giving the pope an opportunity to send greetings to Chinese President Xi Jinping, keeping with the custom of sending a telegram as he flies over a country.
“I send greetings of good wishes to your excellency and the people of China as I pass through your country’s airspace enroute to Mongolia,” the papal telegram said. “Assuring you of my prayers for the well-being of the nation, I invoke upon all of you the divine blessings of unity and peace.”
The Vatican and China have had a rocky relationship for decades, and tensions have continued even since Pope Francis and Chinese leaders first signed an agreement in 2018 on the naming of bishops for Chinese dioceses.
In fact, in July Pope Francis regularized a bishop who had been appointed by the government in April without consulting the Vatican, an appointment that drew a Vatican protest. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, said the Vatican later recognized the appointment for the “greater good of the diocese.”
Researchers estimate China has about 12 million Catholics, who are split between those whose leaders have joined the patriotic association and those who refuse to do so. The U.S. State Department and a variety of human rights organizations continue to report excessive restrictions and even persecution of religious believers in China, including Catholics.
Cardinal-designate Stephen Chow Sau-yan of Hong Kong was expected to lead a delegation of Hong Kong Catholics to Ulaanbaatar for the papal visit. Catholic missionaries in Mongolia also expected some Catholics from mainland China to arrive to see the pope, although America magazine reported Aug. 31 that a department of the Communist Party issued an order forbidding bishops and faithful from crossing the border for the papal visit.
Also during the flight to Mongolia, a Spanish journalist gave Pope Francis a canteen riddled with bullet holes. A priest in Lviv, Ukraine, had sent her the canteen, explaining that the soldier who was carrying it was hit by Russian machine-gun fire and survived. He donated the canteen to the parish. Pope Francis blessed the canteen, which will be returned to the church.
Pope Francis also was asked about his comment that there is a strong, reactionary element in the Catholic Church in the United States; the comments made to Jesuits in Portugal at the beginning of August were published later by the Italian Jesuit magazine La Civilta Cattolica.
The pope said he knew some people were upset by the remarks, but the church must keep moving forward.
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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has put out a proposed regulation that would require employers to accommodate employees who choose to get abortions, such as by giving them leave to obtain one. The proposal misinterprets the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which is a new law meant to help working mothers keep their job, if they wish, while protecting their health and that of their preborn children. The EEOC is now twisting that law to promote abortion instead, the exact opposite of pregnancy. But there is nothing fair about ending an innocent baby’s life, or about forcing employers to go along with it.
Join USCCB in telling the EEOC to leave abortion out of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act!
AVOCA – Queen of the Apostles Parish, Avoca, is having a day of prayer dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe on Thursday, Sept. 7, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
At 7 p.m., the parish will have a special Holy Hour of Prayer for the unborn. The Silver Rose Prayer Service and a Silver Rose dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, will be present. It is traveling from Canada to the United States to Mexico and will end at the Shrine of Our Lady in Mexico City.
Every stop the Silver Rose makes throughout the pilgrimage is a rosary-centered occasion for Knights of Columbus, parishioners and community members to pray for respect for life, for the spiritual renewal of each nation, and for the advancement of the message of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
All are invited to the parish throughout the day on Sept. 7 for Adoration and prayer and all are especially encouraged to attend the Holy Hour at 7 p.m.
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LAFLIN –– The Congregation of the Oblates of Saint Joseph will host their 41st Annual Labor Day Weekend Triduum and Labor Day Mass in honor of Saint Joseph the Worker during the upcoming holiday weekend, Sept. 1-4, at the Oblates chapel, located at 1880 Route 315 in Laflin.
Masses during the Triduum –– Friday, Sept. 1, through Sunday, Sept. 3 –– will be celebrated at noon and 7 p.m., followed by devotional prayers to Saint Joseph as the patron saint of laborers. A blessing with the first-class relic of Saint Joseph Marello, founder of the Oblates of Saint Joseph, will conclude the devotions.
Guest celebrant and preacher for this year’s Labor Day Triduum will be Saint Joseph Oblate Father Gustavo Lopez, who ministers with the Oblates’ USA Province as assistant pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Bakersfield, Calif. A California native and ordained to the priesthood in 2009, Father Gustavo also serves in deliverance/exorcism ministry and as prison chaplain for the Diocese of Fresno.
The Triduum will conclude with a special Labor Day Mass honoring Saint Joseph the Worker on Monday, Sept. 4, at 11 a.m., concelebrated by OSJ priests serving in the Diocese of Scranton.
At the conclusion of the Mass, bread will be blessed and distributed to the faithful as a symbol of the “fruit of our labor.”
