Thousands gather for first-ever Pennsylvania March for Life

HARRISBURG – More than 3,000 pro-life supporters gathered at the Pennsylvania Capitol on Sept. 27 to send a strong message to state lawmakers, urging them to protect unborn children by passing legislation to further restrict abortion. Many elected leaders in attendance say the crowd was among the largest they have seen in recent memory.

“Life is sacred and we need to fight for the right to live, the right to be born,” Gabriel Petrofsky of Wellsboro, Tioga County, said.

The crowd came from every corner of the Commonwealth, including many from the 11 counties of the Diocese of Scranton.

“I volunteer at the Pregnancy Resource Center of Greater Hazleton and our director asked if we wanted to come and I wanted to bring my son so he could be more involved as well,” Grace Bott of Nuremberg, Luzerne County, said. “We came with a bus group. There are several of us from the Resource Center that are here as well.”

The crowd was so large that the group not only filled the Capitol steps and surrounding lawn, anti-abortion activists spilled out onto North 3rd Street. The Pennsylvania Family Institute, based in Harrisburg, partnered with March for Life to host the rally.

Many in the crowd had very personal reasons for attending the event.

“The doctor told my parents that I wasn’t alive several months before I was born and they chose to not listen to the doctors,” Kevin Costello of Tunkhannock, Wyoming County, said.

Costello took the day off from work so he could drive more than two hours to attend the rally. He was excited to see such a large crowd of people dedicated to respecting life.

“They’re here because their heart is moved to support the most precious and vulnerable population we have, which is the unborn,” Costello added.

Carol Carlini of McElhattan, Clinton County, took a bus to the Capitol with a group from the Williamsport area.

“I thought the crowd was tremendous. It’s wonderful to feel the spirit of Jesus here with so many people, honoring what he said and that is ‘do not kill.’ We just don’t want to see abortion go on any longer,” she explained.

Carlini attended the rally with her adopted daughter Madison.

“God put our family together. Her mother, who was a college student, could have aborted but she didn’t. She carried Madison for nine months and I’ll forever be grateful,” she said. “We have a family because that woman decided to carry her. I’m just forever praising Jesus and letting everyone out there know there are options, there is help, there are other choices to abortion.”

Prior to marching around the Capitol, numerous speakers addressed the crowd.

Surrounded by members of the Republican caucus, House Speaker Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, took the stage at the rally to loud cheers as he said, “We hear you loud and clear. Life begins at conception.”

He was joined by Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland, who reaffirmed her stance for protecting life by leading the crowd in large cheers of “We are pro-life.”

Pennsylvania currently allows abortions up to 24 weeks of pregnancy for any reason except to select a gender. Anyone under the age of 18 is required to have permission of a parent or guardian.

Pennsylvania Republican lawmakers have introduced numerous anti-abortion bills during the last legislative session. Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, has vowed to veto any bill that restricts a woman’s reproductive rights.

In response to rally and March, Wolf tweeted the first-ever Pennsylvania March for Life was just an anti-woman rally by a different name.

“As I have said before, so called ‘pro-life’ policies are actually anti-choice,” Wolf added in a written statement. “As governor, I have vetoed three anti-choice bills that have come to my desk. Make no mistake, I will veto any others.”

As the thousands of marchers took to the street, they were undeterred in having their voice heard.

“There are a lot of people who value what God values, which is every life, from the start of conception to the end,” Lauren Owlett of Morris Township, Tioga County, said.

“This is a government by the people and for the people and they need to start listening to the people and doing what the people desire. I believe across this nation, God is moving mightily and he wants abortion to stop,” Carlini added.

WASHINGTON (CNS) – As part of the Year of St. Joseph declared by Pope Francis, the U.S. Catholic Church’s annual Respect Life Month celebration in October “highlights the example of that great saint” as protector of life, said the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ pro-life committee.

“As the faithful protector of both Jesus and Mary,” St. Joseph is “a profound reminder of our own call to welcome, safeguard and defend God’s precious gift of human life,” said Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas.

