Catholic Culture Resources
Catholic Culture Resources

Stories for April 2020

Ordered from most to least recent.

Released Thursday, Apr. 30

 Vatican closes inquiry into Orlandi case
 Vietnamese Church leaders opt for virtual pilgrimage
 Church weddings drop below 50% in Ireland
 Brazil’s Supreme Court rejects effort to legalize abortion in Zika cases
 US commission names 14 ‘egregious’ violators of religious freedom
 Harassment suit filed against priest who leads Archdiocese of New York’s Catholic Charities
 California legislature likely to skip controversial abortion, parental consent bills
 Lobby Congress on CO19, immigrants, and refugees, USCCB action alert urges
 Chile’s bishops: We can recover from CO19, but we must overcome hatred, indifference, and violence
 Violent resistance to appointment of South Sudan archbishop
 Parish desecrated in Senegal; suspect arrested
 Nigeria: police arrest suspected killers of seminarian
 Togo’s bishops lament political repression
 Pope seeks intercession of St. Catherine of Siena, St. Joseph the Worker; encourages Rosary in May
 Annual Peter’s Pence collection postponed until October
 In Mozambique, insurgents wage war hidden by ‘law of silence’

Released Wednesday, Apr. 29

 Pope concludes audience talks on Beatitudes
 Saudi Arabia abolishes death-by-flogging penalty—for minors
 Lockdown heightens Vatican’s financial troubles
 European governments under pressure to allow church openings
 Cause for beatification of Dorothy Day advancing
 Buffalo diocese to cut off support for priest in abuse cases
 Head of Knights of Malta dies of illness
 Cardinal Turkson: Do not ignore the elderly in nursing homes
 Virginia congregation sues governor over 10-person gathering limit
 10 states have issued CO19 orders barring all in-person religious gatherings
 Attorney General directs US attorneys to look for state, local directives that discriminate against religion
 Early Jesuit mission site unearthed in Florida Keys
 At least 15 dead from CO19 in NY religious orders
 Despite pandemic, US seminarians continue path to ordination
 Pandemic delays beatification of Polish Cardinal Wyszynski
 French bishops question government’s decision to maintain ban on religious ceremonies
 The Catholic Church in Cambodia: a small community comes into its own
 Text released for May 1 consecration of United States to the Blessed Virgin Mary
 Legal, other attacks on Catholic hospitals are on the rise
 Brazilian archbishop dies of CO19

Released Tuesday, Apr. 28

 Pope establishes foundation for study of Pope John Paul I
 Obey restrictions on churches, Pope urges
 Chinese Patriotic Association bars reopening of churches, pilgrimages
 Federal court: Drive-In church services are reasonable compromise for CO19 limits
 Public Masses resume in Lithuania, with restrictions
 German bishops request resumption of worship, with masks and social distancing
 Search for Sri Lanka bombing masterminds goes on
 China resumes cross removals as virus subsides
 In Moscow, virus plows through churches and monasteries
 In Hunan, Protestant pastor arrested for ‘subversion against the state’
 ‘The whole planet is in crisis’: leading Asian bishop calls for global ceasefire
 Dominican Republic: bishops declare national day of prayer for end of pandemic
 How CO19 has changed Ramadan for Muslims
 Hunger in Venezuela becoming ‘a fuel more dangerous than gasoline,’ archbishop warns
 Ivory Coast bishops: Protect Catholic school workers’ salaries
 ‘Remember our first encounter with the Lord,’ Pope preaches at weekday Mass
 Pope calls for continued efforts to combat malaria, encourages Gospel reading, Rosary
 Papal concern, closeness for Brazilian region as CO19 spreads

