Category: Diocese of Scranton News

DUNMORE – From making colorful necklaces and singing songs for Mass to learning about God’s gift of creation, children participating in this year’s Vacation Bible School in Dunmore discovered that faith is best experienced together.

Held June 15-19, 2026, on the grounds of Saint Rocco Church, the weeklong program welcomed children from Saints Anthony and Rocco Parish and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, just days before the two communities consolidated into what is now Saint John Paul II Parish.

Guided by teen and adult volunteers, campers rotated through music, craft, Bible stories, outdoor games, and hands-on activities, all centered around this year’s rainforest theme.

For Avery Shivock, who will enter fourth grade this fall, this summer marked her final year as a Vacation Bible School camper before she hopes to someday return as a volunteer.

“There are a lot of fun activities here,” Shivock said. “You make new friends and learn new things. It’s really nice.”

Among her favorite activities is the craft station, where campers created colorful necklaces on the opening day.

“You learn how to be helpful; you learn a lot about the Bible. There is a great variety,” she added.

Many of the volunteers guiding the young campers once stood in their shoes.

“I’ve been doing this camp since I was a little girl and now helping at it is a great experience,” high school volunteer Mollie Urban said. “I honestly love being able to help the children. It’s very fun and I love seeing the smiles on their faces.”

Anna Polishan, a senior from Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, helped lead the music sessions, teaching songs the children would later sing during the closing Mass of Vacation Bible School.

“I want the kids to know that faith doesn’t have to be boring,” she said. “It can be fun and it can be joyful, and I think music is a really great way to do that.”

Throughout the week, children learned that God is present in every moment of their life.

Fifth-grader Grace Markovich said one lesson especially stayed with her.

“We learned that God is with us when we’re sad, happy, sick. He’s always with us, no matter what,” Markovich said.

For Sister Donna Cerminaro, M.P.F., Director of Religious Education, seeing former campers return as volunteers each year has become one of the program’s greatest blessings.

“We have been doing this for about 15 years,” she said. “We have many volunteers. In fact, our leaders are high school kids and seventh and eighth graders. They keep on coming back every year. They just walk through the door and say, ‘I am here to help.’”

Sister Donna loves to watch the program continue to bear fruit year after year.

“I hope they have a better understanding of God and a better understanding of the Bible,” she said.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and other Catholic groups submitted public comments in opposition to a proposed government regulation that would expand insurance coverage for in vitro fertilization.

IVF is a form of fertility treatment opposed by the Catholic Church because it separates procreation from the marital act and often involves the destruction of human embryos, among other concerns.

The proposed regulation, announced in May by the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Treasury, aims to help implement President Donald Trump’s February 2025 executive order to expand IVF access, the departments indicated. It would establish a new category of limited excepted benefits, similar to limited-scope dental or vision benefits, the departments said at the time.

In a 17-page public comment dated July 13 and addressed to the Labor Department, the Office of the General Counsel at the USCCB stated that it “appreciates the Departments’ recognition of infertility as a serious matter and their intent to support family formation.”

“The Church affirms the deep desire of spouses to welcome children and supports medical efforts to address infertility. At the same time, public policy should not promote practices that undermine the dignity of human life or sever the connection between procreation and the marital act,” the comment said. “The USCCB therefore evaluates the proposed rule both positively and critically.”

The comment was signed by William J. Quinn, general counsel for the USCCB, and Daniel Balserak, associate general counsel.

After explaining the Church’s objections to IVF, they urged the government to consider promoting instead what they called restorative reproductive medicine.

“RRM approaches generally recognize that infertility is a symptom of an underlying condition, not a disease in and of itself; and they therefore seek to restore normal reproductive function by identifying and treating its root causes,” they wrote. “In contrast to restorative reproductive medicine, in vitro fertilization does not aim to treat the underlying causes of infertility but seeks to bypass them — in a sense, overriding the symptom.”

