Please disseminate the
following information regarding Perfect Contrition widely.
PERFECT CONTRITION
With the increasing difficulty for individuals to receive the
Sacrament of Reconciliation due to the current health crisis, the faithful of
the Diocese of Scranton are reminded that by having perfect contrition one can receive the forgiveness of sins,
apart from going to confession.
Perfect contrition requires the following three things:
A love of God above all else
A sincere desire for the forgiveness from sin
The resolution to go to confession as soon as
possible when this health crisis subsides
PLENARY INDULGENCE
His Holiness, Pope Francis, has also
granted a plenary indulgence under specific conditions.
The faithful who qualify for a plenary indulgence during the
coronavirus pandemic:
Those suffering from the
coronavirus illness
Health care workers, family
members, and others caring for those with the coronavirus (exposing
themselves to the virus)
The faithful must do at
least one of the following:
Unite yourself spiritually
through the media in the celebration of the Holy Mass
Recite the Rosary
Pious practice of the Way of
the Cross (or other forms of devotion)
Recite the Creed, the Lord’s
Prayer, and a Hail Mary
The faithful must be willing to
perform all of the following as soon as possible: (considered
the three usual conditions for a plenary indulgence)
Bishop Bambera updated his directives dated March 16 & 17, 2020.
Some highlights are that :
All Diocesan Offices including the Chancery are closed to the public and employees while the offices are being professionally cleaned. All employees have transitioned to working from home.
All Catholic School closings have been extended to Tuesday April 14th, 2020. All school buildings are closed to all personnel. Administrators and teachers are working from home. The Diocese of Scranton Catholic School System has moved to “distance learning.” All teachers are preparing and delivering instruction to our students through the use of our email system.
As it pertains to parishes and our parish:
PARISH OFFICES
Parish offices should
remain in operation but are NOT to be open to the public.
Only essential staff
(those involved in payroll, finance or maintenance) should be maintained, but on a very limited basis, working
remotely whenever possible.
Access to the parish and
clergy should be done via email and telephone. It is vital that clergy check
emails and voicemails regularly in order to remain in contact with their
parishioners.
Other parish employees, including but not
limited to Directors of Religious Education or Youth Ministers, should be
encouraged to work remotely if so needed.
If your parish has a phone number on an answering service, please monitor it on a regular basis and respond to all
calls in a timely manner.
Pastors/parishes should consider having their
office phone numbers forwarded directly to a parish secretary, assistant pastor
or pastor in order to help streamline communication efforts. (Parish Secretary Note: in conjunction with Bishop Bambera’s directive above, all calls to the parish phone number are being forwarded to my phone and is monitored regularly.)
PARISH MASSES AND PUBLIC GATHERINGS
SUSPENDED
Effective on Monday, March 16, 2020, and until further
notice, Bishop Joseph C. Bambera announced the suspension of Masses open to the
public and all public gatherings in all diocesan parishes, worship sites,
college campuses, chapels and health care facilities in the eleven counties of
the Diocese of Scranton.
Despite the suspension of all public Masses, churches will,
however, remain open daily for individual private prayer. The timeframe for
each parish is to be determined by its pastor or parish life coordinator. The
dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass during this time remains in
effect.
If an individual is sick, or shows symptoms of the
coronavirus or flu-like symptoms, they are being urged to stay home and not
visit a church during the opportunity for private prayer in an effort to
protect their own well-being and that of others.
Scheduled sacramental celebrations, such as weddings,
baptisms and funerals, will be permitted but attendance will be limited to
immediate family members and follow any guidelines established by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention. The sacraments of the Anointing of the Sick
and Reconciliation will be available, when requested individually, by the
faithful in cases of serious need.
Priests are still directed to celebrate Masses non-publicly
on a daily basis for the good of the People of God, the Church and the
intentions of the day.
All parish events, including fundraisers, dinners, etc.
should be cancelled.
Directives for the celebration of Holy Week and
Easter will be forthcoming
For various reasons we may be prevented from receiving the Eucharist at
Mass. We may have broken the one hour fast, be in a state of mortal sin,
or we could even be homebound, unable to leave our home to attend Mass.
In these cases the Church encourages us to make an act of “spiritual communion,” where we unite ourselves to God through prayer. It is a beautiful way to express to God our desire to be united with him when we are unable to complete that union in the reception of Holy Communion. Many saints including St. Jean-Marie Vianney, St. Theresa of Jesus and St. Pio of Pietrelcina incorporated this prayer into their daily lives.
My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You
were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be
separated from You. Amen.
We are writing to let you know
that we have made the difficult decision to postpone the April 25, 2020 Be A
Man Conference, “Called to Fatherhood”. The recent corona virus with the
states of Emergency being declared make this a necessity. We are
tentatively moving the date from April 25 to October in the hopes that the
virus will be over by fall. We had previously thought that fall might be
a good time for the conference anyway. If possible, we will retain the
same speakers and location.
