During his early morning Mass, Pope Francis joined leaders of every religion marking May 14 as a day of prayer, fasting and acts of charity to ask God to stop the coronavirus pandemic.
International News
Despite Controversy, Italian Prelate Embraces Kidnapped Woman as ‘Our Daughter’
As Silvia Romano, a young Italian woman recently released from captivity after spending 18 months in the hands of Islamic extremists in Eastern Africa, faces mounting national criticism for her apparent conversion to Islam, Italy’s top prelate has stressed the need to embrace her as a “daughter.”
Vatican Official at Georgetown Conference: ‘Pandemics Do Not Have to Break Us Up’
A Vatican cardinal is warning that the tendency to be egotistical or nationalistic in the face of a global pandemic must be countered by a renewed understanding of human fraternity.
Analysis: Down the Barrel of $158 Million Gun, Vatican Reform Is Coming … But What Kind?
According to an internal Vatican analysis recently presented to Pope Francis for a meeting with his department heads, declines in revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic will cause the Vatican’s annual deficit to balloon somewhere between 30 and 175 percent, depending on which of three scenarios, ranging from best to worst case, is realized.
Pope to Stop Livestreaming Daily Mass Amid Italy’s Coronavirus Recovery
On May 12, the Vatican announced that with public Masses set to resume in Italy this weekend as coronavirus restrictions ease, Pope Francis’s daily Masses at the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta guesthouse will no longer be livestreamed.
Analysis: Italy’s Church Going Back to Business, But Not Business as Usual
As if Italy hasn’t been through enough since a sweeping national lockdown was imposed March 8, and with more than 30,000 Italians dead from the coronavirus, Romans awoke around 5:00 a.m. May 11 to an earthquake. A loud boom sent people into the streets in their pajamas under an early morning rain, temporarily forgetting their masks and gloves.
Pope Prays for Nurses as World Marks Their Role in Healthcare
As the number of global COVID-19 coronavirus infections continues to rise, notably among healthcare workers, Pope Francis in his daily Mass on May 12 offered special prayers for nurses on International Nurses Day.
Female Theologians Back Ouellet: Seminaries Need Women Involved in Formation
Several women theologians who teach in Catholic seminaries have applauded Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who argued in a recent interview that to foster a healthy relationship between the sexes, more women should be involved in priestly formation.
Father Jorge Ortiz-Garay Laid to Rest in Mexico
While his parents and siblings sang in Spanish the words of St. Paul — “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” — the casket containing Father Jorge Ortiz-Garay was lowered into the ground in Mexico City.
Analysis: Church/State Deal Means Mass Will Be Back in Italy on May 18
Exactly 70 days after public Mass was last celebrated in Italy, the Holy Father’s own backyard, the Italian bishops announced May 7 a deal with the government to resume the liturgy on Monday, May 18, which means the first Sunday Mass to be reopened will be May 24, which in Italy is the Feast of the Ascension.