Category: Diocese of Scranton News

SCRANTON – Not even stormy skies could keep the joy and energy from the 2025 World Refugee Day celebration from shining through at Nay Aug Park on Sunday, June 22, 2025.

Just hours before the scheduled 2 p.m. start, heavy rain pushed through Scranton, but as if on cue, it stopped just in time for the ninth annual celebration to begin – ushering in a hot, humid afternoon filled with music, dancing, food, and an unmistakable sense of community.

Several hundred people turned out for the event, which brought together families, neighbors, and refugees from across northeastern Pennsylvania to celebrate resilience, culture, and the beauty of diversity under the theme: “A World Where Refugees Are Always Welcomed.”

This year’s celebration was extended by an hour due to its growing popularity. It featured a variety of cultural dance performances, international food, children’s activities and more.

During the event, the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, offered remarks that reminded everyone present that while the day is a celebration, it is also a moment of reflection.

“Let our prayer today be a simple prayer for peace. Let us pray, let us lift our voices and hearts in prayer for peace in the Middle East, in the Holy Land and in the areas that are facing the reality of war and conflict like never before,” Bishop Bambera said. “Let us also pray for peace at home, and I hope you call Scranton and northeastern Pennsylvania your home because you are most welcome here. May God give you the peace and grace to live in harmony with your families, to work freely for them and for their well-being, and to protect them so that you can work with us so that we can continue to build a community based on love, fraternity and gratitude to God for all that we have been given.”

The Bishop’s message resonated with many in the crowd, especially as refugee families continue to face growing challenges – from navigating immigration systems to accessing housing, employment, and healthcare.

As of the end of 2024, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported that nearly 124 million people have been forced to flee their homes globally due to persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations, or events seriously disturbing public order. Among them are nearly 43 million refugees.

“World Refugee Day is an opportunity to honor the strength and resilience to those who have been forcibly displaced,” Julie Schumacher Cohen, Assistant Vice President of Community Engagement and Government Affairs at The University of Scranton, said.

“The reason for this celebration is to let refugees know that we are here to support them and to let them know that they are appreciated and they are our neighbors, and they are welcome in Scranton,” Fikile Ryder, Director of Community for Catholic Social Services, added.

The World Refugee Day celebration brought together more than 25 community agencies that set up tables, offered interactive games and activities, or provided resources or information.

“The diversity is beautiful. From the food to our clothing, to everything you see around us,” Ushu Mukelo from the Congolese Community of Scranton, said. “There is no United States without immigration. There is no United States without refugee resettlement. We help make this country what it is. We work in factories, we pay taxes, we buy property.”

“We are proud to be here,” Chandra Sitaula with the Bhutanese Cultural Foundation of Scranton, added. “Bhutanese are peace lovers. That is why the U.S. Government accepted us as refugees.”

Two proclamations were also read during the event – one from the City of Scranton and another from the Pennsylvania Governor’s Office – both recognizing World Refugee Day and reaffirming a shared commitment to inclusion, dignity, and opportunity for all.

“Refugees and immigrants bring different opportunities and skills into the United States. Their culture, their food, their dancing, it makes the United States richer and more welcoming,” Ryder said.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – During a contentious hearing, a top Republican on the House Committee on Homeland Security on July 16 appeared to walk back a previous statement that Catholic entities are among the nongovernmental organizations subject to a probe by the committee about their work with migrants.

At the hearing titled, “An Inside Job: How NGOs Facilitated the Biden Border Crisis,” witnesses and Republican lawmakers alleged more than 200 NGOs were “incentivizing and facilitating illegal entry” during former President Joe Biden’s administration.

A June 11 press release from the same committee said it “launched a probe” into NGOs it alleged were “involved in providing services or support to inadmissible aliens during the Biden-Harris administration’s historic border crisis.”

That release, which is still posted to the committee’s website, specifically names Catholic Charities USA (at the top of its list) and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (fourth on the list) among the NGOs the committee would probe about their work with the federal government or grants they received, among other information.

But at the hearing, Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., chairman of the Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement, argued, “We are not casting a broad net on every non-governmental organization, every nonprofit.”

“We are instead focusing this hearing on those who have profited off of the illegal immigration that we saw under the Biden-Harris administration,” said Guest, who chaired the hearing in the absence of the full committee’s retiring chairman, Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn.