“Despite the mysterious circumstances surrounding Mary’s pregnancy, St. Joseph took her into his home at the word of the angel,” and like the saint, “we are also called to care for those God has entrusted to us — especially vulnerable mothers and children,” the archbishop said.

The prelate, who is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, made the comments in a Sept. 27 statement.

During October, Respect Life Sunday is observed on the first Sunday of the month, which this year is Oct. 3.

To join in prayer for the intercession of St. Joseph, defender of life, visit www.respectlife.org/prayer-to-st-joseph.

Various resources for celebrating Respect for Life Month — including dozens of articles, prayer cards, prayers for life, a toolkit for parish pro-life leaders, homily helps and other resources can be found online at https://www.respectlife.org/respect-life-month.

As the Holy Family’s protector, St. Joseph “guided their journey to Bethlehem, found shelter and welcomed the infant Jesus as his son,” Archbishop Naumann said. “When Herod threatened the life of the Christ Child, St. Joseph left his homeland behind and fled with Jesus and Mary to Egypt.”

“We can follow in the footsteps of St. Joseph as protector by advocating against taxpayer-funded abortion, which targets the lives of millions of poor children and their mothers here in the United States,” he continued.

“We can imitate his care and provision by helping to start Walking with Moms in Need at our parishes, ‘walking in the shoes’ of mothers experiencing a difficult pregnancy, especially low-income mothers in our communities,” he said.

In March 2020, the USCCB’s pro-life committee asked all U.S. Catholic bishops to invite the parishes in their dioceses to join a nationwide effort called “Walking With Moms in Need: A Year of Service,” which began March 25 of that year.

But “like everything else, the roll out of Walking with Moms in Need was dramatically impacted by COVID-19,” Archbishop Naumann noted in a Sept. 21 address to a Nebraska pro-life conference.

He said the pro-life committee “is renewing our efforts to encourage every diocese and parish to implement the Walking with Moms in Need process.”

Walking with Moms in Need asks every diocese and parish to make an assessment of the resources available to assist mothers experiencing a difficult pregnancy.

The program seeks to identify gaps in available services and then encourage dioceses and parishes to find ways to fill those gaps. Walking with Moms in Need also includes efforts to communicate better available resources and to encourage every Catholic to support Pregnancy Resource Centers.

The program has its own website, www.walkingwithmoms.com, with resources, outreach tools and models to assist parishes in this effort.

Also, Archbishop Naumann in his Sept. 27 statement urged Catholics to learn more about preventing taxpayer-funded abortion by visiting www.notaxpayerabortion.com.

“At times, we may feel uncertain of our ability to answer the Lord’s call. But he invites us to faithfully respond, despite our own fears or weaknesses: ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness’ (2 Cor 12:9),” the archbishop said.

“May we imitate St. Joseph’s faithful trust and courage as we work to uphold the dignity of every human life,” he added. “St. Joseph, defender of life, pray for us!”

People pray the rosary in this illustration photo. (CNS photo/Bob Roller)

WASHINGTON (CNS) – The leaders of three U.S. Catholic organizations hope to have a million people pray and promote the daily rosary during the month of October for “the end to legal abortion in America and an outpouring of support for expectant mothers,” according to their announcement on the joint effort.

The three leaders – Michael Warsaw, CEO of EWTN; Father Francis J. Hoffman, CEO of Relevant Radio; and Tim Busch, CEO of Napa Institute – launched the joint effort on their organization’s respective websites.

In the U.S. Catholic Church, October is observed as Respect Life Month and the first Sunday of the month is Respect Life Sunday, which this year is Oct. 3.

In addition, the month of October each year is dedicated to the rosary. The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated Oct. 7.

“With the Supreme Court of the United States taking up the Dobbs case in December that could lead to overturning Roe v. Wade, the justices will need the grace of wisdom and courage to confront the issues honestly,” said the announcement from Warsaw, Father Hoffman and Busch.

