Category: Diocese of Scranton News

(OSV News) – Most Junes, the U.S. bishops convene for what is commonly called their spring plenary — a mid-year assembly to tend to affairs concerning their episcopal conference, and a way to move forward policies, plans and committee work ahead of the more robust November plenary assembly.

This June, however, the ordinary work of a plenary assembly is set aside, leaving behind a business agenda for a triennial, weeklong retreat in California.

While some conference committees meet ahead of the gathering, the bishops are not scheduled to be dealing with ordinary business as a body. Still, there will be no shortage of items to talk about when the bishops are together. Since the bishops last met in Baltimore last November, the United States has sworn in a new president and the College of Cardinals has elected a new pope.

The early days of President Donald Trump’s second term brought many changes to operations of the federal government’s USAID program, which in turn led to significant cuts to the federal dollars funding the conference’s migrant resettlement services. Widespread layoffs followed, significantly decreasing the USCCB workforce as well as the church’s ability to assist the federal government in resettling migrants in the U.S.

Despite these tensions with the Trump administration, some U.S. bishops have accepted the president’s invitation to serve as members of and advisers to a new commission on religious liberty Trump established in May.

While New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan and Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, serve on the commission, Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco and Bishops Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, and Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, have agreed to serve the commission on an advisory board of religious leaders.

Who can effectively serve as a liaison with the Trump administration on behalf of the body of U.S. bishops at this critical juncture is likely to top consideration for who will be put forward to take the reins of the bishops’ conference, as conference membership will itself be electing a new president and vice president in Baltimore this fall.

With Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese of Military Services wrapping up his three-year term as conference president at the end of the upcoming November assembly, longtime tradition dictates that the incumbent vice president would be on the ballot as presumed successor. But the tradition of electing vice presidents as presidents has been broken in recent years, as the age of such bishops has made them ineligible to stand for the presidency.

Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, whose term as vice president ends at the conclusion of the November plenary, recently turned 74 and is therefore ineligible to stand for presidency since he could not complete a three-year term as president before he turns 75, the age at which canon law requires bishops to submit their resignation to the pope.

Not only will the bishops’ relationship with the White House be a significant factor in choosing new conference leadership later this year, but also the emerging priorities and vision of the new successor of Peter.

Pope Francis’ death on April 21 and Pope Leo XIV’s election on May 8 have brought about, if nothing else, a change in the status quo. Pope Leo’s first month has indicated a shift to a calmer, less frenetic pontificate. While bishops often turn to the pope as a model for priorities and plans, it remains to be seen how Pope Leo’s emerging and fresh approach to Petrine ministry will be interpreted and implemented among the U.S. episcopate.

In the first month of his pontificate, Leo has named two men for the episcopate — an auxiliary for the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, and a bishop to head the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana — and elevated two auxiliary bishops to serve as diocesan bishops: San Diego and Pittsburgh. At least two of these appointments, if not all four, were in progress before Pope Leo’s election, and likely do not offer any papal tea leaves to be read.

More significantly, it remains unclear which, if any, U.S. bishops are close to Pope Leo or might be relied upon as American point men in his pontificate. One key factor in deciding this will likely be who the former Cardinal Robert F. Prevost nominates to take his place as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops.

Although Leo is the first U.S.-born pope, he has very little experience in common with most U.S. bishops. A Chicago native, Pope Leo has few ties to American bishops and never held membership at the U.S. bishops’ conference. Much of his priestly ministry was spent outside of the States, notably in Rome for a dozen years where he served as prior general of the Augustinian order, and in Peru, where he served both as a priest and later as a diocesan bishop for just under a decade.

Pope Leo’s emphasis on ecclesial unity in the early days of his pontificate comes in the wake of new divisions that arose under his predecessor’s tenure. While many U.S. bishops were not eager to enforce the strict rules promulgated by Pope Francis pertaining to the celebration of the Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal, the way some have implemented the pertinent legal restrictions has inflicted new wounds.

Most recently, Bishop Michael T. Martin of Charlotte, North Carolina, decided to confine use of the 1962 Missal — what is often referred to as the traditional Latin Mass, also known as TLM — to one locale, with little consultation or preparation. This news came just before a draft letter had been leaked in which Bishop Martin outlined potential widespread liturgical change to his diocese — which many have criticized as overly polemical, ideological and divisive — the likes of which have not been seen for decades.

After a massive outcry, Bishop Martin decided to postpone the movement of the TLM to the central locale, adding the caution that if Rome decides to change Pope Francis’ directives, he would comply. He also reportedly shelved the drafted document.

