The Emmaus Center is housed in a former opera house in Brooklyn, New York. / Courtesy of The Emmaus Center
Denver Newsroom, Dec 15, 2021 / 14:51 pm (CNA).
A new performing and visual arts center dedicated to Catholic evangelization opened in Br… […]
Forty-five priests and four bishops in Venezuela have died from COVID-19 as of December 2021, the Venezuela bishops’ conference has reported. / Unsplash
Caracas, Venezuela, Dec 15, 2021 / 13:45 pm (CNA).
The Venezuelan bishops’ conference published new statistics showing that since the beginning of the pandemic 45 priests and four bishops have died from COVID-19.
The conference noted that “in the midst of the global crisis caused by the pandemic, priests are not exempt from the risks of contracting COVID-19,” as they carry out their ministry.
“At a time when people more earnestly seek the comfort of the spirit and closeness to the faith … priests offer their service to the Church,” the conference said.
The conference published current figures on the priests who were infected and died from the deadly virus. In the report, they noted that between March 2020 and Dec. 13, 2021, 439 priests were infected with COVID-19, a figure that represents 20.77% of the total clergy in the country.
During this period, 45 priests have died, or 10.25% of all priests infected with the virus, and 2.13% of all Venezuelan clergy.
Of those infected, 26 were bishops and of these 22 prelates recovered; the other four died in 2021.
The four bishops who died were Archbishop Cástor Oswaldo Azuaje, who served as the bishop of the Diocese of Trujillo until his death on January 8; Bishop César Ortega, who died on April 9; Archbishop Tulio Chirivella, Archbishop Emeritus of Barquisimeto, who died on April 11; and Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino, Archbishop Emeritus of Caracas, who died on Sept. 23.
The bishops’ conference said that the Church in Venezuela currently has 2,068 priests. Siixty are bishops and of these 41 are titular bishops, three are auxiliary bishops, and 16 are bishops emeritus.
The dioceses with the greatest number of priests are San Cristóbal (208), Trujillo (154), Barquisimeto (148), Mérida (127), Caracas (121), the conference reported.
The bishops’ conference said that since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic “it has urged the entire population to comply with the guidelines and recommendations in the field of biosafety” to prevent contracting the virus.
The conference also stressed that taking proper care of oneself, the family and the community “is the best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
Finally, the bishops’ conference exhorted the faithful to “increase their trust in God in times of a health emergency” and encouraged them to continue praying from the Word of God, “especially in the family, the Domestic Church,” since prayer “is an expression of the faith and hope that we need to strengthen.”
A photo of a scene from "Christmas with The Chosen: The Messengers," a Christmas special released in December 2021. / Courtesy of "The Chosen"
Boston, Mass., Dec 15, 2021 / 13:30 pm (CNA).
Filming for season three of the pop… […]
The Archbishop’s Curia at St. Calcidonius Square in Floriana, Malta. / Frank Vincentz via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Floriana, Malta, Dec 15, 2021 / 12:00 pm (CNA).
The Catholic archdiocese of Malta said on Monday that it could not have foreseen… […]
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone meets with people experiencing homeless at St. Anthony’s Dining Hall in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood on November 6, 2021. / Dennis Callahan
Boston, Mass., Dec 15, 2021 / 09:29 am (CNA).
After disclosing that he has not had a COVID-19 vaccination, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco has agreed to reschedule a parish visit at the pastor’s request, due to parishioners’ health concerns.
Cordileone, who shared his vaccination status on a Dec. 1 podcast, was scheduled to visit St. Agnes Catholic Church in San Francisco on Dec. 19. According to the parish’s policy, however, only priests who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 may celebrate Mass there.
For that reason, and because parishioners shared their uneasiness about Cordileone not being vaccinated, Father George Williams, S.J., the pastor, called the archbishop and asked him to postpone his visit.
“These are stressful times enough and I felt his pastoral visit to us would be overshadowed by concerns about the pandemic,” Williams wrote in the parish’s Dec. 5 bulletin.
“When I explained this to his Excellency, he graciously understood,” Williams later told ABC7 news. “We look forward to his visit when the circumstances permit.”
Williams said in the bulletin that he feels it is important that “everyone feels safe,” adding that “we all” must “do our part” in preventing the spread of the virus, especially in light of the new Omicron variant.
CNA asked Williams in an email if the archdiocese gives pastors the option to require vaccination, but received no response. That same question was posed to the archdiocese, to which they responded: “health care decisions are a very personal matter.”