On Dec. 1, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in an appeal from Mississippi to keep its ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, and supporters of the law are urging the court to reexamine its previous abortion rulings, including 1973’s Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion nationwide.

The CEOs said they hope many other Catholic organizations “will join this effort by praying and promoting the daily rosary in October for this intention, and thus mobilize millions of Americans in prayer.”

This year’s Respect Life Month, promoted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, highlights the example of St. Joseph as part of the Year of St. Joseph declared by Pope Francis.

For more information on the effort to have a million people pray the rosary, go to EWTN.com, RelevantRadio.com, and Napa-Institute.org.

SCRANTON – When Thomas and Stephanie Dzwonczyk talk about the importance of the 2021 Diocesan Annual Appeal, they speak from a personal perspective. Their son is a seminarian for the Diocese of Scranton who recently started his second year at Saint Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, Md.

Through their son, Tom and Stephanie have met all nine of the current seminarians for the diocese. This year, the Dzwonczyks are one of six local couples serving as regional chairs for the Appeal. “These pious, dynamic, engaging and talented young men give us great confidence in the future for the Diocese of Scranton and the Catholic Church as a whole,” Thomas said. “They will one day lead us in worship, administer the Sacraments and preside over the weddings and funerals of those we love.”

Gifts to the 2021 Diocesan Annual Appeal have a wide-ranging, significant impact throughout not only the diocese but also all 11 counties of northeastern and north central Pennsylvania. Assisting seminarians who are in priestly formation is just one of the many things that the Appeal supports.

“No one with a true calling to the priesthood should be turned away for lack of funds,” Thomas added.

The 2021 Diocesan Annual Appeal: Rising Together in Christ began in all parishes in the Diocese of Scranton the weekend of Sept. 18 and 19. This year’s goal is $4.5 million. Six regional videos have been produced to feature ministries funded by the Appeal in each area of the diocese. The videos are all available on the Annual Appeal website at annualappeal.org.

“The last 18 months have been challenging for all of us. One of the many things the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us is just how interconnected we are and how much we need one another,” the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, said. “Through the generosity of Diocesan Annual Appeal donors, we have been able to touch thousands of lives – serving the poor, educating our children and spreading the Gospel message.”

Gifts to the 2021 Diocesan Annual Appeal support Seminarian Formation and Retired Clergy, Catholic Social Services, Catholic Education, the Diocesan Office for Parish Life, Catholic Media & Communications as well as Social Justice and Faith Formation Grants for parishes. Donors to the Appeal may designate their gift to any of the ministries listed above.

To make a donation online, please visit annualappeal.org.

Gifts may also be made by calling the Diocesan Development Office at (570) 207-2250.

Donations may also be sent to: Diocesan Annual Appeal, 300 Wyoming Avenue, Scranton, PA, 18503.

WASHINGTON (CNS) – In a 218-211 vote Sept. 24, the U.S. House passed what opponents consider one of the most extreme abortion bills ever seen in the nation — the Women’s Health Protection Act.

“This bill is far outside the American mainstream and goes far beyond Roe v. Wade,” Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., co-chairman of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, said in remarks ahead of the vote. “This bill constitutes an existential threat to unborn children and to the value of life itself.”

H.R. 3755 codifies the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide. The measure establishes the legal right to abortion on demand at any stage of pregnancy in all 50 states under federal law.

“For the first time ever by congressional statute, H.R. 3755 would legally enable the death of unborn baby girls and boys by dismemberment, decapitation, forced expulsion from the womb, deadly poisons or other methods at any time until birth,” he said,

“A significant majority of Americans are deeply concerned about protecting the lives of unborn children,” the Catholic congressman said.

He pointed to a 2021 Marist Poll that found 65% of Americans want Roe v. Wade “reinterpreted to either send the issue to the states or stop legalized abortion.”

The bill nullifies: requirements to provide women seeking abortion with specific information on their unborn child and on alternatives to abortion; laws requiring a waiting period before a woman receives and abortion; laws allowing medical professionals to opt out of providing abortions; and laws stating that only licensed physicians can perform abortions.

