(OSV News) – Those who embrace consecrated life “bring the hope of the Gospel to the world in both visible and hidden ways,” said Bishop Earl A. Boyea of Lansing, Michigan, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations.

Bishop Boyea shared his thoughts in a Jan. 29 statement released by the USCCB ahead of the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life on Feb. 2, the feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. The day of prayer for women and men in consecrated life was instituted by St. John Paul II in 1997.

Members of the Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict mark World Day for Consecrated Life at morning Mass at the St. Joseph Home for the Aged in Huntington, N.Y., Feb. 2, 2024, the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas. The Benedictine religious community comprised of Polish-born nuns has cared for the elderly at their assisted-living residence for more than 60 years. (OSV News photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)

Along with Bishop Boyea’s statement, the USCCB also announced the release of a new report on men and women religious in the U.S. who professed their perpetual vows in 2024.

The annual survey is conducted for the bishops by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University.

With responses from 75% of the U.S.-based institutes contacted by CARA, a total of 140 religious members — 73 sisters and nuns, and 67 brothers and priests — participated in the survey. It represents a response rate of 72% out of the 194 identified men and women religious in the profession class of 2024.

The CARA data shows that a majority of responding religious orders — 81% — had no one profess perpetual vows in 2024.

According to CARA’s report, 91 women and 103 men professed perpetual vows in religious life in 2024, with an average age of 37. Their ages ranged from 25 to 69. Half of the respondents were aged 34 or younger.

Candidates who do seek consecrated religious life are ardent in faith, explained Father Jorge Torres, a priest of the Diocese of Orlando, Florida, and executive director of the USCCB’s Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life And Vocations.

“There are so many young people who are saying yes. They are attracted to those communities that are challenging them to live the Gospel in its fullness, and that’s one thing that sometimes people may not see,” Father Torres told OSV News. “Do we have the numbers that we had some generations ago? We don’t, but we have great quality.”

That quality includes a range of educational and life experiences prior to entrance into religious life. CARA’s report on the 2024 profession class found that while on average respondents were 19 years old when they first considered religious life, almost three quarters — 73% — had earned an undergraduate or graduate degree before entering their religious institute.

“I have multiple art degrees and came back to the faith at one of the most secular art institutes in the country. God is everywhere,” said Sister Mary Michael Di Palma, a member of the Sister Servants of the Eternal Word, in a statement posted to the USCCB’s online profile of members from the 2024 profession class.

Trappist Sister Jennifer Illig said in her USCCB profile that she had first visited the community in 2003, but entered nine years later after earning her doctorate in theology.

At the same time, only 11% reported having their entrance to religious life delayed (generally by about three years) due to educational debt. On average, this group spent three years paying off more than $46,000 in educational debt. Family and friends were the most common form of assistance.

The CARA report also noted 82% of the respondents had prior work experience, largely in the fields of business, education and health care.

Augustinian Brother David Relstab of the Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel said in his USCCB profile that he had been a mechanic for Mercedes-Benz (a job that requires mastery of complex electronic systems), and still teaches automotive technology at a local community college.

Most (84%) respondents said they had received encouragement from someone to consider religious life, generally a religious sister or brother (59%), friend (59%) or parish priest (38%). Over half (57%) also reported being discouraged from the prospect, with women (61%) more likely than men (43%) to experience such pushback.

Well over three quarters (78%) had participated in a “come and see” vocational discernment experience.

Regarding their habits of prayer before consecrated life, CARA found going on retreat was “the most common type of formative prayer experience” for four out of five. A similar number prayed the rosary regularly before joining their religious institute. And seven out of 10 went regularly to Eucharistic adoration.

The CARA report also found:

— The majority of respondents (92%) have been Catholic since baptism shortly after birth, with 92% having at least one parent who was Catholic, while for 87% both parents were Catholic;

— Almost all (97%) respondents were raised during their formative years by their biological parents, with 90% raised by a married couple living together, with 96% also having at least one sibling;

— Over half (64%) of the respondents listed their primary race or ethnicity as Caucasian, European American, or white, with 14% identifying as Asian, Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian; 11% as Hispanic or Latino; 6% as African, African American or Black; 5% as mixed race or other;

— Slightly less than three quarters (69%) of respondents were born in the U.S. with 12% born in Asia, 10% in Latin America and 6% in Africa.

