Category: Diocese of Scranton News

(OSV News) – Limited access to mental health care, rising substance use disorders and increasing income inequality are three likely reasons that young women and mothers are reporting declining mental health. But another reason for worsening mental health struggles that’s widely cited by studies and mental health experts alike is the growing, societal-wide social isolation.

“We expect everybody to be able to handle everything by themselves,” said Daniel Roberson, a Catholic mental health counselor based in Arlington, Washington. “Women are more relational … (so) isolation is always going to affect women more than it’s going to affect men, and I think isolation could be the word of the decade.”

A March 13 Gallup poll found that from 2020 to 2024, just 15% of women aged 18-29 polled said they have excellent mental health, down 33 points from 2010-2014. A May 27 study from the JAMA Network found that self-reported mental health was found to have significantly declined for mothers of minor children.

The Gallup poll notes that some of this reported decline in mental health is due to a growing awareness of mental issues.

“The COVID-19 pandemic appears to have been a turning point in Americans’ perceptions of their mental and physical health, compounding declines already underway,” the survey notes. “The shift in how people perceive their mental health could reflect several dynamics: heightened anxiety brought on by the COVID-19 crisis; heightened public and medical attention to mental health during this period; and a lessening of the stigma around admitting mental health challenges.”

In his clinical experience, Roberson believes there is both an increased personal awareness of mental health struggles as well as a decline in mental health. Among his clients who are mothers, especially stay-at-home mothers, he sees a tendency to give and give that leads to burnout.

“There’s a risk where the woman starts to think that it’s her job to pour out everything until she has nothing left,” said Roberson, who is also part of the Catholic Psychotherapy Association. He helps clients to see that taking care of themselves ultimately allows them to take better care of their family and friends.

At her practice, The Perinatal & Reproductive Wellness Group, Becky Morrison Gleed works with women and mothers struggling with mental health issues. She echoed the findings of the studies.

“This is matching what I see,” said Morrison Gleed, who is based in Falls Church, Virginia. “It’s a bit stark (and) sad.”

She feels mothers are expected to do more with fewer resources, in addition to other problems including medical birth-related traumas or difficulties with partners, if they have partners.

“This is a new generation where we have more dual-working parents and so gone are the days of the stay-at-home mom who has the village in her cul-de-sac,” she said. “The expectations have not necessarily shifted to catch up with demands on mothers in terms of roles, mental load, working responsibilities and childcare.”

Morrison Gleed said she encourages people to check in on their mom friends and family members, especially postpartum moms.

“The biggest risk factor that we know is if the person is not sleeping. If they’ve gone multiple days with no or minimal sleep, that should be considered an emergency,” she said.

She also advises against giving unsolicited advice.

“Try to listen to what she’s telling you,” said Morrison Gleed. “Then she might share a little bit more and before you know it, you have a better idea of what she might need to feel supported and thrive as a mom.”

The JAMA Network study noted that the self-reported physical and mental health status was significantly lower among mothers who were U.S. born, single parents, less educated, and those with publicly insured or uninsured children. Countless Catholic ministries reach out to the underserved through food banks, rental assistance and free medical clinics. But there’s also special outreach to struggling pregnant women through parish-based ministries such as the Gabriel Project and Walking with Moms in Need.

Kat Talalas, assistant director of pro-life communications for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, is working to expand Walking with Moms in Needs so that every parish is equipped to serve struggling families. So far, at least 60 U.S. dioceses — approximately one in three — have a Walking with Moms in Need presence. Talalas sees the ministry as answering St. John Paul II’s call to “radical solidarity” with mothers.

“We are meant to welcome children into a community and have that community be a secure place to raise a family,” she said. “It’s really important to increase opportunities for women to know they’re not alone, to have people who are willing to help them both practically and emotionally with all the changes that come with motherhood. Community and friendship can be a huge benefit to women’s mental health.”

In one archdiocese, just advertising the program has made a big difference, said Talalas.

