Rome Newsroom, Dec 11, 2020 / 04:00 am (CNA).- The government of Belgium has agreed to ease restrictions on Mass celebrated with the public beginning Dec. 13, permitting a maximum of 15 people to participate in the liturgy.
The bishops’ conferen… […]
CNA Staff, Dec 11, 2020 / 12:09 am (CNA).- Americans who attend religious services weekly are the only demographic group appearing to show improved mental health in 2020, despite the stresses of the coronavirus pandemic and other events, says a new survey.
The survey otherwise shows significant self-reported mental health declines among those previously in excellent health.
In 2019, about 42% of those who reported attending religious services weekly told Gallup that their mental health was excellent. In 2020, 46% said the same, an increase of 4 percentage points. Only 35% of those who attend services nearly weekly or monthly reported excellent mental health, down 12 percentage points from last year. Among those who attend seldom or never, 29% reported excellent mental health, down 13 percentage points.
While coronavirus restrictions have often limited peoples’ ability to attend religious services, the Gallup survey did not ask respondents whether they faced such limits.
Overall, respondents reporting excellent health declined from 43% to 34%, while those who reported excellent or good health declined from 85% to 76%. About 18% reported fair mental health while 5% reported poor mental health.
Gallup has conducted the same November Health and Healthcare Survey every year since 2001. The latest Gallup survey was conducted Nov. 5-19. Its random sample of 1,018 U.S. adults age 18 and older claims a margin of error of plus or minus 4% for the total sample.
The coronavirus has killed some 290,000 Americans – generally the elderly and those with vulnerable health – and hospitalized even more. The virus and restrictions aiming to limit its spread have hindered social and economic life as well as mental health care. Unemployment and underemployment rates have soared.
The year 2020 also witnessed a controversial presidential election, protests against coronavirus restrictions, demonstrations against police after the death of George Floyd, and major civil unrest, riots and vandalism throughout the United States.
Survey responses of self-reported excellent mental health are “eight points lower than Gallup has measured in any prior year,” the polling company said Dec. 7.
The other demographic group showing little change in excellent mental health was by partisan affiliation: Democrats were down only 1 percentage point from last year, compared to other partisan groups. However, only 29% of Democrats self-reported excellent mental health, compared to independents, who were down 11 points to 32%, and Republicans, who were down 15 points to 41%.
Demographic groups which tended to report excellent mental health the most were those making $100,000 or more, those aged 50 to 64, married people, and men. Those groups which tended not to report excellent mental health were those making under $40,000, those aged 18-29, the unmarried, and women.
“These demographic patterns have been mostly consistent over the past 20 years,” Gallup said.
Vatican City, Dec 10, 2020 / 10:00 am (CNA).- Pope Francis’ Midnight Mass will begin at 7:30 p.m. this year, as the Italian government extends a national curfew through the Christmas season.
The pope’s traditional celebration of Christmas … […]
Zilandile Xulu was seven-months pregnant when she went missing from her home in Hlobane, northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa on June 27. Three days after her disappearance, her body was found on a cliff with a […]
Rome Newsroom, Dec 3, 2020 / 09:00 am (CNA).- Bishops in France have welcomed new government measures that will allow more people to attend public Masses during Advent.
Gérald Darmanin, French Minister of the Interior, announced Dec…. […]
CNA Staff, Dec 1, 2020 / 07:00 am (CNA).- Belgium’s Catholic bishops called Tuesday for dialogue with the government after it decreed that public Masses would remain suspended until Jan. 15, 2021.
Following a ministerial decree Nov. 29, th… […]
Rome Newsroom, Nov 30, 2020 / 04:00 am (CNA).- Forty-three Italian priests died in November after contracting the coronavirus, as Italy experiences a second wave of the epidemic.
According to L’Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian bishops&rsqu… […]
Rome Newsroom, Nov 27, 2020 / 01:00 pm (CNA).- The French bishops’ conference announced Friday that it would submit another appeal to the Council of State, calling a proposed 30-person limit on public Masses during Advent “unacceptable.”
In a statement issued Nov. 27, the bishops said that they “have a duty to ensure the freedom of worship in our country” and therefore would file another “référé liberté” with the Council of State regarding the latest government coronavirus restrictions on Mass attendance.
A “référé liberté” is an urgent administrative procedure that is filed as a petition to a judge for the protection of fundamental rights, in this case, the right to freedom of worship. The Council of State both advises and judges the French government on its compliance with the law.
French Catholics have been without public Masses since Nov. 2 due to France’s strict second lockdown. On Nov. 24, President Emmanuel Macron announced that public worship could resume Nov. 29 but would be limited to 30 people per church.
The announcement elicited a strong reaction from many Catholics, including several bishops.
“It is a totally stupid measure that contradicts common sense,” Archbishop Michel Aupetit of Paris said Nov. 25, according to the French newspaper Le Figaro.
The archbishop, who practiced medicine for more than 20 years, continued: “Thirty people in a small village church, we understand, but in Saint-Sulpice, it’s ridiculous! Two thousand parishioners come to certain parishes in Paris, and we’re going to stop at 31 … It’s ridiculous.”
Saint-Sulpice is the second largest Catholic church in Paris after the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris.
A statement issued by Paris archdiocese Nov. 27 argued that the government measures could have “easily have allowed the resumption of Mass in public for all, while applying a rigorous health protocol and guaranteeing the protection and health of all.”
In addition to filing the “référé liberté,” a delegation of French bishops will also meet with the prime minister on Nov. 29. The delegation will include Archishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the French bishops’ conference.
The French bishops’ initial appeal earlier this month was rejected by the Council of State on Nov. 7. But in response, the judge specified that churches would remain open and that Catholics would be able visit a church near their homes, regardless of distance, if they carried out the necessary paperwork. Priests would also be allowed to visit people in their homes and chaplains permitted to visit hospitals.
France has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with more than two million recorded cases and over 50,000 deaths as of Nov. 27, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
Following the Council of State’s decision, the bishops proposed a protocol of reopening public liturgies at a third of each church’s capacity, with increased social distancing.
The bishops’ conference statement asked French Catholics to abide by the government’s rules while the outcome of their legal challenge and negotiations are pending.
In recent weeks Catholics have taken to the streets in major cities across the country to protest against the public Mass ban, praying together outside their churches.
“May the use of the law help to calm the spirits. It is clear to all of us that the Mass cannot become a place of struggle … but remain a place of peace and communion. The first Sunday of Advent should turn us peacefully to the coming Christ,” the bishops’ statement said.
CNA Staff, Nov 25, 2020 / 03:00 pm (CNA).- Kentucky’s four Catholic dioceses will not suspend public Masses despite the governor’s request that religious services be held online only until December 13. Gov. Andy Beshear […]
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 25, 2020 / 04:00 pm (CNA).- The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated Christian persecution in some places, according to a new report from the group Aid to the Church in Need International (ACN).
“The devastati… […]
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