Category: Diocese of Scranton News

ISTANBUL (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV, speaking to Christian leaders in Turkey, said he hoped they could meet in Jerusalem in 2033 to celebrate together the 2,000th anniversary of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

And, later in a joint declaration with Orthodox Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, he called on Christians of the East and West to finally agree on a common date for Easter. The pope and patriarch also appealed for an end to war.

The two met in Istanbul Nov. 29 with the Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Protestant leaders who had joined them the previous day in Iznik, site of the ancient city of Nicaea, to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and the basics of the Nicene Creed, which all mainline Christians share.

The meeting with the leaders was held at the Syriac Orthodox Church of Mor Ephrem, which was inaugurated in 2023 — the first and only Christian church to be built in Turkey since the foundation of the Republic of Turkey as a constitutionally secular nation in 1923.

According to the Vatican press office, Pope Leo spoke to the leaders about having a Jubilee 2033 celebration together in Jerusalem.

The pope would like to celebrate “in the Cenacle, place of the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples, where he washed their feet, and the place of Pentecost,” the press office said. But to facilitate the encounter, the leaders need to make progress in their efforts toward full unity, the pope had told them, “citing his episcopal motto, ‘In Illo uno unum,'” or literally “In the One, we are one,” referring to faith in one Lord.

Pope Leo joined Patriarch Bartholomew again in the early evening in the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George for a doxology prayer service of praise to God.

“Yesterday, and again this morning, we experienced extraordinary moments of grace as we commemorated, together with our brothers and sisters in faith, the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea,” Pope Leo said at the service.

“By remembering that highly significant event and inspired by the prayer of Jesus that all his disciples may be one,” the pope said, “we are encouraged in our commitment to seek the restoration of full communion among all Christians, a task that we undertake with God’s help.”

During the doxology, he said, “the deacon addressed to God the petition ‘for the stability of the Holy Churches and for the unity of all.’ This same petition will also be repeated in tomorrow’s Divine Liturgy. May God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and indeed fulfill that prayer.”

The Council of Nicaea also set a common date for all Christians to celebrate Easter — on the first Sunday after the full moon following the spring equinox. But the Julian calendar, which is what Christians used in the fourth century, was increasingly out of sync with the actual solar year, so March 21 — generally assumed to be the date of the Northern Hemisphere’s spring equinox — gradually “drifted” away from the actual equinox.

In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII reformed the calendar, dropping 10 days and making the equinox fall on March 21 again. Most Eastern Christians did not adopt the new calendar though, leading to a situation where Easter occasionally is on the same day, but Eastern Christians’ celebration can be as much as four weeks later.

St. Paul VI and all the popes who succeeded him, including Pope Leo, have said the Catholic Church is open to accepting an Orthodox proposal for a common date for Easter.

In their joint declaration, the pope and patriarch said the anniversary of Nicaea should inspire “new and courageous steps on the path toward unity,” including finding that common date.

“We are grateful to divine providence that this year the whole Christian world celebrated Easter on the same day,” they said. “It is our shared desire to continue the process of exploring a possible solution for celebrating together the Feast of Feasts every year. We hope and pray that all Christians will, ‘in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,’ commit themselves to the process of arriving at a common celebration of the glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Part of the goal of Christianity, they also said, is to contribute to peace among all people.

“Together we fervently raise our voices in invoking God’s gift of peace upon our world,” they said. “Tragically, in many regions of our world, conflict and violence continue to destroy the lives of so many. We appeal to those who have civil and political responsibilities to do everything possible to ensure that the tragedy of war ceases immediately, and we ask all people of good will to support our entreaty.”

IZNIK, Turkey (CNS) – Although the ancient city of Nicaea lies in ruins and the geographic center of Christianity has shifted West, Pope Leo XIV and Christian leaders gathered at an archaeological site in Turkey to celebrate the enduring faith set out in the Nicene Creed.

Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople hosted the ecumenical prayer service and the common recitation of the Creed Nov. 28 at Iznik, site of the ancient Nicaea, about 80 miles southeast of Istanbul.

With the Greek Orthodox patriarchs of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem or their representatives and with representatives of other Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant churches, Pope Leo marked the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea — the primary motive for his first foreign trip as pope.