“Women who are struggling with an unplanned pregnancy, maybe they’re a single mother — they might think that the church doesn’t want to help them because they’re a single mother,” she said. “By advertising, it helps reconnect women to the church, where they find that God loves them and they have people around them who are going to support them in welcoming new life.”

Other parishes and dioceses support flourishing mental health through Catholic Charities’ counseling services or through mental health ministries. Numerous parishes and dioceses are part of the International Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers, including the Diocese of Boise, Idaho, which recently launched a diocesan mental health team. They’ve held retreats for parish staffers, an outreach event in a community impacted by suicide, and some “Catholic Mental Health 101” sessions.

“Many people suffer from this, sometimes silently,” said Jay Wonacott, director of Marriage and Family Life at the Boise Diocese. “There’s still a great stigma around mental health issues and I think the purpose of the church is to allay that mental health stigma and help people understand the psychological, the medical and the spiritual dynamics.”

Separately, the diocese also has a ministry for women suffering from miscarriage.

“Especially when there’s a loss, there can be depression and there can be anxiety,” he said.

On an institutional level, Roberson believes the Catholic Church can better serve women’s mental health by helping them form and keep healthy marriages, and by making mothers feel welcome in church, even when their babies are crying.

“A lot of the single mothers that I work with and a lot of women with children simply don’t feel like they can go to church, simply don’t feel like they can engage in society until the children are grown up,” he said. “And by then they’ve formed a habit through their life of staying on the outskirts.”

On an individual level, Catholics must commit to accompaniment. Roberson thinks of a friend who is currently accompanying a woman going through a mental health crisis.

“That’s painful and messy for him and his family, and it takes a lot of his time,” said Roberson.

While it’s tempting for his friend to go back to his job and family and leave the struggling woman by herself, he knows that’s not right.

“I think we can talk about all the financial or societal supports that we need — and they’re good and true — but it begins at the heart,” Roberson said. “Do I individually make space for the people around me to talk to me about the things that are hurting them, and do I allow that to actually hurt me?”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – A bishop is a man of deep faith who is filled with hope and stays close to his people, Pope Leo XIV said.

He is “not offering easy solutions,” but rather, he is helping his flock be a community that strives “to live the Gospel in simplicity and solidarity,” he said in a reflection with bishops celebrating the Jubilee of Bishops June 25.

The heart of a bishop “is open and welcoming, and so is his home,” he said. But he “must be firm and decisive in dealing with situations that can cause scandal and with every case of abuse, especially involving minors, and fully respect the legislation currently in force.”

More than 400 bishops from 38 countries gathered for the pope’s reflection at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica after taking part in a pilgrimage through the Holy Door and concelebrating Mass presided over by Cardinal Marc Ouellet, retired prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery of Bishops.

Going through the Holy Door — the symbol of Christ the savior — is important, Pope Leo said, because “each of you, like myself, before being a shepherd, is a sheep, a member of the Lord’s flock.”

“If we are to lead the churches entrusted to our care, we must let ourselves be profoundly renewed by Jesus, the Good Shepherd, in order to conform ourselves fully to his heart and to the mystery of his love,” he said.

The Holy Year dedicated to a hope that “does not disappoint,” he said, is a reminder that “we, as bishops, are the primary heirs of that prophetic legacy, which we must preserve and transmit to the people of God by our words and the way we live our lives.”

At times, preaching that message “means swimming against the tide, even in certain painful situations that appear to be hopeless,” he said. Yet, “if we are truly close to those who suffer, the Holy Spirit can revive in their hearts even a flame that has all but died out.”

“Dear friends, a bishop is a witness to hope by his example of a life firmly grounded in God and completely devoted to the service of the church,” Pope Leo said. “This will be the case only insofar as he is conformed to Christ in his personal life and in his apostolic ministry.”

The pope then detailed several characteristics of “the theological core of the life of a bishop,” whose way of thinking, feelings and actions are formed by the Holy Spirit.

