Agencies working with the homeless community are worried that people living on the street will be left behind if there is a community outbreak of Covid-19. Homeless advocacy group Gimme Shelter has estimated 40,000 or more New Zealanders are currently defined as homeless, About 5000 sleeping rough and the rest live in inadequate, temporary, or overcrowded Read more
The Mental Health Foundation has noticed increased concern about how to manage mental wellbeing since the pandemic. More people seeking advice on how to cope with stress and anxiety. The Mental Health Foundation chief executive Shaun Robinson said there had been a rise in panic and worry. “Concern and anxiety are mounting for a number Read more
General absolution is allowed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Addressing the global difficulty Catholic priests are having in hearing confessions, the Vatican says it is acceptable for bishops to offer general absolutions to certain groups of people. While the norm is an individual confesses their sins and celebrates the Sacrament of Reconciliation, General Absolution can be Read more
The Vatican department for liturgy published guidelines Friday for bishops and priests on the celebration of Holy Week, the Triduum, and Easter liturgies during the coronavirus pandemic. The document recommends that bishops postpone those liturgies which may be postponed. It also indicates how priests and bishops can offer those celebrations which cannot be moved, such Read more
New Zealand’s Catholic Bishops have announced the suspension of all celebrations of Mass until further notice. The move come in response to the strong Government restrictions on public gatherings to counter the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. Bishop of Auckland Patrick Dunn, President of the NZ Catholic Bishops Conference, said the bishops met this morning to carefully Read more
Pray Today NZ, a service of the Word using the Sunday readings began on the Internet in New Zealand yesterday. The lay-fronted reflection is designed for use on social media and is very ‘home-grown’ and ‘raw’. Work on the initiative ‘Pray Today NZ‘ began early last week, however, the decision to record and release the Read more
“All Masses Cancelled” That sign has just gone up outside my local church. Who could have imagined it just a couple of weeks ago? Most Catholics are simply glad. Large gatherings are just what we do not want at the moment. The loving thing right now is to keep our distance lest we catch and Read more
People under COVID-19 lockdown and isolated in their homes should take advantage of the time they have with their families, says Pope Francis. Francis pleads we “rediscover” the importance of “small, concrete gestures expressing closeness and concreteness toward the people closest to us, a caress for our grandparents, a kiss for our children, for the Read more
French bishop Emmanuel Delmas of Angers, who has the COVID-19 virus, says his symptoms first appeared while he was in Rome earlier this month. Delmas was among 31 French bishops who met with Pope Francis during their ad limina visit on 9 March. The delegation included bishops from Bordeaux, Tours, Rouen, and other parts of Read more
As Italy’s coronavirus crisis continues, four small towns in the southern Italian province of Salerno have been placed under quarantine due to an outbreak of the pandemic that reportedly originated in a spiritual retreat led by the Neocatechumenal Way, one of the “new movements” in the Catholic Church. The Feb. 29-March 1 retreat held in Read more