The joint recitation of the Creed did not include the phrase known as the “filioque” — the statement that the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father and the Son” — since the phrase is not used by the Orthodox because it was inserted into the Latin Creed by Pope Benedict VIII in 1014.

Recent popes, including Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis and Pope Leo, have omitted the phrase at ecumenical prayer services.

Standing on a platform overlooking the remains of the Basilica of St. Neophytos, now partially submerged in Lake Iznik, the church leaders took turns leading the prayers — in English, Greek and Arabic — and lighting candles as a Catholic choir, singing in Latin, and an Orthodox choir, singing in Greek, alternated.

Patriarch Bartholomew, welcoming the pope and other guests, noted that “despite so many intervening centuries and all the upheavals, difficulties and divisions they have brought, we nevertheless approach this sacred commemoration with shared reverence and a common feeling of hope.”

“The power of this place does not reside in what passes away, but in what endures forever,” he said.

Speaking after the patriarch, Pope Leo told his fellow Christian leaders that at a time when humanity is “afflicted by violence and conflict,” the world “is crying out for reconciliation.”

“The desire for full communion among all believers in Jesus Christ is always accompanied by the search for fraternity among all human beings,” he said. “In the Nicene Creed, we profess our faith ‘in one God, the Father.’ Yet, it would not be possible to invoke God as Father if we refused to recognize as brothers and sisters all other men and women, who are created in the image of God.”

Though united by faith, the Russian Orthodox Church — the largest of the world’s Eastern Orthodox churches — was not represented at the service. The Russian church broke relations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate over the recognition in 2018 of the autonomy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Belief in God the father, Pope Leo said in Iznik, means “there is a universal fraternity of men and women regardless of ethnicity, nationality, religion or personal perspectives.”

With many of the Christian leaders, especially the Oriental Orthodox, coming from nations that recently faced or are facing war and persecution, Pope Leo said Christians must give concrete witness to their belief that all people are children of one God and therefore brothers and sisters to each other.

“Furthermore, we must strongly reject the use of religion for justifying war, violence or any form of fundamentalism or fanaticism,” he said. “Instead, the paths to follow are those of fraternal encounter, dialogue and cooperation.”

The pope also repeated a concern he had mentioned during a meeting with Catholic leaders earlier in the day: the risk that many Christians have departed from the Nicene Creed’s firm belief in the divinity of Jesus.

“This question is especially important for Christians, who risk reducing Jesus Christ to a kind of charismatic leader or superman, a misrepresentation that ultimately leads to sadness and confusion,” he said.

At the time of the Council of Nicaea, the pope said, Arius — a priest from Alexandria in Egypt — had denied the divinity of Christ, reducing him to “a mere intermediary between God and humanity, ignoring the reality of the Incarnation such that the divine and the human remained irremediably separated.”

“But if God did not become man, how can mortal creatures participate in his immortal life?” Pope Leo asked.

The pope told the Christian leaders that sharing the same faith in Jesus and being able to recite the Creed together means there “is a profound bond already uniting all Christians.”

“We are all invited to overcome the scandal of the divisions that unfortunately still exist and to nurture the desire for unity for which the Lord Jesus prayed and gave his life,” the pope said. “The more we are reconciled, the more we Christians can bear credible witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is a proclamation of hope for all.”

Patriarch Bartholomew told the leaders that with “the fervor of the faith of Nicaea burning in our hearts,” they must “run the course” of Christian unity in fulfillment of Jesus’ prayer for the unity of his disciples.

“And, finally,” the patriarch said, “let us love one another that with one mind we may confess: Father, Son and Holy Spirit — Trinity consubstantial and undivided.”

(OSV News) – Catholic bishops are offering prayers following the shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members in the nation’s capital Nov. 26.

The midafternoon attack, believed to be perpetrated by a lone suspect now in custody, killed 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, who succumbed to her injuries in the hospital Nov. 27, and left 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe — in critical condition.

President Donald Trump announced Beckstrom’s passing Nov. 27 during his Thanksgiving evening video calls to U.S. troops, saying the young woman — whom he described as a “highly respected, young, magnificent person,” was “no longer with us. She’s looking down at us right now.”