“The bishop is a man of hope,” he said, “especially at moments of difficulty in people’s lives.”

“The bishop, by this theological virtue, helps them not to despair: not simply by his words but by his closeness,” he said.

“When families are greatly burdened and public institutions fail to provide adequate support; when young people are disillusioned and fed up with empty promises; when the elderly and those with grave disabilities feel abandoned, the bishop is close to them, not offering easy solutions, but rather the experience of communities that strive to live the Gospel in simplicity and solidarity,” the pope said.

The bishop is a man of faith, much like Moses, “who, by the grace of God, sees ahead, glimpses the goal and perseveres in times of trial,” interceding for his people before God, he said.

“Faith and hope then come together in him as a man of pastoral charity,” he said, so that whether he is “preaching, visiting communities, listening to priests and deacons, or making administrative decisions, all that he does is inspired and motivated by the charity of Christ the shepherd.”

Through God’s grace, prayer and the daily celebration of the Eucharist, the bishop can be an example of “fraternal love” that is open to everyone, especially those experiencing moments of difficulty or illness, he said.

Pope Leo then told bishops their life and ministry needed to be marked by some other essential virtues: pastoral prudence, poverty, perfect continence in celibacy and human virtues.

“To bear witness to the Lord Jesus, the bishop lives a life of evangelical poverty,” marked by “a simple, sober and generous lifestyle, dignified and at the same time suited to the conditions of the majority of his people,” he said. “The poor must find in him a father and a brother, and never feel uncomfortable in meeting him or entering his home.”

“In his personal life, he must be detached from the pursuit of wealth and from forms of favoritism based on money or power,” he said, because, like Jesus, the bishop has been anointed and sent “to bring good news to the poor.”

“Together with material poverty, the life of the bishop is also marked by that specific form of poverty which is celibacy and virginity for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven,” Pope Leo said.

It is not just a question of living a celibate life, he said, “but of practicing chastity of heart and conduct,” which presents “the authentic image of the church” to everyone.

Pastoral prudence, the pope said, “is the practical wisdom that guides the bishop in his decisions, in his governance, in his relations with the faithful and with their associations.”

“A clear sign of prudence is his exercise of dialogue as a style and method, both in his relationships with others and in his presiding over participatory bodies: in other words, in his overseeing of synodality in his particular church,” he added.

Finally, he said, “the bishop is called to cultivate those human virtues which the Council Fathers also chose,” which include “fairness, sincerity, magnanimity, openness of mind and heart, the ability to rejoice with those who rejoice and to suffer with those who suffer, as well as self-control, delicacy, patience, discretion, great openness to listening and engaging in dialogue, and willingness to serve.”

“These virtues, which each of us possesses to a greater or lesser extent by nature, can and must be cultivated in conformity to the Lord Jesus, with the grace of the Holy Spirit,” the pope said.

Before leading the bishops in reciting the profession of faith together, Pope Leo encouraged them to be “men of communion, always promoting unity in the diocesan presbyterate” and to make sure “every priest, without exception,” can sense the fatherhood, brotherhood and friendship of his bishop.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – A ceasefire between Israel and Iran seemed to be holding after President Donald Trump expressed frustration June 24 with both countries, telling reporters at the White House that initially Iran violated the deal but “Israel violated it too.”

“Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped a load of bombs, the likes of which I’ve never seen before,” Trump said. “The biggest load that we’ve seen. I’m not happy with Israel. You know, when I say, ‘OK, now you have 12 hours. You don’t go out in the first hour and just drop everything you have on them. So I’m not happy with them. I’m not happy with Iran either.”

Trump said both Iran and Israel “have been fighting so long and so hard” that they do not know what they are doing, using a common obscenity to emphasize the point.

Previously, Trump announced on social media June 23 a ceasefire deal had been reached — a day after Pope Leo XIV warned world leaders they were headed for an “irreparable abyss.”