“I have mentioned nothing in my statement about nonprofits such as Red Cross, Catholic Charities, Samaritan’s Purse, Doctors Without Borders — nonprofits who actually take money and use it for the good, who are out there collecting money from their congregation, from members of the community who wish to give back,” he continued. “Instead, this hearing is focused on those handful of nonprofits who received their money almost exclusively from grants from the federal government, but yet still claim to be nonprofits.”

But Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., pointed to the June press release in his opening remarks, arguing, “Just read the Republicans’ press release about their vindictive investigation of American charities and this sham hearing.”

“Republicans falsely accused Catholic, Jewish, Lutheran, Methodist, evangelical, Muslim and secular charities that feed, clothe, and aid the needy of having ‘supercharged the business model of cartels,'” Thompson said. “That is a slanderous accusation and fringe conspiracy theories with no basis in reality.”

Thompson called the probe “an attack on diverse faith-based organizations over their religious practices” and “a threat to charities that do humanitarian work Republicans do not like.”

The press release was later entered into the hearing record.

A spokesperson for the committee did not immediately respond to OSV News’ request for comment seeking clarification about Guest’s remarks about Catholic Charities.

Kevin Brennan, vice president for media relations and executive communications for Catholic Charities USA, told OSV News, “We appreciate the bipartisan compliments directed during this hearing at the merciful work of Catholic Charities agencies.”

“Last year, the 168 independent Catholic Charities agencies across the United States served more than 16 million people in need: the elderly, expectant mothers, children in poverty, veterans, refugees, individuals suffering with mental health challenges and people facing almost any other imaginable category of suffering,” he said. “This work is a response to the Gospel mandate to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the ill and welcome the stranger. For decades, federal, state and local governments have relied on Catholic Charities agencies to serve those most in need because of the exceptional, compassionate care Catholic Charities agencies provide.”

A spokesperson for the USCCB acknowledged receipt of the committee’s letter in June and told OSV News the conference has responded to the committee’s questions.

“For over 45 years, the USCCB has entered into agreements with the federal government to serve groups of people specifically authorized by the federal government to receive assistance,” said Chieko Noguchi, executive director of public affairs for the USCCB. “This included refugees, people granted asylum, unaccompanied children, victims of human trafficking, and Afghans who assisted the U.S. military abroad.”

In written testimony submitted to the committee, retired Bishop Nicholas A. DiMarzio of Brooklyn, New York, wrote, “The Catholic Church in this nation is one of the largest privately-operated social service networks in the nation.”

“For decades now, we have partnered with the federal, state, and local governments in filling gaps that the public sector alone cannot fill,” Bishop DiMarzio said. “We follow the nation’s laws but, as is our right, we work to change them if they violate human rights and dignity. Our mission, as directed by our Lord Jesus Christ, is to help the most vulnerable among us, precisely because they are part of humanity and are children of God. We will continue to pursue that mission, consistent with the laws of this great country, but also in service to God’s law.”

Elsewhere in the hearing, Rep. Tim Kennedy, D-N.Y., issued a staunch defense of Catholic Charities. He argued the committee’s efforts are “deeply offensive to Catholics across this nation, and it reeks of anti Catholicism, and it needs to stop.”

“We lose sight of the selfless humanitarian work that these local non-government organizations do when we rope them in with the partisan grievances that we’re hearing here today,” he said.

But others did argue that Catholic Charities should be subject to their probe, including Rep. Elijah Crane, R-Ariz.

“We’re talking about the NGOs that they used as middlemen to carry out their operations, like the Catholic Charities they use to facilitate, normalize and accelerate illegal immigration into this country,” Crane said.

Catholic social teaching on immigration seeks to balance three interrelated principles: the right of persons to migrate in order to sustain themselves and their families, the right of a country to regulate its borders and immigration, and a nation’s duty to conduct that regulation with justice and mercy.

Asked for his thoughts about the hearing, J. Kevin Appleby, senior fellow for policy at the New York-based Center for Migration Studies and the former director of migration policy for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told OSV News, “The church has been a valuable partner with the Border Patrol over the years in helping to process and support asylum-seekers who legally enter the country.”

“Catholic agencies help fill service gaps that the government alone cannot fill, and they do it effectively and within the confines of the law,” he said. “The administration and Republicans generally should be thanking the church for her work, not persecuting her.”

Elsewhere in the hearing, Republicans and Democrats sparred over the committee’s rules, including those that govern whether the committee could pause its business to allow additional members to return to the room.