“This deceptively named bill is the most extreme pro-abortion bill our nation has ever seen,” Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ pro-life committee, said Sept. 24. “H.R. 3755 is not about the health of women, but only about eliminating any and all protections for unborn children — including baby girls.”

If it became law, “it would lead to the deliberate destruction of millions of unborn lives, leaving countless women with physical, emotional and spiritual scars,” he said in a statement.

“This bill assumes that abortion can be the only, or best, solution to a crisis pregnancy” and “is built on a false and despairing narrative that utterly fails women,” he continued. “In treating abortion as the moral equivalent to the removal of an appendix, this proposal is radically out of step with the American public.”

“As a nation built on the recognition that every human being is endowed by its Creator with the unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, this bill is a complete injustice,” Archbishop Naumann said.

“Congress should embrace public policy that respects the rights of mothers, their children and the consciences of all Americans,” he added, “not advance a radical ‘abortion on demand until birth’ policy that is completely out of step with our country’s principles.”

The Senate version of the Women’s Health Protection Act, S. 1975, is not expected to pass, but sponsors of the House bill said their vote still sends a message about the outrage they say has been felt by women over the new Texas law banning abortion after six weeks.

The vote also comes ahead of the Dec. 1 oral arguments to be heard by the high court in in an appeal from Mississippi to keep its ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Supporters of the law are urging the court to reexamine its previous abortion rulings, including Roe.

“In the United States, the tragically pervasive acceptance of abortion has resulted in more than 62 million abortions since Roe v. Wade,” Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, said in a statement.

“Still, today the U.S. House of Representatives voted to impose abortion on demand nationwide — and thus double down on daily murder of the defenseless — by passing the false and deceptively named ‘Women’s Health Protection Act,'” he said Sept. 24.

“Let us be clear: Abortion harms women and ends the life of a child; it is not health care, and it protects no one,” he said. “Health and protection are about healing, defending and saving lives, not destroying them.”

National pro-life leaders were quick to respond to the House vote, including Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life, who said that “pro-abortion Democrats have revealed their true vision for abortion policy in America” by pushing legislation she also called “deceptively named.”

All House Democrats but one voted for H.R. 3755; Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, was the lone Democrat opposed to it. No House Republicans voted for the measure.

If President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., “and their allies get their way, the United States will soon be indistinguishable from North Korea and China on the human rights issue of abortion,” Mancini said.

Biden and Pelosi are both Catholics who support legal abortion and have vowed to see Roe codified in federal law.

Regarding the bill’s provision invalidating all state laws, National Right to Life’s president Carol Tobias noted that “the 10th Amendment, which gives each state the right to set its own policy, is in the U.S. Constitution. Abortion is not.”

“Only abortionists and abortion providers like Planned Parenthood benefit from this legislation,” she said in a statement. “Tragically, the losers in this debate are the mothers and their unborn babies.”

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, in a conference call with reporters ahead of the vote called the House action a “completely extreme approach at the moment the country is moving in the opposite direction.”

Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, also decried the House vote, adding: ““We are grateful that the U.S. Senate will be a firewall against this radical bill, and grateful for the role of the filibuster in saving America from such dangerous legislation.”

In a tweet Sept. 25, Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison, Wis., said: “With the full support of our Catholic president, our Catholic speaker of the house, and scores of Catholic representatives, the most radical pro-abortion bill was passed by the House of Representatives, claiming that any restrictions on abortion are misogyny.”

In Virginia, Richmond Bishop Barry C. Knestout called on U.S. senators “to direct our government’s resources toward policies that support both mothers and their children. Reverse the extremely dangerous and deadly course you are charting. Do not allow this legislation to pass in your chamber!”

He asked Virginia Catholics to contact their senators to vote no on their version of “the most radical abortion bill of all time.”

“Together, all of us, including our elected officials, must reject abortion and welcome, protect and defend life every day through the decisions we make and the lives we live,” Bishop Knestout said.