Immediately after the attack, West Virginia Gov. Patrick James Morrisey had announced both troops had been killed. He later clarified the two were initially in critical condition.

Authorities have named the suspect as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal. The Afghan national — a resident of Washington state and a father of five — had previously worked with the U.S. government in Afghanistan.

Lakanwal had been permitted to enter the U.S. in 2021 on the basis of that work, which ended after the “chaotic evacuation” that marked the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan that same year, CIA director John Ratcliffe told CBS News.

“We are praying for the healing of the injured National Guard members and will continue to monitor the situation,” Chieko Noguchi, spokesperson for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told OSV News.

In a Nov. 27 post on X, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, also called for prayer for the wounded National Guard members, adding, “This latest act of political violence is deeply troubling and should call our minds and hearts to our need for God and his saving grace.

“Now is the time for fervent prayer for these National Guardsmen and for peace in our nation this Thanksgiving and always,” said Bishop Burbidge.

At a press conference a few hours after the shootings, FBI Director Kash Patel said the attack would be “treated at the federal level as an assault on a federal law enforcement officer.”

In August, President Donald Trump federalized more than 2,000 National Guard troops, deploying them to the nation’s capital to combat crime, despite protests from Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.

A federal judge in Washington — responding to a suit brought by the District of Columbia against the Trump administration — temporarily blocked the deployment last week, saying in a Nov. 20 opinion the move had appeared illegal for a number of reasons, and staying her order until Dec. 11 “to permit orderly proceedings on appeal.”

Trump has authorized similar deployments in several cities, with troops assigned to provide security at Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities — a policy that has drawn controversy.

Following today’s attack — which took place not far from the White House — Trump ordered an additional 500 National Guard troops deployed in Washington, said Pete Hegseth, secretary of war.

The two National Guard troops injured in Washington had been on “high visibility patrols” at the time of the shooting, said Jeffery Carroll, executive assistant chief of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, during today’s press conference.

Trump — currently in Palm Beach, Florida, for the Thanksgiving holliday — posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, the “animal that shot the two National Guardsmen … will pay a very steep price.”

He added, “God bless our Great National Guard, and all of our Military and Law Enforcement. These are truly Great People. I, as President of the United States, and everyone associated with the Office of the Presidency, am with you!”

(OSV News) – In 2024, pregnancy centers saw more new clients, provided more medical care and distributed more material goods than ever before, according to a new report from the Charlotte Lozier Institute.

Between free medical care, education services such as childbirth classes, and items such as diapers, baby clothes and car seats, pregnancy centers provided an estimated $452 million to families in need.

Centers also are increasingly upping the number of services they offer, including abortion pill reversals, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, or STIs, childbirth classes and after-abortion support.

“As permissive abortion policies continue to deprioritize women’s health, CLI’s results demonstrate that pregnancy centers found in communities across the country stand ready to provide focused, quality, wide-ranging, life-affirming care,” said Moira Gaul, a Charlotte Lozier Institute associate scholar and the project manager of the report.

“The fact that there has been a net increase in the number of U.S. abortions leading up to and post-Dobbs, indicates a greater need for pregnancy support in America,” she said. “Our study shows an encouraging trend: More women and men are embracing the hope and help they find at pregnancy centers, allowing them to courageously choose life for their children.”

“Dobbs” is the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. It overturned Roe v. Wade, the court’s 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide, and returned abortion policy to the states.

The 2025 National Pregnancy Center Report, released Nov. 17, is the fourth national study Charlotte Lozier has released since 2017. To conduct the analysis, the institute partnered with pregnancy center organizations including Care Net, Heartbeat International, National Institute of Family and Life Advocates and Focus on the Family Option Ultrasound Program.

The report found that the nation’s 2,775 pregnancy centers saw more than a million new clients last year. Those clients are increasingly tapping into material support — a 48% increase since 2022.

The results highlight the findings of a separate Charlotte Lozier Institute peer-reviewed study that found that 60% of women with a history of abortion would have preferred to give birth had they received either more emotional support or had more financial security.

Gaul believes even more clinics and services are needed.

