Among the emergency provisions are increases to family benefits, a six-month interest-free pause on student loans and a biweekly payment of $900 for sick or laid-off workers without employment insurance or sick leave.

In France, the northern sanctuary of Lisieux, burial place of the St. Therese and her parents, Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin, closed its doors to pilgrims March 17, complying with a 14-day government curfew on all nonessential movement.

The decree states that the faithful can gain this plenary indulgence in a variety of ways while the pandemic lasts, such as by praying before the Blessed Sacrament, making Eucharistic Adoration or reading the Sacred Scriptures for a half an hour or more.

In London, Cardinal Vincent Nichols has asked the faithful to “dig deep into our traditions and our resources to make sure that our prayer maintains a eucharistic heart and a eucharistic center,” citing a tradition, little engaged in recent times, of “spiritual communion.”

C.H.A. and the other organizations emphasized the need to increase medical capacity and testing, enhance the national supply of critical medical equipment, protect front-line care providers and technicians and improve coordination in treating patients.

Longtime home-schoolers told Catholic News Service the current moment gives parents the chance to spend more one-on-one time with their children while teaching skills and creating memories to cherish for a lifetime.