CNA Staff, May 18, 2020 / 12:30 pm (CNA).- An English bishop died Monday after contracting the coronavirus.
The Archdiocese of Liverpool said that Bishop Vincent Malone, 88, died on the morning of May 18 at the Royal Liverpool Hospital after testing p… […]
Rome, Italy, May 18, 2020 / 09:30 am (CNA).- As Rome reopened shops and restaurants on Monday, Catholics rejoiced in being able to attend Mass again for the first time in 10 weeks after Masses were first closed to the public.
“To receive Communi… […]
CNA Staff, May 16, 2020 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- The Polish Bishops’ Conference is encouraging the faithful to participate in a social media campaign to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Pope St. John Paul II on Monday.
Pope St. John Paul II was born Karol Wojtyla on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland. In 1978, he made history as the first non-Italian pope in over 400 years. Pope St. John Paul II is credited with helping bring about the fall of communism in his native Poland. He was canonized as a saint in 2014.
Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, the president of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, encouraged Catholics to share their memories and witness of how the saint had influenced their life and faith on social media using the hashtag #ThankYouJohnPaul2.
Gądecki encouraged Catholics to post photos and videos to honor the saint’s legacy.
“In this way we can express our gratitude to Pope John Paul II, for what he has brought and brings to our personal, family and social life, for all the meetings we had with him, in which we had the opportunity to participate, for his words, which we remember the most, for the inspirations he has evoked and continues to evoke in us,” Gądecki said.
“We can also publish the memories associated with him. In this way, we will also tell about St. John Paul II to the young generation which did not have the opportunity to get to know the Pope more closely, but is so much present in social media.”
Internet users have already answered the call to create “a virtual birthday cake” for the saint, as well as honor his call for the Church to “cross this new threshold” to “put out into the deep of cyberspace” for evangelization.
Let us participate in the hashtag #ThankYouJohnPaul2 initiative.
Let’s publish in social media photos of the Pope and videos with thanks to St. John Paul II.
The 100th anniversary of Karol Wojtyla’s birth is already on May 18!
More: https://t.co/mkGiG16qFV pic.twitter.com/aJEi6nkri9
— Church in Poland (@ChurchInPoland) May 11, 2020
“Love is a task that God constantly sets for us, perhaps to give us courage to stand up to fate.” (St. John Paul II Meeting with youth, Gdansk, 1987)#ThankYouJohnPaul2#SaintJohnPaul2_100YearsBirthday pic.twitter.com/LIRSJOVMLI
— John (@John02119846) May 14, 2020
#ThankYouJohnPaul2 #DziękujęCiJaniePawle2 my Mom in in the white shirt. 1990’s in ROME. pic.twitter.com/ZYNtgml4Jm
— Chris. J. Wądołowski (@cjwadolowski) May 13, 2020
Today, 39 years have passed since the attack of Saint John Paul II. Let us have the courage to testify of Christ in our daily lives and forgive our brothers #ThankYouJohnPaul2 @ChurchInPoland @EpiskopatNews pic.twitter.com/KJdE4l1NBc
— Kamil Wojciechowski (@wojciechowski58) May 13, 2020
Dziękuję św. #JPII, że dane mi było dorastać, odkrywać powołanie, kształtować umysł i serce podczas Jego pontyfikatu. Dziękuję za świadectwo, każde słowo powiedziane i napisane oraz za spotkania w Ojczyźnie i w Rzymie #ThankYouJohnPaul2 pic.twitter.com/1AuqTAQ4YP
— ks. Janusz Chyła ?? (@Janusz1967) May 11, 2020
#ThankYouJohnPaul2 I couldn’t imagine another pope at that times. Vatican was like little Poland. I turned on TV and heard Polish. Always couldn’t wait for his next pilgrimage to PL.