“Archbishop Cordileone has every confidence in Father Williams’ ability to know his people well, and respond to their sensitivities with compassion,” the archdiocese added.
Cordileone, 65, first revealed he had not received the vaccine on the San Francisco Chronicle’s “It’s All Political Podcast,” when he responded “Not yet, no,” to the hosts inquiry of his vaccination against COVID-19.
There were “a number of reasons” Cordileone listed for not being vaccinated on the podcast. He said that because of his particular health situation, noting his “good immune system,” his primary care physician told him “it’s probably not necessary” to get vaccinated.
“He didn’t dissuade me from being vaccinated,” Cordileone said. “But he said he was fine if I decided not to be because of my own particular health situation.”
In the interview, which was mostly about abortion, Cordileone talked about equitable distribution of the vaccines, immunity versus protection, vaccine mandates, and his own encounters with an infected person and crowds.
In March, 2021, Cordileone encouraged parishioners of the archdiocese to get vaccinated “in consultation with their physician.”
Both the Vatican and the U.S. bishops’ conference have said that reception of the vaccines is morally permissible when recipients have no other ethical option due to the gravity of the pandemic. Pope Francis has encouraged COVID-19 vaccination, calling it an “act of love.” In December 2020, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a note stating that reception of the vaccines is morally permissible but “must be voluntary.” The note recognized “reasons of conscience” for refusing vaccines.
Pope Francis prays before the Salus Populi Romani icon in Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major Dec. 8, 2020. Credit: Vatican Media. / null
Vatican City, Dec 15, 2021 / 06:00 am (CNA).
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St. Peter’s Basilica, seen through the Vatican’s Christmas tree. / Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.
Vatican City, Dec 15, 2021 / 05:20 am (CNA).
Pope Francis has approved the creation of a new foundation promoting spirituality, art, formation, and dialogue i… […]
Pope Francis’ general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Dec. 15, 2021. / Vatican Media.
Vatican City, Dec 15, 2021 / 03:35 am (CNA).
Pope Francis invited Catholics on Wednesday to learn from St. Joseph how to cultivate silence in the… […]
Congressman Guillermo Bermejo / ANDINA / Renato Pajuelo and Pexels
Lima, Peru, Dec 14, 2021 / 16:00 pm (CNA).
A Peruvian congressman who is being investigated for ties to the Shining Path terrorist organization is supporting a new bill to decri… […]
Pope Francis celebrates Christmas Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica Dec. 24, 2018. / Vatican Media.
Vatican City, Dec 14, 2021 / 15:35 pm (CNA).
The Vatican has published Pope Francis’ Christmas schedule for this year, which includes five special liturgies and prayers between Christmas Eve and the Solemnity of the Epiphany.
During the Christmas Octave, the pope is also scheduled to give an Angelus address on St. Stephen’s Day on Dec. 26 and hold a Wednesday General Audience on Dec. 29.
Papal Christmas Mass – Dec. 24
Pope Francis will offer Mass for the Nativity of the Lord in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 24. This “Midnight Mass” will begin at 7:30 p.m. Rome time (1:30 p.m. EST) with the traditional Kalenda Proclamation of the Birth of Christ and will be broadcast live on EWTN.
Christmas Day Blessing – Dec. 25
On Christmas Day, Pope Francis will give a traditional papal blessing at noon called the “Urbi et Orbi,” which in Latin means, “To the City and the World.” Along with the blessing, the pope gives an address that highlights humanitarian crises, war-stricken countries, and other situations around the world in need of prayer.
The pope typically gives this blessing from the central loggia of the basilica overlooking St. Peter’s Square (the same balcony from which a new pope is introduced), but last year Pope Francis gave the blessing from inside the Apostolic Palace to avoid a large gathering of people due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vespers on New Year’s Eve – Dec. 31
Pope Francis will pray the First Vespers for the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God in St. Peter’s Basilica at 5 p.m. on Dec. 31. After vespers, the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed for Eucharistic Adoration and the “Te Deum” will be sung in thanksgiving for the past year.
Solemnity of Mary Holy Mother of God – Jan. 1
The pope’s first liturgy of 2022 will be in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pope Francis will offer Mass for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God in St. Peter’s Basilica at 10 a.m. On this day, Pope Francis will also mark the 55th World Day of Peace.
Mass for the Epiphany of the Lord – Jan. 6
Pope Francis will offer Mass on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord in St. Peter’s Basilica at 10 a.m. The Epiphany celebrates the revelation that Jesus was the Son of God. It focuses primarily on this revelation to the Three Wise Men.
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