Released Monday, Apr. 27

 Vatican cardinal sees need for radical change in clergy attitudes toward women
 Papal encouragement for free ‘street newspapers’
 Boston archdiocese trains volunteer priests to anoint virus victims
 Kansas governor, Baptist churches reach settlement over CO19 executive orders
 In Mexico, criminal groups target priests, others who minister to migrants
 President Trump discusses abortion, Catholic education with 2 cardinals, other Catholic leaders
 Abortion advocates urge FDA to lift restrictions on chemical abortions
 Divest from fossil fuels, Catholic climate movement urges
 ‘Faith is either missionary or it is no faith at all’: papal homily for feast of St. Mark
 Catholic Relief Services warns of worst hunger emergency in history
 ‘Now is the time for peace,’ Cameroon bishop pleads
 In Niger, protests of confinement measures cause fear of assault on Christians
 Jesus helps us turn from self-centeredness to God: Pope says in Regina Caeli address
 Pope Francis exhorts pastors ‘not to be afraid to be close to the people’
 Franciscans lament ‘failures of States to prevent the crisis’
 Italian bishops protest continued ban on public Masses

Released Saturday, Apr. 25

 Pope, in letter to all the faithful, encourages praying the Rosary during May

Released Friday, Apr. 24

 Italian bishops’ president: resume public Masses
 Cardinal Nichols warns against ‘self-pity’ over closed churches
 Vatican prelate raps Italian police for disrupting Masses
 Georgia bishops: churches to be closed through May
 Three more US bishops to open churches for Mass
 Myanmar seminaries become quarantine centers
 CO19 has strengthened Muslim-Christian relations in Iraq, Chaldean Patriarch says
 Pandemic has allowed China’s youth to watch Masses
 Catholic enitities in 151 dioceses received emergency CO19 loans
 Bishops criticize Scotland’s home abortion initiative
 Pope Francis originally rejected idea of broadcasting his weekday Masses, Father Lombardi reveals
 Jesus prays for each one of us, Pope Francis preaches at weekday Mass
 Vatican delivers ventilators to Italy, Romania, and Spain on Pope’s name day
 US ambassador calls on other nations to release those imprisoned for their religious beliefs
 Polish bishops warn of water shortages during pandemic
 In Philadelphia, archdiocese and city team up to distribute food, diapers
 In northeastern Syria, Christians are caught between war planes and CO19
 Fatima’s third secret has not been fully revealed, Archbishop Viganò says
 President Trump’s immigration action will bar foreign religious workers, USCCB warns
 US, Canadian bishops to renew national consecrations to Blessed Virgin Mary

Released Thursday, Apr. 23

 Vatican survey asks bishops to comment on Summorum Pontificum
 Dutch court allows euthanasia of dementia patients
 Argentine government rejects bishops’ request for gradual reopening of churches
 International Eucharistic Congress postponed
 Vietnam court upholds Catholic activist’s long jail sentence
 Oldest cathedral in South Africa is desecrated
 ‘Hunger is a current cry,’ Paraguay’s bishops warn
 Federal appeals court upholds Arkansas moratorium on surgical abortions
 CO19 takes toll on Maryknoll religious community in New York
 US bishops back legislation that would reduce hydrofluorocarbons
 Islamist group kills 52 in ‘cruel and diabolical’ Mozambique massacre
 Congo bishop – and president’s uncle – is 1st African prelate to die of CO19
 A year after Easter bombings in Sri Lanka, priest demands perpetrators be brought to trial
 German bishop criticizes ‘whining,’ ‘belligerent’ demands for Mass
 French president, Pope Francis speak for 45 minutes
 Vatican will ‘gradually reactivate ordinary services’ in May
 ‘Look at the crucifix,’ Pope preaches at weekday Mass

Released Wednesday, Apr. 22

 French archbishop protests police disruption of Mass
 Austrian churches to reopen for Mass in May
 Father Pavone moving to another new diocese?
 Court upholds New Mexico 5-person limit on church gatherings
 Federal judge denies Baptist church’s bid to block Kentucky governor’s CO19 order
 3 states’ CO19 abortion bans remain after court interventions
 Money, vanity, and gossip have divided Christians, Pope preaches at weekday Mass
 Christ passes through all closed quarantine doors, Ukrainian Catholic leader says in Easter message
 2/3 of Christian families have left Aleppo
 UN has ignored tragedy of stillbirth, report charges
 Ecumenical Patriarch issues Earth Day message
 Donation falloff puts 1 in 6 parishes at serious risk, Alberta archdiocesan official says
 USCCB calls on faithful to demand CO19 vaccine free from abortion
 Pope Francis devotes general audience to Earth Day
 Peruvian bishop resigns, but not on his own initiative
 Italian police officer interrupts Mass; priest refuses to tell 12 faithful to leave

