Catholic Church

By Dorothy Cummings McLean, LifeSiteNews - Both the Catholic Church in England and Wales and the Catholic Church in Scotland have announced that public Masses will be suspended in these countries indefinitely because of the coronavirus pandemic… In England and Wales, the last public Masses will take place on Friday. In Scotland, they will take place on Thursday… The inability to attend Mass is a hard cross for Catholics to bear anywhere, but it is particularly crushing in Great Britain, where Mass was essentially illegal from the late 16th century until the Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1791. …

By Msgr. Charles Pope - We might do well at a moment like this to ponder the First Station of the Cross, in which Jesus is tried before Pilate. At a critical moment Pilate said, “Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over me if it were not given to you from above”(John 19:10-11). Jesus thus acknowledges Pilate’s authority as governor but reminds him of its true origin… Most of us right now are experiencing increasing restrictions on our movement….

By Gustavo Solimeo, The American TFP - The Pope was Benedict XV (1914-1922). He warned the faithful against the evils of socialism in a document issued exactly one hundred years ago this month on March 11, 1920… The title says it all: “Epistle Soliti Nos: On the Need to Beware of Socialist Propaganda.”1 Although a century old, Pope Benedict’s warning remains perfectly up to date. It seems appropriate to present a summary here… However, the facts that gave rise to this pontifical warning must first be told.

By Michelle Arnold, Catholic Answers - Churches are closing, Masses are being canceled, bishops are dispensing the faithful from the Sunday obligation, priests are becoming increasingly unavailable for confession and anointing of the sick. This year, the Holy Week liturgies will be celebrated in Rome without the faithful in attendance. During this outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), Catholics are beginning to grapple with a new reality: a loss of access to the sacraments while the world struggles to contain the disease to manageable levels through quarantines and social distancing.