Here something personal: visit to my city. Incredible storm, strong words… I was a baby then… pic.twitter.com/Utg2QuHGZ5
— nienawidzę obłudy#❤??!???????? (@patkon1701) May 12, 2020
#ThankYouJohnPaul2
Amor e gratidão, Centenario de nascimento de São João Paulo II. pic.twitter.com/aVmXmrAp8R
— Helena Prim Janning (@JanningPrim) May 14, 2020
Za to, że jesteś z nami cały czas. Że modlisz się za naszą biedną Polskę!#ThankYouJohnPaul2 ?? pic.twitter.com/XciuhYEuEb
— Patrick Czajkus (@patrickCzajkus7) May 12, 2020
Za piękny przykład trwania na modlitwie #ThankYouJohnPaul2 pic.twitter.com/4fH32j9H2T
— ks. Mateusz Wyrobkiewicz ?? (@M_Wyrobkiewicz) May 12, 2020
#ThankYouJohnPaul2 pic.twitter.com/haVC6ua2Ia
— Witold Narwojsz (@Witold_Narwojsz) May 11, 2020
JAN PAWEŁ II WIELKI. LIST BENEDYKTA XVI [PEŁNA TREŚĆ]
W liście Benedykta XVI można dostrzec miłość i podziw dla Jana Pawła II. List pozwala jeszcze lepiej zrozumieć historię życia i działalność Wielkiego Papieża #JanPawełII #ThankYouJohnPaul2 #Wojtylahttps://t.co/teTlvUxOnb
— EWTN Polska (@EWTNPL) May 15, 2020
CNA Staff, May 15, 2020 / 03:00 am (CNA).- John Paul II was a “liberating restorer of the Church” in the turbulent years after the Second Vatican Council, Benedict XVI has said in a letter marking the 100th anniversary of the saint’s … […]
Rome Newsroom, May 13, 2020 / 10:00 am (CNA).- For the first time in its history, the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima celebrated the May 13 anniversary of the 1917 Marian apparitions without the presence of the public.
“Yes, the sanctuary is empty, but not deserted. We are physically separated, but spiritually united as a Church with Mary, in an intense way, with a heart full of faith and trust,” Cardinal António Marto said as he led the rosary on the eve of the anniversary.
“Holy Mary, teach us to believe, hope, and love you. Star of the Sea, shine on us and guide us on our way in the sea of history,” the cardinal prayed.
Marto, the bishop of Leiria-Fátima, offered Mass May 13 via livestream at the Fatima shrine, calling for conversion and dedication to the rosary in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“A pandemic is a call to a deep spiritual conversion,” Cardinal Marto said in his homily May 13.
“A short time ago we were living with enormous trust in the technical-scientific power, in the economical-financial power, thinking that we were perhaps immune to any epidemic or, if it came, a quick solution would be found. But, unexpectedly, an unpredictable, invisible, silent virus, able to contaminate everything and all, staggering the world. We felt the ground falter under our feet,” he said.
Marto said that the current “dramatic and tragic situation” reveals humanity’s vulnerability and frailty, and invites one to reflect on what is essential in life.
In Portugal, the celebrations of Our Lady of Fatima began on the eve of the feast. Fr. Carlos Cabecinhas, the rector of the Marian shrine, invited families to place candles in the windows of their houses as a way to participate in the traditional procession of candles at Fatima from home.
The rector said that while people cannot make a pilgrimage with their feet, they can make an interior pilgrimage with their hearts.
Public Masses are expected to resume in Portugal May 30 with some restrictions laid out by Portugal’s bishops’ conference to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
At Fatima’s Chapel of the Apparitions, Cardinal Marto led the rosary May 12 with meditations on the sorrowful mysteries for the intention of ending the coronavirus pandemic.
“To the virus pandemic we want to respond with unity and prayer, with compassion and tenderness,” he said.
“Today we respond with the rosary, a prayer for difficult times,” Marto said. “By meditating on the painful mysteries, we unite all the suffering humanity. We entrust our pain to Mary’s maternal heart.”