Released Tuesday, Apr. 21

 In Pakistan, Christian woman commits suicide after being denied CO19 food aid
 Ecuador bishop rues oil pipeline disaster
 ‘Jihadist terrorism continues to bloody this land,’ missionary in Niger says
 ‘Christ is risen!’: Russian Orthodox Patriarch’s Easter message
 Texas bishop calls on ICE to release nonviolent detainees during CO19 outbreak
 Vatican thanks China for aid, but does not thank Taiwan; criticism from Cardinal Burke
 Nigerian priest leaves German parish after numerous threats
 Prelate offers condolences following deadliest mass shooting in Canada’s history
 Vatican spokesman: Learn from the dream of the EU’s founding fathers
 Bishop consecrates Estonia to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
 9th case of CO19 at Vatican
 ‘Prayer is what opens the door,’ Pope preaches at weekday Mass
 World Meeting of Families, World Youth Day postponed
 US bishops urge FDA to develop an ethical CO19 vaccine

Released Monday, Apr. 20

 Vatican journal launches Chinese edition
 Swiss scholar named deputy director of Vatican Library
 Hong Kong diocese sees ‘political persecution’
 Middle East patriarchs speak of faith, hope, during Easter homilies
 Federal court blocks enforcement of Kansas governor’s restrictions on religious gatherings
 Congregation for Eastern Churches sets up CO19 emergency fund
 ‘We praise the Lord of glory,’ Ecumencial Patriarch says in Easter message
 Mosques closed in Saudi Arabia
 Churches reopen in South Korea as government eases restrictions
 ‘The Lord does not abandon us’: Italian bishop says holy thorn has changed color
 CO19 has led the Irish to cooperate, Catholic and Protestant leaders say in joint statement
 Myanmar’s army attacks Christian villages
 Tanzania’s Catholic president proclaims 3 days of national prayer
 Let us accept mercy and show mercy, Pope preaches on Divine Mercy Sunday
 The apostles spoke with boldness: papal homily
 Pope expresses support for access to sacraments and churches with the faithful present
 ‘A plan for rising again’: papal meditation on Christ’s Resurrection and CO19
 Authentic hope in the risen Christ is heart of papal Easter message, Vatican spokesman says

Released Friday, Apr. 17

 Kenyan priest charged with exposing others to virus
 Epidemic threatens future of European Union, cardinal fears
 Chinese diocese cancels annual pilgrimage honoring Our Lady of Sheshan
 FEMA warns against bias in CO19 care
 Suit challenges Chattanooga’s ban on drive-in church services
 G20 delays poor nations’ debt payments; a ‘small step,’ Vatican newspaper says
 Mormons to build 1st temple in China
 Bishops’ commission calls on EU nations to accept refugees
 ‘The moment to see the poor,’ leaders of pontifical academies write in editorial
 German bishops criticize Merkel’s decision to maintain ban on public worship
 A ‘martyred diocese’: 25 Bergamo priests have died of CO19
 Jihadists attack Catholic mission in Mozambique
 Opening meeting of Australian plenary council postponed
 Colombian bishop pleads for truce
 ‘They disbelieved for joy’: Pope Francis preaches on joy, the fruit of the Holy Spirit

Released Thursday, Apr. 16

 Italian police disrupt Catholic services; Church leaders silent
 Benedict XVI celebrates 93rd birthday
 New Mexico bishop allows public Masses to resume
 Virginia bishops criticize governor for signing abortion measure on Good Friday
 Church challenges to CO19 orders proliferate
 ‘Reprehensible’: US commission troubled by denial of food aid to Pakistani Hindus, Christians
 Egyptian police raid jihadist cell set to attack churches at Easter
 Bishop discusses living the faith in Kenya, 5 years after major terrorist attack
 Paris archbishop welcomes Macron’s renewed pledge to rebuild Notre Dame
 Orthodox Church publishes document on social doctrine
 Pandemic presages a new era, Ukrainian Catholic leader says
 Iranian Christian released from prison
 Mexican parish desecrated
 Pope creates Vatican CO19 commission with 5 working groups
 Cardinal criticizes World Health Organization for pressuring African nations to legalize abortion
 At weekday Mass, Pope preaches on God’s fidelity