Trump said on his social media website Truth Social that the ceasefire, which would be phased in over the following 24 hours as each nation completed “their in progress, final missions,” and would bring an “Official END” to the war.

“During each CEASEFIRE, the other side will remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL,” Trump wrote. “On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, ‘THE 12 DAY WAR.’ This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will! God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!”

Both Israel and Iran eventually confirmed the ceasefire.

Israel launched strikes against Iran June 13 in what it called a “preemptive” strike to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapon capabilities. At Trump’s order, the United States joined that conflict June 21, attacking three nuclear facilities in Iran.

Trump’s post came several hours after Iran launched a retaliatory strike against a U.S. military base in Qatar. Trump called that strike “very weak” in a post suggesting he would not retaliate.

“I am pleased to report that NO Americans were harmed, and hardly any damage was done,” he said. “Most importantly, they’ve gotten it all out of their ‘system,’ and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE.”

He also suggested Iran gave the U.S. “early notice” of the missile attack, leading to no loss of life or injury.

“Perhaps Iran can now proceed to Peace and Harmony in the Region, and I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same,” he said.

Pope Leo XIV had earnestly warned leaders to back off from war, saying they had a “moral responsibility” to “stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable abyss.”

In his remarks following his June 22 Angelus address, he said, “Today more than ever, humanity cries out and calls for peace.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – When facing despair, exclusion and disappointment, do not be afraid to turn to Jesus and pray for the healing power of his love, Pope Leo XIV said.

“A very widespread ailment of our time is the fatigue of living: reality seems to us to be too complex, burdensome, difficult to face,” he told thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his general audience June 25. It was the last public general audience Pope Leo was scheduled to lead until July 30.

“At times we feel blocked by the judgment of those who claim to put labels on others,” he said, and people may be tempted to “switch off, we fall asleep, in the delusion that, upon waking, things will be different.”

“But reality has to be faced, and together with Jesus, we can do it well,” he said.

The pope centered his catechesis on two accounts of miracles in St. Mark’s Gospel: Jairus’ daughter who awakens from death and the woman who is healed of a hemorrhage.

These two miracles “reveal the healing power born of faith in Jesus,” he said.

“These two Gospel accounts teach us to be unafraid to turn to Jesus in prayer and to entrust ourselves to the healing power of his love, which can transform apparently hopeless situations and even bring life out of death,” he said.

“For God, who is eternal life, death of the body is like sleep. True death is that of the soul: of this we must be afraid!,” Pope Leo said.

When Jesus revives Jairus’ child, he “tells the parents to give her something to eat,” which conveys an important message for parents today, he said.

‘When our children are in crisis and need spiritual nourishment, do we know how to give it to them? And how can we, if we ourselves are not nourished by the Gospel?” he asked.

The woman afflicted with hemorrhages had been condemned by others to stay hidden and isolated, he said. “At times, we too can be victims of the judgment of others, who presume to put a robe on us that is not our own. And then we suffer and cannot come out of it.”

But she is brave, has faith and emerges from the crowd to touch Jesus, resulting in her healing, he said. Others in the crowd who touched Jesus experienced no similar transformation because they lacked faith.

“Perhaps today, too, many people approach Jesus in a superficial way, without truly believing in his power. We walk the surfaces of our churches, but maybe our heart is elsewhere!” the pope said.

“This woman, silent and anonymous, conquers her fears, touches the heart of Jesus with her hands, considered unclean because of her illness. And she is immediately healed,” he said, because as Jesus said to her, “your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

“Dear brothers and sisters, in life there are moments of disappointment and discouragement, and there is also the experience of death. Let us learn from that woman, from that father: let us go to Jesus,” he said.

“He can heal us, he can revive us. Jesus is our hope!” he said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV condemned the suicide bombing at a Damascus church, calling it “a cowardly terrorist attack” as he appealed to the international community not to give up on Syria.

He also called for dialogue, diplomacy and peace for the whole Middle East, quoting from the prophet Isaiah, “One nation will no longer raise its sword against another nation. They will no longer learn the art of war.”

