Category: Diocese of Scranton News

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – While praising devotion to Mary, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith firmly rejected moves to formally proclaim Mary as “co-redemptrix” or “co-mediatrix.”

In a lengthy doctrinal note titled “Mater Populi Fidelis” (“Mother of the Faithful People of God”), the dicastery said the title co-redemptrix or co-redeemer “carries the risk of eclipsing the exclusive role of Jesus Christ” in salvation.

And, regarding the title co-mediatrix or co-mediator, it said that Mary, “the first redeemed, could not have been the mediatrix of the grace that she herself received.”

However, it said, the title may be used when it does not cast doubt on “the unique mediation of Jesus Christ, true God and true man.”

Pope Leo XIV approved the text Oct. 7 and ordered its publication, said the note, which was released Nov. 4.

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the doctrinal dicastery, presented the document during a conference at the Jesuit headquarters in Rome and said its teaching becomes part of the church’s “ordinary magisterium” and must be considered authoritative.

For more than 30 years, some Catholics, including some bishops, have asked for formal dogmatic declarations of Mary as co-redemptrix and co-mediatrix, the document’s introduction said. But Msgr. Armando Matteo, secretary of the dicastery’s doctrinal section, told the conference that the Vatican’s first study of the doctrinal implications of the titles goes all the way back to 1926.

Cardinal Fernández said that one time, when St. Peter’s Basilica was closed, he spent a long time in front of Michelangelo’s Pietà. The sorrow on Mary’s face because of the death of her son and, at the same time, her obvious strength, he said, “was so beautiful it was understandable why people would want to say everything and more about Mary.”

The new document said that titles used for Mary should speak of her motherly care for all people and her place as the first and perfect disciple of Jesus but must not create any doubt that Catholics believe Jesus is the redeemer of the world and the bestower of grace.

“Any gaze directed at her that distracts us from Christ or that places her on the same level as the Son of God would fall outside the dynamic proper to an authentically Marian faith,” it said, because Mary always points to her son.

The titles co-redemptrix and co-mediatrix have been used in reference to Mary by theologians and even popes in the past millennium, the doctrinal dicastery said, but without elaborating on the precise meaning and the extent to which those titles could describe Mary’s role in salvation history.

St. John Paul II “referred to Mary as ‘Co-redemptrix’ on at least seven occasions,” the note said, but after consultation with the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and its prefect, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, in 1996, he did not issue a dogmatic declaration and stopped using the title.

Citing Scripture and tradition, the future Pope Benedict XVI said, “The precise meaning of these titles (co-redemptrix and co-mediatrix) is not clear, and the doctrine contained in them is not mature.”

“Everything comes from Him — Christ — as the Letter to the Ephesians and the Letter to the Colossians, in particular, tell us; Mary, too, is everything that she is through Him. The word ‘Co-redemptrix’ would obscure this origin,” Pope Benedict said.

Pope Francis, at a general audience in 2021, said that Jesus entrusted Mary to humanity as a mother, “not as a goddess, not as co-redemptrix,” adding that love motivated some people to call her co-redemptrix, but love often leads people to “exaggerate.”

“Given the necessity of explaining Mary’s subordinate role to Christ in the work of Redemption, it would not be appropriate to use the title ‘Co-redemptrix’ to define Mary’s cooperation,” the doctrinal note said.

The title, it said, “risks obscuring Christ’s unique salvific mediation and can therefore create confusion and an imbalance in the harmony of the truths of the Christian faith, for ‘there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.'”

“When an expression requires many repeated explanations to prevent it from straying from a correct meaning, it does not serve the faith of the People of God and becomes unhelpful,” the dicastery concluded.

The use of the title “co-mediatrix” is more complicated, the doctrinal note said, because the word “mediation” often is “understood simply as cooperation, assistance or intercession” and easily could apply to Mary without calling into question “the unique mediation of Jesus Christ, true God and true man.”

Mary’s role in salvation history is unique, the document said. She willingly accepted to become the mother of Jesus the savior, she raised him, traveled with him and stood at the foot of his cross.

While Christ, fully human and fully divine, is the one mediator between God and humanity, it said, “he enables various forms of participation in his salvific plan because, in communion with him, we can all become, in some way, cooperators with God and ‘mediators’ for one another.”