“The professional and practical care that the pregnancy centers are offering are helping to fill a health care gap with their medical services, the vast majority of which are free or very low-cost, and they’re obviously addressing emotional support with their whole-person care,” she told OSV News. “We know that communities benefit from pregnancy centers. The maternal and child health benefits of centers are tremendous.”

The report also noted that the number of maternity homes has increased from 458 in 2023 to a total of 498 the following year. More clinics are utilizing an educational video streaming service called BrightCourse and a texting platform called HopeSync that helps pregnancy centers connect more effectively with clients.

Organizations such as Focus on the Family and the Knights of Columbus help provide millions in needed funds and new ultrasound machines to pregnancy centers nationwide. While a few states are increasing or maintaining some level of funding for pregnancy centers, others are hostile to pro-life efforts.

Since the original national study was published eight years ago, there has been growth in many areas. New clients have steadily increased from 883,700 in 2017 to now over 1 million. The number of pregnancy center locations included in each study has increased from 2,600 in 2017 to 2,775 in 2024. The number of ultrasound exams performed went from 400,100 in 2017 to 636,000 in 2024, a 60% increase.

More clients are utilizing STI testing services, too, with nearly a quarter million tests performed in 2024 representing a $12 million value, the study noted.

“As the landscape of abortion in America following the Dobbs decision has rapidly changed, pregnancy centers continue to offer steadfast, professional care to women and families,” Karen Czarnecki, Charlotte Lozier Institute’s executive director, said in a press release on the new report.

“Rising client visits and overall satisfaction are undeniable proof these centers are improving lives,” Czarnecki said. “It’s imperative that pregnancy centers continue to increase the availability of services — walking alongside women, men and families to provide love, education and support so they can courageously choose life.”

WEST WYOMING – The scent of fresh evergreens filled the hall at Saint Monica Parish recently as parents, kids, and visitors all worked to build an Advent wreath for their family.

On Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, the parish invited all parishioners to gather for a special family Advent wreath making event – focused on preparing both their homes, and hearts, for the coming of Christ.

As they gathered around long tables, tucking in branches and arranging candles, people engaged in friendly conversation, getting to know each other on a deeper level.

“We invited all our families, singles, anybody who wants to come and make their own individual wreath,” Father Peter Tomczak, pastor, said. “Advent is a very special time of preparation. We want to celebrate what is coming and not just jump right to Christmas as people do too often. These four weeks are very important to us.”

For Saint Monica Parish, the wreath making is more than a craft project – it is one of the parish’s intentional community building events.

“We get to know each other on a more personal level, rather than only at Mass or any kind of liturgical setting,” Father Tomczak added. “We get to be together, get to know each other, the kids get to interact with each other. This is a family time, and we are a family – individual families that make up this parish family.”

Participation in this year’s event grew significantly over last year. Several dozen families took part this year.

“We provided all the materials. We provided the metal rings that the greens will go into. We provided a little ring that the candles get put into. We provided the candles, the wires, wire cutters, and the greens too,” organizer Sara Tomsak said.

Deacon William Jenkins was thrilled to see so many families participate this year.

“We have three long tables filled with people, including the pastor who is making one for his house,” Jenkins joked. “We have a lot of artistic people trying to design and make the best green-filled wreath.”

For many participants, the afternoon was about more than decorations – it was about deepening family prayer, faith, and hope.

Parishioner Luann Heckman, who sings in the choir, said she enjoys anything that helps the parish grow closer.

“I like doing community events where we get to bond and get to know each other’s stories,” Heckman said. “Everyone is enjoying themselves.”

This year, she hoped her wreath will help her family enter Advent more prayerfully.

“I’m going to light the candles and I’m going to say a prayer, which is something that I haven’t done before,” she added. “I’m going to pray for my family, health, happiness, and love.”

For Ruth Wright, being there with her children was a way to spread hope in her own home.

“It makes you feel like you’re part of the community. We come to church and after the sermon we leave. It’s nice to do things outside of coming to Mass,” Wright explained. “I have two children and they both go to Catholic School. We really focus on them knowing the true meaning of Christmas, which is the celebration, the renewal, the hope, not just about the gifts.”

The sense of hope and community even stretched beyond parish boundaries.