The cardinal then quoted the Virgin Mary’s request when she appeared to three shepherd children Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco on May 13, 1917: “Pray the rosary every day to bring peace to the world and an end to the war.”
Jacinta and Francisco Marto were canonized on May 13, 2017, by Pope Francis in Portugal. Both of the young saints died of the Spanish flu pandemic that killed between 50 and 100 million people in the early 20th century.
Pope Francis encouraged devotion to Our Lady of Fatima during his general audience offered via livestream from the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace May 13.
“Today we celebrate the liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Fatima,” he said. “We turn our thoughts to the apparitions and its message transmitted throughout the world.”
“In our prayer we ask God, through the intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for peace for the world, the end of the pandemic, the spirit of penance and our conversion,” Pope Francis said.
CNA Staff, May 12, 2020 / 05:00 pm (CNA).- The bishops of England and Wales have expressed disappointment after the government said churches in the U.K. should remain closed until at least July 4.
The bishops issued a statement May 11 after U.K. officials published a document Monday setting out plans to ease the nationwide lockdown imposed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“The timing and the manner of the opening of churches touches profound sensitivities and spiritual needs. The government’s document and statements fail to recognize this,” a spokesman for the bishops’ conference said.
The government insisted that places of worship would open “no earlier than 4 July”, and be subject to five “tests,” including a consistent fall in daily death rates.
The U.K., which has a population of almost 67 million, has recorded 32,789 deaths from the virus as of May 12, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center — the world’s second highest reported death toll after that of the United States.
The government’s recovery plan categorized churches alongside hairdressers, beauty salons, pubs, and cinemas as places that will reopen during “Step Three” of a three-step program.
The bishops’ statement said: “The government’s position, established today, includes these steps aimed at opening churches as soon as possible: the establishment of a task force for places of worship, to work closely with ‘stakeholders’ in ensuring that premises are COVID-19 secure; and heeding the experience of other countries in which churches are already open for worship.”
“In dialogue with the Government, the Catholic Church will continue its engagement in this process and has already submitted a detailed plan, in full accordance with public health guidelines, for churches to be opened for private prayer.
It concluded: “The Church is ready to play its full part in the task force, understanding that this includes the possible earlier use of churches for private prayer, as a first safe step towards their use for public worship.”
Public liturgies were suspended in England and Wales from March 20 and churches closed a few days later. Bishops have faced mounting calls from Catholics to reopen churches and allow congregations at Masses while respecting social distancing rules.
A video by lay Catholics appealing for churches to be reopened has been viewed more than 10,000 times since it was posted April 22.
Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth said May 5 that he had written to the government and Members of Parliament calling for churches to be included in the first wave of reopenings.
He wrote in his weekly email newsletter: “I would love to reopen our churches (of course, with appropriate safeguards etc.) as soon as we can. I firmly believe that our churches are an ‘essential service’. We need them for our spiritual well-being and in them, we receive from the Lord Himself the Sacraments of salvation and eternal life.”
Madrid, Spain, May 12, 2020 / 02:01 pm (CNA).- Cardinal Beniamino Stella, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy, sent a letter to all Catholic priests in Spain, offering encouragement amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In the May 10 letter, m… […]
CNA Staff, May 12, 2020 / 01:30 am (CNA).- The coronavirus pandemic has upended social life, politics and the economy. It may also transform the nature of grieving, an expert on the mourning process has said.
Dr Lynn Bassett told CNA that relatives of… […]
Madrid, Spain, May 11, 2020 / 02:40 pm (CNA).- The San Pelayo Monastery, located in the city of Oviedo in the Asturias autonomous region in northwestern Spain, has housed a community of Benedictine nuns since the year 994.
The nuns bind and restore bo… […]
Rome Newsroom, May 8, 2020 / 02:00 pm (CNA).- After the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ruled that the hospitals of the Brothers of Charity in Belgium can no longer be considered as Catholic, the religious order is seeking to prevent the hos… […]
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