A few days before the House vote, San Francisco’s archbishop said the Women’s Health Protection Act allowed “nothing short of child sacrifice.”

The “misnamed” measure “shows to what radical extremes the supposedly ‘pro-choice’ advocates in our country will go to protect what they hold most sacred: the right to kill innocent human beings in the womb,” Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone said in a Sept. 21 statement.

Denver Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila also weighed in with a statement a day later, echoing the San Francisco prelate in urging the bill be defeated.

“Today, the abortion industry and its supporters are pushing one of the most extreme national abortion bills this country has ever seen, and doing it under the lie that abortion is a form of health care that must be protected and promoted,” he said.

Early Sept. 24, Archbishop Cordileone tweeted: “Morning Prayer: On this day when our U.S. Congress votes on whether to strip all the unborn of all protections in all fifty states, May the Martyrs of Chalcedon, who refused even a pinch of incense to the Pagan God of War, Pray for us.”

Last Friday was a very dark day as the House of Representatives voted to pass the most radical abortion bill ever. The so-called Women’s Health Protection Act, H.R. 3755, would:

Allow abortion on demand nationwide throughout EVERY STAGE of pregnancy
BAN pro-life laws in every state and local government
Force Americans to support abortions with their tax dollars
Likely eliminate conscience protections for doctors—among other extreme actions

TAKE ACTION NOW!

Of those present, all but one House Democrat voted for the bill and all House Republicans voted against. The single House Democrat to vote against the bill was Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas. You can see how your representative voted here.

In his statement responding to this vote, Archbishop Joseph Naumann, Chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, called this bill “the most extreme pro-abortion bill our nation has ever seen.”

Please contact your Representative today either to thank him/her for voting against H.R. 3755 or to express strong, but respectful, disagreement with their vote for the bill while urging him/her to reconsider support for this radical bill.

In addition, we believe it is likely that the Senate will also vote on this bill in the very near future. So, please also contact your two Senators to strongly urge their opposition to the Senate version of this bill (S. 1975) when it comes up for a vote.

TAKE ACTION NOW!

As always, we are grateful for any action you can take on this matter and for all you do to proclaim the Gospel of Life. Please also join us in praying that our nation and its leaders will fully embrace this Gospel.

HARRISBURG – March for Life, partnered with the Pennsylvania Family Institute, will host the first ever official Pennsylvania March for Life on Monday, September 27, 2021, in Harrisburg, PA. The event will take place on the Pennsylvania House of Representative’s first day back in session when marchers will rally at the front steps of the state capitol to call on legislators to protect unborn children. It will feature a compelling lineup of renown national and local pro-life leaders.

“We are proud to host this first-ever Pennsylvania March for Life and to be joined by so many remarkable pro-life leaders who in their own ways work daily to build a culture of life. We hope this event will energize the people of Pennsylvania to help shape local policies that respect the rights of the unborn,” said Jeanne Mancini, President of March for Life Defense and Education Fund.

“Since the 1973 Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court abortion decision, well over two million unborn babies have lost their lives to abortion in Pennsylvania alone,” said Michael Geer, president of Pennsylvania Family Institute. “Every day in our commonwealth, the lives of over 80 unborn babies are taken through abortion. And that’s why we march. It’s time for this to end.”

WHO:

Speakers and participants in the rally will include:

PA House Rep. Kathy Rapp, 65th District

Speaker of the House. Rep. Bryan Cutler, District 100

Majority Leader, Senator Leader Kim Ward, District 39

Ryan Bomberger, president of the Radiance Foundation

Abby Johnson, And Then There Were None, Pro Love Ministries

Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life

Toni McFadden, Founder of Relationship’s Matter

Michael Geer, president of Pennsylvania Family Institute

Elena Liguori – U. of Pittsburgh Alumni 2020, Current Masters of Science in Bioengineering/Medical Product Engineering at U. of Pittsburgh, December 2021

Bishop Gainer, Diocese of Harrisburg

Covenant Christian Academy Choir

Herb Lusk III, Greater Exodus Baptist Church

WHEN:

11:00 AM – Rally w/ speakers (listed above)

12:00 PM – March around PA State Capitol Building

WHERE:

The Rally will take place on the front steps of the State Capitol Building at 501 N 3rd Street, Harrisburg, PA 17120. (corner of 3rd Street and State Street)

SCRANTON – It took 923 days in all – but the Saint Patrick’s Parade Day Mass finally returned to the Cathedral of Saint Peter on Sept. 18, 2021.

