Select Page

Month: March 2020

Mongolia’s first bishop dies at 101 (CNA)

Posted by | Mar 26, 2020 | |

Bishop Joseph Ma Zhongmu Tegusbeleg, the only native of Mongolia ever consecrated as a Catholic bishop, died on March 25 at the age of 101. He had served the “underground” Church in China, heading the Ningxia diocese from 1983 until his ret…

Read More

First bishop known to die of coronavirus was missionary in Ethiopia

Posted by | Mar 26, 2020 | , |

CNA Staff, Mar 25, 2020 / 07:11 pm (CNA).- The Italian bishop of a missionary region of Ethiopia is the first Catholic bishop known to have died of the global coronavirus pandemic. He died March 25.

Bishop Angelo Moreschi, 67, was the leader of Ethiopia’s Apostolic Vicariate of Gambella, a missionary region of 25,000 Catholics in the western part of the country. He died Wednesday in the Italian city of Brescia, in the Lombardy region that has become the European epicenter of the pandemic.

A member of the Salesians of Don Bosco religious order, Moreschi had been a missionary in Ethiopia since 1991. He was ordained a bishop in January 2010.

“The Salesian community mourns the death of the Apostolic Vicar of Gambella (Ethiopia), namely Msgr. Angelo Moreschi, SDB, who died today, March 25, in Brescia (Italy) due to the coronavirus,” the Salesians of Don Bosco said in a statement released through the order’s information bureau.
.
The secretary general of Ethiopia’s bishops’ conference announced the news in the country, announced conveying “deep condolences to the Clergy, religious, bereaved family and the lay faithful in the Apostolic Vicariate of Gambella.”

To the mourning people of the Gambella vicariate, the country’s bishops pledged the “closeness and prayers of members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ethiopia and the entire Catholic Church in Ethiopia. May his soul rest in peace.”

Bishop Moreschi was renowned in Ethiopia for his pastoral ministry to the service of young people and the poor. In the local dialect, he was afforded the title “Abba,” meaning “Father.”

“In his mission as prefect and then as apostolic vicar, he continued to embody the Salesian focus in helping children, accompanying them by his practical spirit and his strong apostolic zeal,” the Salesians of Don Bosco stated.

“In his visits to the villages, they still remember when the Salesian arrived with a battered SUV – or by motorboat in the villages along the Baro river when the roads were flooded – and he immediately began to distribute multi-vitamin biscuits to malnourished children.”

Bishop Moreschi died “after serving the young, the poor and his flock of souls as a Salesian for 46 years, as a priest for 38, and as a bishop for over 10,” the Salesians said.

More than 60 priests have died in the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed more than 21,000 lives globally. Several bishops have contracted the virus.

 

This story was first reported by ACI Africa, CNA’s African news partner. It has been adapted by CNA.

 

Read More

UK groups push for ’emergency contraception’ expansion amid coronavirus outbreak

Posted by | Mar 26, 2020 | , |

CNA Staff, Mar 25, 2020 / 06:19 pm (CNA).- While the U.K. government has quickly backed away from rules allowing women to complete a medical abortion at home during the coronavirus pandemic, some groups are lobbying to expand legal access to emergency contraception, which can have abortion-causing effects.

The Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has said consultations for emergency contraception should take place by telephone or video. The drugs are sometimes informally known as the “morning after pill.”

They advise the same consultation practices for contraception prescriptions and for counseling for intrauterine contraceptives and contraceptive implants, the Scottish newspaper The National reports. The faculty, which sets standards in family planning, has also advocated that online contraceptive services be expanded around the U.K.

Catholic ethics reject the use of the “morning after pill” to avoid conception following consensual sexual relations, and strongly reject the use of drugs that can kill any newly conceived embryo.

Dr. Anne Lashford, vice president of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare, said doctors, nurses, and other clinicians in her specialty are being redeployed to help respond to the coronavirus outbreak. She said sexual and reproductive healthcare services were “already operating beyond capacity.”

“It is crucial that we ensure women of all ages can continue to access effective contraception during the crisis, avoiding unplanned pregnancies which will likely lead to added strain on both maternity and abortion services,” Lashford said.