In his statement, Bishop Boyea said that women and men in consecrated life “remind us of the deep desire of the human heart to see the face of God.”

He added, “We thank them for their dedication ‘to stay awake, to be vigilant, to persevere in waiting’ as Pope Francis has said.”

(OSV News) – They are the walking wounded — those who have in some way been hurt by the church’s members through different forms of physical and emotional trauma, and continue to live with their injuries.

For some, it has driven — and kept — them away from parish life; others are still among us, but suffer with a sense of alienation and isolation.

How to accompany these brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ was the focus of “Walk with Someone Who Has Been Hurt by the Church,” a Jan. 21 webinar presented during the third and final year of the National Eucharistic Revival and its Walk With One initiative.

Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minn., chairman of the board of the National Eucharistic Congress, Inc., prays during adoration at the opening revival night July 17, 2024, of the 10th National Eucharistic Congress at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)

Previous components of the revival included the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage May to July 2024, and a 60,000-plus attendee National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis July 17-24, 2024.

Walk With One embraces the idea that everyone can — indeed, must — evangelize, and aims to equip them for sharing the Good News of Jesus’ love and compassion. As the NEC summarizes that mission, “The Lord is asking each of us to step out of our comfort zone and evangelize one-on-one.”

That aim is especially urgent for those who have been harmed, said the webinar contributors. They included Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, board chair of the National Eucharistic Congress organization; Gina Barthel, a victim and survivor of abuse; and Sara Larson, executive director of Awake, a nonprofit community of abuse survivors, concerned Catholics and allies responding to sexual abuse in the church.

“It’s important, actually, just to admit that people have been hurt in the church,” began Bishop Cozzens. “Sometimes we’re afraid to admit that. And it’s important to admit that the pain is real that people experience, and it can make it really hard for someone to come back to the church if they’ve been hurt — especially if they’ve been seriously hurt.”

With that first admission, Bishop Cozzens explained, comes another.

“It also would be important to admit that sometimes as a church, as members of the church — whether we’re leaders in the church or members of the church in general — we haven’t always faced this issue. We haven’t always acknowledged the depth of the evil that’s happened,” he said. “We haven’t always valued people’s pain, and we haven’t always dealt with victims of abuse or hurt in the right way. And those of us who want to help, we have to be aware of these things — because we want to be able to do better in helping people return to the church.”

“Every wound we have is important to Jesus,” Bishop Cozzens said. “He cares about it, and he wants to bring his healing to it.”

For those wondering how or where to start, he had specific advice.

“If we want to accompany someone who’s been hurt — if we want to walk with them — we have to begin where they are. This is how you walk with anyone,” he explained. “You have to go to where they are, and you have to begin by seeking to understand their experience.”

“One of the most important things,” he stressed, “can just be listening and even acknowledging, ‘Wow, that must have been painful’ or ‘Wow, that must have been hurtful.’ Just to be able to sympathize — or even empathize — is really key.”

Such an approach is, said Bishop Cozzens, rooted in the Gospels.

“One of the things you see, actually — when you meditate on the Gospels — is the way Jesus deals with people who have been hurt,” he said. “And what you see is that Jesus is not afraid to enter right into the wound — and he always does it with great reverence for the person … not forcing … but he invites them to open that wound, and to hear about it, and to meet them there.”

Ultimately, said Bishop Cozzens, “It’s also important to remember that healing is possible. This is part of the great message we can bring. I think of this great Jubilee Year of Hope that we’re in — the Jubilee Year is about healing, and especially about bringing hope.”

Bishop Cozzens portrayed abuse survivors as a spiritual asset.

“Those who’ve been hurt by a member of the church, when they return to the church, they can strengthen the church — because they can help us to prevent that from happening again,” he said. “And it can help to create in the church an environment that is actually more helpful and healing after that.”

Barthel – sexually abused as a child – was later sexually abused by the very priest from whom she sought healing while she was a novice in religious life.

“My soul was in a lot of chaos,” said Barthel. “He raped my soul.”

The spiritual destruction she experienced at the hands of her clerical tormenter – whom she now refers to as “Mr. M” – was devastating.