“Let this voice from the Most High be heard!” he said at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square June 25.

“Let the lacerations caused by the bloody actions of these last days be healed. Let all logic of bullying and revenge be rejected and may the path of dialogue, diplomacy and peace be resolutely chosen” he said.

At least 25 people were killed and 63 others wounded after a suicide bomber opened fire and then detonated an explosive vest at St. Elias Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus, Syria, June 22, during a Sunday Divine Liturgy.

The jihadist group, Saraya Ansar Al-Sunna, claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the AFP June 24. It was the first such attack in Damascus since former President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by Islamist-led rebels in December, ending 13 years of civil war.

Pope Leo sent a telegram expressing his sadness over the “loss of life and destruction caused by the attack.”

He also expressed his solidarity with and prayers for all those affected by the tragedy in the telegram, sent on the pope’s behalf by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, June 24.

After offering his greetings in multiple languages at the end of his weekly general audience in the square, the pope said the bombing Sunday was “a cowardly terrorist attack.”

Offering his prayers for the victims and their families, the pope said, “This tragic event recalls the profound fragility that still marks Syria after years of conflict and instability.”

“It is therefore crucial that the international community does not look away from this country, but continues to offer it support through gestures of solidarity and with a renewed commitment to peace and reconciliation,” he said.

Pope Leo then addressed all Christians in the Middle East, saying, “I am close to you, the whole church is close to you.”

“We continue to follow developments in Iran, Israel and Palestine closely and with hope,” he said.

“The words of the prophet Isaiah resonate more urgently than ever,” he said, quoting from the vision of Zion where nations will beat their swords into plowshares and end the art of war.

“Let this voice from the Most High be heard!” he said to applause, calling for a rejection of revenge and a return to dialogue.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Do not be afraid to grapple with your innermost thoughts, feelings and problems so that your heart can be filled with God and his compassion, Pope Leo XIV told seminarians.

Also remember to listen to the “voices” of nature, music, poetry, the humanities and the cries of the poor, the oppressed and people who are looking for the meaning of life, he told them.

Learn “to live the style of welcome and closeness, of generous and selfless service, letting the Holy Spirit ‘anoint’ your humanity even before ordination,” the pope said in a reflection June 24.

The pope led a mediation with hundreds of seminarians and those involved in priestly formation from around the world in St. Peter’s Basilica as part of the Jubilee of Seminarians.

When the pope arrived and began walking down the central aisle, the men cheered enthusiastically, ending with a hand-clap chant of “Papa Leone” or “Pope Leo” in Italian.

He thanked them for their joy and enthusiasm, “because with your energy you fuel the flame of hope in the life of the church.”

Speaking in Italian, Pope Leo punctuated a few key points by repeating them in Spanish, such as thanking them for having accepted God’s call to pursue the priesthood and encouraging them to “be brave and have no fear!”

Their journey is saying “yes” with “humility and courage” to Christ’s invitation to become “meek and strong” in proclaiming the Gospel and to become “servants of a church that is open and a missionary church on the move.”

“Jesus, you know, calls you first and foremost to an experience of friendship with him and with your fellow priests” and to deepen this experience in all aspects of life, he said.

“For there is nothing about you that must be discarded, but everything is to be taken up and transfigured in the logic of the grain of wheat to become happy persons and priests, ‘bridges’ and not obstacles to the encounter with Christ for all who approach you,” the pope said. “Yes, he must increase and we must decrease, so that we can be shepherds according to his heart.”

Pope Leo spent a large part of his reflection on the importance of caring for one’s heart — the inner workings, thoughts and feelings one keeps inside — because that is “where God makes his voice heard and where all the most profound decisions are made.”

“As Christ loved with the heart of man, you are called to love with the heart of Christ,” he said.

The heart must be continuously converted so that one’s whole being “smells of the Gospel,” he said.