Juana Salazar, who was visiting from Totowa, N.J., came with her children and relatives.

“It’s a new tradition for my family,” Salazar said. “They’re loving it. It’s very fun, especially being able to do it together as a family.”

As Father Tomczak watched everyone gathered around the tables, he felt a sign of a real hope in parish life.

“We want to be in the moment, preparing for the Advent season, to say we’re a family, and we want to work together, worship together, pray together, and play together,” he said. “To me, this is what it’s all about.”

KINGSTON – An LED bubble tube and a musical touch wall are just two of many items that students can interact with while visiting a new sensory room at Good Shepherd Academy in Kingston.

The calming space is designed to help children relax, refocus, and build coping skills so they can return to class ready to learn.

The new space – the first sensory room in the Diocese of Scranton’s Catholic School System – was made possible through a generous grant from the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund.

After celebrating an all-school Mass on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025, the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, visited the room, prayed a special blessing, and sprinkled the space with holy water.

“Allow me to offer my words of thanks to all of you, the McGowan Foundation and all of you who had a hand in making this space possible,” Bishop Bambera said. “It’s incredible. We read more and more about opportunities like this in many schools. I’m so proud that we have one here at Good Shepherd Academy. It’s an incredible space and it is a calming space, isn’t it?”

For Good Shepherd Academy principal Jim Jones, the sensory room represents the fulfillment of a long-held hope for his school, the largest Catholic elementary school in the Diocese of Scranton.

“It has been a dream of mine,” Jones said. “After COVID, many of our children were having a heightened sense of anxiety and tension, so we needed a place where our students could decompress.”

The room officially opened on Oct. 1, and it has been busy ever since.

“We have multiple children in there every day,” Jones noted. “Our I.I. (Individualized Instruction) students are in there continuously. We’re so grateful for the McGowan Foundation for their support of Catholic education.”

The foundation funded the approximately $50,000 in structural and electrical elements of the project in full.

“If it was not for the McGowan Foundation, this would not be possible,” Jones added. “They were gracious that they got behind our project 100 percent. They were on board from the get-go. They have been a blessing to Good Shepherd Academy.”

Installed in a quiet, second-floor area of the school, the new sensory room is filled with specialized visual, auditory, and tactile equipment designed to help students self-regulate, manage anxiety, and build coping skills.

“The bubble tower is one of the highlights,” Jones said with a laugh. “Everything is controlled by a cube. When you roll the cube, whatever color comes up, the lights change in the sensory room based on that.”

In addition to the technology, the school also incorporated special seating from a local vendor in Hanover Township, giving students comfortable, flexible options while they relax and engage with the equipment.

“Having the students be able to go to a space where they can self-regulate and learn the necessary coping skills for both an academic setting and a real-life setting is going to have immeasurable effects on both their personal development as well as their academic development,” Mary Siejak, who has taught Individualized Instruction at Good Shepherd Academy for ten years, said.

Siejak, who primarily teaches mathematics to students who need an adapted curriculum, said she already sees the impact when she brings students into the new room.

“When I take them to the room, maybe in about 10 minutes, I notice a measurable difference in their ability to stay focused, not only on content, but then also to perform to their potential in the classroom,” she explained.

What makes the difference?

“It’s a nice quiet space. It is the resources that the McGowan Foundation put into the sensory room. Just having those elements,” she added, noting that the room is designed to help regulate multiple senses in the body and allow students to become truly calm.

While the sensory room is open on an as-needed basis to the entire student body, it is used most frequently by students in Good Shepherd’s Individualized Instruction program.

The new sensory room builds on Good Shepherd Academy’s strong track record of innovation, including its S.T.R.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) Discovery Room and expanded arts opportunities introduced in recent years.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Thanksgiving is a “beautiful feast” that reminds everyone to be grateful for the gifts they have been given, Pope Leo XIV said.

“Say thank you to someone,” the pope suggested two days before the U.S. holiday when he met reporters outside his residence in Castel Gandolfo before returning to the Vatican after a day off.

Pope Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, was scheduled to spend his Thanksgiving Nov. 27 in Ankara and Istanbul, Turkey, the first stops on his first foreign trip as pope.

A reporter asked the pope what he was thankful for this year.

