IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — When U.S. dioceses first announced they were not offering public Masses in an effort to curb the coronavirus, many dioceses promoted TV Masses broadcast in their areas or arranged to tape their own Masses …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Zoey Maraist, Arlington Herald By Chaz Muth WASHINGTON (CNS) — As people throughout the U.S. self-isolate and retreat from daily life amid the COVID-19 pandemic, priests and women religious have become beacons of hope globally as they mobilize in unconventional ways. From church parking lots to hospitals, the …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Dave Hrbacek, The Cath By Mark Pattison WASHINGTON (CNS) — Here is the church, and here is the steeple; Father says Mass, but where are the people? Imagine if you gave a Mass and nobody came. That’s an emerging reality for priests as the phenomenon of livestreamed, YouTubed …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Harrison McClary, Reuters By Theresa Laurence NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CNS) — As Catholic Charities of Tennessee executive director Judy Orr leads her agency’s response to the deadly March 3 tornado, every plan must be vetted to comply with the latest precautions against the coronavirus pandemic. One of the chief …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Vatican Media By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Many Christians are caught in a trap of complaining about everything and doing nothing about it, Pope Francis said in his morning Mass. The sin of sloth, marked by careless indifference, apathy and self-pity, is a "poison, a fog …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Joanna Kohorst By Joanna Kohorst ROME (CNS) — I was video chatting with my childhood friend yesterday. We haven’t talked in almost a year and we were organizing a virtual happy hour with our high school friends. Why hadn’t we thought about doing this before? I told my …

IMAGE: Fotogramma/IPA/ABACA via Reuters By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — With the number of priests and religious dying from coronavirus-related illnesses rising, Pope Francis offered his prayers for those who died after being infected helping COVID-19 patients and their communities. At least 50 priests, four nuns and at least …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Flavio Lo Scalzo, Reuters By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As more countries continue to take precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the term "lockdown," normally used to describe confining prisoners to their cells, has taken on a whole new meaning. Yet for Stefania …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Octavio Duran By Rhina Guidos WASHINGTON (CNS) — In life, El Salvador’s St. Oscar Romero had an open line of communication with the church in the United States, whose leaders and laity often supported the archbishop of San Salvador when he objected to military aid or training of …

IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy of the Pontifical North American College By Cindy Wooden ROME (CNS) — With more than half of its seminarians already back in the United States, the Pontifical North American College in Rome is sending its students home. “In consultation with our board of governors and the U.S. …