Stories for week of March 15, 2020

Ordered from most to least recent.

Released Friday, Mar. 20

 Vatican issues special guidelines for Easter celebrations
 Vatican cardinal urges religious to obey civil leaders on epidemic measures
 Iranian ayatollah asks Pope for help to lift sanctions, allow medical care
 Bolivia: Church suspends liturgy, but elections still scheduled
 September papal visit to Indonesia postponed
 Vatican: general absolution may be allowed during epidemic emergency
 Vatican: plenary indulgences for virus victims, caregivers, all who pray for them
 Vatican Tribunal hearings suspended
 Maine priests offer ‘drive-through’ confessions
 Buffalo Catholic hospital becomes 1st coronavirus hospital in New York
 UN women’s conference downplays abortion
 ‘A travesty of human rights’: New Zealand bishops lament new abortion law
 ‘Black Pope’ reflects on the Jesuits and Pope Francis’ vision
 No Mass, no offertory: Parish, diocesan, national collections take a hit
 Christian solidarity during coronavirus changes form but does not disappear, Ukrainian Catholic leader says
 ‘Do not be afraid,’ Pope says in new interview
 ‘We cannot stop serving those who need it most,’ Venezeualan cardinal says
 Kenyan cardinal warns against Gwata Ndai
 Cardinal issues appeal: ‘Do not forget Syria’
 Oklahoma senate passes bill to ban abortion once baby’s heartbeat is audible
 EU bishops’ commission discusses data protection, whistleblowers, security
 We entrust ourselves to St. Joseph’s intercession, Pope says in video message to Italian Catholics
 St. Joseph entered into God’s mystery, Pope preaches
 New Mexico bishop consecrates diocese to St. Joseph
 Lebanon: 2 Maronite Church buildings to hospitalize coronavirus patients
 Jerusalem on lockdown

Released Thursday, Mar. 19

 Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople suspends liturgical services
 Medjugorje ‘seer’ says apparitions suspended
 Veteran pro-life Illinois Democrat ousted in primary
 Australian archbishop: keep Catholic schools open
 Sri Lankan cardinal seeks probe into cause of COVID-19
 ACLU sues ‘sanctuary cities for the unborn’
 Turn this crisis into an opportunity, Vatican official urges priests
 ‘No time for cheap heroism’: Slovakia’s bishops suspend public Masses
 German bishop under quarantine
 Acts of public worship suspended in Catholic churches in England and Wales
 Khartoum church attacked 4 times by extremists
 Nuns declare worldwide day of prayer, solidarity for those affected by coronavirus
 Richmond bishop quarantines himself
 Catholic organizations call on DHS to remove barriers to immigrants’ healthcare access
 Pope urges Italy’s Catholics to pray Rosary together on March 19
 Public Masses suspended in all 50 states
 USCCB comes to defense of Catholic Relief Services
 At weekday Mass, Pope prays for those who have died from coronavirus
 Pope highlights importance of Confession

Released Wednesday, Mar. 18

 Forgive others to be forgiven, Pope says at audience
 Leading Methodist ecumenist dies at 81
 7 coronavirus cases confirmed in 2 Queens parishes
 Canada’s psychiatrists: Refusing euthanasia for mentally ill is ‘discrimination’
 Public Masses suspended in Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay
 Pontifical academy preparing document on ‘Coronavirus and Human Fraternity’
 Leading Polish prelate calls for common nightly Rosary
 Pope, in newspaper interview, encourages families to show concrete gestures of love
 Italian bishop survives coronavirus, returns from hospital
 Vatican official: ‘We are going through the dark night of the soul’
 Congolese priest survives machete attack
 Maronite Patriarch weighs in on Lebanon’s economic crisis
 Lourdes shrine closes for the first time in its history
 Pope Francis prays for the elderly, preaches on forgiveness
 147 US dioceses have suspended all public Masses

Released Tuesday, Mar. 17

 Over 10,000 Christians killed, 50 clerics kidnapped in Nigeria since 2015
 New complaint of Catholic Relief Services involvement in ‘reproductive health’ program
 Indian bishop will face trial on rape charge
 Notorious French ex-priest receives 5-year jail term
 Luxembourg cardinal is quarantined
 Half of US seminarians in Rome return home
 Couple assaulted for distributing Christian tracts in Tamil Nadu
 Vatican services for the poor continue despite coronavirus, papal almoner says
 Public Masses suspended in additional European nations
 El Salvador cardinal placed under quarantine
 Nuns, British embassy establish network to fight human trafficking in Ethiopia
 85 US dioceses suspend public Masses
 Leading Mexican bishops urge brother bishops to suspend Sunday Masses
 Reporting system to record abuse complaints against US bishops becomes operational
 Shrines in Israel remain open: no more than 10 people may visit at a time
 Pope, in weekday Mass, preaches on the indignation of the people of Nazareth
 ‘God is at our side in time of trouble,’ primate says in St. Patrick’s Day message

Released Monday, Mar. 16

 New law to regulate Vatican City court system
 US Catholic dioceses suspend Mass, grant dispensations
 Austrian bishops cancel assembly; Cardinal Schönborn remains as president
 Spanish bishops suspend public Masses
 European court rejects midwives’ appeal to avoid abortion
 French bishops suspend public Masses
 Papal secretary: priests should be on front lines against epidemic
 Philadelphia priest faces new trial after conviction overturned twice
 Canadian abuse victims irritated by bishops’ secrecy
 Baltimore Catholic layman at the forefront of US response to coronavirus
 Italian bishop hospitalized with coronavirus; priest dies of the disease
 With mortuaries full, Bergamo church opens doors to dozens of coffins
 ‘Born-Alive’ bill on its way to Wyoming governor; similar bill passes in Alabama House
 Do not abandon the faithful during the pandemic, Pope urges priests
 Scandinavia’s bishops, Lutheran leaders urge EU leaders to be open to refugees
 Saturday papal Mass offered for families
 Vatican Holy Week celebrations to take place without the presence of the faithful
 Sunday papal Mass offered for those serving the public
 In Sunday Angelus address, Pope reflects on Samaritan woman’s thirst for Christ
 Pope leaves Vatican, prays before famed icon, miraculous crucifix for pandemic’s end
 USCCB: statements on coronavirus, prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe
 Embattled prelate to lead new Nigerian diocese

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Mon29 December
Christmas

Fifth Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas); Opt Mem of St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr

Image for Fifth Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas); Opt Mem of St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr

Today is the Fifth day within the Octave of Christmas. The Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. Thomas Becket (1118-1170), bishop and martyr. He was born in London and after studying in Paris, he first became chancellor to the king and then in 1162 was chosen Archbishop of Canterbury. He…

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