The episode in Charlotte comes as the National Eucharistic Revival draws to an end. While the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis last July and corresponding pilgrimage were widely regarded as successes, the revival itself has largely fallen flat, implemented in each diocese to varying degrees and never given much heft from Rome.

The U.S. bishops’ signature priority of the last several years — the efforts of the church in the U.S. to refocus and sharpen Eucharistic devotion and Eucharistic living — hobbled along among renewed liturgical wars, such as those instigated in the latest Charlotte fiasco, and more often surfaced ideological in-fighting rather than effected greater ecclesial unity.

The three-year revival comes to an end in Los Angeles on the feast of Corpus Christi, as the bishops conclude their retreat in the same state — perhaps a setting for the bishops to reflect on the successes and missed opportunities of the effort overall.

Finally, a large number of bishops — though not all — find themselves now presiding over institutional and fiscal decline and a shrinking footprint. This is most recently evidenced in the Archdiocese of Washington, which, plagued with scandal and financial collapse, laid off about one-quarter of its chancery staff June 5, including some in high-profile positions. So too in Buffalo, New York, where it has been announced that parishes are expected to absorb nearly half of a proposed bankruptcy settlement related to clergy sexual abuse.

During such challenging times, and considering their jam-packed schedules of daily ministry, the rare occasion to spend time in each other’s company to foster greater unity in spirit and purpose and together navigate the changing landscape in which they now minister is no doubt welcome. The faithful should pray that a week of retreat in sunny California affords the bishops the opportunity to build up fraternity and bolster the spiritual growth needed to strengthen their ministry.

Ideally, too, they will use the opportunity as a launching pad for a new era of leadership for the U.S. bishops to be born. The results of November’s plenary assembly elections will be what bears testimony as to its effectiveness.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – When anyone cries out to God for healing or help, God always listens, Pope Leo XIV said.

“There is no cry that God does not hear, even when we are not aware we are addressing him,” the pope told thousands of people gathered under a hot sun in St. Peter’s Square June 11.

At his weekly general audience, the pope spoke about the Gospel story of the healing of Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52) as he continued a series of talks about how the life and ministry of Jesus is a source of hope.

And, noting that June is the month devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Pope Leo invited people “to bring before the heart of Christ your most painful and fragile parts, those places in your life where you feel stuck and blocked. Let us trustfully ask the Lord to listen to our cry, and to heal us!”

In the Gospel story, the pope said, Bartimaeus’ cry, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me,” is an act of faith. And even though the crowds tried to silence the blind man, he continued to cry out to Jesus.

“He is a beggar, he knows how to ask, indeed, he can shout,” the pope said. “If you truly want something, you do everything in order to be able to reach it, even when others reproach you, humiliate you and tell you to let it be.”

“If you really desire it, you keep on shouting,” he said.

Pope Leo also said the Gospel story makes clear that Jesus does not go and lift Bartimaeus up, but encourages him to stand on his own, knowing that “he can rise from the throes of death.”

“But in order to do this, he must perform a very meaningful gesture: he must throw away his cloak,” the pope said. And “for a beggar, the cloak is everything: it is his safety, it is his house, it is the defense that protects him.”

Christians today can learn from Bartimaeus, he said.

“Many times, it is precisely our apparent securities that stand in our way — what we have put on to defend ourselves and which instead prevent us from walking,” Pope Leo said. “To go to Jesus and let himself be healed, Bartimaeus must show himself to him in all his vulnerability. This is the fundamental step in any journey of healing.”

“Let us trustfully bring our ailments before Jesus, and also those of our loved ones; let us bring the pain of those who feel lost and without a way out,” the pope said. “Let us cry out for them too, and we will be certain that the Lord will hear us and stop.”

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – As the Senate began its consideration of a sweeping package for President Donald Trump’s agenda, the U.S. bishops and other Catholic leaders urged lawmakers not to cut programs such as Medicaid or SNAP.

In May, House Republicans passed what Trump calls his “one big, beautiful bill” — and as such, later named the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — which would enact key provisions of his legislative agenda on tax and immigration policy, and Trump has called for the Senate to follow suit by July 4.

But whether the Senate will do so remains to be seen, as some rural state members of the Republican majority have raised objections to Medicaid cuts, among other sticking points, such as artificial intelligence regulation.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has reportedly convened working groups to iron out divisions among the Senate GOP, with cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, among remaining issues.

Republicans hold 53 seats in the upper chamber, and can only afford three defections from their members if they are to pass the bill.

