At some parishes a battle line has been drawn between parishioners willing to mask up again and those who perceive masks as unnecessary, ineffective or, at worst, a violation of their freedom.
While American Catholics today would unequivocally condemn the institution of slavery and Jim Crow segregation, most do not see or work against one of its most prominent present-day manifestations: mass incarceration.
Keeping Our Promise, a volunteer-run refugee resettlement organization, partners closely with churches, synagogues and faith-based organizations to help Special Immigrant Visa hopefuls in Afghanistan.
The rising nationwide spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus is leading church leaders to strongly encourage—or even require—Massgoers to use facial coverings while attending indoor Masses.
Transcendent, communal moments like these, so long denied us by this still raging pandemic, have been worth the wait, and they are more than worth the trouble.