Masses celebrated during the Triduum and on Labor Day morning will be broadcast live on JMJ Catholic Radio 104.5 FM.
All are welcome to attend the devotions. For more information, contact the Oblates’ main office at (570) 654-7542, or by email: osjseminary@comcast.net.
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DEDHAM, Mass. (OSV News) – The Massachusetts sex abuse case against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick fell apart Wednesday as all criminal charges were dismissed due to the disgraced former cleric being deemed no longer mentally competent.
Dedham District Court Judge Michael Pomarole ruled McCarrick is unable to stand trial after receiving a medical report from prosecutors which agreed with the earlier defense report that McCarrick, 93, is suffering from dementia.
Former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick arrives at Dedham District Court in Dedham, Mass., Sept. 3, 2021, after being charged with molesting a 16-year-old boy during a 1974 wedding reception. A Massachusetts judge dismissed a criminal case against the former cardinal Aug. 30, 2023, ruling he no longer has the cognitive capacity to stand trial. (OSV News photo/Brian Snyder, Reuters)
“The Commonwealth’s independent evaluator concurred that he is not competent,” said David Traub, spokesman for Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey.
Traub said the state moved to drop all charges after Pomarole’s ruling.
The substance of the reports on McCarrick’s mental capacities were not made public.
McCarrick’s lawyers, Barry Coburn and Daniel Marx, first raised the competency issue in February when they filed a motion to have the charges dismissed based on a report from a medical expert they hired. The defense attorneys claimed McCarrick suffers from advancing and irreversible dementia.
“While he has a limited understanding of the criminal proceedings against him, his progressive and irreparable cognitive deficits render him unable to meaningfully consult with his counsel or to effectively assist in his own defense,” Coburn and Marx wrote at the time.
McCarrick was charged in Dedham District Court in 2021 for allegedly assaulting a teen boy 50 years ago. He is one of the highest ranking Catholic prelates to be charged for sexual abuse since the church’s abuse scandal first broke out into the open in Boston in 2002.
Mitchell Garabedian, the lawyer who represented many of the original sex abuse victims in Boston and the attorney for McCarrick’s alleged victim, said the judge’s Aug. 30 ruling does not change what McCarrick did to his victims.
“In spite of the criminal court’s decision today, many clergy sexual abuse victims feel as though former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is and will always be the permanent personification of evil within the Catholic Church,” Garabedian said.
McCarrick was charged with three counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over the age of 14. Each count carried a potential five-year prison sentence.
According to court records, McCarrick was close to the victim’s family, celebrating Mass at their home and even going on trips with them. The victim told investigators that McCarrick abused him during trips out of state. It was also under the guise of providing spiritual direction to the victim that the alleged abuse took place, according to the criminal complaint.
One incident allegedly took place in the 1970s at the wedding reception for the victim’s brother, which was held on Massachusetts’ Wellesley College campus. According to the criminal complaint, McCarrick is alleged to have gotten the victim, 16 at this time, to go outside with him to talk about the victim not attending Mass, and then fondled the victim.
The pair went back to the reception and McCarrick allegedly told the victim he had to go to confession, using a closet for privacy. Then, using the sacrament of reconciliation as a cover, McCarrick allegedly continued to abuse the boy, according to the complaint, giving him three Our Fathers and a Hail Mary as penance.
Once one of the most powerful men in the Catholic Church, McCarrick was accused in 2018 of decades of sexual abuse, including allegedly targeting young men in seminaries. He was found guilty of abuse in 2019 by the Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Doctrine of the Faith and removed from the clerical state by Pope Francis.
McCarrick is facing criminal prosecution for sexual abuse alleged to have taken place in 1977 in Wisconsin, although it is now likely his attorneys will move to have that case dismissed on similar grounds. Walworth County District Attorney Zeke Wiedenfeld, who is overseeing McCarrick’s prosecution, was not immediately available for comment.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) – People must end the “senseless war against creation” and help victims of environmental and climate injustice, Pope Francis said.
“We must do this by resolving to transform our hearts, our lifestyles and the public policies ruling our societies,” the pope said in his message for the 2023 World Day of Prayer for Creation.
The Flathead River flows near Glacier National Park in Montana in this file photo from July 2016. In his message for the 2023 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, Pope Francis said that when the faithful keep “a right relationship with God, humanity and nature, then justice and peace can flow like a never-failing stream of pure water, nourishing humanity and all creatures.” (CNS photo/Cindy Wooden)
Some injustices needing immediate responses are “economic policies that promote scandalous wealth for a privileged few and degrading conditions for many others,” the continued exploration and expansion of fossil fuel infrastructures, and “predatory industries” depleting and polluting freshwater sources, he wrote in his message.
