May 22, 2020—“Today, I am identifying houses of worship, churches, synagogues and mosques as essential places that provide essential services,” Trump said in today’s White House press briefing. “Some governors have deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics as essential, but have left out churches and other houses of worship, it’s not right,” he continued. “So…
We have been “socially distanced” now for more than two months with widespread mandatory business closures. The purpose of this was to slow the spread of the Coronavirus, “flatten the curve” so that our hospitals will not be overwhelmed and possibly buy time for a vaccine to be developed. The experts told us this…
Practicing Catholics and small- to mid-sized business leaders in the U.S. breathed a sigh of relief when the Little Sisters of the Poor finally won their battle against Obama care in the Supreme Court. As you recall, the nuns fought the forced mandate triggered by Obama’s and Pelosi’s healthcare mandate to violate the nuns’ faith,…
In response to a request from some of the faithful of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, I consecrated the Archdiocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on October 7, 2017. The day was the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary; and the year was the centennial of the apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima, Portugal, where, among…
Vatican City—March 23, 2020—CNA—Cardinal Raymond Burke issued a letter encouraging priests and bishops to work constructively with civil authorities to meet the spiritual needs of Catholics during the coronavirus pandemic. Acknowledging the “sadness” and “fear” which the pandemic has brought with it, the cardinal reflected Saturday that “Oftentimes, when we find ourselves in great suffering…
The creators of the stunningly beautiful new film Fatima The Movie (to be in theaters August 14) invite all to join them as they celebrate the Feast Day of Our Lady of Fátima together with the faithful from across the globe. This virtual pilgrimage to Fatima will take place on Wednesday, May 13, at 3:00…
Fr. Wilson D. Miscamble’s American Priest was intended to be a critical biography of Theodore Hesburgh, the priest who was president of the University of Notre Dame for 50 years. Notre Dame loyalists who hold Hesburgh in reverence and are intolerant of criticism need not worry: Nothing in the book will lead to removal of…
In what is becoming an interesting showdown of Business vs. Government, Tesla founder Elon Musk has thrown down the gauntlet of reopening his manufacturing plant in the face of California Governor Newsom’s extended lockdown orders, with one of Northern California’s counties caught in the middle. To fine, jail, halt or to look the other way,…
CNA—Well into the pandemic’s grip on American public life, parishes and dioceses are preparing a return to some new kind of normal. Masses are resuming, albeit for small numbers in limited circumstances. Catholic schools and universities are making plans to reopen in the fall. Regrettably, even the ordinary fault lines and debates among Catholics, somewhat…
CNA—The Vatican Museums are preparing to reopen by reservation only with new health measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, according to the general secretary of Vatican City State. “For the incoming public, we are completing the installation of some thermal scanners for detecting temperature,” Bishop Fernando Vérgez Alzaga said in an interview published…
The new program will support religious women and men working at nursing homes during the Covid-19 pandemic—The Los Angeles location of the Order of Malta will launch “Operation Gratitude” on Tuesday, May 12, at 5 p.m. with the distribution of “gratitude kits” to nursing religious women at the Sacred Heart Retreat House (920 East Alhambra…
As a life-long Catholic, I must confess. I did something Sunday morning I’ve never done before. Even a month ago it would have seemed not quite right based on my Catholic foundation. Yet now it feels spiritually uplifting and beneficial! Confined at home in the coronavirus shutdown, I followed the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass…
Thank you to each person who took, literally, four minutes to answer our Quick 5-Question Survey. The responses were candid and inspiring. It’s good to know that most of our readership is “on the front lines” of work, leadership, business, innovation, healthcare and serving others. In the trenches, so to speak, of every kind of…
CNA—Modern society is formulating an “anti-Christian creed” and punishing those who resist it with “social excommunication,” Benedict XVI has said in a new biography, published in Germany May 4. In a wide-ranging interview at the end of the 1,184-page book, written by German author Peter Seewald, the pope emeritus said the greatest threat facing the…
Mind&Spirit—What is suffering? One way to define suffering is the rupture between your future as you pictured it and the reality of what your future will actually be. This is easy to see in the case of the loss of a loved one, especially a sudden loss. The future we thought we had with that…
Amid the current global pandemic, Bishop Barron says: “Turn this time of waiting into an evangelical opportunity…” In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with Zenit, the Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles and founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries reflects on how the faithful can reconnect spiritually during this dramatic time. ZENIT (Q): What is the…
CNA—Elderly and disabled coronavirus patients have the same right to life-prolonging treatment as others, the bishops of England and Wales have said, including Bishop Paul Mason (featured image). In a statement April 20, the bishops noted that the pandemic had placed immense strain on Britain’s National Health Service (NHS). “With the escalation of the coronavirus,…
ACI Prensa/CNA—While most of the students at the San Fulgencia Seminary in Cartagena, Spain, returned home when the country declared a state of emergency over the coronavirus pandemic, one seminarian felt a different calling. With a background in medicine, first-year seminarian Abraham Martínez Moratón asked permission of the rector at his seminary to go back…
CNA—Italy’s bishops have criticized Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte for failing to lift the ban on public Masses. The Italian bishops’ conference Sunday released a statement denouncing Conte’s decree on “phase 2” of the coronavirus lockdown restrictions, which it says “arbitrarily excludes the possibility of celebrating Mass with the people.” During a press conference April 26…
When the Coronavirus pandemic first hit, the Catholic Church was among some of the first organizations to “self quarantine.” Public worship was quickly shut down, including Masses and confessions. Unfortunately, as time has passed and safety procedures are being developed, little effort has been made to reopen the sacraments, even during Easter week, and even…