Pro-abortion rights advocates have argued for looser abortion restrictions during the pandemic. Otherwise women “may resort to illegal methods or be compelled to carry unwanted pregnancies to term,” a spokeswoman for the British Pregnancy Advisory Service said.

The U.K.’s Department for Health initially made changes to England’s abortion laws that would have allowed women to complete a chemical abortion at home, without going to a hospital or clinic first. The changes were retracted March 24 just hours after they were published.

British Members of Parliament questioned Health Secretary Matt Hancock in the House of Commons March 25 about the changes.

Hancock reiterated that the government has no plans to change abortion regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has issued lock down orders for the U.K. with strict social distancing measures enforced.

A medical abortion, sometimes called a chemical abortion, is a two-step process that involves the ingestion of two drugs: mifepristone and misoprostol. The first drug, mifepristone, effectively starves the unborn baby by blocking the effects of the progesterone hormone, inducing a miscarriage. The second drug, misoprostol, is taken up to two days later and induces labor.

Women in the U.K. are already allowed to take the second drug at home, after taking the first at a medical clinic and after obtaining the approval of two doctors, as required by law.

The retracted changes would have allowed women to take both pills at home after consulting with a doctor via video link or by phone.

John Smeaton, Chief Executive of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children UK, said the proposed policy was “radical and most disturbing” and would have “placed more women at risk.”

“The removal of any direct medical supervision overseeing the use of both abortion pills could have seen a rise of physical and physiological complications experienced by women.”

The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children UK, a pro-life group, has launched a national and international campaign calling for abortions to be halted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read More

Cincinnati archbishop’s funeral to take place in empty cathedral

Posted by | Mar 25, 2020 | , |

CNA Staff, Mar 25, 2020 / 05:00 pm (CNA).- The funeral of the former head of the United States bishops’ conference and archbishop emeritus of Cleveland will take place behind closed doors. A Mass of Christian burial will be said for Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk in Cincinnati’s Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains on Friday.

The funeral arrangements were announced by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati on Wednesday, and the Mass will be celebrated by Archbishop Dennis Schnurr on March 27 at 11 am.

“Due to the current pandemic, the Mass will be private,” a statement from the archdiocese said. “However the clergy and faithful of the archdiocese are encouraged to join in prayer for Archbishop Pilarczyk by joining in the Mass that will be live-streamed to the Archdiocese of Cincinnati website. A memorial Mass open to the clergy and faithful of the Archdiocese will be held at a later date.”

A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati told CNA on Wednesday that the burial would take place privately and the archbishop would not be interred at the cathedral.

Washington Archbishop Wilton Gregory said on Monday that he was deeply disappointed that the current pandemic conditions prevented him from attending the Mass.

“If this were an ordinary moment, I would plan to attend Archbishop Pilarczyk’s funeral in Cincinnati,” Gregory said via Twitter.

“He was a dear friend & mentor for me. His wit and wisdom were legendary and will be missed. Alas his funeral liturgy will be private. I pray the Lord reward him with peace.”

Pilarczyk died on Sunday at the age of 85. Ordained a priest in 1959, Pilarczyk was consecrated auxiliary bishop of Cincinnati in 1974, serving also as the vicar general for the archdiocese.

In 1982, he became the archbishop of Cincinnati, succeeding Joseph Bernardin, who was appointed Archbishop of Chicago. At the time of his retirement in 2009, Pilarczyk was then the longest-tenured archbishop in the U.S., having served for 27 years.

During that time, he also served as vice president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, now the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, from 1986 until 1989. That was followed by a three-year term as president of the conference until 1992, as the U.S. prepared to host its first World Youth Day in Denver in the summer of 1993.

While archbishop, Pilarczyk was also rector of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and School of Theology, also called the Athenaeum of Ohio.

On Sunday, Archbishop Schnurr said that Pilarczyk would be remembered as a “teacher.”

“Some seminarians told me they thought he was stern, but I explained he never forgot to be the teacher, always in control, tolerating no nonsense and always ready to correct,” Schnurr said.

“He was regarded by his fellow bishops as an intellectual, a scholar. He was one of the few bishops who could carry on a conversation in Latin,” said Schnurr.

