Catholic leaders in several states have announced guidelines for resuming public Mass, reports Michael J. O‘Loughlin, but social-distancing practices are not going away any time soon.

In a letter commemorating the centenary of Pope Saint John Paul II's birth, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI reflects that John Paul sought to spread the message that "God's mercy is intended for every individual" and that the late pope was no "moral rigorist" that some have portrayed him as being.

More than 100 organizations--including Catholic religious congregations-- which advocate for debt relief have publicized a letter to the International Monetary Fund calling on international policymakers to cancel debt payments for poor and developing nations so that they use focus their resources on dealing with the pandemic.

Msgr. Slawomir Oder, the postulator for the sainthood cause of Pope John Paul II, has said recently that he had found no evidence that the late pope ever covered up cases of sexual abuse scandals.

Ukrainian Catholic bishops are calling for an end to the practice of commercial surrogacy as dozens of babies are left stranded and not claimed by foreign adoptive parents because of the pandemic.

In anticipation of opening Rome's churches for celebration of public Masses, the Italian army and city sanitation authorities are sanitizing the sacred spaces in order to keep the public safe.