The pandemic has had untold effects upon the spiritual and sacramental life of the church.
Liturgy
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
Should you go to Mass in a pandemic? 5 rules for discerning a hard question.
With some guidance from St. Ignatius of Loyola.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Navy revises policy on service members attending worship services off base
A prohibition by some U.S. Navy commands against active service members participating in off-base indoor religious services over coronavirus fears has now been revised, allowing attendance at places of worship where congregants can maintain social distance and wear face coverings.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
As cases of virus spike in Arizona, Tucson bishop suspends public worship
With the virus raging in the American southwest, public worship has been again suspended with the goal of preventing any additional spread of the disease.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Federal judge blocks limits de Blasio, Cuomo put on religious gatherings
A Federal judge has ruled that the restrictions on how many people may gather for church services in New York state cannot be enforced as it presently stands as it is far more stricter than the protocols for comparable secular gatherings.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Bishop Hying says cap on worship size ‘unjust,’ stifles church’s mission
Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison, Wis., has openly disagreed with local government’s pandemic advisory of limiting the number of congregants at Masses as interfering with “our pastoral mission.”
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Supreme Court rejects appeals to lift restrictions on congregation size
The church had argued that California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s reopening orders violated the Constitution because they placed fewer restrictions on some secular businesses than they did on houses of worship.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
Dear fellow Catholics: As churches reopen, let’s not go back to the old ‘normal’
Did the old “normal” way of doing things exhaust all possibilities for communal celebration? Is that what we want to return to, even if doing so were possible?
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Faith leaders: Protecting human life is priority in reopening churches
The Catholic bishops of Washington state, in a public statement, said that observance of the pandemic protocols in the suspension of Masses was done not out of fear but “out of our deepest respect for human life and health.”
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
L.A. Archdiocese to begin opening churches under detailed safety measures
Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles has announced plans for the reopening of churches within his archdiocese by the first week of June, provided safety protocols are observed.