Author: casciatalbert

Vatican City, Apr 1, 2020 / 12:01 pm (CNA).- The Vatican has asked priests around the world to recite a new prayer during this year’s Good Friday liturgy, and urged them to offer Masses for the end of the coronavirus pandemic. The Congregation for Divine Worship issued the new intention for the Solemn Intercessions during the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The Solemn Intercessions, which are derived from ancient prayers, are recited on Good Friday for various categories of people. They include the pope;…

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Vatican City, Mar 31, 2020 / 04:15 am (CNA).- Vatican flags are flying at half-staff on Tuesday in solidarity with the victims of the coronavirus in Italy and worldwide. “Today, in solidarity with Italy, the Holy See will display flags at half-mast in mourning to express its closeness to the victims of the pandemic in Italy and in the world, to their families, and to all those who generously struggle for its end,” Holy See Press Office Director Matteo Bruni told journalists March 31. Pope Francis met with the Italian…

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London, England, Mar 30, 2020 / 06:00 pm (CNA).- More than half a million people took part Sunday in the rededication of England to Our Lady Sunday, organizers have said. The English bishops had originally asked Catholics to gather in churches and cathedrals for the rededication at noon March 29. They were forced to change their plans when the government imposed a lockdown across the country in response to the coronavirus pandemic. They invited Catholics instead to follow the rededication ceremony live from their homes on the website of the…

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Vatican City, Mar 29, 2020 / 07:30 am (CNA).- In his Sunday homily, Pope Francis said it is a grace to weep with those who weep as many people suffer from the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. “Many cry today. And we, from this altar, from this sacrifice of Jesus — of Jesus who was not ashamed to cry — ask for the grace to cry. May today be for everyone like a Sunday of tears,” Pope Francis said in his homily on March 29. Before offering Mass in the…

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Washington D.C., Mar 28, 2020 / 03:10 pm (CNA).- The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is reminding federally-funded health providers that they cannot ration health care based upon the disabilities of patients. “In this time of emergency, the laudable goal of providing care quickly and efficiently must be guided by the fundamental principles of fairness, equality, and compassion that animate our civil rights laws,” the HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR) stated in a bulletin on Saturday. “As such, persons with disabilities should not be denied medical care…

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Washington D.C., Mar 27, 2020 / 09:00 am (CNA).- The pro-life ministry 40 Days for Life may have ended its public vigils outside abortion clinics, but it is urging its members to still pray and fast for an end to abortion. “The contemplative always has to come before the active. And we are learning that now more than ever,” the group’s president and CEO Shawn Carney said in an interview with EWTN Pro-Life Weekly on March 26. “It is the foundation, is prayer and fasting.” “There are so many ways…

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Vatican City, Mar 26, 2020 / 04:03 pm (CNA).- Pope Francis has entrusted the Office of Papal Charities with 30 ventilators to be distributed to 30 hospitals in need during the coronavirus pandemic, the Vatican announced Thursday. Because coronavirus is a respiratory illness, ventilators have become one of the top necessities in hospitals around the world, including in Italy’s overwhelmed hospital system. Which hospitals will receive the ventilators from the Vatican has not yet been determined. Italy has been one of the hardest-hit countries in the coronavirus outbreak outside of…

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Vatican City, Mar 25, 2020 / 10:20 am (CNA).- On Wednesday the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued two decrees giving new Eucharistic prefaces and provision for the optional celebration of more recently named saints in the extraordinary form of the Roman rite, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass. The decree Quo magis provides seven new Eucharistic prefaces for the extraordinary form of the Mass, which may be used for particular occasions, such as votive Masses or the feast days of saints, according to a note accompanying…

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