Anti-Asian Hate Continues to Grow

A few days before the start of Lent, Father Vincentius Do assessed the COVID-19 pandemic’s assault on Chinese members of St. Agatha’s Parish.
“The report is bleak,” the pastor said, “The Asian community seemed to be spared in the first wave, but hit hard in the second wave.”

Diocese of Brooklyn Donates Pews to Cathedral in Haiti

Pews, chairs, and a church bell, all formerly used in Diocese of Brooklyn churches, have a new home at the Cathedral of St. Anne in Anse-à-Veau, Haiti. The diocese donated these historical pieces to help the cathedral get ready for Anse-à-Veau’s upcoming tricentennial celebration in July.

CRS’s Lenten Rice Bowl Helps Feed 150 Million Worldwide

Catholic Relief Services’ annual Lenten Rice Bowl program helps fund efforts to teach “best practices” for growing abundant, nutritious food for 159 million people in more than 100 countries. Last year’s donations were about 47 percent below normal because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but CRS leaders hope this year will be much better.

Only in Print: ‘Dream’ Homes

In the early 1900s, entrepreneurs created a unique housing development in the St. Albans neighborhood of Queens.

Focolare’s New President ‘A Daughter of the Church’ In ‘Service of All’

Focolare, the international ecumenical organization, has a new president — Margaret Karram, an Arab Catholic from Israel, and an expert at promoting dialogue among religions. In a Feb. 5 audience with Pope Francis, Karram told him, “I don’t like the word ‘president.’ I’m a daughter of the Church, and I want to be at your service and the service of all.”