The USCCB also urged that the final rule “should clarify that no employer, having chosen to offer fertility benefits, must cover any particular service, and should proactively protect the religious liberty and conscience rights of employers and employees.”

The comment was submitted on the final day of the public comment window for the proposed regulation.

“The proposed rule represents a valuable opportunity to advance real solutions to infertility that respect the God-given dignity of parents and of children, born and preborn,” the comment stated. “We urge the Departments to refocus the rule on therapeutic, restorative treatments, and to abandon its inclusion of IVF, which is profoundly flawed both legally and morally.”

The National Catholic Bioethics Center, the Catholic Medical Association and the National Association of Catholic Nurses USA filed a similar public comment. They argued that the proposal lacks sufficient conscience protections, among their other objections to IVF.

(OSV News) – Damage from two back-to-back earthquakes that struck Venezuela June 24 is “a lot worse than expected,” said a Catholic Relief Services disaster response worker, who asked people to “keep Venezuelans in their hearts.”

Arriving in the Latin American nation July 9, Robyn Fieser — who is coordinating CRS emergency communications on the ground — found “there were literally blocks of buildings that were just pancaked onto themselves. There was massive destruction for blocks.”

“It looked a little bit like a war zone,” said Fieser, speaking to OSV News from Venezuela in a July 13 call.

At least 4,500 were killed during the 7.2 and 7.5 quakes, which took place just 39 seconds apart.

Thousands remain missing, with many survivors struggling to excavate the bodies of loved ones amid the rubble.

“I talked to one man who said he felt the earthquakes, immediately ran home, put his shoes on and went out to start helping,” Fieser said. “He was one of those just trying to help people get out any way they could.”

Electrical, water and sanitation infrastructure has been severely degraded by the quakes.

Catholic leaders and organizations quickly mobilized to provide aid, with CRS — the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ official overseas humanitarian and development agency — “working extremely closely” with its in-country partner Caritas Venezuela, CRS spokesperson Brittany Wichtendahl told OSV News July 8.

Both organizations are part of Caritas Internationalis, the universal Catholic Church’s global humanitarian network.

CRS and Caritas Venezuela have together distributed hundreds of emergency food and hygiene kits, along with tarpaulins for shelter.

“People have lost their homes,” said Fieser. “I met three nurses who are staying in tents in a little plaza right by their church.”

CRS and Caritas Venezuela are working to provide Venezuelans with the basic necessities for daily life as they work to rebuild, she said.

“They need food, they need water,” said Fieser. “We’re providing hygiene kits so people can wash and brush their teeth, and we’re taking care of diapers for their children. We’re providing blankets, food — they need everything, because they’re not home.”

The disaster compounds ongoing, multiyear crises in the Latin American nation. In a situation update posted to its website, CRS noted that prior to the two earthquakes, “an estimated 7.9 million people were already in need of assistance due to years of economic crisis, food insecurity and weakened public services.”

Current leader Delcy Rodríguez — who ascended to power following the U.S.’s January capture and indictment of then-President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores — has faced growing ire from many Venezuelans, who have pointed to her government’s slow response to the quakes.

Fieser said that the damage is far more than physical.

“Every single person that I’ve spoken to is traumatized — every single person,” she said.

One woman with whom Fieser spoke emerged from her apartment after the quakes to see “people covered in dust, people lying on the ground” as an alarm sounded on her phone.

Now, “any type of loud noise that even resembles an alarm scares her,” said Fieser.

Those who still have access to their homes remain wary, especially since “there have been a lot of aftershocks,” she said.

“I’ve talked to people who say they can’t close the doors when they’re showering because they’re too afraid to be caught in a room,” said Fieser, adding that some “are sleeping next to the front door of their houses because they don’t want to be caught.”

Still others “are just crying nonstop,” Fieser said. “The trauma aspect of this is extremely powerful. And I think that emotional support is as important, in some ways, as other life-saving things like food and water. People are seriously traumatized by this.”

Fieser admitted that, with bodies still under the rubble, “you can smell” decomposition.