Catholic leaders have alternately praised and criticized various provisions in the House’s version of that package, which has drawn fire from some critics over its cuts to Medicaid, while drawing praise from others for promises to eliminate funds to health providers who also perform abortions.

In a June 9 message, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops asked its supporters to urge their senators “to oppose cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and programs that help low-income people, keeping in mind how budget and tax decisions will impact families, especially those most vulnerable. Budget reconciliation should be used to support the needs of children and families experiencing poverty.”

The message said that changes to the House’s version of the bill “must be made to protect poor and vulnerable people,” objecting to provisions the USCCB said would raise taxes on the working poor and reduce assistance to low-income families.

The White House argued the legislation “protects Medicaid for Americans who truly need it.”

“This bill eliminates waste, fraud, and abuse by ending benefits for at least 1.4 million illegal immigrants who are gaming the system,” a White House document about the bill said.

But Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, wrote in a June 4 post on X, “Known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the legislation is anything but beautiful, at least from the perspective of Catholic teaching.”

“It basically steals from the poor to give to the rich, and it will leave millions of low-income U.S. citizens struggling to survive,” he said.

The USCCB previously also urged lawmakers to preserve a provision to eliminate funds to health providers who also perform abortions.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The U.S. bishops urged House and Senate leaders in a June 9 letter to remember that while artificial intelligence presents opportunities, it also presents challenges.

The bishops said policy considerations surrounding AI should be governed by an ethical framework.

The bishops noted Pope Leo XIV has made his concerns about AI an early focus of his papacy, writing, “As our new Holy Father Pope Leo XIV reminds us, AI requires ‘responsibility and discernment in order to ensure it can be used for the good of all, so that it can benefit all of humanity.'”

The letter acknowledged the bishops “are not technical experts,” but said that as pastors, they are “entrusted with concern for the life and dignity of the human person and the common good.”

AI could have an impact on a host of policy considerations, the letter said, from labor and the economy, to family life, to health care, and even to weaponry used in war. The letter expressed concern about “the development and use of lethal autonomous weapons.”

“Policies should make clear that human control over any weapon system is essential to mitigate the horrors of warfare and the undermining of fundamental human rights,” it said.

In a statement released with the letter, Bishop William D. Byrne of Springfield, Massachusetts, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Communications, ??”Artificial intelligence is rapidly shaping the future of our society.”

“As pastors entrusted with the care of human life and dignity, we urge lawmakers to heed the call of our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, to help ensure that AI is developed with responsibility and discernment so that it may truly benefit every person,” Bishop Byrne said.

The bishops’ letter was addressed to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.; House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.; Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.; and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

The letter urged AI policy to be informed by principles, including care for the common good, the dignity of the human person and respect for the truth.

“AI offers the opportunity to develop vast amounts of information in creative ways, share knowledge, and enhance communication among people,” the letter said. “However, we are increasingly living in a time that the late Pope Francis described as a ‘growing crisis of truth’ (Message to World Economic Forum, 2025).

“With the rise in ‘deepfakes,’ misuse of news and political information to manipulate public opinion, and the spread of falsehoods, AI is being used by some to undermine the dignity of persons and respect for the truth.,” the letter continued. “AI systems must have human oversight and well-defined accountability in order to promote transparency, and fair democratic processes.”

Other challenges presented by AI include the generation of sexually explicit imagery as well as threats to data and intellectual property rights, as well as the environmental impact of its high consumption of electricity and generation of electronic waste, the letter said.

The letter was signed by the chairs of six committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

In addition to Bishop Byrne, the signatories and their committees are: Bishop David M. O’Connell of Trenton, New Jersey, Committee on Catholic Education; Metropolitan Archbishop Borys A. Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development; Bishop Robert E. Barron Bishop of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth; Bishop A. Elias Zaidan of Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon, Committee on International Justice and Peace; and Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

Earlier in June, Maryland’s Catholic bishops released a pastoral letter on artificial intelligence urging Catholics to harness the use of emerging technologies while always putting “human dignity” at the forefront.

“As AI technologies transform our lives, workplaces, relationships and even our sense of identity, the Church must be a prophetic voice, calling the world to place the human person, made in the image of God, at the heart of this transformation,” said the June 5 letter posted online by the Maryland Catholic Conference. The bishops emphasized using AI for good works, not to dominate or dehumanize and emphasized that AI can be a useful tool if applied with the right intent.

(OSV News) – Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles is calling for prayer, while urging “restraint and calm” as clashes have broken out in that city over recent immigration arrests. President Donald Trump has deployed the National Guard amid pushback from California officials and is threatening to mobilize Marines.

