Over 60,000 factory workers in Myanmar have already lost their jobs since the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. Among them are those working in the garment factories that supply some of the world’s biggest fashion brands. The United Nations says the situation will worsen; predicting half Myanmar’s garment workers will be out of work. Read more
COVID-19 has done more to enliven the liturgical debate than anything else in the last decades. The vast amount of material produced in the run-up to Easter was astounding. It’s been a long time since I have seen so much that guided, challenged and questioned our liturgical response to lockdown. It was as if the Read more
Tracing those who have been exposed to Covid-19 is an important step in winding down socially and economically crippling lockdowns. Manual tracing is resource-intensive and ineffective. A number of countries, including Singapore and Australia, have adopted smartphone apps using Bluetooth. New Zealand seems likely to follow a similar path. These apps vary in detail but Read more
There has never been a more critical time than now to think about who you would want to speak up for you should you become sick and dying, and what matters to you most. “Contemplating one’s death may be the most profound form of meditation. Death is the backdrop of life, and at times like Read more
Closed churches are likely to become closed for good in the not-too-distant future, says Monsignor Tomas Halik. This won’t be because of outside forces like the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but because of the Church’s unwillingness to reform, he suggests. Halik says we should take notice that in many countries churches, monasteries and seminaries have been Read more
People dying alone during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic were the focus of Pope Francis’s prayers in his Mass on Tuesday. Francis dedicated the Mass to people dying alone or who have already died, saying: “Today we pray for the deceased who have died because of the pandemic. “They have died alone, without the caresses of Read more
After nearly two months of not hearing church choirs singing hymns due to Covid-19 restrictions, Samoans piled into church buildings Sunday morning in unusually large numbers. The streets were again whitewashed with flashy Sunday best attire. Inside one church in Apia, there was initial trepidation as parishioners looked around to see who would be the Read more
Religion is always implicated in times of crisis in manifold ways. Although the present Covid-19 pandemic is still in its early stages, we already see significant religious responses from across New Zealand. But religion doesn’t merely respond to a crisis, it is also reconfigured in the process. Beyond the familiar To understand these reconfigurations, it Read more
One common refrain I have heard frequently (and even said myself) over the last six weeks of the pandemic shutdown has been: “I could never have imagined something like this!” This is a sentiment that makes perfect sense to me. Our current reality is one that is hard to anticipate in its particularity — pace Read more
Many Catholic bishops are discussing the practical aspects of resuming public Masses, now the initial coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown restrictions are easing. One of their concerns is what to do about distributing communion, which is considered a “high risk of contagion” moment. Cardinal Robert Sarah, (pictured) who is the head of the Vatican’s liturgical office, has Read more