Challenging this terrible reality, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a heartfelt appeal for a global ceasefire. Inspiringly he said, “Our world faces a common enemy: COVID-19. The virus does not care about nationality or ethnicity, faction or faith. It attacks all, relentlessly. “Meanwhile, armed conflict rages on around the world. The most vulnerable — women Read more
Singapore’s government is often praised, domestically and internationally, for its planning and foresight — and, in the past few months, particularly for its response to the coronavirus pandemic. But recent developments have demonstrated that you can’t have the foresight for things you refuse to see. A sharp increase in COVID-19 cases among the country’s migrant Read more
A new hymn expressing hope and trust in God has been composed for this time of pandemic. Father Michael Joncas, whose compositions include “On Eagle’s Wings,” is a well-known American composer of liturgical music. He says the idea for the hymn roused him from sleep at three in the morning at the end of last Read more
Pope Francis is calling online Masses and spiritual communion “dangerous”. His concern is that detached from the church, God’s people and the Sacraments, the COVID-19 lockdown may cause people to live the faith only for themselves. After dedicating Sunday’s Mass to expectant mothers, whose needs are in his prayers during the pandemic, Francis focused his Read more
Mass attendance has trebled in a Welsh diocese due to online services being broadcast. The Welsh bishops’ conference website says about 1300 people viewed the Palm Sunday Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral. This is three times the normal congregation for that service. There has also been a vast increase in daily Mass attendance in the Read more
Tropical Cyclone Harold has presented the challenge of how to respond to two over-lapping emergency responses; COVID-19 and Harold. The executive director of the Council of International Development, Josie Pagani, said that during the lockdown the charities aren’t able to fundraise and the public can’t donate. She said the international aid charities typically get about Read more
Father Maurice Carmody met the funeral directors — at the required social distance – by the roadside outside his home, which is close to the parish church, to conduct a simple funeral rite. Standing near the open rear door of the hearse, he said the prayers of final commendation while the family watched and prayed Read more
In New York, the US state hit hardest by Covid-19, the pandemic has disrupted life for millions. Non-essential businesses have been ordered to shut their doors and New Yorkers asked to remain at home as much as possible. But at least one part of daily life will now have a chance to resume. Today, governor Read more
A multi-cultural team comprising staff and students from the University of Otago’s School of Pharmacy has been aiding New Zealand’s fight against the COVID-19 virus. Read more
A group of nuns have reportedly volunteered to be locked inside a coronavirus hit nursing home in Poland after numbers of staff there were dramatically reduced by infection and quarantine measures. According to the Polish TV site TVN24, 10 sisters from the Congregation of St. Dominic stepped in when a coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in a Read more