Yet despite the horrific consequences of the quakes, she said, “what’s so impressive is that even though people are traumatized — and they’re living, obviously, next to buildings where there are bodies, and many people still don’t know where their loved ones are — there’s a spirit of coming together.”

She pointed to the three nurses who are living in a tent “but went right back to work the next day at the hospital to tend to the injured and the grieving.”

“I feel like people are really getting some kind of relief by uniting and helping and being together during this really tragic moment,” said Fieser.

Still, she said, “it’s a long road” to recovery.

“It doesn’t happen in a day, and the need remains very tremendous,” said Fieser, asking people to “keep the Venezuelans in their hearts.”

ROME (OSV News) – Under the Italian sun of Lake Albano and the shade of Castel Gandolfo’s Borgo Laudato si’ trees, Pope Leo XIV enjoyed lunch with people experiencing social vulnerability.

Around 200 people from the Diocese of Rome took part in the event on July 11. “Lunch with the Pope” was “a day of welcome and fraternity” within the Pontifical Gardens of Castel Gandolfo, the Vatican’s Laudato Si’ Center for Higher Education said in a statement.

Before the guests, including nearly 40 children, enjoyed the guided tour through the gardens, the day begun with Mass celebrated by Cardinal Fabio Baggio, general director of the Laudato Si’ Center for Higher Education, and concelebrated by Archbishop Luis Marín de San Martín, prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity.

“I came without a prepared speech, but I did come with hunger — hunger for justice, hunger for genuine charity, hunger for a Church that truly knows how to open its doors, to welcome and receive everyone; where there is love for all and no one is an enemy, where all of us know how to live reconciliation, forgiveness and peace,” Pope Leo said, welcoming those present, as reported by Vatican News.

Pope Leo recalled that one of the pope’s titles is the “Pontiff — a builder of bridges.”

“And today we too want to build a bridge with all of you, with your families, and with the society in which we want to live — a society marked by justice, where the causes of poverty can be eliminated and where the causes of the injustices that still exist in our world can be overcome,” Pope Leo said.

“This,” he said, “is the Church we want to be,” Vatican News reported.

Only a few months after taking upon the See of Peter, Pope Leo first met with people experiencing vulnerability from the Diocese of Albano. That meeting on Aug. 17, 2025, gave birth to an annual tradition of encounters with the underprivileged.

“Each year, a diocese will be invited to involve people living in situations of poverty, refugees, migrants, and others experiencing social vulnerability,” to let them experience ” the beauty of creation” and create an “opportunity to meet the Holy Father,” Laudato Si’ Center said.

Cardinal Baggio said in the July 7 press release that “Borgo Laudato si’ was created to show that the care of creation and the care of the human person are one and the same mission.”

“After Lampedusa, this day represents a new step in Pope Leo XIV’s journey towards the social peripheries of our time,” the cardinal said, referencing Pope Leo’s visit the prior weekend to an Italian island that serves as both a place of the hope of a new life and of the tragedy of those that never made it through the sea to Europe.

“At Borgo Laudato si’, the Holy Father meets people experiencing vulnerability, reaffirming that the Church is called to inhabit the places where human dignity calls for listening, closeness and hope,” Cardinal Baggio said.

The encounter embodies the Church’s service to the poor, Archbishop Marín, papal almoner, emphasized.

“The Holy Father’s choice confirms that charity consists of closeness, encounter and sharing. When the Church places the most vulnerable people at the center, it makes the Gospel visible and bears witness that no one is on the margins of God’s heart,” he said in the July 7 statement.

Pope Leo expressed his gratitude to those that organized the July 11 gathering, which included dozens of organizations that on a daily basis assist people experiencing vulnerability.

“Whenever we come together, whenever we share this spirit of encounter around the same table — the one table where Jesus is also present among us,” Pope Leo said, as reported by Vatican News.

“We are truly building a different world, a world of hope, a world that is a light in the midst of our own,” he added.