“Many things I’m thankful for,” he responded.

He described Thanksgiving as “this beautiful feast that we have in the United States, which unites all people, people of different faiths, people who perhaps do not have the gift of faith.”

The holiday is an opportunity “to say thank you to someone, to recognize that we all have received so many gifts — first and foremost, the gift of life, the gift of faith, the gift of unity, to encourage all people to try and promote peace and harmony and to give thanks to God for the many gifts we have been given.”

Pope Leo was asked about his upcoming trip, particularly about relations with Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who will host the pope for several prayer services in addition to having a private meeting and lunch with him.

“This trip was born precisely to celebrate 1,700 years of the Creed of Nicaea, the Council of Nicaea” and what it affirmed about Jesus, the pope said.

In his apostolic letter, “In Unitate Fidei” (“In the Unity of Faith”), published Nov. 23, Pope Leo highlighted the importance of the anniversary and of the Creed that all mainline Christians still share.

“Unity in the faith,” he told the reporters, “can also be a source of peace for the whole world.”

Pope Leo also was asked if he was concerned about going to Lebanon when Israel continues to strike what it says are Hezbollah and Hamas positions in Lebanon. Israel said it killed Hezbollah’s top military leader Nov. 23 in a suburb of Beirut; Lebanon said the strike killed five other people as well and wounded 28 more.

“It’s always a concern,” the pope said. “Again, I would invite all people to look for ways to abandon the use of arms as a way of solving problems and to come together, to respect one another, to sit down together at the table, to dialogue and to work together for solutions for the problems that affect us.”

“I am very happy to be able to visit Lebanon,” the pope said. “The message will be a word of peace, a word of hope, especially this year of the Jubilee of hope.”

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Congressional Republicans are demanding a “robust” investigation of federal safety standards and health risks connected to mifepristone, a pill commonly, but not exclusively, used for early abortion.

The letter, dated Nov. 20 and co-signed by 175 Republican lawmakers, asks Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Martin Makary to investigate the “deleterious and grossly underreported effects” of mifepristone on women, prohibit mail shipment of the drug, and immediately “reinstate the in-person dispensing requirement.”

Released Nov. 24, the letter also condemned the Biden administration’s “egregious action to remove critical safeguards that once applied to abortion drugs.” In addition to urging an end to the mailing of the drugs, the letter objected to “the FDA’s approval” in September of a new generic form of mifepristone and urged the Trump administration to provide more information about that approval.

Signers of the letter include House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, both of Louisiana; Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota; and Rep. Lisa C. McClain, R-Mich, Republican Conference chairwoman.

“The Biden-Harris administration’s blatant disregard for the innumerable health risks and complications caused by mifepristone — the baby poison pill — has been the status quo for far too long,” Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, said in a statement accompanying release of the letter. “The carelessness of Biden’s FDA has taken and harmed thousands of lives, the unborn and their mothers alike.”

“Recent findings raise real questions about the safety of chemical abortion pills like mifepristone, and Americans deserve straight answers about the risks involved,” Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn., said in a statement. A licensed pharmacist, she is vice chair of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health.

“No medication with known complications should be handed out without proper medical oversight and follow-up care,” she added.

First approved by the FDA for early abortion in 2000, mifepristone — the first of two drugs used in a medication-based abortion — gained the moniker “the abortion pill.” However, the same drug combination has become used sometimes in recent years for miscarriage care, where an unborn child has already died, a situation that Catholic teaching would hold as morally licit use.

The Catholic Church opposes direct abortion. It teaches that all human life is sacred from conception to natural death, and as such, opposes direct abortion.

The lawmakers’ Nov. 20 letter follows an Oct. 29 pledge by Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America national to push the Trump administration for more information regarding the FDA approval of the new generic form of mifepristone.

In a related development regarding mifepristone, Students for Life Action hailed the introduction Nov. 24 of the Clean Water for All Life Act in the Wisconsin Legislature. Other states considering the same legislation include Arizona, Idaho, Maine, West Virginia and Wyoming.
The measure is co-sponsored by Republican Reps. Lindee Brill and Nate Gustafson and Republican Sen. Andre Jacque.