Exploring deep inside one’s heart, where God has always left his mark, can sometimes cause fear, he said, “because there are also wounds in there.”

“Do not be afraid to take care of them (these wounds), let yourself get help, because it is precisely from those wounds that the ability to stand with those who suffer will emerge,” he said.

“If you learn to know your heart, you will be increasingly more authentic and will not need to put masks on,” he said.

The best way to enter into one’s inner being is through prayer, he said, which is increasingly difficult in such a “hyper-connected” age, where it is hard to find “silence and solitude.”

“Without the encounter with him, we cannot even truly know ourselves,” he said.

Pope Leo invited the seminarians to “invoke the Holy Spirit frequently, that he may mold in you a docile heart, capable of grasping God’s presence, even as you listen to the voices of nature and art, poetry, literature and music, as well as the humanities.”

As they delve into their theological studies, “know how to also listen with an open mind and heart to the voices of culture, such as the recent challenges of artificial intelligence and social media,” he told them.

“Above all, as Jesus did, know how to listen to the often silent cry of the little ones, the poor and the oppressed, and the many people, especially young people, who seek meaning for their lives,” he added.

“Have a meek and humble heart like that of Jesus,” he said. “May you take on the sentiments of Christ to grow in human maturity, especially affective and relational” maturity.

It is important and necessary “to focus a lot on human maturity, rejecting every kind of masking and hypocrisy,” he said.

“Keeping our gaze on Jesus, we must learn to give a name and voice even to sadness, fear, anguish, indignation, bringing everything into relationship with God,” he said. “Crises, limitations and frailties are not to be hidden; rather, they are opportunities for grace and a paschal experience.”

“In a world where ingratitude and thirst for power often dominate, where the logic of exclusion can prevail, you are called to witness to the gratitude and gratuitousness of Christ, the exultation and joy, the tenderness and mercy of his heart,” Pope Leo said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The huge economic divide between rich and poor today is unacceptable with so much wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, Pope Leo XIV said.

Political leaders have a responsibility to promote the good of the entire community, especially by defending the vulnerable, the marginalized and the poor, he told speakers and members of parliament attending a Rome conference about democracy and interfaith dialogue during the Jubilee of Governments.

“Sound politics,” he said, promotes “the equitable distribution of resources,” which “can offer an effective service to harmony and peace both domestically and internationally.”

The pope met with the group during an audience at the Vatican June 21. The group was made up of people attending the June 19-21 Conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Rome. The conference brought together speakers and members of parliament with representatives of religions, governments, international organizations, faith-based and civil organizations, and academia.

In his speech, the pope said they have a “responsibility to promote and protect, independent of any special interest, the good of the community, the common good, particularly by defending the vulnerable and the marginalized.”

“This would mean, for example, working to overcome the unacceptable disproportion between the immense wealth concentrated in the hands of a few and the world’s poor,” he said. “Those who live in extreme conditions cry out to make their voices heard and often find no ears willing to hear their plea.”

“This imbalance generates situations of persistent injustice, which readily lead to violence and, sooner or later, to the tragedy of war,” he said, calling for a more equitable distribution of resources.

Pope Leo also underlined the importance of religious freedom and interreligious dialogue.

“Political life can achieve much by encouraging the conditions for there to be authentic religious freedom and that a respectful and constructive encounter between different religious communities may develop,” he said.

“Belief in God, with the positive values that derive from it, is an immense source of goodness and truth for the lives of individuals and communities,” he added.

“In order to have a shared point of reference in political activity, and not exclude ‘a priori’ any consideration of the transcendent in decision-making processes, it would be helpful to seek an element that unites everyone,” which, he said, is found in natural law.

“Natural law, which is universally valid apart from and above other more debatable beliefs, constitutes the compass by which to take our bearings in legislating and acting, particularly on the delicate and pressing ethical issues that, today more than in the past, regard personal life and privacy,” he said.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights also “can contribute greatly to placing the human person, in his or her inviolable integrity, at the foundation of the quest for truth, thus restoring dignity to those who do not feel respected in their inmost being and in the dictates of their conscience,” he added.

