MEMPHIS, Tenn. (CNS) -- Lovebirds Jo Ann Thweatt, 84, and Charlie Feraci, 89, have been on a self-imposed quarantine for over 17 days now, due to their age and the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across the United States.
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PORTLAND, Ore. (CNS) -- Because of hospital coronavirus restrictions, a suburban Portland priest March 22 was not allowed to meet with a Catholic patient dying of COVID-19. Msgr. John Cihak, pastor of Christ the King Parish in Milwaukie, did make telephone contact and because of a provision in church law was able to lead him through the process of an act of contrition and a prayer for forgiveness.
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Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has emerged for many as the voice of reason and integrity as the nation confronts the novel coronavirus pandemic.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The COVID-19 pandemic has caught entire communities and nations off guard, and the best way to tackle this global crisis is together as a global family, the Pontifical Academy for Life said.
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WALSINGHAM, England (CNS) -- English Catholics rededicated their country as Mary's Dowry "in the eye of the storm" of the coronavirus pandemic. Because of restrictions on movement and assembly to slow down the transmission of COVID-19, an estimated 530,000 people attempted to join the rededication by watching livestreaming services from parishes, churches and the National Shrine and Basilica of Our Lady of Walsingham, Norfolk. The volume of traffic volume was so high by the rededication time of noon March 29 that it caused the website of the Walsingham shrine to crash, along with the livestreams in cathedrals and parishes provided by Churchservices.tv, a technology firm offering media platforms within churches.
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NEW YORK (CNS) -- Dozens of institutional investors, including Catholic religious congregations, labor unions, public pensions and faith-based asset management firms, called on companies to support workers through policies to prevent severe economic hardship brought on by the new coronavirus.
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Citing provisions of the $2.2 trillion federal relief package that will aid poor and vulnerable people as well as workers, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City thanked Congress and President Donald Trump for putting the law in place.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Countries fighting the coronavirus pandemic could face deadly consequences if they focus on protecting their economies more than their own people, Pope Francis said. In a handwritten letter sent March 28 to Argentine Judge Roberto Andres Gallardo, president of the Pan-American Committee of Judges for Social Rights and Franciscan Doctrine, the pope said that some governments that have imposed lockdown measures "show the priority of their decisions: people first."
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ROME (CNS) -- While many churches in Italy remain open, visiting a church to pray is not a valid excuse for leaving one's home during Italy's COVID-19 lockdown, said a note from the Ministry for Internal Affairs.
Read moreBRAINTREE -- The Archdiocese of Boston announced March 30 that Augustinian Father Peter Gori has been cleared of an allegation of abuse and that Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley, has returned him to active ministry. Father Gori has also been reinstated as pastor of St. Augustine Parish in Andover and will return to the parish by Palm Sunday.
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LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- Here is a column titled "Love in a time without hugs" by Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez published online March 24 in Angelus, the media arm of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The archbishop, who is the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, writes a weekly column in Angelus, called "New World of Faith."
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OXFORD, England (CNS) -- Catholic dioceses and religious orders across Europe are offering to turn church facilities into spaces needed for health care or housing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Church leaders throughout Europe have been struggling to maintain Catholic religious devotions during enforced national lockdowns against the coronavirus, but have also sought ways, in addition to regular aid from Caritas and other Catholic organizations, of making resources available for health and social services.
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WILMINGTON, Del. (CNS) -- Mother Margaret Regina Halloran was doing her best to fight back tears in the early morning of March 27, but she wasn't really winning the struggle. The local superior of the Jeanne Jugan Residence in Newark, Delaware, run by the Little Sisters of the Poor had the most difficult time the day before when a longtime resident died after testing positive for the coronavirus. The 86-year-old man with Philadelphia roots was a popular resident who delighted many over the years by dancing a version of the "Mummers Strut" -- a Philadelphia New Year's Day parade tradition.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The worldwide coronavirus pandemic is not God's judgment on humanity, but God's call on people to judge what is most important to them and resolve to act accordingly from now on, Pope Francis said.
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ROME (CNS) -- When Father Mario Carminati went to bless the remains of one of his parishioners, he called the deceased man's daughter on WhatsApp so they could pray together. "One of his daughters is in Turin and couldn't take part," he said, the Catholic magazine Famiglia Cristiana reported March 26. "It was very emotional," as she was able to pray with them through the messaging service, said the parish priest from Seriate, near Bergamo.
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BRAINTREE -- As the people of Massachusetts find themselves under a stay-at-home advisory and are being urged limits trips outside -- even to the grocery store -- Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley has lifted the obligation for Catholics in the Archdiocese of Boston to abstain from meat on Fridays for the remainder of Lent.