“Everything that I knew to be good and holy and pure and true was gone. It was destroyed — and for the first time in my life, I didn’t just think that God didn’t love me,” Barthel said. “I actually thought he hated me.”

“But the worst part of it all,” she added, “was that for the first time in my life, I couldn’t go to Jesus. I felt lost and alone and I didn’t think I could trust anyone. So for six very long, painful years, I wasn’t able to step foot into a Catholic church. And whenever I saw a priest or that Roman collar — all I could think of was Mr. M, and his lies and abuse — and it filled me with both terror and rage.”

Her idealism also fled.

“The rose-colored glasses with which I viewed the Catholic Church were completely shattered,” admitted Barthel. “Because when I tried to come back to the church, I often was not received well.”

She eventually returned in 2013, after crying out to Jesus Christ and experiencing an assurance of healing she finds difficult to verbalize.

“The fact that I’m still Catholic after all this is a testimony to God’s grace and love,” Barthel said. “Jesus continues to pursue my heart with so much intensity, and that’s why I’m Catholic today.”

Barthel’s experience is not atypical, explained Awake’s Sara Larson.

But Larson’s own walk with survivors has revealed four critical approaches of which to be mindful: The humility to know what you don’t know and to offer compassion more than advice; deep reverence for each person’s story of harm; a basic understanding of trauma and its impact; and that laypeople have an essential role in offering accompaniment and support.

“The unfortunate reality,” Larson shared, “is that many people who have been hurt by church leaders are afraid to share these stories with others — especially committed Catholics. Sadly, they are often used to being ignored, blamed; their experiences disbelieved or minimized.”

Statistics, Larson shared, indicate approximately 70% of adults in the U.S. have experienced at least one traumatic event in their lifetime, while around one in four women and one in six men have experienced sexual violence of some kind.

That means people can bring trauma to the church, even if they haven’t experienced it there.

It’s critical to remember, emphasized Larson, “These are people, not projects — and the way that I treat them should reflect the reverence they deserve as children of God.”

Those who would accompany survivors of trauma have a critical role, emphasized Larson.

“We can be the bridge of trust for those who understandably do not trust church leaders,” she said. “We can walk alongside people who are hurting, listen to their stories, acknowledge their pain — and manifest the love of God through our gentle, consistent, compassionate presence.”

 

Pictured in foreground from left are Kitchen Executive Director Rob Williams, Advisory Board member and Campaign Chair Michael Colarusso and Advisory Board President Maria McCool.

Campaign Celebration Event is April 30; RSVPs Required by April 15

With more people than ever requiring its services, Saint Francis of Assisi Kitchen in Scranton has begun the 47th annual Host‑for‑a‑Day campaign to support its mission of feeding and clothing individuals and families in need.

For a donation of $100 or more, an individual, family, business, community organization or faith-based group can help to fund a day’s meal. Major sponsorship levels are also available starting at $500.

In effect, each contributor becomes a “host” for a day. Contributors may then select a date on which they or someone they designate or memorialize will be recognized as helping to provide that meal.

Financial contributions to the Kitchen also help to fund other programs such as a Client-Choice Food Pantry and Free Clothing Store and weekly meals at parish locations and high-rise housing buildings in Carbondale and Olyphant and also weekly meals at parish sites in Roaring Brook Township and Archbald.

The Kitchen’s Free Clothing Mobile Trailer visits various locations to bring clothing items to those in need who might not be able to come to the Scranton property.

Also, the Kitchen maintains a “Code Blue” collaboration with the City of Scranton and Keystone Mission. When the temperature gets below 20 degrees, the Kitchen provides hot soup to homeless folks welcomed to shelter at Weston Field.

Rob Williams, Kitchen Executive Director, noted that the Kitchen recently had the highest single month serving counts in its history. In just one month, the Kitchen served nearly 10,000 meals, provided more than 1,000 family servings through the Client Choice Food Pantry and had nearly 1,000 visits to the Free Clothing operations. In 2024, a total of 96,000 meals were provided.

“Now more than ever, our brothers and sisters in need are relying on us for help,” he said. “Fortunately, through donations and the dedication of our staff and volunteers, we are able to provide for those we serve in a dignified and compassionate manner.”