Protests broke out on June 6 after several raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which along with Customs and Border Protection is the law enforcement arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

The raids — part of Trump’s promised crackdown on illegal immigration — took place in predominantly Latino areas of Los Angeles, with demonstrations forming at the Federal Building in the city’s downtown, on Highway 101 and in front of a Home Depot in Paramount, 20 miles south of the city’s downtown. Several driverless taxis were set on fire, with dozens arrested and 60 taken into custody at related protests in San Francisco.

The Los Angeles Police Department responded to the protests, making close to 60 arrests over the June 7-8 weekend.

In a June 7 memorandum, Trump mobilized at least 2,000 National Guard troops to “temporarily protect ICE and other United States Government personnel who are performing Federal functions, including the enforcement of Federal law, and to protect Federal property, at locations where protests against these functions are occurring or are likely to occur based on current threat assessments and planned operations.”

The troops are active “for 60 days or at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense,” who in turn “may employ any other members of the regular Armed Forces as necessary to augment and support the protection of Federal functions and property in any number determined appropriate in his discretion,” wrote Trump.

Invoking a law that allows for placing National Guard troops — who operate under both federal and state authority — under federal command, Trump said in his memo that “incidents and credible threats of continued violence” justified his measure.

The move drew the ire of both Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, with the latter demanding in a June 8 X post that Trump “rescind the order” and “return control to California.”

Rarely does a president activate a state’s National Guard troops without consulting the governor, although such an action is not unprecedented. In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and deployed the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock to enforce federal school desegregation, after Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus defied school desegregation orders.

In his first term, Trump cooperated with several governors who at his request sent their National Guard troops to Washington in response to riots there over the murder of George Floyd.

On June 8, Newsom’s office also sent a two-page letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, formally asking him to rescind the order as Los Angeles city and county law enforcement were “sufficient to maintain order.”

Newsom confirmed to MSNBC June 9 he plans to sue Trump over the matter.

The standoff points to a larger rift between a number of state and local authorities and the Trump administration over the flashpoint issue of immigration, particularly in municipalities known as “sanctuary cities,” where local law enforcement limits cooperation in federal immigration enforcement.

While the Los Angeles protests appeared to have leveled off on June 9, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles announced that Scholas USA — part of a youth movement founded by the late Pope Francis — postponed an event that was set to be hosted by a Catholic school.

“Our work is grounded in a commitment to dignity, justice, and respect for all — especially immigrant communities who are facing profound challenges at this moment,” said Scholas USA executive director Jimena Florez in a June 9 media release. “We believe it’s important to pause, listen, and stand in solidarity with those raising their voices for equity and compassion.”

Archbishop Gomez, who said in his statement he was “troubled” by the immigration enforcement raids, pleaded for a more comprehensive solution to the nation’s handling of immigration issues.

“We all agree that we don’t want undocumented immigrants who are known terrorists or violent criminals in our communities,” said the archbishop. “But there is no need for the government to carry out enforcement actions in a way that provokes fear and anxiety among ordinary, hard-working immigrants and their families.”

He urged Congress “to get serious about fixing our broken immigration system that leads so many to seek to cross our borders illegally.”

“Other nations have a coherent immigration policy that respects the natural rights of people to emigrate in search of a better life and also ensures control of their borders. America should too,” said Archbishop Gomez. “It’s been almost 40 years since the last reform of our immigration laws. That’s too long and it’s time to do something about that.”

Catholic social teaching on immigration balances three interrelated principles — the right of persons to migrate in order to sustain their lives and those of their families, the right of a country to regulate its borders and control immigration, and a nation’s duty to regulate its borders with justice and mercy.

“May Our Lady of Guadalupe continue to watch over her children and pray for America,” said Archbishop Gomez.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – In a world marked by wars and where people are disconnected and numb with indifference, Pope Leo XIV prayed that the Holy Spirit would “open borders, break down walls” and dissolve hatred so everyone can live as children of one human family.

“The Spirit breaks down barriers and tears down the walls of indifference and hatred” because he teaches and encourages “the commandment of love that the Lord has made the center and summit of everything,” he said.

“Where there is love, there is no room for prejudice, for ‘security’ zones separating us from our neighbors, for the exclusionary mindset that, tragically, we now see emerging also in political nationalisms,” Pope Leo said in his homily for Pentecost Mass in St. Peter’s Square June 8.

The pope also spoke out against “an unhealthy desire for domination” and violence in relationships as well as the “numerous recent cases of femicide” in Italy.

