News
St. John Paul remembered as world’s conscience, modern-day apostle
The pontiff, who died 15 years ago on April 2, had a philosopher's intellect, a pilgrim's spiritual intensity and an actor's flair for the dramatic over his 26-year pontificate, the third longest in history.
Cellphones can’t be used for sacraments, prelate advises
Administering the sacrament of reconciliation via cellphone is impermissible under church teaching, said a top U.S. bishop on matters of worship. Its use threatens the secrecy of confession.
Latin America’s bishops call for consecration to Our Lady of Guadalupe
Plans are forming for an act of consecration of Latin America and the Caribbean to Our Lady of Guadalupe on Easter, "asking her for health and an end to the pandemic."
Vatican approves special ‘Mass in the Time of Pandemic’
The Vatican granted requests from bishops to provide special prayers and suggestions for Scripture readings for Masses except on solemnities, including holy week and Easter.
Finding workarounds for virus restrictions, Catholic agencies keep on serving
Outreach has become "shoutreach" as Catholic social service agencies in the U.S. are getting creative to continue to meet people's needs even with near-universal bans on group gatherings.
Three African countries show readiness for COVID pandemic
Some African countries have experience battling the Ebola epidemic. Ghana, Sierra Leone and Congo are preparing residents for home lockdowns and, in one case, closing borders.
Demand at St. John’s Hospice triples; $30,000 needed for April
The archdiocesan ministry that serves homeless men is seeing a steep uptick in clients seeking food because of the coronavirus. Your emergency donation can help sustain the outreach.
Catholic leaders urge protection of indigenous during pandemic
Indigenous people in the Amazon basin live in remote areas far from medical facilities or in precarious housing on the edges of cities, often with unsafe water polluted by over development.
On outskirts of Buenos Aires, parishes mobilize for COVID-19
A parish soup kitchen in one of the rough shanty towns near the Brazilian capital was serving 1,500 people a day, but that has swelled to some 4,000 a day with coronavirus restrictions.
Mexican bishops: Avoid layoffs, ‘We’re all in the same boat’
The coronavirus crisis is escalating pressures on business leaders to lay off workers in a country with an already stagnating economy and a weak social safety net.