COVID-19

The current challenges we face have opened up new opportunities, Bishop Kettler said. “This is the silver lining to what we are going through right now — new ways of making Jesus Christ known and loved. New ways to be gathered, nourished and sent.”

Pope Francis donated respirators, masks and protective eyewear to several countries, including Spain, on the April 23 feast of his namesake, St. George.

The World Meeting of Families in Rome will be pushed back until June 2022 and World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, will be pushed back until August 2023, the Vatican announced.

The chairmen of four U.S. bishops’ committees — joined by the leaders of several health care, bioethics and pro-life organizations — “urgently and respectfully” implored the commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ensure any vaccines developed for the coronavirus “are free from any connection to abortion.”

Making a living as a farmer in the United States has never been easy. But the coronavirus pandemic has added new layers of complexity for farmers and the people living in the small towns that dot the rural landscape.

“We are a Church that values every human life. We are a Church in solidarity with others at this time. … We are a Church that understands sacrifice.
This couldn’t be clearer on a day like today, when we remember Jesus’ loving sacrifice for us.”

“While mitigation efforts to date have helped, the coronavirus continues to pose a serious health threat, particularly to the elderly and those with underlying illnesses.”

The coronavirus pandemic is creating fear over limited resources for treating patients, especially the most seriously ill, but “this is not a time to sideline our ethical and moral principles,” said the chairmen of three committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.