(OSV News) – Devotion to Mary is a significant factor in discerning and sustaining the call to priestly and religious life, according to a new study.

“As a religious, Mary has played a big role in our religious life, and I am just excited to see the report as a kind of confirmation that Mary indeed is our model,” said Sister Thu T. Do, a Sister of the Lovers of the Holy Cross and a research associate at the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University.

On July 16, CARA made public a report titled “Impact of Mary, Mother of the Church, on Ecclesial Vocations,” which Sister Thu and fellow CARA researcher Jonathon L. Wiggins prepared in response to a request from the Diocese of Saginaw, Michigan.

Spearheading that request was the diocese’s theologian and permanent diaconate formation coordinator, Daniel Osborn. He told OSV News the “main genesis” for the project was Pope Francis’ November 2023 call to members of the International Theological Commission for greater study on the Marian dimension of the church.

“On a personal level,” he added, “I owe my own ecclesial vocation as a lay theologian to the Blessed Mother’s intercession.” So the study, Osborn explained, was also “a way to honor and thank her personally for how she intervened in my own life,” which saw him return to his childhood Catholic faith after a period of drifting away.

The survey, conducted between March and May through mailed paper forms and emailed questionnaires, represented responses from 1,091 respondents, a mix of U.S. Catholic bishops, diocesan priests, permanent deacons, deacon directors, and major superiors of men and women religious.

Among those six groups polled, an average of 59% said Marian devotion had either a “meaningful” or “great” impact on their discernment of a vocation to serve Jesus Christ and the church. Of the groups, religious priests (71%) were most likely to cite Marian devotion, while deacon directors (49%) were the least likely.

Most respondents (92%) said they had first learned of Marian devotion as children, with family (79%) the primary means of introduction, followed by parishes (44%) and Catholic schools (44%).

The rosary topped the list of common Marian devotional practices during one’s discernment of a vocation, with 71% reporting private recitation and 52% saying they prayed the rosary with others. Praying before images of Mary – whether icons, statues or paintings – was cited by 40% of the respondents.

Among the participants, the home (80%) was the prime location for such devotion during their vocational discernment, followed by the parish (77%).

Survey respondents also said that they “often” or “always” wear the Miraculous Medal (32%), associated with Mary’s 19th-century appearances to St. Catherine Labouré; the Brown Scapular (29%); or another Marian medal (18%).

Pilgrimages to Marian apparition sites ahead of coming to their vocation in the church were also noted by 44% of all respondents, with Guadalupe (29%) and Lourdes (28%) as the most popular sites visited.

A majority of survey participants (74%) said devotion to Mary has either “strengthened” or “very much strengthened” the living out of their respective vocations. Bishops (89%) were most likely to highlight Mary’s role in this regard.

Marian devotion also enhances respondents’ current devotion to the Eucharist, with a total of 80% saying that Mary has had either a “meaningful” or “great” impact.

The survey’s open-ended question on the Marian dogma or doctrine that has been most significant in sustaining respondents’ vocations elicited 31 specific examples, with the Immaculate Conception, the Mother of God or Theotokos, the Assumption and perpetual virginity of Mary most commonly cited.

Another open-ended question on the most meaningful Marian titles yielded a high response rate, with 84% of participants listing a combined 128 distinct Marian titles. Most popular was “Mary, Mother of God,” followed by “Our Lady of Perpetual Help,” “Mary, Mother of the Church,” “Undoer of Knots,” “Our Lady of Guadalupe,” “Our Lady/Mother of Sorrows,” “Theotokos” (“God-bearer”), “Queen of Peace,” “Our Lady of Good Counsel,” and “Immaculate Heart.”

Ranking first among Marian authors noted by survey participants was the French priest St. Louis-Marie de Montfort, followed by St. John Paul II, St. Maximilian Kolbe, Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, Father Michael E. Gaitley, a member of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, and St. Alphonsus Liguori.

Among the report’s other findings:

-St. John Paul II was named as the saint who had most inspired respondents’ Marian devotion, followed by St. Louis de Montfort, St. Joseph, St. Bernadette of Lourdes, St. Alphonsus Liguori, St. Dominic, and St. Thérèse of Lisieux.

-The Gospels of Luke and John were the most popular sources of Marian-related Scriptures.