“We give thanks for the great blessing of faith that has sustained us since we last gathered,” the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, said in welcoming the crowd to the special 10 a.m. Mass which preceded the 59th annual Saint Patrick’s Parade in Scranton.

The Electric City’s last Saint Patrick’s Parade was held on March 9, 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the parade in March 2020 and led to it being pushed back six months this year.

“In so many respects, the message of the saint whom we honor today couldn’t be more timely and meaningful to our lives,” Bishop Bambera noted. “We’ve faced uncertainty and fear, loneliness and pain, and for some of us sickness and the grief that comes from loss, all because of a once-in-a-century pandemic.”

The bishop continued, “I’d suggest that we’ve also come to understand something that Saint Patrick learned centuries ago when he walked the green hills and valleys of Ireland. For all that we are capable of controlling and determining through our expertise, our ingenuity and our determination, none of us can ultimately control life and death. That is left to a power bigger than ourselves – a power we know as God.”

Members of the Saint Patrick’s Parade Association of Lackawanna County, Society of Irish Women, Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick, Ancient Order of Hibernians, Irish American Men’s Association, Irish Cultural Society and Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians all attended the Mass and listened to the bishop’s message which emphasized the faith that is celebrated.

“For all of the challenges of life and the struggles that we face in our families, neighborhoods, our Church and our world – especially in the midst of a global health crisis – this day taps the roots of faith that were planted in the hearts of the people of Ireland. It celebrates our shared belief that God is with us, carrying us through life – not a life free from pain nor a life unfamiliar with storms and upheaval – but a life that ultimately brings us to peace,” Bishop Bambera said.

The bishop encouraged those gathered to look at one of the stained glass windows on the side of the Cathedral of Saint Peter that features an image of Saint Patrick teaching the people of Ireland.

“He wasn’t telling them that if you prayed, you’d never have a cross to carry or a burden to bear. He wasn’t telling them that if you have faith, you’ll get everything you ask for and more,” Bishop Bambera explained. “He was telling them that if you have faith, you will be able to weather every storm that comes your way with a sense of peace, knowing that God walks with you.”

As his homily concluded, the bishop reminded those in attendance that God’s love sustains us during challenges times and reminds us that we have a responsibility to care for one another.

“May the great Saint Patrick guard you wherever you go, guide you in whatever you do, and may his loving protection be a blessing to you always,” the bishop ended with.

People have their Green Pass, signifying vaccination against COVID-19 or a negative test taken within 48 hours, checked before entering the Vatican Museums at the Vatican in this Aug. 6, 2021, file photo. Beginning Oct. 1 the Vatican will require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test from most people wanting to enter Vatican territory or offices. People attending Vatican liturgies are exempt from the requirements. (CNS photo/Guglielmo Mangiapane, Reuters)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Visitors, tourists and employees who want to enter Vatican territory will be required beginning Oct. 1 to show proof of vaccination, recovery from the coronavirus or a negative COVID-19 test.

The anti-COVID ordinance, which was approved by Pope Francis and signed by Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, president of the commission in charge of Vatican City State, was released by the Vatican press office Sept. 20.

The only exemption in the order is for people entering Vatican territory for the sole purpose of attending a liturgical celebration; in that case, they will have access only “for the time strictly necessary” for the liturgy and if they follow the health measures already in force: mandatory masking, temperature checks and social distancing.

