Do not give in to evil and division, Pope tells Myanmar community
Vatican CityReuters The people of Myanmar must not despair in the face of evil or allow themselves to be divided, Pope Francis said on Sunday at a special Mass for the Myanmar community in Italy. Myanmar’s military seized power in a 1st February coup, derailing the country’s tentative progress towards full democracy and triggering protests […]
Italy opens churches as virus rules dictate how to eat, pray
Vatican CityAP Italy and the Vatican allowed the first public Masses to be celebrated since March on Monday as coronavirus restrictions eased further, following a sharp confrontation between church and state over limits on worshiping in the era of COVID-19. Guards in hazmat suits took the temperature of the faithful entering St Peter’s Basilica, where […]
With caution and concern, Catholic Masses scheduled to resume in Italy
Vatican CityRNS Italian authorities on Thursday gave the go-ahead for public Masses starting on 18th May, after the government and Catholic bishops struggled to find an accord that would ensure safety measures amid the coronavirus pandemic. A protocol allowing Catholic faithful to attend Mass was signed Thursday by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte; the president of the […]
As country begins to open, Italian Bishops argue against continued ban on Masses
Vatican CityRNS After nearly 50 days of a nation-wide lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Italian Government is beginning to outline “Phase Two”, which will allow the opening of some businesses and freedom of movement for currently home-bound citizens – but which will not allow Masses. The leading coalition in Italy has decided […]
Essay: How social distancing may change the way we do church
US Catholic commentator THOMAS REESE, in an article first published on Religion News Service, looks at how churches might be able to resume services at some point in the future – but only if they can put in place and enforce rigorous physical distancing regimes…
ESSAY: WILL CATHOLICS AND PROTESTANTS EVER HEAL THEIR RIFT OVER COMMUNION?
In an article first published on The Conversation, THOMAS O’LOUGHLIN, professor of historical theology at the University of Nottingham, looks at the fraught issue of communion…
Doctors pray for sick as blackout batters Venezuelan hospitals
Reuters Maria Rodriguez’s daughter has spent a month in Caracas’s JM de los Rios children’s hospital with hydrocephalus, a buildup of spinal fluid in the brain, but staff there have faced an uphill battle treating the girl because of a nationwide power outage. “It has been horrible since the blackout. My daughter needs treatment that […]
525th anniversary of first Catholic Mass on American continent celebrated in Dominican Republic
The 525th anniversary of the celebration of the first Catholic Mass on the American continent was commemorated in the Dominican Republic on Saturday. The first Mass was celebrated on 6th January, 1494, in La Isabela, Puerto Plata, by priest, Bernardo Boil, who was part of the entourage of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus’ second trip to the […]
Popular Kenyan priest, suspended for rapping, hasn’t missed a beat with youth
RNS The sun shone brightly on a recent Sunday morning over St Monica Catholic Church in Rapogi, a village in western Kenya. The house of worship was packed wall to wall. The choir’s singing filled the nave. Everyone waited for their favorite priest to show up. Soon, Rev Paul Ogalo appeared in the pulpit dressed in flowing […]
CATHOLIC CHURCH: POPE RAILS AGAINST ATTEMPTS TO RESTORE OLD-STYLE WORSHIP
CHRISTOPHER LAMB, of Religion News Service, reports from the Vatican…