-Marian art such as the Pieta, St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin’s tilma imprinted with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and depictions of the Annunciation and Our Lady of Perpetual Help received “a high volume of mentions” among survey participants.

“Most respondents described Mary’s presence in their lives using terms such as companion, friend, guide, comforter, model, intercessor, mother, and vocation-inspirer,” said the report. “Many also spoke of experiencing her role through Marian devotional practices and through being consecrated to Mary.”

Mary “meets us everywhere,” Sister Thu told OSV News. “Even in the place or in the moment that we do not find anyone, Our Lady, Mary, is there.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Politics can unite instead of divide as long as it refuses to settle for propaganda that feeds on creating enemies, Pope Leo XIV said.

Politics can unite, he said, if it “engages in the difficult and necessary art of an exchange of views, which seeks the common good.”

“It is still possible, it is always possible, to come together, even at a time of division, bombs and wars,” he said in a video message that aired before the start of a charity soccer match.

He urged people to have the “strength to believe and ask for a truce to come.” It is time to stop “the race of hatred. Our humanity is at stake.”

Italy’s annual Match of the Heart (“Partita del Cuore”) is organized by the national federation of Italian singers to raise money for a different cause each year.

The televised soccer match pits Italian singers against a team made up of “adversaries,” which changes each year. For example, the match in 2000 saw singers face off against a mixed team of Israelis, Palestinians and well-known sports stars like Formula One racing driver, Michael Schumacher. The late Yasser Arafat, who was president of the Palestinian National Authority at the time, and the late Israeli statesman, Shimon Peres, sat together in the Rome stadium stands.

The 2025 match held July 15 in L’Aquila brought Italian singers to the field against top government ministers and Italian politicians, including the former prime minister of Italy, Matteo Renzi. They were raising money for a project established by the Vatican-owned Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital in Rome and Italy’s Caritas to support the families of patients who have a lengthy hospitalization and live far from Rome.

In his video message recorded from the papal summer villa in Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo said it was “significant that two teams, one of politicians and one of singers, are playing today.”

“It tells us that politics can unite instead of divide, if it is not content with propaganda that feeds on building enemies,” but engages in dialogue aimed at the common good, he said.

“And it also reminds us how music enriches our words and memories with meaning,” he said.

He recalled Paul McCartney’s song, “Pipes of Peace,” and the film “Joyeux Noël,” which were both inspired by the 1914 Christmas truce between a group of British and German soldiers who left their trenches to meet in “no man’s land” to exchange gifts, take photographs and play soccer.

“It is still possible, it is always possible, to come together,” he said. All that is needed is to create the opportunities to do so.

That means, he said, creating opportunities to: “confront divisions and recognize that the greatest challenge is encountering the other; contribute together to a good cause; repair broken hearts, our own and those of others; and recognize that we are one in God’s heart, and that the heart is the place of encounter with God and with others.”

Pope Leo praised the charity event for mixing sports and television, and for raising funds “for life, for healing, not for destruction and death.”

When practiced well by athletes and fans, sports are great for turning “confrontation into encounter, division into inclusion, solitude into community,” he said. When television is not just about being “tuned in” but becomes a “communion of gazes, it can make us rediscover how to look at one another — with love instead of hate.”

He invited all those who came together for the event and who support the charity project to “look into the eyes of children and learn from them,” to find the courage to be welcoming and to be “men and women of encounter.”

PITTSBURGH (OSV News) – Pittsburgh’s new shepherd, Bishop Mark A. Eckman, remarked in his homily at his July 14 installation Mass that earlier, ahead of the afternoon liturgy, he had prayed with the diocese’s priests and told them, “All I ever wanted to do was to be a parish priest.”

“But the Lord obviously has other plans, and he has a wicked sense of humor,” Bishop Eckman told the congregation filling St. Paul Cathedral to witness him becoming Pittsburgh’s 13th bishop. Previously the auxiliary of the diocese, Bishop Eckman succeeds now-retired Bishop David A. Zubik, whom he thanked at the start of his homily, calling him “No. 12.”

“Our diocese owes you so much, a debt of gratitude for all that you have done during the past 18 years serving as our bishop,” he said. “You have certainly made our diocese a church alive. You’ve confronted many challenges that were placed before you and you did it with a spirit-filled heart always concerned with the needs of the faithful of this diocese, hoping and helping them to become closer to God.”