Released Wednesday, Apr. 15

 Justice department defends church rights during CO19 shutdown
 Cardinal Pell sees ties between his trial, Vatican economic reforms
 Vatican quashes video footage of Pope with whiskey bottle
 ‘Phone call from Pope’ was a hoax, nun learns
 Vatican names new director for financial watchdog agency
 Suit challenges enforcement of CO19 orders against North Carolina pro-life activists
 Northern Arabian prelate remembered as ‘brave bishop’
 CO19 has ‘buried us at the bottom of a deep pit,’ Syrian prelate says
 ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’: Pope Francis continues reflections on Beatitudes
 Bishops rap US, Mexico over deportations
 Philippine bishop calls for immediate release of cash aid for workers
 Law professor: Cardinal Pell’s high court victory hinged on lower courts’ ‘stark factual mistake’ over timing
 Pope calls Cardinal Dolan to express love, concern for people of New York
 Catholic Health Association journal article offers guidelines for rationing treatment
 New Albanian bishop was once an atheist migrant
 Vatican registers huge growth, engagement online for Holy Week, Easter
 Repent and return to fidelity to the Lord, Pope preaches at weekday Mass
 Cardinal Sarah weighs in on priestly celibacy, Amazon synod, Church in Germany

Released Tuesday, Apr. 14

 Italian bishop questions closing of churches
 Vatican shutdown extended to May 3
 Virginia priest-blogger who criticized bishops removed from parish
 Orthodox archbishop: end sanctions on Syria, CO19 suffering is enough
 Russian Orthodox leader offers Easter greetings to Pope Francis, other Christian leaders
 For first time, Pakistan state TV broadcasts Easter Mass
 Easter in Belarus: no fear of the virus
 Supreme Court to hear Little Sisters, Catholic school cases by teleconference
 We forgive Easter suicide bombers, says Sri Lankan cardinal
 Pro-life activist cited for violating stay-at-home order that wasn’t in effect yet
 109 Italian priests have died of CO19
 Pandemic transforms life, ministry of Manhattan Dominican friars
 Christ’s Resurrection offers us hope, Pope says during Easter Monday address
 ‘We have to listen to the experts’ in deciding when to reopen churches, Cardinal Dolan says
 African cardinals welcome Cardinal Pell’s release
 Pope contrasts witness of women, corrupt silence of guards at Christ’s empty tomb
 IMF cancels debt payments for 6 months for 25 poor nations battling CO19
 USCCB president, committee chairman call for prayers, assistance deadly storms in the South

Released Monday, Apr. 13

 Cardinal Nichols opts for spiritual communion on Good Friday
 Cardinal Pell: one-sided media coverage is ‘betrayal of the national interest’
 President Trump issues Easter message
 Federal court allows drive-in church services for Easter in Louisville
 Time to consider universal basic wage, Pope tells popular movements
 Easter at the Holy Sepulchre, where Christ rose: ‘May the wide open tomb of Christ open up wide our tombs as well’
 Latin America’s bishops consecrate region to Our Lady of Guadalupe
 Archbishop rebukes Malta’s government for refusing to rescue, accept migrants
 Cardinal Pell’s Easter message: In suffering, we find redemption
 Italian TV show receives surprise papal phone call
 Shroud of Turin exposed for veneration on Holy Saturday
 Let us stay close to Jesus and Mary, USCCB president says in Easter message

Released Sunday, Apr. 12

 The Resurrection of Christ is the ‘contagion of hope,’ Pope says in Easter message

Released Saturday, Apr. 11

 ‘After the Sabbath the women went to the tomb’: Pope Francis celebrates Easter Vigil Mass
 Pope leads Good Friday service in St. Peter’s Basilica; papal preacher reflects on CO19

