Catholics who demand Communion on the tongue despite Covid-19 restrictions are selfish, Fr Liam Power from Waterford, Ireland says. They don’t seem to “respect the danger this represented to others.” They are also a cause of “very serious embarrassment for priests, many of whom are elderly,” he says. Although the number of people wanting to Read more
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi encourages San Francisco’s Catholic archbishop to follow science instead of pushing for fuller in-person gatherings for Mass and worship. Pelosi, a practising Catholic, says Archbishop Salvatore Joseph Cordileone should not be putting people’s lives at risk. “With all due respect to my archbishop, I think we should follow science on Read more
Parishes risk reducing sacramental acts to commodities when they bow to pressure to rush through First Communion and Confirmation ceremonies. “Some efforts, often well intentioned, run the risk of reducing the administration of sacramental acts almost to the level of a supermarket in which you can drop in and ‘get the sacrament done.’ “This would Read more
Sunday September 13 marked six months since the U.S. declared the COVID-19 outbreak a national emergency. The reality that this pandemic is a marathon, not a sprint, has started to take a toll on people’s emotional and spiritual well-being, with more than half of adults reporting a decline in mental health due to worry and Read more
A story about a retired Italian couple has touched Pope Francis. When Giuseppe Chiodi, 77, came down with the flu in February, he didn’t think much of it. Winter in his hometown — the northern Italian hamlet of Montello — can be harsh. Fevers, at least for the elderly, are a seasonal nuisance. He and Read more
The risk of dying from COVID-19 is at least 50% higher for Māori than New Zealanders from European backgrounds, according to our study published 4 September 2020. Māori and Pacific populations are historically at greater risk of hospitalisation and death from pandemics. During the 2009 influenza pandemic, the rate of infection for Māori was twice Read more
The pope’s mask became the subject of media attention during his first major public audience since lockdown. After wearing a protective face mask in the car on the way to the 500-strong audience, Francis removed it, touching the mask’s front as he emerged from the vehicle. Maskless, he shook hands with prelates attending the audience. Read more
Wesleyan Methodist minister and media chaplain Frank Ritchie says opposing mass gathering regulations is not a hill on which Christians need to die. He describes the resistance to following the Government’s COVID-19 rules by Murray Watkinson, the leader of Wainoni’s revivalist Celebration Centre and other Christian leaders as “extremely sad”. Richie says Watkinson’s posts – Read more
“We have defeated COVID-19 in Cameroon.” Archbishop Samuel Kleda of Douala made the announcement on September 10 during a press briefing in which he claimed that the herbal potion he concocted several months ago had saved several thousand people from the disease. The 61-year-old prelate, who has headed the Atlantic coastal archdiocese since 2009, has Read more
Most British Catholics – 96 percent – will return to worship in a church once the coronavirus (COVID-29) pandemic is over. Results from a new survey say just 4 percent of Catholics in Britain won’t be going back to worship in church. The poll of 2,500 people was conducted by Catholic Voices, a group set Read more