As of June 7, three women had been killed in 48 hours by a husband or partner. At least 22 women have been killed since the start of the year, 10 of whom were killed by a partner or ex-partner, the newspaper La Stampa reported June 6. An average of 100 women were killed between 2022 and 2024 in cases of voluntary manslaughter involving family members, according to the Italian government, and an average of 62 women were killed by their partner or ex-partner each year during the same timeframe.

“The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, brings to maturity within us the fruits that enable us to cultivate good and healthy relationships,” Pope Leo said.

In his homily, the pope reflected on the Holy Spirit’s gift of opening borders, building on an image of Pentecost described by Pope Benedict XVI in his homily on the feast day in 2005.

“The Spirit opens borders, first of all, in our hearts,” then in one’s relationships with others and, finally, between peoples, Pope Leo said.

“He is the gift that opens our lives to love” by breaking down “our hardness of heart, our narrowness of mind, our selfishness, the fears that enchain us and the narcissism that makes us think only of ourselves,” the pope said.

“The Holy Spirit comes to challenge us, to make us confront the possibility that our lives are shriveling up, trapped in the vortex of individualism,” he said. “Sadly, oddly enough, in a world of burgeoning ‘social’ media, we risk being ever more alone. Constantly connected, yet incapable of ‘networking.”‘

The Spirit “put us in touch with our inmost self, beneath all the masks we wear. He leads us to an encounter with the Lord by teaching us to experience the joy that is his gift” and to have one’s life become a place “of welcome and refreshment.”

The Holy Spirit also “broadens the borders of our relationships and opens us to the joy of fraternity,” which is “also a critical yardstick for the church,” he said.

To truly be a church of the Lord, he said, there must be “no borders or divisions among us.” The faithful must be able to “dialogue and accept one another in the church and to reconcile our diversities,” becoming “a welcoming and hospitable place for all.”

The Holy Spirit “also opens borders between peoples,” the pope said, by uniting people’s hearts and making “us view others as our brothers and sisters.” This is how “differences no longer become an occasion for division and conflict but rather a shared patrimony from which we can all draw.”

Recalling Pope Francis’ homily on Pentecost in 2023, Pope Leo lamented the continued discord and division in the world.

“The wars plaguing our world are a tragic sign of this. Let us invoke the Spirit of love and peace, that he may open borders, break down walls, dispel hatred and help us to live as children of our one Father who is in heaven,” he said.

The pope also prayed for the gift of peace to dwell in people’s hearts, before reciting the Regina Caeli after the Mass.

“For only a peaceful heart can spread peace in the family, society and international relations,” he said. “May the Spirit of the risen Christ open paths of reconciliation wherever there is war; may he enlighten those who govern and give them the courage to make gestures of de-escalation and dialogue.”

The Mass marked the conclusion of the Jubilee of Ecclesial Movements, Associations and New Communities. The Jubilee included an evening prayer vigil in the square June 7 led by Pope Leo with an estimated 70,000 people.

Before praying the Regina Caeli June 8, the pope thanked all the representatives of Catholic lay associations, movements and communities who took part in the Jubilee, encouraging them to “set out renewed” with the strength of the Holy Spirit. “Go and bring the hope of the Lord Jesus to everyone!”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Recognizing the essential tenets of faith that Catholics and Orthodox share should be the lens through which they discuss the issues that continue to separate them, Pope Leo XIV said.

“Through theological dialogue and with the help of God, we will gain a better understanding of the mystery that unites us,” he told Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Catholics scholars and bishops June 7.

The bishops and theologians met June 4-7 in Rome for a conference marking the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and its implications for future church unity.

Pope Leo began his remarks to the group apologizing for being late and asking for their patience. “I am not yet one month into the new job, so there are a lot of learning experiences,” he said.

Marking the anniversary of the council, he said, is not simply about recalling the past. Especially because the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed still is the basic profession of Christian faith, the council “must continue to guide us towards the full visible unity of Christians.”

“By celebrating together this Nicene faith and by proclaiming it together, we will also advance towards the restoration of full communion among us,” Pope Leo said.

The pope quoted the Catholic International Theological Commission’s document on the Nicaea anniversary, saying the celebrations represent “an invaluable opportunity to emphasize that what we have in common is much stronger, quantitatively and qualitatively, than what divides us. Together, we believe in the Triune God, in Christ as truly human and truly God, and in salvation through Jesus Christ, according to the Scriptures read in the Church and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Together, we believe in the Church, baptism, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal life.”