“If this holds true for every believer — whose cooperation with Christ becomes increasingly fruitful to the extent that one allows oneself to be transformed by grace — how much more must it be affirmed of Mary in a unique and supreme way,” the doctrinal note said.

The church believes that those in heaven can pray and intercede for people still on earth and, “among those chosen and glorified with Christ, first and foremost is his Mother,” the note said. “Therefore, we can affirm that Mary has a unique collaboration in the saving work that Christ carries out in his Church. With this intercession, Mary can become for us a motherly sign of the Lord’s mercy.”

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The Trump administration has indicated that it will not appeal court orders directing it to pay SNAP benefits, but that it will only issue partial payments in November.

The Trump administration previously said funding for SNAP — the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a major part of the nation’s social safety net — was scheduled to lapse Nov. 1 due to the federal government shutdown.

But Judge Jack McConnell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island said Oct. 31 the Agriculture Department must distribute the contingency funds “timely, or as soon as possible, for the November 1 payments to be made.”

In a Nov. 3 brief, USDA’s lawyers wrote it “will fulfill its obligation to expend the full amount of SNAP contingency funds today.”

The brief said that the Food and Nutrition Service, which administers SNAP, will spend about $450 million of the contingency funds paying for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, with another $150 million for food programs in the U.S. territories Puerto Rico and American Samoa, and the remaining $4.65 billion will pay for SNAP benefits, representing about 50% of payments to eligible households.

“This means that no funds will remain for new SNAP applicants certified in November, disaster assistance, or as a cushion against the potential catastrophic consequences of shutting down SNAP entirely,” the brief said.

About 42 million — or 1-in-8 — Americans rely on SNAP. Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed that in fiscal year 2023, 79% of SNAP recipient households included either a child, an elderly individual or a nonelderly individual with a disability.

Qualified SNAP recipients receive monthly allowances through electronic benefit transfer accounts, with SNAP EBT cards used like debit or credit cards to purchase essential foods and seeds to grow food. Sales tax, prepared food, pet foods, nonfood items, alcohol, tobacco, vitamins and medicine are excluded.

Catholic leaders and ministries were among those who raised alarm at the prospect of a lapse in federal food assistance.

Trump previously indicated his administration would not appeal the order in an Oct. 31 post on his social media website, Truth Social.

“Our Government lawyers do not think we have the legal authority to pay SNAP with certain monies we have available, and now two Courts have issued conflicting opinions on what we can and cannot do. I do NOT want Americans to go hungry just because the Radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT. Therefore, I have instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible.”

But Trump said there would be a delay, pointing at Democrats’ objections to a GOP-backed funding bill to keep the government open.

“It is already delayed enough due to the Democrats keeping the Government closed through the monthly payment date and, even if we get immediate guidance, it will unfortunately be delayed while States get the money out,” he said. “If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding, just like I did with Military and Law Enforcement Pay.”

However, during a lengthy government shutdown during the first Trump administration, the Department of Agriculture authorized early processing of SNAP funds to ensure there would be no disruption in service, the Huffington Post noted.

In a post on X, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer replied that “USDA has the authority to fully fund SNAP and needs to do so immediately. Anything else is unacceptable.”

“Trump’s ‘decision’ to follow the court order and only send partial SNAP benefits to 42 million hungry Americans as Thanksgiving approaches is cruel and callous,” he said.

“Trump should focus less on his ballroom and his bathroom and more on the American people,” Schumer added in reference to recent White House renovations, which include the demolition of the East Wing.

In anticipation of a lapse in federal food assistance programs, Catholic Charities USA, the network organization dedicated to carrying out the domestic humanitarian work of the Catholic Church in the United States, announced a national fundraising effort to provide an emergency supply of food to Catholic Charities agencies around the country.

ROME (CNS) – As Christians visit cemeteries on the feast of All Souls and remember their loved ones who have died, they do so with faith that at the end of this life they will be together again with the Lord, Pope Leo XIV said.

The pope celebrated Mass Nov. 2, the feast of All Souls, at Rome’s largest cemetery, Verano, which covers more than 200 acres.

“The Lord awaits us, and when we finally meet him at the end of our earthly journey, we shall rejoice with him and with our loved ones who have gone before us,” the pope told about 2,000 people who had gathered on a road among the tombs for the Mass.