The pontiff urged that in a world fractured by “violence, hatred and discrimination,” communities need to “work together and strive always to be this kind of Church: a Church of justice, peace and love,” praying that in families of those that gathered in the Castel Gandolfo picturesque setting people “find peace, forgiveness and reconciliation.”

Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar general for the Diocese of Rome, said in the July 7 statement that the organizers “wanted the protagonists of this day to be people who are accompanied every day by parishes, Caritas, and the many ecclesial and social organizations of the Diocese of Rome,” adding that “the encounter with the Holy Father restores centrality to those who too often remain on the margins and calls the entire Christian community to the responsibility of welcome.”

Borgo Laudato si’ extended “their heartfelt thanks” to Ristorante L’Isola della Pizza in Rome, which “generously offered the lunch,” and to Bar Al Duomo in Albano Laziale, “which provided the welcome breakfast, contributing through their generosity to the success of the day.”

(OSV News) – A new mosaic of Our Lady of Gietrzwald was inaugurated in the Vatican Gardens in a June 30 ceremony attended by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, and Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda, president of the Polish bishops’ conference, who said the installation could deepen ties between Poland and the Holy See.

“In inaugurating this mosaic, we believe it will contribute to an even deeper relationship between Poland and the Holy See,” Archbishop Wojda said, according to the Polish bishops’ conference press office. He added that “Poland and the Church in Poland are awaiting the Holy Father’s visit.”

A Marian sanctuary in the heart of northern Europe’s countryside — often called the “Polish Lourdes” — could soon draw global attention, as Pope Leo XIV has been invited to visit the site where the Virgin Mary appeared approximately 160 times.

The village of Gietrzwald (pronounced Gyetsh-vowt), in the picturesque northeastern Warmian-Masurian lake region — is preparing for major celebrations in 2027 marking the 150th anniversary of the apparitions.

“From this day forward, she who came 150 years ago to simple people in the land of Warmia will remain permanently present in this place, reminding the world of what matters most: prayer, conversion, and trust in God,” Archbishop Wojda said.

The archbishop noted that the apparitions at Gietrzwald remain a unique gift to the Polish nation. He recalled that at a time when the Polish language, culture and national identity were under severe strain, the Blessed Mother spoke in Polish to two young girls.

“It was a sign that God does not forget his children, and that Mary remains close to her sons and daughters even when history places them before difficult trials,” he said.

Archbishop Wojda said the mosaic is “much more than a work of art.”

“It is a sign of presence. It is a testimony to the faith of a nation that, for generations, has repeated: ‘Mary, Queen of Poland, I stand by you, I remember, I keep watch.’ It is also a reminder that the Church breathes with the richness of nations, languages and traditions, all of which form one family of God’s children,” he said.

He added that it is a great honor that the image of Our Lady of Gietrzwald, deeply rooted in Poland’s spiritual history, has found a place near the See of Peter.

“One could say that today Gietrzwald comes to the Vatican, and Poland brings to the heart of the Church a part of its history, its faith, and its spirituality,” he said.

“In inaugurating this mosaic, we believe it will contribute to an even deeper relationship between Poland and the Holy See. May it also serve as a warm and heartfelt invitation to the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, to visit our land in the near future and meet a nation that, for centuries, has cherished a special love for the Successor of Saint Peter,” Archbishop Wojda said.

Polish bishops, along with President Karol Nawrocki, who visited the Vatican in September 2025, have extended an invitation to the pope, raising the possibility that the quiet sanctuary could become the focus of international pilgrimage and renewed Marian devotion.

The events that took place in Gietrzwald in 1877 remain unique in the life of the Church. Over the course of roughly two months, two young girls reported around 160 apparitions of the Virgin Mary — sometimes occurring twice a day — making it one of the most prolonged and concentrated series of Marian apparitions ever recorded.

The Polish filmmaker Jan Sobierajski, who recently completed a documentary on the Gietrzwald apparitions, the shrine remains little known outside Poland despite its unique place in the church’s history.

