Dear Editor, Many wonderful, good and necessary efforts are being made at this time of crisis, this time of the Covid-19 virus. I thank God for all this, but I wish to add another much needed and very essential effort – a wake-up call; a call to conversion – a call back to the Ten…
Easter liturgies cannot be postponed, says the Vatican The liturgies of Holy Week and Easter cannot be moved, according to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments. While conferences and meetings can be postponed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the congregation said these liturgies could not be cancelled in guidelines issued last week.…
With self-isolation becoming more widespread due to the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis thanked journalists and members of the media who inform people and help them cope with loneliness. “Today, I would like us to pray for all those who work in the media, who work to communicate so that people don’t find themselves so isolated,…
Pope Francis has appealed for a global ceasefire on Sunday as countries work to defend their populations from the coronavirus pandemic. “The current emergency of Covid-19 … knows no borders,” Pope Francis said on March 29 in his Angelus broadcast. The Pope urged nations in conflict to respond to an appeal made by the United…
Catholic dioceses and religious orders across Europe are offering to turn Church facilities into spaces needed for health care or housing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Church leaders throughout Europe have been struggling to maintain Catholic religious devotions during enforced national lockdowns against the coronavirus. They have also sought ways, in addition to regular aid from…
Pope Francis has paid tribute to the ordinary – often forgotten – people who are in the forefront of confronting the coronavirus pandemic. In a poignant ceremony of Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament in an empty St Peter’s Square broadcast all around the world this evening, the Pontiff also said that the current crisis can…
Minister for Health Simon Harris has told the Dáil that he will revise the existing ‘Model of Care’ which regulates and describes the conditions under which a medical practitioner may certify an abortion. Mr Harris made his remarks while rejecting amendments from opposition TDs to the Covid-19 related Emergency Measures Bill, which were along the…
Pope Francis expressed his gratitude to the many men and women who have been inspired to help the poor and accompany the sick and the elderly during the coronavirus pandemic. “These days, news has arrived of how many people are beginning to have a general concern for others – caring about the families who do…
The Vatican has asked Catholic bishops around the world, both in the Latin rite and the Eastern Catholic Churches, to provide their faithful with resources to support personal and family prayer during Holy Week and at Easter, especially where Covid-19 restrictions prevent them from going to church. The Congregation for Eastern Churches urged the heads…
Chai Brady and Aron Hegarty The coronavirus crisis can be an opportunity for parishes to creatively reconnect with people who have lost touch with the Church, it has been claimed. It comes as parishes up and down the country are finding new ways to offer liturgy and pastoral support due to the suspension of…