BROCKTON -- "I've always instilled a sense of service into my students," Andrea Hurm said April 12. When she came to Brockton's Trinity Catholic Academy in 2020 to teach middle school religion, one of the first things she wanted to know was what kind of service the school community conducted. After consulting the head of school, Dr. Jennifer Roy, and hearing how the coronavirus pandemic limited the types of activities that were possible, she decided to organize something that students, staff, and faculty could all safely participate in: a series of food drives held throughout the academic year.

As I left off last week, we were about to begin our celebrations of the Sacred Triduum. It was wonderful to once again be able to have the faithful present for our liturgies, and I was very encouraged to see that the cathedral was full to capacity for all of our celebrations.

BRAINTREE -- When will the coronavirus pandemic "end," and what will happen when it does? Those questions have been on people's minds for over a year and were addressed during a webinar about forming "A Welcome Back Plan for Your Parish" on April 12. The webinar was meant to give pastors and parish staff creative ideas for engaging with parishioners as the coronavirus pandemic becomes less severe.

CHALATENANGO, El Salvador (CNS) -- Life in the northern mountains of El Salvador is a tranquil as it can get: There's little traffic but an abundance of tropical birds, fruits and lush hills. It's great if you're on vacation, but not so great if you're trying to get an education or a job or trying to support a family in a village with almost no industry.

Rome (CNA) -- Cardinal Seán O'Malley urged religious leaders to be vigilant in preventing child sexual abuse and supporting survivors in healing at a virtual conference organized by Harvard University in partnership with the Vatican and other religious groups this week.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As religious leaders, scholars, experts and abuse survivors come together online to participate in a three-day international symposium on faith, healing and prevention, Pope Francis sent a message as part of a series of opening remarks for the event.