“I am convinced,” the pope told the group, “that by returning to the Council of Nicaea and drawing together from this common source, we will be able to see in a different light the points that still separate us.”

The Council of Nicaea also set a common date for all Christians to celebrate Easter, but, the pope said, “sadly, differences in their calendars no longer allow Christians to celebrate together the most important feast of the liturgical year, causing pastoral problems within communities, dividing families and weakening the credibility of our witness to the Gospel.”

As St. Paul VI and the popes since then have done, Pope Leo told the bishops and scholars, “I would reaffirm the openness of the Catholic Church to the pursuit of an ecumenical solution favoring a common celebration of the Lord’s resurrection and thus giving greater missionary force to our preaching of the name of Jesus and the salvation born of faith in the saving truth of the Gospel.”

Pope Leo ended the audience by asking participants to stand as he used a prayer from the Orthodox tradition to ask the Holy Spirit for the gift of unity.

The prayer read:
“O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth,
Who art everywhere and fillest all things;
Treasury of Blessings, and Giver of Life,
Come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity,
and save our souls, O Good One.” Amen.

(OSV News) – The U.S. Catholic bishops’ latest annual report on child and youth protection shows abuse allegations continue to decline — but authors warned of the dangers of complacency among dioceses and the laity in upholding key aspects of bishops’ safe environment protocols.

In particular, said the report, lack of functioning diocesan review boards to review protocols and allegations, along with an increase in parents opting their children out of safe environment training, could erode progress in addressing and preventing abuse.

On June 6, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection released the “2024 Annual Report — Findings and Recommendations on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.”

The 2024 report is the 22nd since the charter was established by the U.S. Catholic bishops in 2002 as a number of clerical abuse scandals emerged. Commonly called the Dallas Charter, the document lays out a comprehensive set of procedures for addressing allegations of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy, and includes guidelines for reconciliation, healing, accountability and prevention of abuse.

Data for the report came from audits conducted by StoneBridge Business Partners, a Rochester, New York-based consulting firm that provides forensic and compliance services to a range of organizations. In addition, the report includes a 2024 survey by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate on allegations and costs related to the abuse of minors.

Almost all of the nation’s 196 dioceses and eparchies participated in the annual audit, with no information available for the Diocese of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, was unable to provide much data to CARA due to a court agreement regarding its bankruptcy filing.

StoneBridge identified four findings of noncompliance for the report period. The Diocese of Our Lady of Deliverance Syriac Catholic Church in the USA lacked a safe environment training program for minors, while also failing to conduct background checks and provide safe environment training for most of its volunteers.

The Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, Pennsylvania, did not have a functioning review board at the time of the audit.

OSV News is awaiting clarification from both dioceses on the status of the noncompliances.

For the period July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, the report counted 902 allegations reported by 855 victim-survivors of childhood sexual abuse by clergy, a decrease of 406 (31%) from last year. Over half (61%) were brought to the attention of dioceses and eparchies by an attorney.

Diocese and eparchies provided assistance to 146 victim-survivors and their families over the past year, while continuing to support 1,434 who had reported abuse in previous audit periods.

The CARA survey included in the report showed that during the audit period, 122 allegations of sexual abuse of a minor by a diocesan or eparchial priest or deacon were deemed credible. That total represented 121 individuals with complaints against 97 priests or deacons. Most of the allegations were made by adults regarding abuse they reported experiencing as minors; eight of the allegations involved children under the age of 18 since 2005.

CARA said 99% of the nation’s dioceses and eparchies participated in the survey, while 64% of the religious communities for which CARA had contact information responded.

As it has since 2004, CARA also tallied the costs of abuse settlements ($242,799,401) and prevention efforts ($32,864,402), which made for a combined total of $275,663,803 — a 7% decrease from last year’s $295,466,752.

OSV News previously found that as of late 2024, the total payouts of U.S. Catholic dioceses for abuse claims since 2004 had exceeded $5 billion.

Safe environment protocols remained robust in the 2024 reporting period, with some 2.24 million background checks on clergy, employees and volunteers over the past year, along with training for over 2.2 million adults and 2.8 million children and youth on detection and reporting of abuse.

However, the report highlighted areas where protocols have become lax in greater than 10% of the nation’s dioceses and eparchies.

As in last year’s report, the issue of diocesan review boards — confidential consultative bodies to assist bishops that are required by the Dallas Charter — remained a pain point, with StoneBridge observing “some dysfunction” that included “lack of meetings, inadequate composition or membership, not following the by-laws of the Board, members not confident in their duties, lack of rotation of members, and a lack of review of diocesan/eparchial policies and procedures.”