The bill would require doctors who prescribe abortion pills to make patients collect and return their expelled fetus in medical waste bags for disposal. It’s intended to keep abortion pill chemicals from entering public water supplies.

Previously, the FDA has rejected the idea, issuing a response to a Students for Life petition that the agency require prescribers to include a “medical waste bag and catch-kit” with all mifepristone prescriptions.

The petition, the agency said, “offers only conjecture that remnants of mifepristone in the nation’s water system are ‘causing unknown harm to citizens and animals alike,'” and that Students for Life “provides no evidence showing that bodily fluid from patients who have used mifepristone (a one-time, single-dose product) is causing harm to the nation’s aquatic environment.”

Water treatment processes handle many forms of medications, including birth control pills, in trace amounts.

In a Nov. 21 statement, Student for Life president Kristan Hawkins called mifepristone “the abortion industry’s dirty little secret. Hospitals and medical clinics can’t legally flush chemically tainted blood, placenta tissue, and human remains, but the Biden administration gave a de facto permit to pollute in allowing chemical abortion pill pushers to supersize their markets with … online sales and delivery by mail. It’s up to the Trump administration to finally do the environmental testing that’s been ignored and to go back to the drawing board on chemical abortion pills.”

The Students for Life effort began in 2024, when, as part of a coalition of pro-life groups, it demanded that the EPA track the “forever chemicals” in mifepristone.

In 2023, abortion drugs accounted for 63% of all abortions in the United States, up from 53% in 2020.

INDIANAPOLIS (OSV News) – Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez looked out from a sanctuary built on the floor of Lucas Oil Stadium on the 16,000 youths from across the country who came to Indianapolis for the National Catholic Youth Conference.

He shared with them a message of hope he wanted them to nurture in their hearts as they returned to their homes.

“When you feel lost, Jesus is your shepherd,” Archbishop Pérez said in his homily during the conference’s closing Mass on Nov. 22. “Remember that. When you feel you’re in darkness, Jesus is your light. When you feel you’re absolutely hungry and your soul is weighed down, Jesus is your bread.”

Jesus, he returned to again and again in his homily on the feast of Christ the King, is the “king of our hearts.”

In reflecting on Christ the King, Archbishop Pérez said that he is not a king in the way that the world views such rulers.

“His throne is a cross,” he said. “His crown is not made of gold and gems. It’s made of thorns. He doesn’t wear fancy, beautiful, priceless rings on his hands. He has nails.”

According to the world, Christ’s death on the cross was “the worst of all ways to execute a criminal.”

But, because of Christ’s resurrection, the church in faith proclaims that his crucifixion was actually a great victory for him and all who believe in him.

“Goodness has won,” Archbishop Pérez said. “Christ the King has already given us victory. We have to embrace that, internalize that and make a part of who we are. And that’s the journey of our Christian life.”

Three times in his homily, Archbishop Pérez cried out in a popular and historic phrase in Spanish, “Viva Cristo Rey!” (“Long live Christ the King!”). And each time, the congregation cried out the common reply, “Que viva!” (“He lives!”).

Because the centerpiece of this year’s NCYC was a nearly hourlong video interaction of the participants with Pope Leo XIV, Archbishop Pérez reflected in his homily on parts of the pontiff’s message.

He reminded them in the pope’s words that Jesus “‘knows when life feels heavy. Even you do not feel his presence, our faith tells us he is there.'”

Archbishop Pérez encouraged them in the pope’s words to take ” ‘daily moments of silence … whether through adoration, or reading Scripture, or simply talking to’ ” Jesus in order to build up a relationship with him and to ” ‘entrust their struggles’ ” to him.

“‘Little by little, we learn to hear his voice both from within and through the people he sends us. As you grow closer to Jesus, do not fear what he may ask you for. If he challenges you to make changes in your life, it’s always because he wants to give you a greater joy and freedom. God is never outdone in generosity.'”

Archbishop Pérez offered a heartfelt prayer at the end of his homily after quoting Pope Leo’s words.

“Thank you, Lord, for the visit of your vicar,” he said. “We are blessed and honored to have had him with us. And thank you, Lord, for being our king, for being the king of our hearts.”
He and the 16,000 youths in the stadium then ended the homily as they had begun it.