We will be contacting the men
that previously registered, our sponsors and exhibitors and give them the
opportunity of a refund or to transfer their financial commitment to the fall
date.
We do not take this decision
lightly as men are expected to be the defenders and protectors and to be calm in
the face of danger. We ask that you pray for the protection of the
Almighty. We ask the Blessed Mother and
St Joseph to intercede for our country and our families. On this feast of St
Joseph, we ask “O St. Joseph, whose protection
is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, we place in you all
our interests and desires. St Joseph Pray for us!”
As Catholics we must continue
to engage in the corporal works of mercy, delivering God’s grace in the sacraments,
as we have for 2000 years, in good times as well as in adversity. We know that our true home is not here but in
heaven. Fear not!
“An evil report he shall not fear; his heart is firm,
trusting in the Lord.” Psalm 112:7
In addition to its online edition, MAGNIFICAT is now offering complimentary access to its iOS and Android Apps throughout May. To register for free access in English, visit www.magnificat.com/free. For free access in Spanish, visit and register at www.magnificat.com/gratis.
We are also happy to make available complimentary access to MagnifiKid. Visit www.magnifikid.com/free to view and download each weekly booklet of our colorful Sunday missalette for children ages 6 through 12. While so many children are missing formal religious instruction and are unable to attend Mass, MagnifiKid! can be their special guide, accompanying them through each week as they prepare to attend Mass or watch it at home.
At-Home Editions: These guides allow parents to conduct catechesis with their children in the home.
Interactive Session Reviews:
Session reviews allow children, parents, and instructors to gauge
learning objectives. Results can be emailed to a teacher or catechist
along with student questions.
Study Guides: Single page study guides outline important faith topics in each session.
Raising Faith-Filled Kids:
For parents who may not have the time or confidence to teach a full
lesson, this resource provides background on the session and encourages
parents to discuss faith topics with their children.
This series is my personal favorite. It can be in correlation with
the book or can be taught on its own. This series offers grade level
learning that can be done at home with their parents. Each lesson
offers:
Opening Prayer
Opening Life Reflection
Listening to the Word of God
Scripture Discussion Starters
Scripture Background
Questions for Deeper Reflection
Doctrinal Discussion Starters
Divine Election
The Gospel in Life
Connecting to Faith First/Blest Are We Edition
Forming Catholic identity across generations
Sunday Readings and Backgrounds
Questions of the Week
Saint of the Week
Activity of the Week
General Intercessions
Correlations
The Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in
Ohio has come up with an online Confirmation series for parents to do
with their children. Each DRE can chose what parts of the series they
would like their students to utilize beginning with page 4-Confirmation
Session on the Holy Spirit. Jim Merhaut narrates. http://www.ihm-parish.com/apps/search?q=confirmation+introductory+session
Please Register for the 6th annual Be A Man Conference.
The early bird deadline of April 1 is only 30 days away. We don’t want
you to pay more to attend the conference. The Conference will be
held on Saturday, April 25, 2020, from 8am to 3pm at Holy Redeemer High School,
159 South Pennsylvania Ave. Wilkes Barre, PA 18701.
The cost for registering is $40 (Early Bird
$30 until 4/01/20), Students $15
Notice Regarding Reporting Sexual Abuse of a Minor
It
is the policy of the Diocese of Scranton to report any allegation of sexual
abuse of a minor to law enforcement. If you are a victim of sexual abuse
committed by a priest, deacon, religious or lay employee or volunteer of the
Diocese of Scranton, you are encouraged to immediately report the matter to law
enforcement. If any priest, deacon, religious, lay employee or volunteer of the
Diocese of Scranton has cause or reason to suspect that a minor has been
subjected to any form of abuse, including child sexual abuse, the matter will
be reported to law enforcement. In accordance with the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania’s Child Protective Services Laws, reports of suspected child abuse
should also be made immediately by phone to the 24-HourChild Abuse hotline
(ChildLine) at
1-800-932-0313
or electronically at www.compass.state.pa.us/cwis
It is also the policy of the Diocese to adhere to all civil and
state regulations. To this end, the Diocese is equally committed to adhering to
the norms of the Code of Canon Law and to upholding the tenets of the USCCB
Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, which includes
supporting victims of sexual abuse in their pursuit of emotional and spiritual
well-being. As such, information regarding an allegation of sexual abuse of a
minor should also be reported to the Victim Assistance Coordinator Mary Beth
Pacuska at (570-862-7551) or to Diocesan officials, including the Vicar
General, Monsignor Thomas M. Muldowney, V.G., at (570-207-2269).