At the start of his homily, Bishop Eckman told the priests of the diocese, “I’ve worked with you for the last 10 years as vicar for clergy, and I can say that I know you probably better than you would like. And that goes both ways.” The bishop also shared that he had asked those planning his installation to have the priests sit front and center in the cathedral.

“The priests of the diocese, of any diocese, are the heart and the soul of the bishop and the heart and the soul of the faithful,” Bishop Eckman said. “You’re the people who work on the front lines. You’re the people who proclaim the word of God and minister the sacraments to all the faithful. And the work of the church, the work of the Lord, could never be done without your commitment, without your hard work.

“And so I pledge to continue to work with you and to continue to build the church on the strong foundation that we all have received.”

He committed his willingness “to continue not only to work with you but to help us all to be able to do God’s will.” Bishop Eckman said one of the first things he plans to do as Pittsburgh’s bishop is to have meetings with all the priests in the regions of the diocese.

“I just want to come and listen to you, to hear your concerns, to hear your needs, to see what suggestions you might have on how we can continue to grow the church,” he added.

Bishop Eckman then addressed the faithful, saying, “My dear people of God who are gathered here and those who are joining by live streaming, God bless you.”

He said he had heard from so many since his June 4 appointment that “you’re keeping me in prayer and that’s certainly what I need as I begin this ministry.”

As a “homegrown boy,” the Pittsburgh native said that he plans “to travel throughout the diocese to visit each and every parish.”

In keeping with his episcopal motto — “To serve in faith and charity” — the bishop said he’ll go to listen to “the advisory councils of the parish, the pastoral councils, the finance councils, the ecclesial ministers.”

But, he continued, “I will bring one question to each parish. And that question is going to be: ‘How are you living out the works of mercy? How are you living in your parish a life of faith and charity? What are you doing for God’s people?'”

“I know already there’s so much good that goes on in various different ways throughout the diocese. So we might be looking for ways to make that even stronger … trying to make sure that all of God’s people are served, that all of God’s people know of God’s love.”

Bishop Eckman said he’s “not fooling” himself and knows “it’s going to take time” to visit all 60 parishes in the diocese. “It is probably going to take all of 2026 to finish that task … but I will have that scheduled and I’ll be looking forward to seeing each and every one of you.”

The six-county diocese in western Pennsylvania, with a Catholic population of nearly 616,000, is “composed of many different people from many different backgrounds and people who have various needs. And each and every one of us is called to be a people who work together to build the body of Christ.”

Bishop Eckman said that “a lot of folks have been asking me, ‘How do you see your role as a bishop?’ … And somebody said, ‘Well, you’re sort of like a regional manager.'”

“And I said, ‘No, it’s different than being a manager because you’re just not managing people or places or buildings. I sort of relate it to being a conductor of an orchestra. And in an orchestra, you have the various instruments, the stringed instruments, the percussions, the woodwind, the brass. And it’s up to the conductor to make all those voices heard at the right time, contributing to the piece of music that they have before them. And on the part of the musicians, they need to be committed to practicing and practicing and practicing in order that they can get the piece down right.”

“The musical piece is … loving God. It’s loving our neighbor,” he said. “It’s a one-day-at-a-time process where we live out the promises of our baptism to love our God and to love our neighbor. But we do it hopefully with open hearts and open minds, always responding to the needs of the spirit.”

Bishop Eckman asked the faithful for prayers: “I need your prayers so that I, too, can respond to the voice of the Lord; to hear how he wants me to live out my life and my faith; and then to be able to put what I’m hearing into practice.”

He also urged them to pray for priestly vocations “to help us to build our local church.”

“It’s very important for us to start now to work on building the laborers for the church,” he said, but he also stressed the importance of the vocations of marriage and the single life and to help laypeople “understand that important role that they have in building up Christ’s church.”

The bishop delivered his homily standing in front of the altar holding a microphone. Before beginning his homily, he turned to thank the many bishops up on the altar for his installation, including Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez, who presided over the Mass; Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States; and Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl, retired archbishop of Washington, who was Pittsburgh’s bishop from 1988-2006.

(OSV News) – Catholic scouts have several new achievements to aim for, including a Pope Leo XIV patch.

The Religious Activities Committee of the National Catholic Committee on Scouting has announced five new religious activity programs, which enable scouts to learn more about and deepen their faith.

The new activities, unveiled by the committee in a July 13 Facebook post, include the Pope Leo XIV patch, part of the NCCS’s Faith Series.