Michael Colarusso, a member of the Kitchen’s Advisory Board, is chairing the 2025 Host-for-a-Day campaign and leading the effort with his fellow board members.

“Considering all the services that the Kitchen provides, you truly realize that it’s only possible thanks to the generosity of individuals and organizations within our community,” he said. “The need is so great and you understand how important the Host-for-a-Day campaign is.”

Recent contributors to the campaign are receiving an appeal directly from the Kitchen through the mail or will be contacted by members of the Kitchen’s Advisory Board.

Host‑for‑a‑Day gifts can also be made by calling the Kitchen at 570-342‑5556, or sending a check to Saint Francis of Assisi Kitchen, 500 Penn Avenue, Scranton, PA 18509. Donations can also be made online at: www.stfranciskitchen.org or facebook.com/stfranciskitchen or text SFAK to 26989.

This year the celebration that concludes the campaign will be held at Fiorelli’s in Peckville on Wednesday, April 30, beginning at 6 p.m. Each contributor and a guest is invited to attend. RSVPs are required by April 15 to confirm attendance and an accurate meal count.

Those who would like to sponsor the reception are asked to call the Kitchen at 570-342‑5556.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Claims that the U.S. bishops’ conference profits from its partnership with the government to assist refugee populations that qualify for federal assistance, and that the Catholic Church facilitates illegal immigration are “just wrong,” said William Canny, the U.S. bishops’ migration director.

Canny, executive director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services, made the comments in an interview Jan. 30 with OSV News in the wake of remarks by Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump’s press secretary.

The badge and gun of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent is seen during an operation with migrants being transferred to a plane to be expelled under U.S. Title 42 from the United States to their home country by ICE and Border Patrol agents, at the airport in El Paso, Texas, May 10, 2023. (OSV News photo/Jose Luis Gonzalez, Reuters)

Vance, who is Catholic, questioned the motives of the U.S. bishops’ criticism of Trump’s new immigration policies in a Jan. 26 interview – including reducing restrictions on raids on churches and schools. He asked if the bishops are actually concerned about receiving federal resettlement funding and “their bottom line.”

The same week, in her debut press briefing as White House press secretary on Jan. 28, Karoline Leavitt, also a Catholic, suggested the Trump administration would seek to strip federal funds from nongovernmental organizations including Catholic Charities as part of its effort to enforce its immigration policies. In that exchange, Catholic Charities was accused of facilitating illegal immigration, claims the domestic charitable arm of the Catholic Church in the U.S. has long denied.

The USCCB website states that its Migration and Refugee Services “is the largest refugee resettlement agency in the world,” and that in partnership with its affiliates, it resettles approximately 18% of the refugees that arrive in the U.S. each year.

Audited financial statements by an outside firm show that the USCCB received about $122.6 million in 2022 and about $129.6 million in 2023 in funding from government agencies for refugee-related services. But the same statements show that the USCCB spent more on those services than the government gave them, meaning the conference did not profit from the grants, according to the conference’s auditors. In 2023, for example, the conference spent $134.2 million for such services.

“We have an obligation to the federal government, when we take these grants, to report back to them, to monitor the activities that these agencies carry out. We’re talking food, housing, clothes, medical attention, et cetera, so we have an obligation to monitor that,” Canny said. “The conference does not profit from this money. And in fact, we cannot, we do not run these programs without putting also in some private funds. So there’s absolutely no profiting from these federal grants.”

The refugees eligible for the program, he added, “are highly vetted” by the U.S. government.

“When these refugees come in through this particular program, they are on a path to citizenship in this country,” Canny said. He added the program assists them with basic needs like housing, medical care and job searching.

When it comes to immigration policy, Canny said, the U.S. bishops are supportive of policies that are just, yet humane.

“Let me be clear that we believe that our country has a right to control its border and a legitimate right to determine who can come in and who can’t into the country, within the bounds of justice and law,” Canny said.

He added, “The sanctity of every human life is important to the Catholic Church, the God-given dignity of each person, regardless of nationality or immigration status. So some of these executive orders that have a tendency to disregard the humanness of people” are cause for concern.

“Government authorities have the right and responsibility to promote public safety and security and to enforce just laws,” Canny said. But he pointed to denying those with “legitimate asylum claims” entry, and fewer restrictions on raids in sensitive locations like churches as particular causes for concern.

