Wage theft has increased since March when the COVID-19 took hold of the U.S. economy, the Worker’s Justice Project reports. Before then, WJP saw about four instances of wage theft per week. In recent weeks, however, the weekly average has grown to 11.
Bishop Thomas A. Daly of Spokane says the COVID-19 pandemic “has given us a providential opportunity to really examine why we have our Catholic schools in the midst of so much illness.” Bishop Daly chairs the Committee on Education for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
COVID-19 travel restrictions prevent a seminarian studying in Rome from enjoying Thanksgiving with his parents back in Jackson Heights, Queens, where his dad is a deacon at St. Joan of Arc Parish. But they’ll push through with digital technology and an unshakable family bond.
When a family of eight walked through the doors of St. John’s Bread and Life last winter, staff members quickly embraced the “all hands on deck” spirit to help them. The family entered the New York shelter system from a different state with nothing except the vehicle they traveled in.
Months ago, 11-year-old Romeo Cox in Italy secretly hatched a plan to somehow visit his grandmother Rosemary in England. Romeo and his granny hadn’t seen each other in a year and a half when the coronavirus pandemic struck. So, he repeatedly asked his parents if he could walk to see her because he missed her.
The classical music performance Oct. 24, at St. Francis of Paola Church was an opportunity for the Grossman family to perform publicly since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancelation of live musical performances in New York City. The event also was a reunion for Eric Grossman and parish pastor Father Thomas Vassalotti — they attended the Juilliard School together in the 1980s.
As the world awaits a COVID-19 vaccine, lessons learned in emergency rooms and intensive care units have spurred adjustments in treatments, such as oxygen therapy and some therapeutic drugs and steroids. None of these are actual cures for coronavirus infections, but they are credited for helping people survive the disease.
Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, of the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, has suggested that some government-ordered shutting down of nonessential businesses can stunt the economy. But, he added, the more significant concern is shutting down churches, which impedes the nurturing of spirituality among people who seek communion with God.
President Donald Trump went on social media to assure he’d soon be back on the campaign trail. However, Trump’s doctor and campaign officials described a “wait-and-see” posture regarding how and when he might return to in-person events.
One of the president’s doctors said he “may not entirely be out of the woods yet,” but there was consensus that he could return to the White House, “where he’ll be surrounded by world-class medical care.”