The requirements for the patch will offer the chance to learn more about “our first American born Pope,” said the NCCS in its post. “In addition, they will learn what the papacy means and its history.”

The patch, an image of which the NCCS included in its post, depicts Pope Leo wearing a stole and the papal mozzetta, or cape, as he did when he first appeared on St. Peter’s Basilica’s balcony after his election May 8. Framing the figure are the words “Pope – Vicar of Christ,” with the date of his election “ghost stitched” – or stitched in a color blending into the lavender background. The NCCS noted that the original version “will only be available for a year and then changed to remove the ‘ghost’ stitching.”

The patch also features gold stitching of the two key elements of the NCCS logo – a crozier, the staff symbolizing a bishop’s authority, and the fleur-de-lis, the central element of the BSA’s crest and a longtime symbol of purity.

The NCCS is officially related to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, led by the USCCB’s Secretariat on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth. It also serves as an advisory committee to Scouting America (formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America).

The NCCS also partners with the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry and other Catholic organizations to “provide faithful and useful Church-sanctioned programming and guidance to Catholic Scouting units,” according to the NCCS website.

Along with the Pope Leo patch, NCCS has also announced a new activity series on Religious Trails, designed to spark pilgrimages “to the important religious sites in our country.”

Four sites in Washington have so far been designated for the patch: the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the St. John Paul II National Shrine, The Catholic University of America and the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America.

In addition, the NCCS has added two new activities to its American Saints series, which now includes just under 20 men and women, spanning the various stages of the canonization cause process, who lived and served in the U.S

The latest additions include Catholic army chaplain Venerable Emil Kapaun, whose heroic offering of life during the Korean War was recognized by Pope Francis, and Venerable Augustus Tolton, the first recognized U.S. Black Catholic priest, born into slavery in 1854 and – following his 1886 ordination in Rome – a pastor in Quincy, Illinois, and later Chicago.

In its International series, the NCCS has also issued a new “Be Not Afraid” patch, named for St. John Paul II’s repeated exhortation, notably stressed in his Oct. 22, 1978, homily at his papal inauguration, to exchange fear for a total surrender to Christ.

The NCCS noted that the phrase forms the theme for the 2027 World Scout Jamboree in Poland. Patch activities will focus on three modern saints from that nation — St. John Paul II and two saints he canonized: St. Maximilian Kolbe, the Franciscan priest who offered his life for a fellow Auschwitz prisoner and was ultimately killed by lethal injection, and St. Faustina Kowalska, the Polish religious sister and mystic to whom Christ revealed the Divine Mercy devotion. The limited edition patch will be available until 2028.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Serving life by caring for others is “the supreme law” that comes before all of society’s rules, Pope Leo XIV said.

“Imitating the example of Jesus, the Savior of the world, we too are called to bring consolation and hope, above all to those who are experiencing discouragement and disappointment,” he said before reciting the Angelus with thousands of visitors gathered in the square in front of the papal summer villa of Castel Gandolfo July 13.

Pope Leo arrived at the small hilltop town south of Rome July 6 for a brief vacation until July 20. He celebrated Mass in the Church of St. Thomas of Villanova July 13, and then recited the noonday prayer from the steps in front of the papal villa under a sky that oscillated between dark rainy clouds and bright bursts of sun.

In his reflection before the prayer, Pope Leo spoke about the human yearning for eternal life, that is, “for salvation, for an existence free from failure, evil and death.”

Eternal life is “not something to be gained by force, begged for or negotiated,” he said. It is something to be “inherited” by God alone, as parents do with their children.

“That is why Jesus tells us that, in order to receive God’s gift, we must do his will,” the pope said, which is to love “the Lord your God with all your heart” and “your neighbor as yourself.”

“In order to live eternally, we do not need to cheat death, but to serve life, by caring for others in this, our time together,” the pope said. “That is the supreme law that is prior to all society’s rules and gives them their meaning.”

“God’s will is the law of life that the Father himself was the first to follow, by loving us unconditionally in his Son, Jesus,” Pope Leo said.

Jesus “shows us the meaning of authentic love for God and for others,” he said. “It is a love that is generous, not possessive; a love that forgives without question; a love that reaches out and never abandons others.”

“In Christ, God made himself a neighbor to each and every man and woman. That is why each of us can and should become a neighbor to all whom we meet,” he said.

By opening one’s heart to God’s will, he said, “we will become artisans of peace every day of our lives.”

