by Michelle La Rosa Denver Newsroom, May 22, 2020 / 05:45 pm MT (CNA).- While President Donald Trump’s May 22 call to reopen churches has become a source of national controversy, a group of Catholic doctors has offered a plan that could expedite that process. “I think that if we …

by Courtney Mares Vatican City, May 23, 2020 / 07:05 am MT (CNA).- Pope Francis appointed Saturday Bishop Thomas An-Zu Chung as the next Metropolitan Archbishop of Taipei, Taiwan. Chung, who currently serves as bishop of Chiayi, Taiwan, will replace Archbishop John Hung Shan-chuan, who has retired at the age …

CNA Staff, May 23, 2020 / 02:04 pm MT (CNA).- The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is reopening this weekend, after being closed in late March due to the coronavirus pandemic. A statement from the Custodians of the Holy Sepulchre announced that the site would be open to …

by Jonah McKeown Denver Newsroom, May 22, 2020 / 04:58 pm MT (CNA).- Susan Varlamoff, a retired biologist and parishioner at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, was in 2015 serving as director of the Office of Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia, when she heard that Pope Francis was …

CNA Staff, May 21, 2020 / 03:10 pm MT (CNA).- Three churches in Chicago have been fined after defying an order banning services of more than 10 people on Sunday, May 17. A former mayoral candidate, who attended one of the services, has said that he will pay the fines. …

by Courtney Mares Rome Newsroom, May 21, 2020 / 10:45 am MT (CNA).- After the Vatican stopped livestreaming Pope Francis’ daily Masses this week, Catholics from around the world have urged the pope to resume the broadcast. The pope’s Mass livestream ended May 18, the day dioceses throughout Italy were …

Mexico City, Mexico, May 21, 2020 / 04:55 pm MT (CNA).- When Fr. Antonio Pérez Hernández was recently hospitalized with COVID-19, he said he was able to witness firsthand how God is present in the midst of suffering. The priest shared his experience in a recent video posted by the …

by JD Flynn Denver Newsroom, May 21, 2020 / 05:36 pm MT (CNA).- The day after announcing that parishes in Minnesota can ignore a statewide order on religious gatherings, the Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis explained the pastoral motive for his decision. Catholics “really depend on the Eucharist to …

Washington D.C., May 21, 2020 / 12:50 am MT (CNA).- California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s efforts to lift some anti-coronavirus restrictions cannot single out churches for stricter treatment than other similar public activities, the U.S. Department of Justice has said. “Simply put, there is no pandemic exception to the U.S. Constitution …

CNA Staff, May 20, 2020 / 05:01 pm MT (CNA).- The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference is urging Governor Tom Wolf not to divert federal emergency funds, appropriated to help K-12 schools amid the pandemic, away from the state’s private schools. “That money has been earmarked for ALL schools in our state. …