Read More

Miraculous crucifix moved to St. Peter’s Square for Pope Francis’ ‘Urbi et Orbi’ blessing

Posted by | Mar 25, 2020 | , |

Vatican City, Mar 25, 2020 / 03:10 pm (CNA).- The miraculous crucifix at which Pope Francis prayed Sunday for an end to the coronavirus has been taken down from its altar and transported to St. Peter’s Square, so it can be present on Friday during the pontiff’s benediction “Urbi et Orbi.”

The crucifix was removed from the Church of San Marcello al Corso by Vatican personnel Wednesday evening, and is expected to be installed temporarily at St. Peter’s Square on Thursday, according to Vatican journalist Francesco Antonio Grana.

The crucifix was venerated as miraculous by Romans after it was the only religious image to survive unscathed from a fire that completely gutted the church on May 23, 1519.

Less than three years later, Rome was devastated by the “black plague.”

Upon the request of Rome’s Catholics, the crucifix was taken in procession from the convent of the Servants of Mary in Via del Corso to St. Peter’s Square, stopping in each quarter of Rome.
 
The procession continued 16 days, from August 4th to the 20th, 1522. When the crucifix was returned to St. Marcellus, the plague had disappeared from Rome.

The crucifix has since processed to St. Peter’s Square every Roman Holy Year – around every 50 years- and the crucifix has engraved on its back the names of each pope to have witnessed those processions. The last name engraved is that of Pope St. John Paul II, who embraced the crucifix during the “Day of Forgiveness,” during the Jubilee Year 2000.

Read More

French church bells ring in show of solidarity during coronavirus pandemic

Posted by | Mar 25, 2020 | , |

CNA Staff, Mar 25, 2020 / 03:00 pm (CNA).- Church bells rang simultaneously across France at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday night, in a show of national unity amidst the COVID-19 outbreak and in commemoration of the Feast of the Annunciation. 

Archbishop of Paris Michel Aupetit said that the ringing of the church bells shows “that there is a communion between the people whom the message of the Gospel invites us to build,” in an interview published in the French magazine Le Parisien on Tuesday. 

Wednesday’s Feast of the Annunciation marks the Church’s celebration of the Archangel Gabriel’s announcement to the Virgin Mary that she would be the mother of Christ. In France, it also marked the ninth day of a national lockdown to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“In difficult times, it is the means to achieve unity, the unanimity of our country. Joy still lives in our hearts,” said Aupetit. 

Since the first confirmed case of coronavirus in France in January, there have been more than 25,000 additional cases, and over 1,300 deaths from the virus. 

On Twitter, the Archbishop of Paris encouraged Catholics and all French people to light a candle as a show of solidarity while the church bells were ringing. 

Many people posted videos of the bells ringing in their local villages. 

 

Church bells ringing in my village, as all over France «non pour appeler les fidèles à s’y rendre, mais pour manifester notre fraternité et notre espoir commun» pic.twitter.com/0kje2bNEgr

— Craig Drake (@csdrake) March 25, 2020

 

 

“Church bells ringing in my village, as all over France, ‘not to call the faithful to go there, but to show our fraternity and our common hope,’” tweeted Craig Drake. Dioceses in France suspended public Masses earlier this month, as mirroring similar restrictions in Italy, Spain, and the United States. 

 

#Églises #COVID2019
Sonnez, sonnez, cloches de nos clochers, cloches de nos églises de France!
Sonnez !
Et que la prochaine fois marque la fin de cette terrible pandémie! pic.twitter.com/gwNHzHqNVT

— Philippe GOSSELIN (@phgosselin) March 25, 2020

 

 

“Ring, ring, bells from our steeples, bells from our churches in France! Ring! And the next time, it will mark the end of this terrible pandemic!” tweeted Philippe Gosselin from the town of Saint-Lô in Manche. 

Churches of other denominations joined the Catholic churches in ringing their bells on Wednesday. A video taken by Stephen Brown shows the bells tolling at a Lutheran church in Courbevoie, near Paris. 