“May this promise sustain us, dry our tears and raise our gaze upward toward the hope for the future that never fades,” he said.

Arriving at the cemetery, he set a bouquet of white roses on one of the tombs, and at the end of the Mass he blessed the graves with holy water before leading the traditional prayer, “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.”

The pope began his homily by speaking about the loved ones buried at Verano, telling the congregation that “we continue to carry them with us in our hearts, and their memory remains always alive within us amid our daily lives”

“Often,” he said, “something brings them to mind, and we recall experiences we once shared with them. Many places, even the fragrance of our homes, speak to us of those we have loved and who have gone before us, vividly maintaining their memory for us.”

For those who believe that Jesus conquered death, the pope said, “it is not so much about looking back, but instead looking forward toward the goal of our journey, toward the safe harbor that God has promised us, toward the unending feast that awaits us.”

“There, around the Risen Lord and our loved ones, we hope to savor the joy of the eternal banquet,” he said.

Belief in eternal life, the pope said, “is not an illusion for soothing the pain of our separation from loved ones, nor is it mere human optimism. Instead, it is the hope founded on the Resurrection of Jesus who has conquered death and opened for us the path to the fullness of life.”

Earlier in the day, the pope led the recitation of the Angelus prayer with thousands of visitors gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

He told them he would be going to the cemetery to celebrate Mass for all the faithful departed.

“In spirit, I will visit the graves of my loved ones” — his mother died in 1990 and his father in 1997 — “and I will also pray for those who have no one to remember them. But our heavenly Father knows and loves each of us, and he forgets no one!”

Citing Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical on hope, Pope Leo said that “eternal life” can be thought of not as “a succession of time without end, but being so immersed in an ocean of infinite love that time, before and after no longer exist.”

Such a “fullness of life and joy in Christ is what we hope for and await with all our being,” Pope Leo said.

Praying for the dead, he said, is not just about remembering a loss, but it is a sign of belief that in the death and resurrection of Jesus, no one will be lost.

Pope Leo prayed, “May the familiar voice of Jesus reach us, and reach everyone, because it is the only one that comes from the future. May he call us by name, prepare a place for us, free us from that sense of helplessness that tempts us to give up on life.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The lives of St. John Henry Newman and of all the saints teach Christians that “it is possible to live passionately amidst the complexity of the present without neglecting the apostolic mandate to ‘shine like stars in the world,'” Pope Leo XIV said.

Celebrating Mass Nov. 1, the feast of All Saints, Pope Leo concluded the Jubilee of the World of Education and proclaimed St. Newman the 38th doctor of the church, including him among the men and women of the Christian East and West who have made decisive contributions to theology and spirituality.

Earlier in the week, Pope Leo had officially recognized St. Newman as co-patron of education along with St. Thomas Aquinas.

St. Newman was born in London Feb. 21, 1801, was ordained an Anglican priest in 1825, became Catholic in 1845 and was made a cardinal in 1879 by Pope Leo XIII. He died in 1890.

Leading members of the Anglican Church of England and the British government attended the Mass where he was declared a doctor of the church. The Anglican delegation was led by Archbishop Stephen Cottrell of York, currently the top-ranking prelate of the Church of England. The government delegation was led by David Lammy, deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom and secretary of state for justice.

Greeting Archbishop Cottrell publicly at the end of Mass, Pope Leo prayed that St. Newman would “accompany the journey of Christians toward full unity.”

The banner used during St. Newman’s canonization Mass in 2019 hung from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica during the Mass and his relics were placed on a table near the altar.

While St. Newman’s theology, philosophy and thoughts about university education were cited in the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints’ presentation at the Mass, Pope Leo chose to quote in his homily from the British saint’s poem, “Lead, Kindly Light,” now a popular hymn.

“In that beautiful prayer” of St. Newman’s, the pope said, “we come to realize that we are far from home, our feet are unsteady, we cannot interpret clearly the way ahead. Yet none of this impedes us, since we have found our guide” in Jesus.

“Lead, Kindly Light, amid th’encircling gloom, Lead Thou me on,” the pope quoted in English while reading his homily in Italian.

Speaking to the teachers, professors and other educators gathered for the Mass in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo said, “The task of education is precisely to offer this Kindly Light to those who might otherwise remain imprisoned by the particularly insidious shadows of pessimism and fear.”