After Vance’s comments, the USCCB issued a statement defending its work with refugees.

Others weighed in more sharply, including Kim Daniels, the director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University, who wrote on X that arguments the U.S. bishops are “advocating for open borders” are false.

“It all comes down to an old strategy: politicians targeting Catholics for political gain,” she said.

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, who gave prayers at both of Trump’s inaugurations, including his second with Vance just days earlier, called the new vice president’s comments “just scurrilous” on his SiriusXM Catholic Channel show.

“I was really disappointed,” Cardinal Dolan said, calling the comments “not only harmful, this was inaccurate.”

“It’s very nasty,” Cardinal Dolan added, inviting Vance to “come look at our audits.”

“You think we make money caring for the immigrants? We’re losing it hand over fist,” Cardinal Dolan said.

Cardinal Dolan praised Vance on other issues, including comments he recently delivered to the March for Life, and said he hoped the comments against the church were “uncharacteristic.”

Canny said the Catholic Church has long held its view on serving refugees, and the U.S. is a nation of immigrants. He pointed out the first American citizen to be canonized – Mother Frances Cabrini – was an immigrant.

Asked how they planned to engage with the Trump administration on immigration policy, Canny said, “Certainly as they organize and get people into place, we hope to be able to meet with them directly and discuss these matters as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has done with every administration.”

“So we hope that that will happen to avoid misunderstandings in the future,” he said.

SCRANTON (Jan. 31, 2025) – Jean-Pierre Garry Pilon, formerly a priest of the Diocese of Scranton, has been dismissed from the clerical state at the conclusion of a disciplinary process authorized by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Holy See.

Mr. Pilon’ s involuntary dismissal from the clerical state was imposed after having been found guilty under canon law of solicitation of sexual behavior of an adult during the celebration of the Sacrament of Confession. As a result of his dismissal, Mr. Pilon will never again exercise priestly ministry in any capacity. He may no longer celebrate Mass, hear confessions, or administer any of the Church’s sacraments.

In August 2021, the Diocese of Scranton became aware of an accusation made against Mr. Pilon from officials in the Diocese of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, that then-Father Pilon had been accused of soliciting sexual behavior with another adult within the celebration of the sacrament of Confession, which is among the gravest crimes in the canon law of the Catholic Church. Following the reception of the accusation, the Diocese of Scranton revoked Mr. Pilon’ s faculties and prohibited him from the exercise of priestly ministry.

Officials from the Diocese of Scranton then investigated the accusation in cooperation with the Diocese of Peterborough and, finding the accusation credible, transmitted its findings to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican, as required by canon law. In response to the investigation, the same Dicastery authorized the Diocese of Scranton to adjudicate the accusation against Mr. Pilon using trial processes found in canon law.

Throughout the proceedings, Mr. Pilon was represented by a canon lawyer of his choosing and his right to defense was upheld. At the conclusion of the adjudication, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith authorized the Diocese of Scranton to impose the penalty of Dismissal from the Clerical State on Mr. Pilon, the most severe penalty that can be imposed on a cleric.

Jean-Pierre Garry Pilon is a Canadian citizen and has neither exercised priestly ministry, nor lived in the Diocese of Scranton. He was ordained a priest on June 29, 2002, and was incardinated into the Diocese of Scranton by the late Most Reverend James C. Timlin for membership in The Priestly Society of Saint John, a religious institute that was suppressed in 2004. Since his ordination, Mr. Pilon has only exercised ministry in various apostolates in different dioceses. Most recently, Mr. Pilon exercised priestly ministry in the Diocese of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. During his time of priestly ministry, he has used several alias’, including Brother Anthony Lawrence.

Mr. Pilon now lives privately in Ontario, Canada, and is prohibited from exercising priestly ministry or representing the Diocese of Scranton or the Diocese of Peterborough in any capacity.

(OSV News) – U.S. Catholic bishops – joined by Pope Francis – are calling for prayer after a deadly aviation crash in the nation’s capital claimed dozens of lives.

“Catholics throughout the Archdiocese of Washington today join men and women of good will here and around the world in praying for those who perished in last night’s heartbreaking accident,” Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, the retired archbishop and current apostolic administrator of the archdiocese, said in a Jan. 30 statement.