“To this day, these are the only Marian apparitions on present-day Polish soil officially recognized by the Holy See,” Sobierajski told OSV News. He noted that, unlike other well-known apparition sites, the Gietrzwald visionaries engaged in a weeks-long dialogue with Mary that touched not only on theological questions but also on the practical concerns of everyday life.

Unlike better known sites such as Lourdes or Fatima, the apparitions in Gietrzwald were marked not only by their frequency but by extended dialogue. According to historical accounts, the visionaries engaged in multiweek conversations with Mary, addressing both theological questions — including the Immaculate Conception — and the practical concerns of daily life.

                                                                     July 9, 2026

It is with great sadness that I join the universal Church in acknowledging the painful division that has resulted from the Society of Saint Pius X’s (SSPX) decision to proceed with the unauthorized ordination of four bishops on July 1, 2026, without the proper pontifical mandate and against the will of the Holy Father.

Throughout the years, several popes have worked to restore full communion with the SSPX which is why these recent events have been so painful. Please join me in praying that these efforts may one day bear fruit and that the unity for which Christ prayed will be restored.

While the Society of Saint Pius X maintains a presence within the geographic boundaries of the 11 counties of the Diocese of Scranton, it is important for me to note that no parish, chapel, school, or ministry of the Diocese is currently administered by the Society or its clergy.

For any individual who has worshipped with the Society of Saint Pius X, or who may have questions about these recent developments, I want to assure you of my prayers and pastoral concern. The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has issued guidance for both clergy and lay faithful who wish to remain in full communion with the Catholic Church.

Most importantly, in light of the formal schism of the SSPX, Roman Catholics who desire to remain in good standing with the Church should not participate in liturgies celebrated by bishops or priests of the Society of Saint Pius X or receive the sacraments from them, including Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance, Marriage, and Holy Orders. Canon law provides an exception only in the case of immediate danger of death.

I recognize that many Catholics who have attended the Society’s chapels have done so because of their deep love for the Church’s liturgical tradition, especially the celebration of the Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal. That desire for the traditional Latin Mass can be fully lived within the communion of the Catholic Church.

Here in the Diocese of Scranton, the traditional Latin Mass is celebrated regularly at Saint Michael Parish in Scranton by priests of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP), a priestly fraternity that is in full communion with the Holy Father and the Catholic Church.

At this challenging time, I ask all faithful to pray for healing, reconciliation, and unity within the Church, that we remain steadfast in our fidelity to the Successor of Saint Peter.

Faithfully yours in Christ,
†Joseph C. Bambera
Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, D.D, J.C.L.
Bishop of Scranton

SCRANTON – Father Richard Burke, C.P., Rector of Saint Ann’s Monastery has announced the dates for the 2026 Solemn Novena to Saint Ann.

The Novena will take place from Friday, July 17, through Sunday, July 26, the Feast Day of Saint Ann.

The Passionist preachers for the 2026 Novena will be Father Rick Frechette, C.P., and Father Jack Conley, C.P.

Father Rick is a member of Saint Paul of the Cross Passionist Province.

He is a Passionist priest and a medical doctor currently continuing his ministry in the violence-torn country of Haiti. His love and care for the people of Haiti extends back for more than thirty years.

Father Jack is a member of Holy Cross Passionist Province who currently serves as superior of Saint Vincent Strambi Retreat in Chicago. This is home to all of the Passionist young men preparing for Perpetual Profession of Passionist vows and ordination to the priesthood.

Father Jack has spent most of his Passionist years as a preacher of God’s Word. He preaches parish missions, clergy and religious retreats and novenas throughout the United States.

The theme chosen by this year’s Novena preachers is “Reading the Signs of the Times.”

They will be reflecting on such topics as “the Art of Living,” combating meaninglessness; “Today’s Mission of a Believer,” dealing with a polarized world; “the Art of Dying,” combating fear and denial of death; “A Believer’s Fidelity,” discovering the faith we pass onto the next generation; “the Art of War,” combating polarization and radicalization around conflict; “the Real Presence of Jesus,” its necessary importance in our world; “the Art of Loving,” combating the increasing inability of people to relate to one another; and “Christian Integrity,” an essential virtue for our times.