The World Day of Prayer for Creation, which will be celebrated Sept. 1, marks the start of the ecumenical Season of Creation. The season concludes Oct. 4, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecology. The theme for 2023 is “Let justice and peace flow,” based on the verse from Book of Amos (5:24), “Let justice surge like waters and righteousness like an unfailing stream.”
The verse describes how God wants justice to reign and to “flow forth wherever it is needed,” the pope said in his message.
“God wants everyone to strive to be just in every situation, to live according to his laws and thus to enable life to flourish,” he wrote. When the faithful keep “a right relationship with God, humanity and nature, then justice and peace can flow like a never-failing stream of pure water, nourishing humanity and all creatures.”
The pope recalled his visit to the shores of Lac Ste. Anne in Alberta, Canada, in July 2022, and how many generations of Indigenous peoples found consolation and strength there. It is imperative, he added, that people “harmonize our own rhythms of life with those of creation, which gives us life.”
Unfortunately, he wrote, the heartbeats of so many people do not beat in harmony with the heartbeat of creation and God; “they are not harmonized in justice and peace.”
Too many people “are prevented from drinking from that mighty river,” the pope wrote. “Let us heed our call to stand with the victims of environmental and climate injustice and to put an end to the senseless war against creation.”
Some effects of that war include polluted waterways and rivers drying up, he wrote.
“Consumerist greed, fueled by selfish hearts, is disrupting the planet’s water cycle,” he wrote. “The unrestrained burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of forests are pushing temperatures higher and leading to massive droughts.”
“Moreover, predatory industries are depleting and polluting our freshwater sources through extreme practices such as fracking for oil and gas extraction, unchecked mega-mining projects and intensive animal farming,” he added.
Christians can “contribute to the mighty river of justice and peace in this season of creation” by transforming hearts, lifestyles and public policies, he wrote.
Individuals must rediscover creation as a gift of love from God and repent of their own personal “ecological sins,” he said in his message. “Let us adopt lifestyles marked by less waste and unnecessary consumption,” put an end to unjust economic policies and phase out fossil fuel development and dependency.
World leaders who will gather for the COP28 summit in Dubai Nov. 30-Dec. 12, he wrote, “must listen to science and institute a rapid and equitable transition to end the era of fossil fuel.”
Based on the commitments nations made with the Paris Agreement to restrain global warming, “it is absurd to permit the continued exploration and expansion of fossil fuel infrastructures,” he added.
“We can and we must prevent the worst from happening,” Pope Francis said. People must come together “like so many streams, brooks and rivulets, merging finally in a mighty river to irrigate the life of our marvelous planet and our human family for generations to come.”
“Let us join hands and take bold steps to ‘let justice and peace flow’ throughout our world,” he wrote.
Presenting the pope’s message at a news conference at the Vatican May 25, Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, provided a few examples of what people can do.
He said people can: organize community screenings of the film, “The Letter: A Message for Our Earth,” which is available free on YouTube Originals and TheLetterFilm.org; join the Laudato Si’ Action Platform at laudatosiactionplatform.org; and join networks such as Caritas and the Laudato Si’ Movement.
Tomás Insua, executive director of the Laudato Si’ Movement, said at the news conference that “while most other global leaders, particularly the most powerful ones, remain lukewarm and subservient in way too many cases to corporate interests, Pope Francis continues to be a beacon of moral leadership on this critical issue.”
NOTICE OF COMMUNICATION TO PARISHIONERS OF SAINT NICHOLAS PARISH AND OUR LADY OF FATIMA PARISH
SEPTEMBER 9-10, 2023
For the last several years, the Diocese of Scranton has been working proactively to address the realities of our local church while striving to meet the opportunities and challenges of the coming decade. The Diocese created its Vision 2030 Pastoral Planning Process in order to create vibrant expressions of parish life rooted in the life of Jesus Christ.
The process addresses ongoing parish needs by examining four distinct priority drivers: Vibrancy of Parish Life
Condition of Facilities
Financial Viability of a Parish
Distribution and Availability of Clergy
When a concern regarding one or more priority drivers are present in a parish, or deemed critical by the needs of the diocese overall, the Diocese of Scranton looks to make modifications to parishes in a proactive way so that the Gospel can be announced and the Church’s sacraments celebrated in vibrant parish communities.
Since July 2021, when Saint Nicholas Parish and Our Lady of Fatima Parish came together in a linkage under the leadership of one pastor, numerous meetings and town halls have provided information and resources to parishioners regarding the established priority drivers. Between the two parishes, the number of registered parishioners has dropped by more than 26 percent between 2014 and 2021. In addition, Our Lady of Fatima Parish maintains a significant outstanding parish assessment debt and the two campuses are projected to need more than $1.5 million in facility upgrades over the next decade. In the spirit of the Vision 2030 process, conversation and consultation has taken place within both parish communities in the following ways:
• On March 31, 2022, a Joint Meeting of the Saint Nicholas & Our Lady of Fatima Parish Pastoral and Finance Councils took place focused on the Vision 2030 priority drivers. Small group discussion and large group reporting took place.