After greeting the many groups present in the square, including members of the pastoral community of Blessed Augustine of Tarano from the Colegio S. Augustin in Chiclayo, Peru, the pope shook hands with a number of special guests who were by the wooden barricades between the villa’s entrance and the square.

It was the first Angelus address at the summer villa by Pope Leo, who returned to the tradition of taking a summer break at the villa in Castel Gandolfo.

Pope Francis, instead, had spent his summers residing at the Vatican and had led just one Angelus from the papal villa July 14, 2013.

Rather than giving his address from the villa’s balcony, like his predecessors, Pope Francis had addressed the crowd at street level from the open front door of the villa. Pope Leo did the same.

“Dear brothers and sisters, I am pleased to be with you here in Castel Gandolfo,” Pope Leo said to great applause and cheers. He greeted those present and thanked “all of you for your warm welcome.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV called on every parish and church group or association to become part of a “revolution” of care and gratitude by regularly visiting older people.

“Christian hope always urges us to be more daring, to think big, to be dissatisfied with things the way they are,” the pope wrote in his message for World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, a church celebration that will take place July 27.

“In this case, it urges us to work for a change that can restore the esteem and affection to which the elderly are entitled,” he wrote in the message released July 10.

The pope’s message expanded on the theme chosen for this year’s world day, which was taken from the Book of Sirach: “Blessed are those who have not lost hope.”

The 2025 celebration marks the fifth edition of World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly and Pope Leo’s first message for the day. Pope Francis instituted the world day in 2021; it is observed each year on the fourth Sunday of July, close to the liturgical memorial of Sts. Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus.

In his message for this year’s celebration, Pope Leo said the Jubilee Year, which is a time of liberation from injustice and inequality, is an appropriate time for all the faithful to help older people “experience liberation, especially from loneliness and abandonment.”

To help everyone participate in the Holy Year, especially those who are physically unable to make a pilgrimage to Rome, the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life created a pastoral kit with suggestions for holding a Jubilee celebration in places where the elderly live.

“The grace of the Jubilee is always for everyone!” the dicastery wrote, indicating that the kit and other resources are available at www.laityfamilylife.va.

“Our societies, everywhere in the world, are growing all too accustomed to letting this significant and enriching part of their life be marginalized and forgotten,” Pope Leo wrote, speaking of the elderly.

“Given this situation, a change of pace is needed that would be readily seen in an assumption of responsibility on the part of the whole church,” he wrote.

“Every parish, association and ecclesial group is called to become a protagonist in a ‘revolution’ of gratitude and care, to be brought about by regular visits to the elderly, the creation of networks of support and prayer for them and with them, and the forging of relationships that can restore hope and dignity to those who feel forgotten,” he wrote.

“That is why Pope Francis wanted the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly to be celebrated primarily through an effort to seek out elderly persons who are living alone,” Pope Leo wrote. “For this reason, those who are unable to come to Rome on pilgrimage during this Holy Year may obtain the Jubilee indulgence if they visit, for an appropriate amount of time, the elderly who are alone… making, in a sense, a pilgrimage to Christ present in them.”

The church describes an indulgence as a remission of the temporal punishment a person is due for their sins. Pilgrims are able to receive a special indulgence during the Holy Year by visiting one of four papal basilicas in Rome or other designated sites and taking part in prayer, a liturgical celebration or the sacrament of confession.

Pope Leo wrote that “visiting an elderly person is a way of encountering Jesus, who frees us from indifference and loneliness.”

“Embracing the elderly helps us to understand that life is more than just the present moment, and should not be wasted in superficial encounters and fleeting relationships,” he said in his message.

“If it is true that the weakness of the elderly needs the strength of the young, it is equally true that the inexperience of the young needs the witness of the elderly in order to build the future with wisdom,” his message said.

Grandparents offer examples of “faith and devotion, civic virtue and social commitment, memory and perseverance amid trials,” he wrote. “The precious legacy that they have handed down to us with hope and love will always be a source of gratitude and a summons to perseverance.”

Speaking as an older person, Pope Leo, who will turn 70 in September, wrote, “We possess a freedom that no difficulty can rob us of: it is the freedom to love and to pray,” and to be there for one another in faith as “shining signs of hope.”

“Let us lovingly pass on the faith we have lived for so many years, in our families and in our daily encounter with others,” he wrote. “May we always praise God for his goodness, cultivate unity with our loved ones, open our hearts to those who are far away and, in particular, to all those in need.”