Released Friday, Apr. 10

 USCCB president leads national recitation of Litany of the Sacred Heart
 Arkansas investigating Little Rock abortion provider; virus spread at issue, governor says
 New site offers livestreamed Masses from 28 European shrines
 As CO19 peaks, New York City’s hospitals prepare ‘live or die’ guidance
 Churches, other religious organizations are now eligible for SBA loans
 CO19 victims have ‘inalienable right’ to priests’ help, Cardinal Sarah says
 Crown of Thorns venerated in Notre-Dame Cathedral
 The Pope’s Good Friday Via Crucis: full text of meditations
 Pope, at Holy Thursday Mass, gives thanks for the ministry of priests
 Patriarchs, heads of churches in Jerusalem publish Easter message
 Leading African prelate writes ‘Message from a cardinal sick from coronavirus’
 USCCB joins papal call for global ceasefire

Released Thursday, Apr. 9

 Church shutdowns no threat to religious liberty, says Archbishop Lori
 Chicago archdiocese recruits young priests to anoint CO19 victims
 Cardinal Cupich organizes online ecumenical Good Friday service
 English bishops: priests must obey restrictions on visiting hospital patients
 Vatican thanks China for donation of health supplies
 Kansas legislators overrule governor on order limiting Easter services
 Nigerian nun dies saving students from explosion
 CO19 forces China to ease crackdown on Christians
 Vietnam’s bishops congratulation Cardinal Pell on his release
 At least 96 priests have died in pandemic
 Ukrainian Catholic leader issues Holy Thursday letter to priests
 Nigerian cardinal rips corruption, lawmakers’ salaries
 Priests kidnapped, tortured in Cameroon
 Jerusalem archbishop: Holy Thursday homily at Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre
 Vatican issues CO19 message to Catholic schools
 Israeli president, Pope discuss ‘enemy’ virus, exchange holiday greetings in phone call
 US bishops cancel June meeting in Detroit
 At weekday Mass, Pope prays for conversion of those who exploit the needy during pandemic

Released Wednesday, Apr. 8

 Papal audience: contemplate the Crucified One during quarantine
 Pope creates another commission to study female diaconate
 Melbourne cathedral vandalized after Cardinal Pell’s release
 Court upholds ‘so help me God’ in naturalization oath
 Pandemic’s economic toll just starting to show for both nation, Church
 Federal appeals court allows Texas to ban most abortions during virus crisis
 Pope accepts resignation of Indonesian prelate accused of mismanagement
 Nicaraguan regime halts bishop’s CO19 initiative
 Italian priest kidnapped in Niger shown in jihadist video: report
 Chaldean patriarch offers Holy Week directives in light of CO19
 ‘We have missed so many opportunities’: Zimbabwe’s bishops reflect on 40 years of independence
 ‘In loneliness the coronavirus kills more’: Vatican publishes message for the elderly
 ‘Christ is risen’: leading EU cardinal offers Easter message
 Pope, at weekday Mass, prays for those serving unjust sentences
 Brazilian bishop resigns at 54
 In new interview, Pope Francis says pandemic can be a ‘place of conversion’
 Pontifical Academy for Life publishes ‘Pandemic and Universal Brotherhood’

Released Tuesday, Apr. 7

 Lessons to be Learned from Cardinal Pell’s Case (News Analysis)
 Colombia: 19 priests suspended, suspected ‘network of abusers’
 Spanish police disrupt rooftop Mass
 Orthodox ‘fanatics’ fined for breaking Greek quarantine
 ‘Powerful nations are brought to their knees,’ leading Asian prelate says
 Pope establishes emergency CO19 fund, donates $750,000
 ‘Mercy does not stop,’ Vatican cardinal emphasizes in letter to confessors
 Rome’s Chief Rabbi, Pope Francis exchange holiday greetings
 Chinese authorities imprison priest, cut off bishop’s water, utilities
 Congo cardinal: ‘We are terrified’ of CO19
 Head of Iran’s Muslim seminaries writes letter to Pope, calls for greater collaboration with Church
 In Easter message, Cardinal Tagle calls for global unity in the face of the pandemic
 Colombia’s bishops welcome truce
 Egypt grants legal recognition to 74 more church buildings
 Wisconsin bishop travels to healthcare facilities, blesses them with Blessed Sacrament
 Jerusalem archbishop blesses city with relic of Holy Cross
 English cardinal calls for prayer for Prime Minister Boris Johnson
 At weekday Mass, Pope prays for prisoners, preaches on the new ‘hidden poor’
 ‘Welcomed by many, devastating for others’: Australian bishops react to Pell decision
 Cardinal Pell freed from prison after High Court of Australia unanimously overturns sex abuse conviction