• Between May 14/15 and June 11/12, 2022, a series of five weekly bulletin inserts regarding the Vision 2030 priority drivers was distributed to all parishioners in both parishes via the weekly bulletin and parish website.
• On June 14 and June 16, 2022, two Town Hall Meetings were held for parishioners of Saint Nicholas and Our Lady of Fatima Parishes to discuss the Vision 2030 priority drivers. One Town Hall meeting was held at each church.
• On September 27, 2022, more than 50 parishioners attended a Parish Meeting regarding a possible revenue-generating idea involving the possibility of renovating space at Our Lady of Fatima Parish for childcare programs.
• Between October 2022 and March 2023, an extensive study was performed to determined whether it was financially feasible and in the best interest of all parties to pursue childcare programs for Our Lady of Fatima Parish.
• On January 1, 2023, a bulletin insert was sent to all parishioners indicating that a Transition Team had been formed with representatives of both parishes to continue the process of moving both parishes closer toward consolidation.
• During a series of meetings in March 2023, it was agreed upon by parish and diocesan leadership that the childcare program proposal would not move forward. Discussions regarding next steps for parish consolidation took place.
• On May 11, 2023, a Joint Meeting of the Saint Nicholas and Our Lady of Fatima Pastoral and Finance Councils took place. Transition Team members announced the desire to formally bring both parishes together in a consolidation.
• On May 13/14, 2023, all parishioners were informed of the Transition Team’s recommendation to bring the two parishes together in a consolidation via bulletin insert and Mass announcements. A Frequently Asked Questions document was also prepared and distributed to help explain the parish consolidation process.
• On May 24, 2023, more than 100 parishioners attended a Joint Parish Meeting at Saint Nicholas Church regarding the proposed parish consolidation. More than 25 questions or comments were addressed by the Transition Team.
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• On May 27/28, 2023, and June 3/4, 2023, a bulletin insert was shared with all parishioners regarding a two-phase approach to consolidation. The first phase will involve bringing the two parishes together in a consolidation. The second phase will involve studying all aspects of the newly formed parish to determine if a building should be closed/sold.
• On June 27, 2023, at a Joint Meeting of the Saint Nicholas and Our Lady of Fatima Pastoral and Finance Councils, parish leaders discussed feedback they had received and began discussing the need for a revised Mass schedule and the prospect of a new name for the consolidated parish.
• On July 12, 2023, Rev. Joseph Verespy sent a letter requesting a consolidation of Saint Nicholas and Our Lady of Fatima Parishes to the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton.
• On August 1, 2023, Bishop Bambera consulted the Diocesan Presbyteral Council (a consultative body of priests from throughout the Diocese) regarding the possible consolidation (extinctive union) between the two parishes. Following a presentation of data, the Presbyteral Council voted in unanimous agreement to the proposal.
As a result of this conversation and consultation, on September 5, 2023, Bishop Bambera signed a formal decree (which is a document that formalizes a decision within the Church) to best address the spiritual needs of the faithful as well as the needs of the Diocese of Scranton. The information from the decree is:
1. The parish of Our Lady of Fatima in Wilkes-Barre, with its sole church of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception, 134 South Washington Street, will be consolidated with the parish of Saint Nicholas in Wilkes-Barre, with its sole church of Saint Nicholas, 226 South Washington Street, effective October 7, 2023.
2. The name of the newly consolidated parish will be Saint Nicholas-Saint Mary Parish.
3. As a result of this consolidation, Saint Nicholas Church will be designated as the principal church of the newly consolidated parish and Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church will be designated as the secondary church of the newly-modified parish.
According to Church law, diocesan bishops alone have the power to “erect, suppress or alter parishes” but can only do so after speaking to the Presbyteral Council and consulting parishioners. In this case, Bishop Bambera has determined that the newly-modified Saint Nicholas-Saint Mary Parish has more than adequate resources to serve the liturgical and sacramental needs of parishioners.
Any parishioner who wishes to read the official decree regarding the consolidation (extinctive union) between Saint Nicholas Parish and Our Lady of Fatima Parish may do so by visiting the Vision 2030 section Diocese of Scranton website (dioceseofscranton.org) or by contacting Rev. Joseph Verespy, pastor, Saint Nicholas Parish and Our Lady of Fatima Parish.
