Talbert Zoo

Rome, Italy, Mar 13, 2020 / 06:00 am (CNA).- Less than one day after the Diocese of Rome issued a decree to close all churches to the public, the vicar general revised the decree Friday saying he will leave this decision to the discretion of parish priests. “Every ecclesial precautionary measure must take into account not only the common good of civil society, but also of that unique and precious good which is faith, especially that of the least ones,” Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, vicar general of Rome, wrote in…

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Washington D.C., Mar 12, 2020 / 08:00 am (CNA).- This week the Israeli government announced that, from March 12, any foreign tourist who enters the country will be placed in a 14-day quarantine to halt the spread of COVID-19. The announcement affected thousands would-be pilgrims planning to visit the Holy Land, and resulted in changed flights, and canceled trips. Prior to the quarantine, religious sites in Bethlehem were already shut down over fears of coronavirus, leaving pilgrims already in the Holy Land unable to visit the location of the birth…

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Broome, Australia, Mar 11, 2020 / 10:00 am (CNA).- Australian Bishop Christopher Saunders of Broome has temporarily stepped back from his duties following allegations of historical sexual abuse. The Vatican has begun an investigation into claims that Saunders sexually abused boys several decades ago.  Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, SDB of Perth, metropolitan archbishop of the province, announced that Saunders voluntarily stepped aside on Tuesday, March 10, in a letter to the diocese.  Bishop Peter Ingham, emeritus bishop of the diocese of Wollongong has been named as the Apostolic Visitor of the Broome…

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Washington D.C., Mar 10, 2020 / 05:00 pm (CNA).- As the Coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads in the U.S., one Catholic organization is trying to protect a population that is particularly vulnerable to the spread of contagious illnesses—the city’s homeless. “One of the repercussions of being homeless is that those sorts of hygiene habits kind of go by the wayside,” said Kim Cox, president of the Father McKenna Center in Washington, D.C. which ministers to homeless men in the area. She noted that the center, which emphasizes community among the men who…

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Lima, Peru, Mar 9, 2020 / 06:10 pm (CNA).- A Peruvian cardinal has said that the Vatican has been asked to dissolve the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, a Peruvian religious community whose founder sexually and psychologically abused members, and committed other abuses of power. “I personally think, when a religious organization has committed a crime, and it must be said that way, from the point of view of sexual abuse and the financial matters, that there are problems and it must be dissolved; and that is the point where we are…

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Rome, Italy, Mar 8, 2020 / 01:30 pm (CNA).- The Diocese of Rome has canceled all public Masses until April 3 in response to the coronavirus outbreak. The announcement by the vicar general of the diocese, published Sunday evening, follows a decree by the Italian government suspending all public religious ceremonies. “The Church of Rome … assumes an attitude of full responsibility towards the community in the awareness that protection from contagion requires even drastic measures, especially in interpersonal contact. Therefore, until the same date of April 3, the communal…

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South Bend, Ind., Mar 7, 2020 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- Catholic clergy and laity have a shared responsibility to proclaim the Gospel, speakers at a conference sponsored by the University of Notre Dame have said.   “We’re all in the same boat. We’re all here to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, that is, to bring salvation, God’s salvation to the world, so that’s what I want to share with you,” Bishop Bill Wack, C.S.C. of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Florida said March 6.   Wack spoke at the conclusion of the “Called…

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Vatican City, Mar 6, 2020 / 10:41 am (CNA).- Rolls Royce and Italian Luxury Living are no longer offering an exclusive meeting and Mass with Pope Francis to Rolls Royce owners who donate over $100,000 to the Catholic Church. “The offer does not exist anymore,” Ananda Gari of Italian Luxury Living told CNA by phone March 6. Religion News Service reported March 5 that Rolls-Royce was offering its luxury car owners a chance to meet privately with Pope Francis, receive the Eucharist from the pope during a private Mass, and…

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