The ordinance did not specify whether the pope’s weekly general audiences on Wednesdays or his midday recitation of the Angelus on Sundays would be treated like a liturgy or like entrance to the Vatican Museums, which has been requiring proof of vaccination for admittance since early August. Even with the vaccination proof, visitors undergo a temperature check before admittance and are required to keep a mask over their nose and mouth throughout the visit.

The Vatican police, known as the gendarme, will be charged with checking the documentation.

The ordinance specified that it applies to all Vatican “citizens, residents of the state, personnel in service at any level in the governorate of Vatican City State and in the various organisms of the Roman Curia and the institutions tied to it, to all visitors and beneficiaries of services.”

Italy requires foreign visitors to have vaccination proof and a negative COVID-19 test to enter the country. The vaccination pass or a negative test are required to enter restaurants, museums, gyms, indoor pools, cinemas, theaters and to visit patients in a hospital or nursing home. Beginning Oct. 15, Italy also will require the pass to fly or take long-distance trains or buses and to enter workplaces.

Migrants take shelter along the Del Rio International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas, Sept. 19, 2021, as they await to be processed after crossing the Rio Grande. (CNS photo/Adrees Latif, Reuters)

WASHINGTON (CNS) – The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ migration committee and the head of Catholic Charities USA issued a joint statement Sept. 22 urging humane treatment of Haitians and other migrants as their numbers grow in southern Texas at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Thousands of Haitians have made their way across the Rio Grande from Mexico and illegally entered the United States at the Del Rio Sector of the border, roughly 145 miles west of San Antonio.

The Haitians and other migrants have been living under the Del Rio International Bridge awaiting processing, while coping with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees and limited access to food, water and shelter.

“We call on the U.S. government to reassess its treatment of migrants in Del Rio and elsewhere along the U.S.-Mexico border, especially Haitians, who face life-threatening conditions if returned to Haiti and possible discrimination if expelled to third countries,” said Auxiliary Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville of Washington and Dominican Sister Donna Markham.

The bishop is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration and Sister Markham is president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA.

“As a church at the service of all God’s people, we embrace Christ’s call to welcome the newcomer and accompany them wherever they may be,” they said.

During this National Migration Week, observed Sept. 20-26, “we are especially mindful of that obligation and saddened to see such a disregard for human dignity,” the two Catholic leaders said. “It is in the face of each migrant that we see the face of Christ.”

The Biden administration announced Sept. 18 it would quickly begin deporting the Haitians back to Haiti, even though a majority of them did not arrive at the border recently from their homeland. News reports said many have been living in or traveling through Latin America for varying periods of time after fleeing widespread violence, political turmoil, natural disasters and economic stagnation in Haiti.

The Biden administration has been deporting asylum-seekers using Title 42, despite criticism for doing so from advocates for migrants and a court battle over it.

Title 42 is a provision of U.S. public health law that was activated by the Trump administration to expel migrants at the border, with the exception of minors, over COVID-19 concerns.

Bishop Dorsonville and Sister Markham criticized policies such as Title 42 and expedited removal because “all too often” they “deny the reality of forced migration, disregard the responsibilities enshrined in domestic and international law, and undermine the vulnerability of those against whom they are applied.”

“These are not hallmarks of a ‘fair, orderly and humane’ immigration system,” they said.

Other groups calling for humane treatment of Haitians and other migrants by the Biden administration include the Sisters of Mercy and Network, a Catholic social justice lobby.

“The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas join with people worldwide in expressing outrage over the shocking treatment of Haitian asylum-seekers trying to enter the United States in Del Rio, Texas,” the religious order said in a Sept. 22 statement. “Haitian women, children and men are among our most vulnerable sisters and brothers.”

“We call on the Biden administration to immediately end deportation flights to Haiti and to undertake measures to assure that all Haitian asylum-seekers have the right to make their case. This right is guaranteed under both domestic and international law,” it said.

The Sisters of Mercy noted Haiti in recent months “has experienced a political assassination, a massive earthquake and a fierce hurricane.”

“These catastrophic events further burden a nation with a long history of political upheaval and widespread, grinding poverty, conditions often exacerbated by U.S. policy over the years,” the statement said.