The Jan. 29 midair collision between a regional jet operated by American Airlines and a U.S. military helicopter took place over the Potomac River at approximately 9 p.m.

Emergency service vehicles are on the scene after American Eagle flight 5342 collided with a Blackhawk helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed in the Potomac River Jan. 29, 2025. The flight was inbound to Reagan National Airport at an altitude of about 400 feet and a speed of about 140 miles per hour when it suffered a rapid loss of altitude. The Canadian-made Bombardier CRJ-701 twin-engine jet was manufactured in 2004 and can be configured to carry up to 70 passengers. (OSV News photo/Carlos Barria, Reuters)

All on both aircraft are presumed dead.

American Eagle Flight 5342 – which originated in Wichita, Kansas – had been preparing to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and carried 60 passengers and four crew members on board. The helicopter involved in the collision, a UH-60 Black Hawk assigned to Fort Belvoir, Virginia, contained three troops on a routine training flight.

The initial rescue operation was soon declared a recovery effort, with first responders and dive crews battling the Potomac’s icy waters to retrieve the bodies. The incident remains under investigation by multiple agencies led by the National Transportation Safety Board and including the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Army.

“We praise God for the generous assistance of our courageous first responders,” Cardinal Gregory said in his statement. “May this disaster serve as an impetus to strengthen our unity and collaboration.”

In a Jan. 30 post on the X social media platform, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, asked people to be “united in prayer for all those tragically impacted by the accident.”

“May we be united in prayer for all those tragically impacted by the accident near Reagan airport,” Bishop Burbidge, whose diocese borders the Potomac, said in his post. “We ask God to embrace them in his love; to grant strength to their families; and to watch over all first responders.”

According to the Arlington Diocese, Bishop Burbidge scheduled a 12:05 p.m. liturgy – carried also via livestream – at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington to pray for the victims.

Shortly after the crash, Bishop Carl A. Kemme of Wichita, Kansas, posted on Facebook that he was “praying for all involved” in the disaster.

“It is sobering to think that I and two other priests were on this very flight one week ago on our way to DC for the … March for life,” Bishop Kemme said in his post. “May God bring divine assistance to everyone involved.”

On Jan. 30, Bishop Kemme released a statement on the disaster, saying, “My heart, and the hearts of the faithful of the Diocese of Wichita, go out to the families and loved ones of all those lost in this devastating accident. 

“We pray for the souls of those who perished, including the brave members of our military, the passengers, and the crew,” said Bishop Kemme. “We also pray for comfort and strength for those who mourn, and for the first responders and recovery teams as they continue their difficult work. I encourage all to pray for those affected by this tragedy. May the souls of the departed rest in peace.”

In Jan. 30 comments at the White House, President Donald Trump said the country is in mourning and acknowledged the incident has left many people shaken.

“This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation’s capital and in our nation’s history, and a tragedy of terrible proportions,” he said.

“As one nation, we grieve for every precious soul that has been taken from us, so suddenly,” he said.

In a Jan. 30 telegram to Trump, Pope Francis expressed his “spiritual closeness” to victims and their families and commended the souls of the departed to God’s loving mercy.

“I likewise pray for those involved in the recovery efforts, and invoke upon all in the nation the divine blessings of consolation and strength,” he said.

During a Jan. 30 media briefing, Wichita Mayor Lily Wu thanked local faith leaders who “showed up last night and prayed over” the city’s council after the disaster. Her voice choked with emotion as Wu shared that city officials confirmed there were no survivors.

“This is a terrible tragedy that will unite those in Washington, D.C., and Wichita, Kansas, forever,” she said.

Local media, citing a statement from the city, reported the Greater Wichita Ministerial League organized a prayer service at Wichita’s City Hall on Jan. 30 at noon.

While the victims’ names have not yet been revealed, U.S. Figure Skating, the sport’s governing body, told media that several passengers on the commercial aircraft were young figure skaters returning from a training camp in Wichita. Russian state media reported that several of the skaters were Russian nationals.

SCRANTON – Catholic Schools Week 2025 is now underway in the Diocese of Scranton through Saturday, Feb. 3.