“In this way, we will be signs of hope, whatever our age,” he wrote.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV urged global leaders and experts to establish a network for the governance of AI and to seek ethical clarity regarding its use.

Artificial intelligence “requires proper ethical management and regulatory frameworks centered on the human person, and which goes beyond the mere criteria of utility or efficiency,” Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, wrote in a message sent on the pope’s behalf.

The message was read aloud by Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, the Vatican representative to U.N. agencies in Geneva, at the AI for Good Summit 2025 being held July 8-11 in Geneva. The Vatican released a copy of the message July 10.

The summit, organized by the International Telecommunication Union in partnership with some 40 U.N. agencies and the Swiss government, focused on “identifying innovative AI applications, building skills and standards, and advancing partnerships to solve global challenges,” according to the event’s website. 

“Humanity is at a crossroads, facing the immense potential generated by the digital revolution driven by Artificial Intelligence,” Cardinal Parolin wrote on behalf of the pope.

“Although responsibility for the ethical use of AI systems begins with those who develop, manage and oversee them, those who use them also share in this responsibility,” he wrote.

“On behalf of Pope Leo XIV, I would like to take this opportunity to encourage you to seek ethical clarity and to establish a coordinated local and global governance of AI, based on the shared recognition of the inherent dignity and fundamental freedoms of the human person,” Cardinal Parolin wrote.

“This epochal transformation requires responsibility and discernment to ensure that AI is developed and utilized for the common good, building bridges of dialogue and fostering fraternity, and ensuring it serves the interests of humanity as a whole,” he wrote.

When it comes to AI’s increasing capacity to adapt “autonomously,” the message said, “it is crucial to consider the anthropological and ethical implications, the values at stake and the duties and regulatory frameworks required to uphold those values.”

“While AI can simulate aspects of human reasoning and perform specific tasks with incredible speed and efficiency, it cannot replicate moral discernment or the ability to form genuine relationships,” the papal message said. “Therefore, the development of such technological advancements must go hand in hand with respect for human and social values, the capacity to judge with a clear conscience and growth in human responsibility.”

Cardinal Parolin congratulated and thanked the members and staff of the International Telecommunication Union, which was celebrating the 160th anniversary, “for their work and constant efforts to foster global cooperation in order to bring the benefits of communication technologies to the people across the globe.”

“Connecting the human family through telegraph, radio, telephone, digital and space communications presents challenges, particularly in rural and low-income areas, where approximately 2.6 billion persons still lack access to communication technologies,” he wrote.

“We must never lose sight of the common goal” of contributing to what St. Augustine called “the tranquility of order,” and fostering “a more humane order of social relations, and peaceful and just societies in the service of integral human development and the good of the human family,” the cardinal wrote.

GLEN LYON – The third annual Holy Spirit Parish Walking Pilgrimage is scheduled for Saturday, July 26 – the Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary – starting at St. Mary’s Church in Mocanaqua and ending at St. Adalbert’s Church in Glen Lyon.

The pilgrimage begins at 8:00 a.m. with Confessions and prayer at St. Mary’s Church, 130 Rectory Road, Mocanaqua.

Pilgrims will depart at 9:00 a.m. for the six mile journey through the Mocanaqua Tract of the Pinchot State Forest. Mass will be offered around 12:00 noon at St. Adalbert’s Church; those who cannot walk the pilgrimage route are welcome to attend the Mass.

Lunch will be served and bus transportation back to Mocanaqua will be available.

There is no cost to participate; the public is invited to walk or submit or prayer requests.

To register, text or call Raphael Micca at 570-301-9253, email rdmicca@aol.com, or register online by clicking here before July 21.

The pilgrimage will be held rain or shine: please dress accordingly and modestly.

A walking pilgrimage is an ancient Christian tradition with many continuing to this day, such as the Chartres pilgrimage in France, the Camino de Santiago in Spain, and the Pilgrimage for Restoration in upstate New York.

This local walk, now in its third year, is reminiscent of the treks made by the early coal mining families of Mocanaqua. During the 1890s and early 1900s, Mass was offered in an improvised chapel in town once a month by the pastor of St. Adalbert’s Church.

On other Sundays, the faithful walked from Mocanaqua to Glen Lyon for Mass on a route similar to the one planned for this year’s walking pilgrimage.