Released Monday, Apr. 6

 Italian cardinal rejects politician’s bid to open churches for Easter
 German traditionalists challenge government restrictions on Mass
 US Catholics petition bishops to make sacraments available
 15 charged in New Jersey after attending rabbi’s funeral in violation of governor’s ban
 USCCB president issues Holy Week message
 Japanese bishops publish child sex abuse report that lacks many details
 Indian cardinal appeals for cremation, rather than burial, of CO19 victims
 Theme of Vatican message to Jains: ‘To promote a culture of conviviality together’
 Cardinal Tagle: ‘Our common foe is the infection, not other human beings’
 Social distancing reaffirms forgotten values, Indian archbishop says
 Papal Sunday Angelus address: ‘Let us walk with faith into Holy Week’
 Christ served us in His betrayal and abandonment, Pope preaches at Palm Sunday Mass
 ‘I bring you the Pope’s embrace,’ Cardinal Turkson says in hospital visit
 Critical repairs to Notre-Dame Cathedral stalled by pandemic: a visual guide
 Shroud of Turin to be shown via TV and social media for CO19 outbreak
 At weekday Mass, Pope preaches on the fight against temptation
 ‘Creativity of love’ is needed in time of isolation, Pope says in video message
 Theme of Vatican Lenten sermon: ‘Behold your son: Mary, the mother of believers’
 Vatican judicial activity suspended for another month

Released Friday, Apr. 3

 Catholic University researcher offers royalty-free platform for CO19 vaccine
 Pope drops traditional titles, including ‘Vicar of Christ’
 USCCB leaders join in statement on health-care rationing during pandemic
 Vatican offers recommendations for Eastern Catholics’ paschal celebrations
 Distributing free masks is a way to love enemies, Pakistani archbishop says
 Turkish municipality to build waste management facility near Virgin Mary’s house
 Taiwan’s ambassador delivers aid to quarantined nuns in Rome
 Nigerian cardinal praises interreligious CO19 prayer initiative
 Northern Ireland’s bishops decry abortion regulations
 Situation in Venezuela is explosive, bishops warn
 Congolese cardinal criticizes nation’s president for postponing total lockdown
 Pax Christi urges President Trump to suspend sanctions against Iran, Syria, Gaza
 7th Holy See employee tests positive, Vatican announces
 Vatican Secretary of State calls for international solidarity, return to God
 Papal message for 500th anniversary of 1st Mass in Argentina
 Jihadists fly their flag in Mozambique—a ‘disgrace,’ bishop says
 Pope laments plight of homeless in Las Vegas
 At weekday Mass, Pope preaches on God’s election, promise, and covenant
 USCCB president to lead national recitation of Litany of Sacred Heart on Good Friday
 Knights of Columbus establishes $100M loan fund to assist dioceses

Released Thursday, Apr. 2

 Florida governor allows religious assemblies, Miami archbishop does not
 Compassion, fraternity are keys in annual Vatican greeting to Buddhists
 High court decision in Pell case due next week
 Cellphones not permitted in Confession, archbishop advises
 Citing religious freedom, Denver man files suit challenging state, city stay-at-home orders
 Judges block states from limiting access to abortions during CO19 pandemic
 As Wuhan restrictions ease, authorities forbid churches to reopen
 The Chinese Communist Party’s repression, lies, and corruption are responsible for CO19 global crisis Cardinal Bo charges
 Vatican issues votive Mass in time of pandemic, special prayer for Good Friday
 Pontifical academies say pandemic offers lessons for science, health policy
 April papal prayer intention: freedom from addiction
 Kenya’s bishops denounce police brutality in enforcing anti-virus measures
 In Nicaragua, government promotes gatherings, while bishops suspend processions
 Recommit to the European project and shun nationalism, leading EU cardinal says in CO19 statement
 CO19 crisis highlights ‘the spiritual emptiness of many people,’ Vatican cardinal says
 Pope Francis: ‘Trust in Divine Mercy and in St. John Paul II’s intercession’ in these difficult times
 ‘Remain in the Lord,’ Pope preaches at weekday Mass

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