Strasbourg, France, Mar 13, 2020 / 02:12 pm (CNA).- The European Court of Human Rights has declined to hear the case of two Swedish nurses denied midwife jobs because of their refusal to perform abortions.
“We are very disappointed by the Court&… […]
Vatican City, Mar 13, 2020 / 01:47 pm (CNA).- Less than one day after the Diocese of Rome closed all Roman churches to the public, the cardinal who oversees the diocese reversed himself, saying he would leave that decision to parish pastors.
Both announcements came amid deliberations between Pope Francis and Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, the vicar general of Rome, who oversees the day-to-day operations of a diocese whose bishop is Pope Francis.
De Donatis published a letter March 13 explaining that he consulted with Pope Francis before closing the churches for private prayer March 12, and before opening them again March 13.
“After consulting our bishop, Pope Francis, we published yesterday, March 12, the decree that establishes the closure of our churches for three weeks,” Cardinal Angelo De Donatis wrote in a letter to the Diocese of Rome.
“A further conversation with Pope Francis, this morning, however, prompted us to consider another need: that because of the closure of our churches, other ‘least ones’ find a different kind of reason for uncertainty and confusion. The risk is for people to feel even more isolated,” he explained.
Before the initial decision’s reversal, Pope Francis had spoken out against “drastic measures” in response to the coronavirus in his morning homily televised throughout Italy and livestreamed online.
“Let’s pray for this, that the Holy Spirit may give to pastors the ability for pastoral discernment so that they might provide measures which do not leave the holy, faithful people of God alone, and so that the people of God will feel accompanied by their pastors, comforted by the Word of God, by the sacraments, and by prayer,” Pope Francis said March 13.
Pope Francis had prayed for authorities who “must decide … on measures that people do not like” in his homily the day prior.
In defiance of the initial church closure decree, the cardinal in charge of the pope’s charity office, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, opened Friday his titular church, St. Mary Immaculate all’Esquilino, a church located in an ethnically-diverse, and poor, area of Rome.
“In full compliance with safety standards, it is my right to ensure an open church for the poor. At 8:00 this morning, I came here and opened the door wide. In this way the poor will be able to adore the Blessed Sacrament which is the consolation for all in this moment of grave difficulty,” Krajewski said, according to Vatican News.
The diocesan reversal came shortly after.
The revised decree clarifies that “non-parish churches” and other religious buildings will remain closed, while parishes and missionary churches dedicated to care for others can be reopened. The properties of religious communities and monasteries are only accessible to the members of their communities.
The decree “is therefore modified, placing the ultimate responsibility of entering the places of worship in the hands of priests and all the faithful, so as not to expose the population to any danger of contagion and at the same time avoid the sign of a physical prohibition on access to a place of worship by closing it, which could create disorientation and a greater sense of insecurity,” Cardinal De Donatis wrote.
“Every ecclesial precautionary measure must take into account not only the common good of civil society, but also of that unique and precious good which is faith, especially that of the least ones,” he said.
The vicar general exhorted Catholics to follow the Italian government’s quarantine measures until April 3, and to stay at home.
“Coronavirus infection is spreading exponentially. In a few days the number of infected doubles, and at this rate it is not difficult to predict that in two months it will reach the order of tens of thousands of people only in Italy,” De Donatis wrote in his letter.
“There is a clear risk of collapse of healthcare facilities, in which there are already many on ventilators, above all because of the disproportion between the available intensive care resources and the growing number of patients. A large number of people could die, especially the elderly and vulnerable people,” the vicar of Rome said.
There are 242 confirmed cases of COVID-19 currently in Lazio, the region surrounding Rome, as of March 13, according to the Italian Ministry of Health.
Coronavirus cases in Italy have grown quickly in recent weeks surpassing 17,500 documented cases. More than 1,250 people have died from COVID-19 in the country since Feb. 22.
A nationwide quarantine has been declared in Italy through April 3 in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The quarantine restricts movement within Italy and requires people to stay in their homes except for cases of absolute necessity, which may include going to work, to the pharmacy or hospital, or to the supermarket.
On March 11, Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte tightened the restrictions of a nationwide lockdown to include the closure of all restaurants, bars, and non-commercial businesses other than supermarkets.
In all cases, a distance of one meter must be maintained between people in public. Not following these regulations is punishable by fine or arrest.
The previous Diocese of Rome decree suspending all public Masses in the diocese until April 3 still stands, however now Catholics will once again have access to some parishes for private prayer.
“The spiritual need of the people of God to gather to celebrate the Eucharist becomes for us Christians the object of a painful renunciation. There is first the spiritual need for the charity of caring for our brothers. Unfortunately, going to church is no different than going to other places: it is at risk of contagion,” De Donatis wrote.
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Washington D.C., Mar 13, 2020 / 11:30 am (CNA).- Catholic bishops in the United States offered prayers and encouragement as Congress considers a relief package for the Coronavirus.
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Washington D.C., Mar 13, 2020 / 08:30 am (CNA).- The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., will remain open with a normal Mass and confession schedule.
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Rome, Italy, Mar 13, 2020 / 06:00 am (CNA).- Less than one day after the Diocese of Rome issued a decree to close all churches to the public, the vicar general revised the decree Friday saying he will leave this decision to the discretion of parish priests.
“Every ecclesial precautionary measure must take into account not only the common good of civil society, but also of that unique and precious good which is faith, especially that of the least ones,” Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, vicar general of Rome, wrote in the revision issued March 13.
The vicar general explained that banning access to all churches in the diocese for three weeks could create “a greater sense of insecurity” among Catholics during this time of crisis.