The executive director of Network, Mary J. Novak, accused the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents and the Biden administration of abusing Haitian asylum-seekers, calling it “unacceptable.”

Novak didn’t describe the abuse, but news reports claimed Border Patrol officers on horseback were whipping some of the Haitians as they tried to control the crowd. CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility was investigating the incident, but agents said they were using long reins to control their horses as they tried to control the crowd.

She also criticized “the continued misuse of Title 42,” saying it “relies on the false idea that we have to choose between welcoming people fleeing violence and protecting communities from the pandemic. We can do both.”

“The Biden administration must end Title 42 immediately and welcome immigrants and asylum-seekers with dignity,” she said.

In May, those Haitians who currently reside in the United States under Temporary Protected Status were told they could apply for an 18-month extension of that status so long as they meet eligibility requirements.

TPS grants a work permit and reprieve from deportation to certain people whose countries have experienced natural disasters, armed conflicts or exceptional situations so they can remain temporarily in the United States.

Pro-life advocates participate in a 40 Days for Life vigil near the entrance to a Planned Parenthood center in Smithtown, N.Y., March 19, 2020. The Texas-based 40 Days for Life organization started its fall campaign to end abortion in over 1,000 cities Sept. 22, 2021, with participants planning to pray and fast 24/7 outside abortion facilities. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)

BRYAN, Texas (CNS) – The national 40 Days for Life organization launched its fall campaign Sept. 22, with volunteers in over 1,000 cities across the country planning to pray, fast and hold 24-hour vigils outside abortion clinics.

They also participate in outreach to the community to promote awareness about abortion and outreach directly to women considering abortion.

“With the changing abortion landscape, as well as things happening legislatively in the states and nationally in the Supreme Court, there has never been a greater time for this coordinated pro-life movement in our nation,” said Shawn Carney, president and CEO of the Texas-based organization.

“Great strides are being made to end abortion, and we know these peaceful vigils make a difference,” Carney said in a statement.

Regarding this “changing” landscape, he pointed to “the national angst and protests related to abortion, specifically concerning the Texas ‘heartbeat bill,'” which bans abortions in the state after six weeks of pregnancy and allows an exception only in the case of a medical emergency.

Carney said the goal of the 40 Days for Life event, which will end Oct. 31, “is threefold.”

The aim is “to empower pregnant women to choose life for their babies, to inspire abortion workers to step away from their industries, and to work toward closing abortion facilities in our country and around the world,” he said.

According to 40 Days for Life, about 25% of those leading the campaign are women who previously had abortions “and now want to empower women to choose life.”

“We have heard story after story of women choosing life due to the outpouring of love and truth seen through the 40 Days for Life campaigns,” said Carney. “So many lives have been saved through the efforts of our volunteers and the passion and purpose they have to end abortion.”

The organization has a list of participating cities and locations in those cities posted on its website at 40daysforlife.com/location.

Since going national in 2007, 40 Days for Life has carried out more than 6,000 campaigns in 64 countries and “saved 19,198 lives, contributed to the closing of 112 abortion centers and helped 221 workers quit the abortion industry,” according to a news release from the organization.

All of this has been accomplished, it said, “by holding community-led peaceful prayer vigils outside local abortion facilities twice a year worldwide.”

In addition to its regular campaigns each spring and fall, the Texas pro-life organization launched its first 40 Days for Life 365 campaign late last year after years of development. It’s being rolled out in various locations around the nation.

One of those places is the Denver Archdiocese, where Planned Parenthood operates the nation’s second largest abortion clinic, and the new campaign began this year on Aug. 14.

“We believe this will be a historical day that marks ‘the beginning of the end of abortion'” at Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains in Denver’s Stapleton area, said Maria Elisa Olivas, community coordinator for Catholic Charities of Denver.

“This will be the day that the Christian community of Denver pledges to have someone praying for the unborn not just 40 days, but every day” this facility is open, she said in a statement issued as the campaign began.