All are invited and welcome to join this year’s Passionist preachers at Saint Ann’s Monastery and Basilica, 1239 Saint Ann Street, Scranton, Pa, beginning July 17.

Evening Schedule Change

This year, there will be a change in evening services. The former 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Masses are now being combined into a 6:30 p.m. Mass and Novena service. All of these services will be in English.

Novena services each day will include:
• 7:00 a.m. Mass with Novena prayers only
• 8:00 a.m. Mass followed by Novena services with talk, Novena prayers and blessing with the relic of Saint Ann
• 11:45 a.m. Mass followed by Novena service with talk, Novena prayers and blessing
• 3:30 p.m. Novena service only with talk, prayers and blessings
• 6:30 p.m. Mass followed by Novena service with talk, Novena prayers and blessing.

Weather permitting, the 8:00 a.m., 11:45 a.m., and 6:30 p.m. Masses and Novena services are held in the outdoor sanctuary.

(OSV News) – Catholic leaders and organizations in the U.S. continue to aid Venezuela as that nation recovers from two deadly earthquakes that struck seconds apart June 24.

Brittany Wichtendahl, a spokesperson for Catholic Relief Services — the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ official overseas humanitarian and development agency — told OSV News July 8 her agency is “working extremely closely” with its in-country partner Caritas Venezuela.

Both organizations are part of Caritas Internationalis, the universal Catholic Church’s global humanitarian network.

Wichtendahl confirmed that a CRS “earthquake response support team is now fully deployed” in Venezuela. “CRS-supported distributions began last week and so far, we’ve handed out more than 1,800 emergency food kits, 850 family hygiene kits and 400 baby hygiene kits,” she said.

In a June 25 statement, Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, chairman of the USCCB’s. Committee on International Justice and Peace, pointed to the “significant loss of life and severe destruction” resulting from the disaster.

At least 3,500 were killed during the 7.2 and 7.5 quakes, which took place just 39 seconds apart.

“As rescue efforts are underway, I urge the international community to mobilize in support of the Venezuelan people, and to send the necessary humanitarian assistance to alleviate their suffering,” said Bishop Zaidan, shepherd of the St. Louis-based Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles.

Rescue and recovery efforts have been hampered by existing long-running crises in Venezuela. Home to the world’s largest oil deposits, the Latin American nation has been plagued for years by authoritarianism, human rights abuses, endemic corruption and economic collapse.

In a situation update posted to its website, CRS noted that prior to the two earthquakes, “an estimated 7.9 million people were already in need of assistance due to years of economic crisis, food insecurity and weakened public services.”

In her remarks to OSV July 8, Wichtendahl said CRS has to date sent more than 1,600 tarpaulins for shelter support, while already developing “plans for long-term recovery.”

So far, “Caritas Venezuela has handed out 5,000 emergency food kits, 3,000 hygiene kits, more than 120,000 liters of safe water and more than 73,000 medical supplies and medicine,” she said.

Caritas Venezuela has supplied “more than 870 tools” for search and rescue teams, she added.

As they dig through the rubble, often with bare hands, many Venezuelans are now expressing anger at Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodríguez. The former vice president ascended to power following the U.S.’s January capture of then-leader President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, now in New York facing trial for narcoterrorism and other federal charges.

In his message, Bishop Zaidan thanked the U.S. government for its “partnership in responding to this natural disaster.”

On June 29, the State Department announced an increase in its funding for post-quake humanitarian needs, bringing the total to “more than $300 million,” according to an official statement.

Total funding for State Department partner organizations responding to the disaster — including CRS and other faith-based groups — is now at $200 million, said the statement.

CRS has also organized a donation effort through its website, with contributions accepted by phone, mail and multiple online payment platforms, among them Venmo.