The decree “is therefore modified, placing the ultimate responsibility of entering the places of worship in the hands of priests and all the faithful, so as not to expose the population to any danger of contagion and at the same time avoid the sign of a physical prohibition on access to a place of worship by closing it, which could create disorientation and a greater sense of insecurity,” Cardinal De Donatis wrote.
The vicar general exhorted Catholics to follow the Italian government’s quarantine measures until April 3, and to stay at home.
He also provided a dispensation freeing Catholics from their Sunday obligation to attend Mass. The previous Diocese of Rome decree suspending all public Masses in the diocese until April 3 still stands, however now Catholics will once again have access to some parishes for private prayer.
The Diocese of Rome clarified that “non-parish churches” and other religious buildings will remain closed, while parishes and missionary churches dedicated to care for others can be reopened. The properties of religious communities and monasteries are only accessible to the members of their communities.
Monsignor Giuseppe Tonello, chancellor of the Diocese of Rome, signed the March 13 decree revision along with the vicar general.
Since March 9 public Masses in Rome have been canceled throughout the diocese, but churches had remained open for personal prayer, and some had held Eucharistic adoration or confession.
There are 172 confirmed cases of COVID-19 currently in Lazio, the region surrounding Rome, as of March 12, according to the Italian Ministry of Health.
On March 11, Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte tightened the restrictions of a nationwide lockdown to include the closure of all restaurants, bars, and non-commercial businesses other than supermarkets.
Coronavirus cases in Italy have grown quickly in recent weeks surpassing 15,000 documented cases. More than 1,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the country since Feb. 22.
A nationwide quarantine has been declared in Italy through April 3 in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The quarantine restricts movement within Italy and requires people to stay in their homes except for cases of absolute necessity, which may include going to work, to the pharmacy or hospital, or to the supermarket.
In all cases, a distance of one meter must be maintained between people in public. Not following these regulations is punishable by fine or arrest.
“We can stem this tragic eventuality only by applying measures to curb the infection and allowing the [National Health Service] to regroup,” De Donatis said.
Vatican City, Mar 13, 2020 / 05:03 am (CNA).- Pope Francis offered his Mass on Friday for pastors, that they might discern well the proper measures to take to protect their parishioners during the coronavirus crisis without leaving them feeling abandon… […]
Cincinnati, Ohio, Mar 12, 2020 / 06:01 pm (CNA).- The full Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on March 11 heard arguments over an Ohio law that prohibits abortions on the grounds of a diagnosis of Down syndrome, and which has been blocked for over two… […]
Erbil, Iraq, Mar 12, 2020 / 05:01 pm (CNA).- While Christian schools in Iraq continue to suffer, a non-profit that promotes positive engagement in the Middle East is aiming to provide computers to Assyrian Christian schools.
In partnership with the Iraqi Christian Relief Council, the Philos Project is trying to raise $25,000 to install computer labs for Christian schools throughout northern Iraq.
Iraqi Kurdistan has seen a drastic decrease in educational funds, said Juliana Taimoorazy, advocacy fellow for the Philos Project and founder of Iraqi Christian Relief Council.
“These schools don’t have what they need from a technology perspective,” she said.
“It’s really debilitating because they’re unable to type on Word for example, physically or create spreadsheets. Everything they’re doing is by theory. I mean, you can imagine how integral computers are in our daily lives,” she said, pointing to the fact that most homes in Western culture have a computer.
She said that out of 23 Christian schools in the area, the project will provide computer labs for five of them. The Christian schools range from elementary to high school.
These computer labs will consist of printers, projectors, and at least five laptops, electrical wires, and internet routers.
For four years, these schools in Iraq have requested Taimoorazy for new computers because scarcely any families have this technology themselves and the few schools that do have these machines own computers that were manufactured around 2004.
“I kid you not, they have books. They study book to book through pages [on how to] create spreadsheets, how to turn it on and off, how to do a cut and paste, how to create a graphic for example, or attach a graphic into the word document,” she said.
Taimoorazy, who is the granddaughter of a survivor of the Armenian genocide, has also been persecuted in Iraq for her faith. She said Christian children not only face difficulties to obtain their education but they have also been persecuted. During her time in Iraq, she talked about times when she was not allowed to play with Muslim children and moments when she was ridiculed for her faith.
She said that since the invasion of the Islamic State funds for Christian schools have drastically decreased.
“People started giving to life-sustaining projects like food, tents, and repairing their homes, if they’re going back to their homes. The amount of money that was allocated for schools, for teachers or transportation or printing books and translating books from Kurdish to Assyrian or Syrian, it’s dropped to really a very, very low level.”
Among other hardships that these schools face, she said educators continue to teach without being paid and some students are not able to access school because of a lack of transportation.
However, she said they are strong-willed people with a deep respect for education. Some of the students are even trilingual, understanding Turkish, Arabic, and Kurdish. She said that while parents will struggle with the basic necessities, these families will sacrifice to further their children’s education.
“They’re actually resilient children, but they haven’t seen anything but war, devastation, hunger, and yet they have such love, profound love for education,” she said.
“[These] people will grow up to go out there in the world to serve humanity and based on their own experience, based on the trauma that they’ve gone through, they can be even more impactful. I come from a traumatized generation … We suffer from collective and generational trauma. We have been persecuted. My great grandparents were persecuted.”
She expressed hope that the worldwide Christian community and people of goodwill will take this project seriously. She stressed the importance of offering these children equal opportunities in technology, noting that, in order to be successful, these children must have hands-on experience with computers.
“We have to remember what John Paul II said that ‘the Church breathes with both lungs’ and we cannot forget the right lung of the Church, which is Eastern Christianity. So my plea to the Catholic world, to the Christian world in the West is not to forget their brothers and sisters in the East, and to really help these young minds, these young children to lead dignified lives,” she said.
© Catholic World Report