Author: casciatalbert

Rome, Italy, Apr 29, 2020 / 06:00 am (CNA).- The Grand Master of the Order of Malta Fra’ Giacomo Dalla Torre died early Wednesday at the age of 75. Dalla Torre had been in treatment for throat cancer in Rome in recent months. He is remembered by the Order of Malta for his kindness, appreciation of the arts, and charity towards the poor and disabled. “I worked with Fra' Giacomo for over 20 years,” Philippa Leslie, communications director of the Order of Malta in Great Britain, told CNA.  “He had…

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Denver Newsroom, Apr 28, 2020 / 05:17 pm (CNA).- Archbishop Michael Miller of Vancouver has announced that he is donating to the University of British Columbia’s research toward a COVID-19 vaccine. “May the search for COVID-19 solutions also be a moment of solidarity, of collaboration, and of growing together as a visible sign to the world of the healing and reconciliation so needed right now,” Archbishop Miller said April 27 as reported by the B.C. Catholic. Ryan Thomas, a special advisor to the archdiocese, told CNA that Archbishop Miller wanted…

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Rome, Italy, Apr 27, 2020 / 09:30 am (CNA).- Italian students have organized a campaign to uplift and honor the elderly, who have suffered heavy losses in Italy’s coronavirus outbreak. Offering calls and video messages for elderly residents in isolation and a social media campaign to spread appreciation for seniors in their communities, the Catholic “Youth for Peace” movement is seeking to increase solidarity across generations. The young people have also collected donations for masks, gloves, and other medical supplies for elderly care homes, where social distancing is difficult. Italy…

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Rome Newsroom, Apr 26, 2020 / 03:29 pm (CNA).- Italy’s bishops have criticized Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte for failing to lift the ban on public Masses. The Italian bishops’ conference Sunday released a statement denouncing Conte's decree on "phase 2" of the coronavirus lockdown restrictions, which it says "arbitrarily excludes the possibility of celebrating Mass with the people." During a press conference April 26 to announce the next phase of Italy's COVID-19 restrictions, beginning May 4, Conte said funerals may resume with a maximum of 15 people present. Other religious…

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 25, 2020 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- Fr. Brendan Buckley, OFM. Cap., had never heard of the Zoom before this past March and the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. After his home in the Diocese of Brooklyn became a center of COVID-19 illness in the United States, he learned.  With the help of two parish employees, he has now shifted much of his parish ministry online, caring for his flock at the parish of St. Michael-St. Malachy despite the outbreak.  "They've got something [streaming] every day of…

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CNA Staff, Apr 24, 2020 / 11:31 am (CNA).- The bishops of Togo called for peace and respect for the rights of citizens after the violent arrest of an opposition leader from his home on Tuesday. “[E]very citizen has the right and duty to express his/her disapproval in the face of manifest injustice and oppression,” the Catholic bishops of Togo said in a statement, according to English Africa Service. “The physical violence and other inhuman and degrading treatment inflicted on citizens on this occasion is, therefore, a negation of their…

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CNA Staff, Apr 23, 2020 / 11:24 am (CNA).- The bishops of Northern Ireland wrote to members of the region's legislature Wednesday urging them to debate the abortion regulations imposed by the British government and to formulate new, pro-life regulations. “We take this opportunity to encourage you to debate these Regulations as a matter of urgency,” the bishops of Northern Ireland wrote April 22 to members of the legislative assembly. “Insofar as they exceed the requirements of the Northern Ireland Act 2019, we urge you to take steps to formulate…

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