The pope asked the educators to “reflect upon and point out to others those ‘constellations’ that transmit light and guidance at this present time, which is darkened by so much injustice and uncertainty.”

He also encouraged them “to ensure that schools, universities and every educational context, even those that are informal or street-based, are always gateways to a civilization of dialogue and peace.”

Another quote from St. Newman — “God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another” — expresses “the mystery of the dignity of every human person, and also the variety of gifts distributed by God,” the pope said.

Catholic educators, he said, have an obligation not only to transmit information but also to help their students discover how much God loves them and how he has a plan for their lives.

“Life shines brightly not because we are rich, beautiful or powerful,” the pope said. “Instead, it shines when we discover within ourselves the truth that we are called by God, have a vocation, have a mission, that our lives serve something greater than ourselves.”

“Every single creature has a role to play,” he said. “The contribution that each person can make is uniquely valuable, and the task of educational communities is to encourage and cherish that contribution.”

“At the heart of the educational journey,” Pope Leo said, “we do not find abstract individuals but real people, especially those who seem to be underperforming according to the parameters of economies that exclude or even kill them. We are called to form people, so that they may shine like stars in their full dignity.”

Lammy, the British government official, told Catholic News Service that he had had the “great honor and privilege” to meet Pope Leo before the Mass.

As a member of the Anglo-Catholic tradition within the Church of England, he said he believes “John Henry Newman really encapsulates the deep connections between our countries and between the Christian communities, across the Christian community.”

The proclamation was “a moment of unity and reflection,” Lammy said. “It’s not just a religious honor, but a powerful moment of cohesion that shows how engaging in our differences can also unite us.”

St. Newman’s legacy, he said, “reminds us that Britain’s religious story is broader than one tradition. It’s been enriched by Catholic thought, courage and contribution.”

In addition, the deputy prime minister said, “I think his life and his writings show how belief and reason together can guide moral leadership, diplomacy, compassion, and I think in an age of polarization, Newman’s insistence on moral reflection calls us back to what truly matters, which is leadership in the cause of what is right and just, which is a principle that should shape our politics.”

(OSV News) – It seems unusual that our church liturgical calendar schedules two major celebrations on days that are back-to-back. But that is precisely the situation
with the solemnity of All Saints, a liturgical feast, and the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed (All Souls), a liturgical observance.

All Saints is a churchwide holy day of obligation and normally celebrated on Nov. 1. If the first day of November falls on a Saturday or Monday, at least in the United States, the obligation to attend Mass is abrogated. All Souls’ Day takes place on Nov. 2, unless it falls on a Sunday, then the celebration is held Nov. 3.

During these early November celebrations, those of us still living (the “church militant”) unite our hearts with, and in a special way remember, the faithful departed, whether they be in heaven (“church triumphant”) or in purgatory (“church suffering”).

All Saints’ Day, which began most likely as All Martyrs’ Day, can be traced to the earliest Christians. By the third century, the followers of Christ were annually honoring their brothers and sisters who had given their lives (martyred) while witnessing for and defending Jesus Christ. Typically, on the anniversary of a martyr’s death, those living would gather to remember and offer prayers at the tomb or place where the deceased had died.

Tombs were sometimes decorated and altars built over the tomb. According to church historian Henry Chadwick, “From the third century the anniversary of a martyr’s death, called his ‘birthday,’ was commemorated at his grave by a celebration.” The belief among the first Christians, which continues today, is that believers who died defending Christ were borne by angels to heaven and are face-to-face with the living God, in the presence of the beatific vision.

In those first centuries, especially during the savage reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian (r. 284-305), there were more and more Christians who accepted death at the hands of the Romans rather than deny Christ, rather than worship false gods or the personage of the emperor.

Additionally, others who had publicly confessed their Christian faith (confessors) and somehow survived the Romans were also honored. Thus the number of martyrs and confessors became greater than the opportunities to give each one an anniversary
celebration, and the need for a common feast day was recognized.

By the fifth century there is evidence of locations, such as in Antioch, where the fledgling church had set aside the first Sunday following Pentecost to collectively honor these holy and courageous people.