The annual celebration provides an opportunity to honor the contributions of Catholic schools across the country, highlight their role in shaping students’ academic, spiritual, and moral development, and express gratitude for the educators, students, and families who are part of these vital communities. 

The week is celebrated in the Diocese of Scranton’s 15 elementary schools and 4 high schools with a variety of events and activities, including Masses, open houses, service projects, and community outreach programs.

“We are excited to celebrate Catholic Schools Week because it is always an opportunity to honor the incredible work of our schools, teachers, administrators, and families,” Kristen Donohue, Diocesan Secretary of Catholic Education/Superintendent of Schools, explained. “Our mission is to provide a Catholic education that is spiritually sound, academically excellent, and prepares our students to be faith-filled leaders and life-long learners dedicated to serving the church and society.”

This year, in a very special way, the Diocese of Scranton is focusing on the achievements and contributions that Catholic school students can make, while also celebrating their academic and spiritual growth.

On Jan. 27, the Diocese of Scranton launched its inaugural “Living the STREAM” event. Catholic school students in grades 6-8 were invited to put their imagination into action and share a “big idea” that they think would meet a community, national, or global need.

As part of the “Living the STREAM” event, students were invited to work in teams and film a short video describing their project and how it could make for a better world. They were encouraged to include all aspects of STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Art and Mathematics).

More than 40 videos, featuring nearly 200 Catholic school students, have been submitted – with students researching varying topics including homelessness, pollution, food waste – and offering their thoughts on how to tackle these issues.

As part of the “Living the STREAM” event, the community will be able to support the students and vote for their favorite, or the most creative video, on the Diocese of Scranton website (dioceseofscranton.org). Public voting – and a panel of community judges – will help to award prizes to several student projects in April.

Catholic Schools Week is not only a celebration of academic excellence, but also the values that define Catholic education, including faith, service, community and charity. There are currently more than 6,000 Catholic schools in the United States, serving roughly 1.5 million students.

Established by the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) in 1974, Catholic Schools Week aims to recognize the positive impact Catholic schools have on students, families, and communities.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Nations should put people affected by poverty, illness, migration and other marginalized groups at the heart of social and economic considerations during the Holy Year 2025, Pope Francis said.

“The poor and the sick, the young and the elderly, the migrants and the displaced, even those deprived of their freedom, must be at the center of our considerations, so that no one is excluded and everyone’s human dignity is respected,” the pope told participants in a conference on peace and dialogue in Havana, Cuba.

Pope Francis speaks to visitors in the Paul VI Audience Hall during his weekly general audience at the Vatican Jan. 29, 2025. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

The conference, titled “For World Balance,” gathered writers, artists, politicians, academics and religious and social leaders to explore avenues toward promoting global solidarity.

In his message, released by the Vatican Jan. 28, Pope Francis said that the Holy Year must be a time when people can overcome the obstacles that prevent them from looking to the future with hope.

The Jubilee offers a unique opportunity for humanity to focus on “all that is good in the world so as to not be tempted to consider ourselves overcome by evil and violence,” he said, citing his bull of indiction formally proclaiming the Holy Year.

Pope Francis called for the Holy Year to be a time for people to work courageously to turn hope into a tangible and lasting peace through dialogue and diplomacy.

Such an objective is not possible, he said, if people are “prevented from opening up to life with enthusiasm by the frenetic pace of life, by fears about the future, by the lack of job guarantees and adequate social protection (or) by social models whose agenda is dictated by the search for profit rather than by the care of relationships.”

The pope praised initiatives and volunteers working to restore people’s confidence in themselves and in society, and he said that all people, including those without a religious identity, are called to live in selfless fraternity since “everything we do for others has repercussions for us as individuals and as a society.”

He urged everyone to cultivate hope by building a society rooted in solidarity — one that shares generously with the poor and embraces the stranger — “so that we may know how to contribute with what we are and what we have to the common good.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – When a holy day of obligation falls on a Sunday and so is transferred to another day, the Catholic faithful are encouraged to attend Mass, but they are not obliged to do so, the Vatican said.

The feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary Dec. 8 fell on the Second Sunday of Advent in 2024 and so, in most dioceses around the world, the feast was transferred to Monday, Dec. 9.

