Pope: getting vaccinated against COVID a “moral obligation” (AP) Pope Francis suggested Monday that getting vaccinated against the coronavirus was a “moral obligation” and denounced how people had been swayed by “baseless information” to refuse one of the most effective measures to save lives. Francis used some of his strongest words yet calling for people to get vaccinated in a speech to ambassadors accredited to the Holy See, an annual event in which he takes stock of the world and sets out the Vatican’s foreign policy goals for the year…
Mask mandates return to parishes across the country (CNS) The rapid spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus has led bishops in dioceses nationwide to reimpose mask mandates for students and staff at schools as well as for Mass attendees regardless of vaccination status. Since mid-December, the mandates have been put in place in the archdioceses of Miami and Boston and all dioceses in New York and were to continue through mid-January…
Cardinal calls for peace, forgiveness in Ethiopia (Vatican News) As Ethiopia continues to face war resulting in a serious humanitarian crisis, Cardinal Berhaneyesus Souraphiel of Addis Ababa has urged Ethiopians to shun pride, anger and hatred that hinder peace in the country. In his Message for Christmas, which the Oriental Churches celebrated on January 7, the head of the Ethiopian Catholic Church called on all the faithful to avoid evil and to ask God for “the gift of forgiveness and peace” through prayer: “We persevere in prayer because peace and happiness are found in prayer. When we do, we fear God and turn away from all evil. We are all a family,” he says…
An LA school’s unlikely success story (The Angelus) St. Jane Frances in North Hollywood is writing its own comeback story: The turnaround at the school — now in its 70th school year — has seen its finances toned up and much of its campus fixed or improved. But perhaps most impressively, its enrollment has surged to 250 students during the COVID-19 pandemic…
