Pope Francis has called for a global prayer marathon for the entire month of May, praying for the end to the pandemic.

“The death of George Floyd highlighted and amplified the deep need to see the sacredness in all people, but especially those who have been historically oppressed,” read a statement from the U.S. bishops' conference.

The day before the Chauvin verdict was announced, Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda and priests across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis offered special Masses "For the Preservation of Peace and Justice."

Addressing a congregation of about 120 people at the Cathedral of St. Paul's 7:30 a.m. daily Mass in St. Paul, the archbishop referred to the multiplication of the loaves and fishes in St. John's Gospel and Philip's temptation to do nothing in the face of the challenge to feed the crowd.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has published a proposed rule to rescind the Trump administration's enforcement of a Title X provision that "draws a bright line between abortion and family planning," as the U.S. bishops' pro-life committee chairman has described it.

The head of the Irish bishops' conference said the government's move to criminalize attendance at Mass as part of Covid-19 regulations was a "potential infringement of religious freedom and of constitutional rights."