 

Church bells ring in France at 19:30 to support all those with Covid19 and those looking after them – in the background the local hospital pic.twitter.com/kHuv1Olpca

— Stephen Brown (@stephengbrown) March 25, 2020

 

 

In his interview with Le Parisien, Aupetit expressed hope that the suspension of Masses may lead to a renewed desire for faith among the French people. 

“When you are thirsty, you become more and more thirsty. And when water is given to us, we drink in abundance. We are currently weaned from this communion, so I hope that we will live it more intensely when the epidemic is over,” he said. 

Aupetit, who worked as a doctor for two decades before entering the priesthood, said that he is volunteering to treat the sick, and that fear of the virus was not a deterrent for him. 

“I even think I caught it,” he said, noting that about two weeks ago, he lost his sense of smell, which was a symptom of the novel coronavirus. 

“Fear does not prevent death, nor disease. The one who is afraid is unable to fight the virus,” he said. 

“In a situation of distress, you have to arm yourself to be able to face it. And if it’s my hour, it’s the one God chose.”

Aupetit also preached a message of hope in his interview, saying that Christian hope is one of the things that can come from something evil, especially in this season of Lent and preparation for Easter.

“We can imagine more fraternity, delicacy, civility, a different look on others and those who do not think like us. We are not quite in the worst with this virus, it can still get worse. But now is not the time to let go,” he said. 

“You have to be standing in hope. When Christ is crucified, we tell ourselves that everything is finished. Three days later, we celebrate his resurrection. The last word is not to death, but to life.” 

Read More

A Writer’s Annunciation at Walsingham

Posted by | Mar 25, 2020 | |

By K.V. Turley | Sally Read is an award-winning poet, who was known as an outspoken feminist and an anti-Catholic atheist. Then, unexpectedly, in 2010, she converted to Catholicism. Subsequently, in 2016, she…

Read More

NY bishops worry state would go up in smoke after marijuana legalization

Posted by | Mar 25, 2020 | , |

CNA Staff, Mar 25, 2020 / 02:17 pm (CNA).- The New York State Catholic Conference on Monday indicated its opposition to a bill that would legalize the sale and use of recreational marijuana.

“New York’s medical, education and law enforcement communities have urged the state to reject recreational marijuana legalization, and so does the New York State Catholic Conference,” the conference said in a March 23 memo.

The Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act is currently in committee, and has been supported by Gov. Andrew Cuomo as part of his proposed budget. The governor has said it would generate $300 million in tax revenue.

“There are many policy issues that I laid out back in January and we’re going to pursue all of them,” he said, according to The Post-Star.

Medical marijuana has been legal in New York since 2014.

The Catholic conference noted that the state is now “in the grips of the coronavirus pandemic, and said that “it would be the height of irresponsibility for the state to legalize a substance designed to be inhaled deeply into the lungs of the user at this time in particular.”

“Science has not told us yet the impact of marijuana smoke on coronavirus patients. Our health care system is poised to be flooded with patients; we must not take any action that could potentially increase bad outcomes for those who are sick.”

The conference also pointed out that coronavirus has led to the closure of the capitol to visitors.

“To pass controversial legislation on major social issues at such a time when public hearings cannot be held and advocates cannot make their case would give the impression that the voice of opposition has been silenced,” it said. “This is too important an issue for government officials to determine in the absence of full and open debate.”

The memo referred also to the arguments in its 2019 statement opposing plans to legalize recreational marijuana.

At that time, the bishops said egalization would be disastrous, and accused the state of “encouraging destructive behavior” to raise tax revenue.

Legalizing marijuana for recreational use would be akin to opening a “Pandora’s Box that will have multiple deleterious effects on individuals, families, and all of society,” said the statement.

“Vice is not an appropriate economic development engine for a state that prides itself as a national progressive leader,” said the bishops. “Our state motto is Excelsior (ever upward), but policies that exploit addiction instead lead us ever downward.”

The bishops said that no increase in state revenue would be worth the “increased teenage and childhood usage, harmful effects on developing brains, addiction, natural progression to harder drug use, increased impairment-related transportation accidents and deaths, and other potential public health and safety issues.”

Read More

Recent Comments

    Categories