Bishop Zaidan called upon the faithful to pray for divine assistance in helping Venezuelans.

“Let us all join in prayer that Our Lady of Coromoto, patroness of Venezuela, will comfort and protect her children and that compassionate international assistance will arrive swiftly,” he said.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – A provision of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that stopped Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid payments for a year expired July 4, allowing the nation’s largest abortion provider to regain access to hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicaid funding.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed by President Donald Trump on July 4, 2025, enacted key items from his legislative agenda on issues including taxes and immigration. It also included a provision eliminating Medicaid funds to health providers who also perform abortions, but only for one year.

Although it was not named in the provision, Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, sued in response, arguing the parameters for ending these funds effectively singled it out. However, courts eventually allowed the provision to go into effect.

Pro-life groups including Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America have pushed lawmakers to include a similar provision in an upcoming reconciliation bill.

“We are urging the House and the Senate to pass a reconciliation bill that keeps our Medicaid dollars out of the hands of big abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood,” Kelsey Pritchard, SBA’s communications director, told OSV News in a July 6 interview.

Pritchard said SBA has called on lawmakers to include a similar provision in a third reconciliation bill Republicans are seeking to pass before the midterm elections. However, the prospects for that package are unclear, amid disagreements within the party, who hold slim majorities in Congress, about what should be included among several other issues.

“This is really now the default expectation from the pro-life movement that they do this again,” she said.

In a July 1 statement regarding the expired provision, Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said, “By deliberately targeting Planned Parenthood, President Trump and his allies in Congress worsened a public health crisis, making it harder for people to get the essential and lifesaving care they needed at their trusted provider.”

The organization’s latest annual report, which reflected its fiscal year as of June 30, 2025, just days before the defunding provision went into effect, showed it performed 434,450 abortions, an increase of over 32,200, or 8%, from the previous year’s report. Meanwhile, the same report showed 389,449 total cancer screening and prevention services — such as pap tests and HPV vaccinations — a decrease from 426,268 the previous year.

In a July 4 statement, Lila Rose, founder and president of Live Action, struck a more critical tone toward Congress, calling the decision to let the defunding provision lapse a “moral failure.”

“On America’s 250th birthday, Congress had the chance to honor the founding promise that every human being has a God-given right to life. Instead, by failing to extend the defunding of Planned Parenthood, lawmakers have allowed taxpayer dollars to flow back to the largest abortion chain in the nation,” she said. “This is a moral failure and an urgent betrayal of preborn children, women, and American taxpayers.”

Rose said Planned Parenthood “is not a neutral health care organization” and “this failure must be corrected immediately.”

“President Trump and Congress must act as fast as possible to restore and extend the defunding of Planned Parenthood and every organization that commits abortion,” Rose said.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities touted the defunding provision as one of “several pro-life victories” in its 2026 message on the 53rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion nationwide as a constitutional right that was overturned in 2022 with the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision.

The Catholic Church teaches that all human life is sacred from conception to natural death, and as such, opposes direct abortion. After Dobbs, Church officials in the U.S. have reiterated the Church’s concern for both mother and child, and called for strengthening support for those living in poverty or other causes that can push women toward having an abortion.

PHILADELPHIA (OSV News) — As the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage concluded amid the U.S.’s 250th anniversary, “the journey continues,” said Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia.

And, he added, “we’re all walking to one place,” with the path leading to the “powerful, transformative and lifegiving” love of God.

The archbishop was the principal celebrant and homilist at the final liturgy for the pilgrimage, which took place July 5 at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia, the second to last stop on the pilgrimage route.

At the start of the Mass, Pope Leo XIV – the first U.S.-born pope – addressed the faithful in a pre-recorded video message, saying that the “strong, though largely unknown, Eucharistic heritage” of the nation “must continue to serve as source of both renewal and unity.”

The pilgrimage arrived in Philadelphia July 2, having traveled through most of the nation’s original 13 colonies – spanning 18 dioceses and archdioceses, as well as two Eastern Catholic eparchies – since its May 24 launch.