In addition, promulgation letters from bishops, by which safe environment programs are officially established in a diocese or eparchy, were sometimes found to be outdated, insufficient or nonexistent.

In other cases, dioceses and eparchies “were not effectively monitoring compliance with policy requirements for training or background checks for clergy and other persons with contact with minors,” said the report.

Among the specific deficiencies were “a lack of annual certifications from parishes/schools, poor database management, and a lack of visitation to parishes/schools either remotely or in-person to verify proper implementation of the safe environment programs.”

The audit also showed that personnel turnover in dioceses and eparchies has emerged as “a key factor and challenge” in implementing the Dallas Charter, wrote James Bogner, chairman of the USCCB’s National Review Board, a lay-led group that advises the bishops on preventing sexual abuse of minors.

Some of those difficulties are being addressed through improved employee succession planning and onboarding, said Bogner in his summary of the audit findings, presented in the report via a Feb. 19 letter to USCCB president Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services.

Bogner said the USCCB secretariat’s Child Abuse Prevention Empowerment program, known as CAPE, a three-level online educational program, can help address the gap.

But dioceses and eparchies alone aren’t to blame for certain lapses in vigilance, noted Bogner, who described a “concerning trend over the past two years” of more parents opting their kids out of safe environment training.

“This is indicative of complacency,” which “can be dangerous and open the door for bad actors to harm children,” warned Bogner.

“Despite our progress, the evil of abuse continues to exist. It is a relentless adversary that demands our ongoing vigilance and initiative-taking measures,” wrote Archbishop Broglio in his preface to the 2024 report. “The creation of robust policies, ethical/best practices, and respectful and appropriate behaviors are but some of the tools in our fight against this scourge.”

The archbishop also pointed to “a significant cultural shift taking place within the Church … characterized by an increased emphasis on transparency, accountability, and victim-survivor support.

“We are instilling improvements, learning from our mistakes, in how we address and prevent abuse, and making sure that the voices of the victim-survivors are heard, respected, and acted upon,” he wrote.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The U.S. Supreme Court on June 5 unanimously ruled in favor of the Catholic Charities Bureau of the Diocese of Superior, Wisconsin, which had asked the high court to overturn a decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Court the agency argued discounted its religious identity.

The group previously appealed a ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme Court that Catholic Charities is not exempt from paying into the state’s unemployment insurance system because its operations aren’t primarily religious under the definition in the statute requiring certain employers to do so.

Wisconsin law states religious employers in the Badger State are eligible for an exemption from paying into its unemployment benefit program if they operate primarily for religious purposes. The state argued, however, that the Catholic Charities Bureau does not meet that standard since it employs non-Catholics and does not make its service to the less fortunate contingent on Catholic religious practice, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court previously sided with the state, drawing a distinction between its mission or purpose and its “activities.”

However, in an opinion written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously found the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s ruling violated the First Amendment by creating a preference for some religious practices over others.

“It is fundamental to our constitutional order that the government maintain ‘neutrality between religion and religion,'” Sotomayor wrote, quoting previous Supreme Court precedent in Epperson v. Arkansas. “There may be hard calls to make in policing that rule, but this is not one.”

At oral arguments in the case in March, the justices appeared to note that the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s interpretation of the law would appear to favor religions that would limit their hiring or services to co-religionists.

Justice Elena Kagan said at that time that it might be a “matter of religious doctrine” that some religions “don’t require people to say the Lord’s Prayer with us before we give them soup.”

“I thought it was pretty fundamental that we don’t treat some religions better than other religions, and we certainly don’t do it based on the content of the religious doctrine that those religions preach,” she said.

Bishop James P. Powers of Superior celebrated the ruling in a statement.

“At the heart of Catholic Charities’ ministry is Christ’s call to care for the least of our brothers and sisters, without condition and without exception,” Bishop Powers said. “We’re grateful the Court unanimously recognized that improving the human condition by serving the poor is part of our religious exercise and has allowed us to continue serving those in need throughout our diocese and beyond.”

Eric Rassbach, vice president and senior counsel at Becket, a religious liberty law firm that represented the Catholic Charities bureau, said, “Wisconsin shouldn’t have picked this fight in the first place.”

“It was always absurd to claim that Catholic Charities wasn’t religious because it helps everyone, no matter their religion,” Rassbach said. “Today, the Court resoundingly reaffirmed a fundamental truth of our constitutional order: the First Amendment protects all religious beliefs, not just those the government favors.”

Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Religious Liberty, said in a statement, “The Wisconsin Supreme Court badly erred when it concluded that Catholic Charities is essentially secular because it does not engage in activities such as proselytism. I am grateful for the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court.”

“Catholic Charities carries out ministries of the Catholic Church, the body of Christ, in the world today,” Bishop Rhoades said. “Through Catholic Charities, the Church feeds the hungry and clothes the naked. The Church engages in these activities in obedience to Jesus, informed by millennia of tradition from the Apostles.”

(OSV News) – Since his election to the chair of St. Peter one month ago, Pope Leo XIV has made efforts to learn the lay of the land in the world’s smallest state.

Those who have had the chance to know and observe the new pope see both a continuity with his predecessor, Pope Francis, while tracing a different path that is his own.

Although no major curial appointments or announcements have been made, one person who had a chance to know then-Cardinal Robert F. Prevost during the Synod on Synodality said the new pope takes his time and listens before speaking or taking concrete action.

“He’s reaching out and basically listening right now, and taking notes. And, well, that’s what he did, not only in the synod,” but also in the diocese he led in Chiclayo, Peru, said José Manuel De Urquidi, founder of the Juan Diego Network.

Urquidi, who was among the lay delegates attending the Synod of Bishops, was in the same group as the future pope and saw firsthand Pope Leo’s modus operandi.

“He doesn’t just want to listen, and that’s it, but to listen to everyone as a first step. And to also see how to react in a good way, and work with everyone,” he told OSV News June 5.

For Msgr. Roger Landry, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies USA, the pope’s missionary experience “and his 12 years traveling the globe as Augustinian prior general, have really prepared him well to steer the barque of Peter in the church’s worldwide fishing expedition.”

“The most striking thing about him is how poised he has been in everything he has been doing,” Msgr. Landry said in an email to OSV News June 6. “While his election may have been a shock to almost everyone else, he has seemed, from the moment he walked out on the balcony, to be ready and perfectly comfortable in his new and greatly expanded mission.”

Urquidi echoed those sentiments, noting that the pope’s “missionary heart” gave him a unique perspective on leading by listening first and then acting.

“He has a very universal approach — American but also Latin American — but also this very unique experience of being a superior for many years with the Augustinians,” Urquidi told OSV News.

“A lot of people in the media, or even pundits, (try to) classify American bishops or cardinals on a spectrum, and he doesn’t fit any of those at all. And we’re seeing that in how he’s approaching things during this first month.”

In the first month of his pontificate, Msgr. Landry noted that Pope Leo repeatedly mentioned various themes “that seem to be the initial lines of his papal magisterium.”

Among those themes are “the peace of the risen Christ that the world urgently needs; the summons of everyone in the church to proclaim and give witness to Jesus as the Son of the Living God and the answer to man’s restless heart; the call for the church to serve as the sacrament of communion for the human race in the one Christ who seeks to make us one,” he told OSV News.

Msgr. Landry noted that Pope Leo also emphasized “the importance of Catholic teaching to respond to the social, anthropological, economic and intellectual revolution underway because of artificial intelligence; and a humble reaffirmation that the pope is indeed still Catholic with regard to gender ideology, marriage, family, human sexuality, and the dignity of every human life.”

During the lead-up to the conclave, countless media outlets divided cardinals into ideological camps.

The Catholic Church is no stranger to the ideological divisions in the world, and it made the election of Pope Leo XIV, who was labeled as a dark horse candidate with little chance due to his American heritage, all the more surprising.

Urquidi told OSV News that “it’s no secret” that Catholics around the world, including the United States, are “clearly polarized.”

However, “it’s still very cool and a good sign that a month in, Catholics on … the theological, doctrinal, and even liturgical spectrums are still claiming him” as one of their own, he said.

“I think it has been very clear that in a very concrete way, we could say that he’s reflecting both a continuity with Francis, but also has his own unique priorities,” Urquidi added.

Msgr. Landry said the pope’s experience as an American can help “unite American Catholics” and inspire them to become “salt, light and leaven” both at home and abroad, while his Augustinian background can help reintroduce Catholics to St. Augustine’s writings which “respond to many of the most pressing questions that are devouring the psyches and souls of so many in secular cultures.”

However, he said, the pope’s motto — “In Illo Uno Unum” (“In the One, we are one”) — is a hopeful indication that the new pontificate will help heal divisions.

“I hope that he will help us to become one in the one Christ through helping the church overcome the theological, liturgical, and moral divisions that wound her and enfeeble her witness to Christ and his ongoing saving work,” Msgr. Landry told OSV News.