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BRAINTREE -- In a Lenten season of "social distancing," when Masses have been suspended and civic authorities are urging people to stay home to avoid spreading the COVID-19 virus, priests are looking for creative ways to minister the sacraments to their parishioners. A few in the archdiocese have been trying a new way of offering the Sacrament of Reconciliation: creating an outdoor "confessional" with a "drive-through" or "walk-up" setup.
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BRAINTREE -- How do you keep a sense of normalcy in a time of crisis? How do you maintain a sense of community while physically isolated from friends, mentors, and colleagues? These are the questions that Catholic school communities have been wrestling with while transitioning to "remote learning" after schools were closed to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
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BRAINTREE -- Though Catholics in the Archdiocese of Boston began the fourth week of Lent with Masses and other parish activities suspended, they had the opportunity to join Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley for a 5-day "Virtual Lenten Retreat" broadcast through CatholicTV, online and through social media.
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BRAINTREE -- In response to a stay-at-home advisory issued by Gov. Charlie Baker, Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley has issued new, stricter guidelines under which churches in the Archdiocese of Boston should remain open to the public. The cardinal also urged populations vulnerable to COVID-19 to "exercise careful and prudential judgment" when deciding to visit a church.
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BRAINTREE -- Since the archdiocese announced on March 13 that all Masses were being suspended in order to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, many parishes have turned to the Internet as a platform for sharing the Mass and staying connected with their communities in this time of "social distancing."
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This week, following the recommended protocols for social distancing, I am celebrating Mass in the rectory of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross each day for all of our people, especially those who greatly desire to attend Mass but are unable to at this time.
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CLEVELAND (CNS) -- Catholic hospitals, parish schools and charitable agencies are among the entities hoping to receive partial relief under a massive $2.2 trillion emergency aid package unanimously approved by the Senate in response to the crippling new coronavirus.
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Church leaders around the world used the feast of the Annunciation March 25 to entrust their nations to Mary and Jesus. Catholic leaders from 24 states sought divine help in ending the COVID-19 pandemic by consecrating their countries to Jesus and Mary during a March 25 ceremony in Fatima, Portugal.
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PORTLAND, Ore. (CNS) -- Early in the coronavirus pandemic, even before Archbishop Alexander K. Sample of Portland canceled public Masses, the advice came that Catholics 60 and older should stay away from liturgies.
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BONN, Germany (CNS) -- She had become nearly forgotten. Little is known about the young woman who was killed for her Christian faith, presumably in the second century A.D. But now, a pandemic is shedding light on her: St. Corona.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Neither Pope Francis nor any of his closest collaborators have the COVID-19 virus, said Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office. In a note March 28, Bruni confirmed that a monsignor, who works in the Vatican Secretariat of State and lives in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where Pope Francis lives, did test positive for the coronavirus and, "as a precaution," was hospitalized.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis said he will grant a plenary indulgence to the faithful who watch or listen to his extraordinary blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world) at 6 p.m. Rome time March 27.
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Vatican City, Mar 25, 2020 CNA.- The miraculous crucifix at which Pope Francis prayed Sunday for an end to the coronavirus has been taken down from its altar and transported to St. Peter's Square, so it can be present on Friday during the pontiff's benediction "Urbi et Orbi."
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis offered his early morning Mass for vulnerable people and health care workers who live in fear that they or their loved ones may fall ill to the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the world.
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BALTIMORE (CNS) -- Catholic ethicists and legal experts are sounding the alarm that the scarcity of resources such as ventilators and hospital beds during the current coronavirus pandemic could prompt health care decisions based only on age and disability -- and in some cases already is.
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QUEBEC CITY (CNS) -- As the Quebec government tightens measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and allows only essential services, the Catholic dioceses of the province have started temporary layoffs affecting hundreds of Catholic employees and priests.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican doctrinal office announced the optional use of seven eucharistic prefaces as well as the celebration of the feast days of recently canonized saints in the "extraordinary" form of the Mass.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican has asked Catholic bishops around the world, both in the Latin rite and the Eastern Catholic Churches, to provide their faithful with resources to support personal and family prayer during Holy Week and at Easter, especially where COVID-19 restrictions prevent them from going to church.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Doctors working in the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy have launched an appeal in a major medical journal warning the outbreak in their province is out of control. The medical and humanitarian emergency unfolding before their eyes has made it clear that the Western health care system of centralized hospital care cannot handle this and future epidemics and needs to shift toward more community-focused care.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Joined by Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant church leaders and faithful from around the world, Pope Francis led the recitation of the Lord's Prayer, imploring God's mercy on humanity amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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