With a theme of “One Nation Under God,” the pilgrimage had been placed under the patronage of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the woman religious and Italian immigrant who became the first U.S. citizen to be canonized after a lifetime of work ministering to immigrants. Stops along the Cabrini Route highlighted sites significant to Catholicism’s contributions to U.S. history.

Despite an ongoing heatwave, hundreds filled the cathedral’s pews for the July 5 liturgy, overflowing into aisles and side chapels and joining in the hymns led by multiple multicultural choirs.

Following the Mass, attendees braved temperatures above 90 degrees and high levels of humidity for a Eucharistic procession through the streets of Philadelphia to the National Shrine of St. John Neumann, located at St. Peter the Apostle Church some two miles away.

Archbishop Pérez held the monstrance as he processed under a canopy held aloft by attendants, with the Knights of Columbus forming an honor guard and choir members, in full choral robes, leading pilgrims in multiple hymns.

Walking along the route, Kevin DePaulo and Helen Chalhoub — young adult Catholics from the Philadelphia suburbs — told OSV News that participating in the Philadelphia stop of the pilgrimage was a source of joy.

DePaulo described the Eucharistic procession as “a meaningful opportunity to really do something that shows our faith outside of just going to church on Sunday. It’s a public witness.”

Chalhoub, who carried a banner with the image of the Divine Mercy and the text of the Hail Mary, said that she looked forward to continuing “to lean on the Lord through everyday life, through challenges, and even when things are going well. Just to always lean on the Lord and be with him.”

Patrick McNabb, a Philadelphia-area native now living in Rhode Island, brought his young children Grace and Brendan to the Mass and procession, having already attended earlier pilgrimage events in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

As a father, said McNabb, he hoped his kids would “grow closer to God” as a result of their participation.

Joshua Brooks, currently in his fourth college year at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Ambler, Pennsylvania, said the day’s Mass and procession “really shows how the Eucharist is the source and summit of our Catholic faith.”

As he prepared to help carry the main banner at the front of the procession, Brooks said, “We’re going to bring Christ into the streets of Philadelphia, to give witness to people that Jesus is here with us on earth in the Blessed Sacrament.”

Brooks, who converted to Catholicism in high school after being raised Baptist, added, “The Eucharist really means everything. And when we go out together as a Catholic family, we show that the Eucharist is for all of us.”Several members of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters of Wichita, Kansas, told OSV News after the procession that the liturgy and the journey to the St. John Neumann Shrine — at which Benediction took place — were an experience of oneness among Catholics.

“We certainly saw the universal Church in our procession today,” said Sister Mary Monica. “It was beautiful coming together, because Christ is unity, and so our nation needs to come together. And it’s only through Christ that will happen.”

Bishop Erik T. Pohlmeier of St. Augustine, Florida — whose diocese hosted the start of the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage — said that “what binds us all together is the Eucharist.

“Our greater identity is unity with each other, (more) than anything else,” he told OSV News.

Bishop Pohlmeier said the nine young adults who accompanied the Blessed Sacrament throughout the 2026 pilgrimage — known as “perpetual pilgrims” — had gotten “a glimpse into the bigger reality of the Church” as a result of their journey.

Several pilgrims affirmed the bishop’s insight during a post-procession press conference.

“I think it’s so beautiful going through so many different parts of the country, so many different dioceses,” said Cheyenne Johnson, who had also been a 2025 perpetual pilgrim.

Johnson said she and her fellow pilgrims had experienced “so many different cultures in different places,” adding, “And I think that’s a beautiful thing.”

Yet at the heart of such diversity remains a divine unity, said Archbishop Pérez.

The “enduring presence” of Christ’s “body, blood, soul and divinity” in the sacrament of the altar was given as a “gift” that gathers the faithful, he said during his homily at the cathedral.

“It transforms us,” said Archbishop Pérez. “It conquers us.”