Lastly, Pope Leo said, politics cannot ignore the challenge of artificial intelligence. “On the contrary, it is called to respond to many citizens who rightly look with both confidence and concern at the issues raised by this new digital culture.”

“The degree of civilization attained in our world and the goals you are charged to achieve are now facing a major challenge in the form of artificial intelligence,” which will be of great help to society as long as it “does not undermine the identity and dignity of the human person and his or her fundamental freedoms,” he said.

“Artificial intelligence functions as a tool for the good of human beings,” he said, and it should not diminish or replace people.

“Our personal life has greater value than any algorithm, and social relationships require spaces for development that far transcend the limited patterns that any soulless machine can prepackage,” he said.

(OSV News) – Christians in Syria are reeling after a suicide bombing struck a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus during a June 22 Divine Liturgy.

At least 20 were killed and more than 60 injured that Sunday after an attacker, reported to be armed and wearing an explosive vest, entered Mar Elias, a Greek Orthodox church in the city’s Dweila neighborhood.

Posting to its official Telegram channel, Syria’s Interior Ministry said the bomber was “affiliated with the terrorist organization ISIS,” and that he had opened fire prior to detonating his vest.

Witnesses quoted by The Washington Post said the attacker, whose face was covered, had been charged by a crowd seeking to eject him from the church.

The outlet quoted Father Fadi Ghattas as saying there were “350 people praying at the church” when the attacker struck.

Another priest, Father Meletius Shahati, reported a second gunman shooting at the church door prior to the explosion.

Churchgoer Issam Nasr said he had seen people “blown to bits,” adding, “We have never held a knife in our lives. All we ever carried were our prayers.”

Photos of the church showed blood-spattered walls and mangled pews, with the altar heavily damaged.

The Syria’s Interior Ministry said that “security units rushed to the scene, cordoned off the entire area, while the competent teams began collecting evidence and investigating the circumstances of the attack.”

The deadly aggression has drawn widespread domestic and international condemnation.

Syria’s information minister Hamza al-Mustafa posted on X, “This cowardly act contradicts the values of citizenship that unite us all. We, as Syrians, affirm the importance of national unity and civil peace, and call for boosting the bonds of brotherhood among all components of society.”

He added, “We will not back down from our commitment to equal citizenship, which seeks to build a homeland of security and stability. We also stress the state’s pledge to exert all efforts to combat criminal organizations and ensure the protection of society from any attacks that threaten its safety.”

Thomas Barrack, U.S special envoy for Syria, extended condolences, on behalf of President Donald Trump and the American people to the victims, families and people affected by the attack.

“These terrible acts of cowardice have no place in the new tapestry of integrated tolerance and inclusion that Syrians are weaving. We continue to support the Syrian government as it fights against those who are seeking to create instability and fear in their country and the broader region,” Barrack said in a June 22 post on X.

Geir Pederson, the United Nations’ special envoy for Syria, also voiced his “strong condemnation of this heinous crime” and called for “a comprehensive investigation and the necessary measures.”

Pederson urged everyone to “unite in rejecting terrorism, extremism, incitement, and the targeting of any group in Syria.”

France, Germany, Lebanon and Qatar also condemned the attack.

Previously, Maronite Archbishop Antoine Chbair of Latakia and Tartus, Syria, told the Catholic Near East Welfare Association — an initiative of the Holy See — that “no one knows the end” of recent deadly violence and “sectarian strife” in Syria.

The archbishop’s remarks followed the killing of at least 800 in March, as Syria’s security forces battled armed supporters of Syria’s ousted former president Bashar Assad.

Assad — whose family ruled Syria for five decades, with brutal crackdowns on dissent and violent repression — fled to Moscow in December after his regime fell to a lightning rebel offensive. That campaign followed 13 years of civil war in which more than 600,000 were killed.