Pope Francis gives his blessing after reciting a prayer to Mary in front of the Marian statue near the Spanish Steps in Rome on Dec. 8, 2024, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

Some bishops in the United States insisted the faithful still had a moral obligation to attend Mass on the feast day while others issued a formal dispensation from the obligation.

The Dicastery for Legislative Texts, in a September letter to Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, had said, “the feast must be observed as a day of obligation on the day to which it is transferred.”

But in a formal note dated Jan. 23, the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments said it had consulted with the legislative texts office and determined that “in the event of the occasional transfer of a holy day of obligation, the obligation to attend Mass is not transferred.”

Every Sunday is a holy day of obligation because it is a commemoration of the death and resurrection of the Lord. The additional holy days when Catholics have a moral obligation to attend Mass are: Christmas; the feast of Mary, Mother of God; Epiphany; the Ascension; the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ; the Assumption; the feast of St. Joseph; the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul; and the feast of All Saints.

Because the church’s liturgical calendar includes fixed feasts, like the Dec. 8 celebration of the Immaculate Conception, and “moveable feasts” like Pentecost, Easter or even the Sundays of Advent or Lent, occasionally two feasts will fall on the same day, the dicastery said.

In that case, the one that holds “the highest rank according to the Table of Liturgical Days is observed,” and the other feast is transferred to the closest available day, the note said. In December, the Second Sunday of Advent had a higher rank than the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

The issue is not addressed in the Code of Canon Law, the dicastery said, so the church follows “a well-established practice according to which, in the event of the transfer of a holy day of obligation, the obligation to attend Mass is not transferred.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – While the Holy Year 2025 refrain, “Hope does not disappoint,” can be difficult for those suffering from illness to embrace, Christians are called to recognize God’s closeness even in moments of weakness or despair, Pope Francis said.

Sickness “becomes an occasion for a transformative encounter” when one is open to God, he wrote in his message for the 33rd World Day of the Sick, observed by the church Feb. 11, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Pope Francis gives a rosary to a patient at Gemelli hospital in this file photo taken in Rome July 11, 2021, when the pope was in the hospital for 10 days to recover from a scheduled colon surgery. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

In addition, the Vatican will host the Jubilee of the Sick and Health Care Workers April 5-6, an event that will close with a papal Mass celebrated in St. Peter’s Square.

“Suffering always brings with it a mysterious promise of salvation, for it makes us experience the closeness and reality of God’s consoling presence,” the pope wrote in the message released Jan. 27.

Despite the frailty felt “on the physical, psychological and spiritual levels” during times of illness, “we also experience the closeness and compassion of God, who, in Jesus, shared in our human suffering,” Pope Francis wrote. “God does not abandon us and often amazes us by granting us a strength that we never expected and would never have found on our own.”

Pope Francis said that suffering can also be accepted by Christians as a gift, for it “makes us aware that hope comes from the Lord.”

“Indeed, only in Christ’s resurrection does our own life and destiny find its place within the infinite horizon of eternity,” he wrote.

The pope compared the journey of the ill to that of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, who, by sharing their anxieties and disappointments with Jesus, came to recognize his presence, enabling them to “sense that ‘greater reality’ which, by drawing near to us, restores our courage and confidence.”

Suffering, Pope Francis added, develops a profound sense of sharing and encounter. Those who tend to the sick realize that they are “angels of hope and messengers of God for one another,” be it at home or at a clinic, nursing home or hospital.

“We need to learn how to appreciate the beauty and significance of these grace-filled encounters,” he wrote. “We need to learn how to cherish the gentle smile of a nurse, the gratitude and trust of a patient, the caring face of a doctor or volunteer, or the anxious and expectant look of a spouse, a child, a grandchild or a dear friend.”

Such gestures are “rays of light to be treasured,” the pope said, which even amid adversity “give us strength, while at the same time teaching us the deeper meaning of life in love and closeness.”

Those who care for the sick during the Jubilee year “play an especially important part,” the pope said in his message. Their dedication has an impact “far beyond the rooms and beds of health facilities” in promoting charity and are “capable of bringing light and warmth wherever they are most needed.”

“The whole church thanks you for this!” he wrote. “I do as well, and I remember you always in my prayers.”