“Viva Cristo Rey!” “Que viva!” “Viva Cristo Rey!” “Que viva!” “Viva Cristo Rey!” “Que viva!”

The love for Christ that the youths and their chaperones showed during the homily poured forth during Communion when many knelt and raised their hands in prayer, entering into the popular praise and worship music that the conference’s house band played.

As Archbishop Pérez, more than 20 concelebrating bishops and nearly 250 concelebrating priests processed off the stadium’s floor at the end of the closing Mass, the house band struck up again the praise and worship music that filled the hearts of the 16,000 youths who joyfully celebrated their faith.

With the music continuing to play and youths still overflowing with joy in the stadium, Karyna Lopez spoke in a concourse of the stadium about her experience of her second NCYC.

“It was so good that I had to come again,” Karyna, a teenager from the Diocese of Jefferson City, Missouri, told The Criterion, Indianapolis’ archdiocesan news outlet. “The Holy Spirit is very strong here. Everyone is just so inspired for the Lord.”

Like many of the other 16,000 teens who attended NCYC, Karyna took memories of her encounter with Pope Leo as she left Lucas Oil Stadium and prepared to return home.

“We got to see the pope,” she said with joy. “It was amazing. He had so much wisdom to share. I’m just glad that I got to experience that.”

One of the most impactful experiences of the National Catholic Youth Conference held every other year in Indianapolis is the gathering of all participants in Lucas Oil Stadium for Eucharistic adoration, which took place this year on Nov. 21.

“This evening is about healing,” said Gian Gamboa, one of this year’s NCYC emcees. “You can’t give until you are healed from within.”

Sister Miriam James Heidland, of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, spoke about healing before the Blessed Sacrament was reverently processed into the stadium in a monstrance.

She defined healing as “an ongoing encounter with God’s love and truth that brings us into wholeness and communion.”

“We have lots of secrets, don’t we?” Sister Miriam James asked. “And secrets just make us very ill. And so, what Jesus does is he comes into your life in an encounter with love and truth — the love heals the wounds, the truth heals the lies.”

This encounter occurs in “a place where God dwells within you,” she continued. “It’s a place where your dignity cannot be destroyed, and the gift of who you are cannot be hidden.

“And it’s from this place, my dear friends, that the Lord speaks to us.”

During adoration, as Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services knelt before Christ in the Blessed Sacrament in the center of the stadium, he read the Bread of Life Discourse from John 6:35-58.

“We must partake of the bread of eternal life if we hope to achieve our goal — eternal happiness in union with Almighty God,” he said. “Jesus insists twice on this necessity, even in the faith of the disbelief of his audience. He will not compromise to please the crowd. … Unlike many who will only tell us what they think we want to hear, Christ’s words are spirit and life. They challenge us to grow. They invite us into communion with him and with each other.”

Among the many speakers who addressed the NCYC crowd of 16,000 was Nolan McCracken, a senior at Cathedral High School in Indianapolis. He shared what was essentially a soulful, vulnerable and unusual thank-you Nov. 20.

He tied thanking God, his mother, his sister, his grandmother and his friends to the three laws of motion of Sir Isaac Newton, a 17th-century mathematician and physicist.

“My journey with God so far can be understood by using Newton’s three laws of motion,” Nolan told the audience: “an object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an external force”; “force equals mass times acceleration”; and for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

In middle school and his freshman year of high school, he was “an object at rest — not physically or mentally, but spiritually,” because he was focused on grades.

He switched to Cathedral High School for his sophomore year, where his “acceleration” was to increase his success, he said, letting go of ” friends, family and a relationship with a God whose face I no longer recognized.”

But then he began to attend church with his mom and sister and also found that at every all-school Mass he “could be a part of a community, a part of a collective witness to love.”

During a junior retreat that Cathedral held at the University of Notre Dame in northern Indiana, “I became open to hearing about the external force God had in their lives, I began to see that I could rely on God.” In accepting, “God’s loving and powerful external force,” Nolan saw Newton’s third law of motion come into play in his life.

“If you feel you are an object at rest or even moving in the wrong direction, Jesus is there for you,” he told his peers. “I invite you to accept him, to close your eyes and know that you are held.”