In 609, during the reign of Pope Boniface IV (608-615), the Eastern Emperor Phocas (r. 602-610) gifted a temple in Rome to the Holy See. The temple, still standing today and still known as the Pantheon, was originally built in the first century. Destroyed by fire and rebuilt between 118 and 128, it was a public place to worship and honor all the Roman gods and goddesses — a spectacular monument to pagan Rome.

Pope Boniface accepted this temple, removed all the pagan embellishments, all the statues of false gods and, according to legend, relocated and buried the remains of hundreds of Christian martyrs beneath the Pantheon. The pope then consecrated the Pantheon as a Christian church to the Blessed Mother and all the Holy Martyrs (Sanctae Mariae and Martyrs). The consecration took place on May 13, and that was the annual date of the feast of All Martyrs for the next 125 years.

On Nov. 1, 735, Pope Gregory III (731-741) dedicated an oratory in St. Peter’s Basilica to house the relics of the apostles, martyrs, saints and confessors. Thereafter, Nov. 1 became, at least for the churches in Rome, the feast of All Saints, and the May 13 date was suppressed. Other countries and cities began to celebrate the feast on the same day as the Rome churches, and soon a vigil of All Saints was added. Eventually, Pope Gregory IV (827-844) assigned Nov. 1 as the date of the feast of All Saints throughout the Latin Church and proclaimed it a holy day of obligation.

In the 15th century, octave days were added by Pope Sixtus IV (1471-1484) and the octaves of All Saints were part of the church calendar until suppressed in 1954. In sum, there is ample historical evidence that Christians have annually, on some date or another, been acknowledging the collective lives of all martyrs and saints for over 1,200 years.

Today, All Saints’ Day is a solemnity and holy day of obligation on which the universal church honors the martyrs, the saints and the confessors, including all known and unknown, all who have gained the reward of heaven.

Offering prayers for those who have died is ancient in origin. In the Old Testament’s Second Book of Maccabees, written around 100 B.C., Judas Maccabeus orders his army to pray and offer sacrifices on behalf of their fallen comrades. Tombs found in the Roman catacombs are inscribed with prayer requests for the deceased.

The second-century writer Tertullian wrote in an essay, “Monogamy,” about a woman praying for her deceased spouse: “Indeed she prays for his soul and asks that he may, while waiting, find rest; and that he may share in the first resurrection. And each year, on the anniversary of his death, she offers the sacrifice.”

The Commemoration of the Faithful Departed, or All Souls’ Day, evolved onto the church calendar long after All Saints’ Day. Sometime between 998 and 1030, St. Odilo, the abbot at the Benedictine monastery in Cluny, France, encouraged all the monks to pray for the souls of those who had died, those awaiting the joys of heaven. He instituted this commemoration on the day after All Saints’ Day, and soon other religious orders and churches began, on that same date, to annually remember all who had died.

Remembering and praying for the faithful departed is tied directly to our belief in purgatory. On All Souls’ Day the universal church prays for all those in purgatory, people who were much like us, whose offense may have been less than ours. By pleading for them, we are inspired to lead purer lives.

On that day, and during the entire month of November, we remember our departed brethren as we go to the cemetery where they are buried, attain indulgences for them, give alms, do some good work, ask for Masses to be said in remembrance, all on behalf of those close to us and to others we may have neglected during the year.

We also light candles, and in some parishes the faithful display pictures of their deceased loved ones in the church. Church bells are sometimes rung to remind everyone to pray for the poor souls in purgatory. Priests are authorized to say three Masses on this holy, somber day.

SCRANTON – Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton is preparing for an increase in visitors in the coming weeks as the possibility looms for funding of federal SNAP benefits is set to expire at the end of October.

SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is a federally-funded program that helps millions of eligible, low-income households and individuals purchase nutritious and healthy food at participating grocery stores and farmers markets.

Even before the program is set to run out of funds, demand for assistance from Catholic Social Services’ food pantries has been rising.

For example, in Carbondale, the CSS Food Pantry located at 34 River Street, has served 90 new families in the months of August and September alone.

There are numerous ways the community can help make sure no one goes hungry locally. Catholic Social Services is seeking both cash donations and non-perishable food items. Our food pantries are particularly looking for the following items which help local families and are often among the most requested things:

Peanut Butter

Jelly

Pasta

Pasta Sauce

Canned Veggies

Condensed Soup

Cereal (low or no sugar)

Pancake Mix

Mac & Cheese

Applesauce

Bottled Juice

Rice

Granola/Fruit Bars

Tuna

Canned Pasta

Canned Chicken

Boxed Mashed Potatoes

Donations can be dropped off at any of the food pantries listed above during normal business hours.

Monetary donations can also be made online by clicking this link.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – As Hurricane Melissa continued its devastating course through the Caribbean, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, urged Catholics to pray for and support the people and communities impacted by one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record.

In the Caribbean region, “families face severe risk of flooding, landslides, displacement, and infrastructure damage with little resources to respond” due to the strongest storm the planet has seen this year, the archbishop said in a statement released late Oct. 29. “Our brothers and sisters in small island nations like Jamaica, Cuba, and Haiti are the most vulnerable to the impact of such strong storms, often intensified by a warming climate.”

Melissa has left dozens dead and caused widespread destruction across Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti. With winds ranging from 175-185 mph, it made landfall in southwestern Jamaica near New Hope around 1 p.m. ET Oct. 28 before heading toward Cuba, where it made landfall early in the morning Oct. 29 as a Category 3 storm.

“After lashing Cuba,” Melissa set “its sights” on the Bahamas and Bermuda, The Weather Channel reported.

“The Church accompanies, through prayer and action, all people who are suffering,” said Archbishop Broglio, head of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services. “I urge Catholics and all people of good will to join me in praying for the safety and protection of everyone, especially first responders, in these devastated areas.”

“Let us stand in solidarity,” he added, “by supporting the efforts of organizations already on the ground such as Caritas Haiti, Caritas Cuba, and Caritas Antilles, as well as Catholic Relief Services, who are supplying essential, direct services and accompaniment to those in need.”

Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. Catholic Church’s overseas relief and development agency, is accepting donations for hurricane relief via its website: https://www.crs.org/donate/hurricane-melissa.

At the Vatican after his main address at the general audience early Oct. 29, Pope Leo XIV assured storm victims of his “closeness” and his prayers.

“Thousands of people have been displaced, while homes, infrastructure and several hospitals have been damaged,” he said. “I assure everyone of my closeness, praying for those who have lost their lives, for those who are fleeing and for those populations who, awaiting the storm’s developments, are experiencing hours of anxiety and concern.”

“I encourage the civil authorities to do everything possible and I thank the Christian communities, together with voluntary organizations, for the relief they are providing,” the pope added.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The president of the U.S. bishops’ conference has urged lawmakers to fund federal food assistance before a looming deadline risks disrupting benefits for more than 40 million people.

The Trump administration said benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, would not be issued starting on Nov. 1 if the federal government shutdown remains in effect.

About 42 million Americans rely on SNAP. Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed that in fiscal year 2023, 79% of SNAP recipient households included either a child, an elderly individual or a nonelderly individual with a disability.

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement released late Oct. 28 the group is “deeply alarmed that essential programs that support the common good, such as SNAP, may be interrupted.”

“This would be catastrophic for families and individuals who rely on SNAP to put food on the table and places the burdens of this shutdown most heavily on the poor and vulnerable of our nation, who are the least able to move forward,” said the prelate, who heads the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services. “This consequence is unjust and unacceptable.”

On its website, the USDA posted a notice that said, “Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01.” The message blamed Senate Democrats for the ongoing stalemate.

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins told Fox News Oct. 28 that the department “does not have the $9.2 billion that it would require” to fund the program.

“Unless Democrats vote to END their shutdown, food stamp recipients will not receive their benefits beginning on Saturday,” the White House’s rapid response social media account said.

In a post on X, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. said, “Millions of hungry families are about to lose SNAP benefits to buy food.”

“There are $5 billion in emergency funds that could be used right now to ensure parents and kids don’t go hungry when SNAP runs out this Saturday,” he said. “But Donald Trump has ordered them not to use this funding.”

A coalition of 25 states and the District of Columbia states sued the Trump administration in an attempt to keep the program running.

In his statement, Archbishop Broglio added, “The U.S. bishops have consistently advocated for public policies that support those in need.”

“I urgently plead with lawmakers and the Administration to work in a bipartisan way to ensure that these lifesaving programs are funded, and to pass a government funding bill to end the government shutdown as quickly as possible,” he said.