76 Franciscan nuns test positive for COVID at German convent (AP) Seventy-six Catholic nuns have tested positive for COVID-19 after an outbreak at a Franciscan convent in northwestern Germany, church authorities said Tuesday. Another 85 nuns received negative test results at the monastery in Thuine, not far from the Dutch border, the convent’s Mother Superior told The Associated Press. “We are grateful that so far nobody is in the hospital,” Sister Maria Cordis Reiker said…
Catholic leaders decry additional execution measures (CNS) A move by the Department of Justice to expand how it carries out federal death sentences — to include electrocution, gas or firing squads along with lethal injections –was sharply criticized by Catholic anti-death penalty activists…
Pope: Zairean Rite could be a liturgical model for the Amazon (Vatican News) The Zairean Rite is “until now the only inculturated rite of the Latin Church approved after the Second Vatican Council” and “this process of liturgical inculturation in Congo is an invitation to enhance the different gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are a richness for all humanity,” writes Pope Francis in the preface to the new book. The Zairean Mass (Rite zaïrois in French) or the Roman Missal for the Dioceses of Zaire is a variation of the Mass of the Roman Catholic Church as we know it. In everyday speak, the Mass is sometimes referred to as “Congolese Mass.” This liturgical rite fits into Congolese culture and takes into consideration the African way of life and of celebrating solemn occasions…
Beatified teen inspires song from Long Island high school (CNS) Blessed Carlo Acutis, the Italian teen beatified in October, is not only responsible for a medical miracle, he also has inspired a song featuring his own quotations. “Born an Original” had its television debut Nov. 18 on “CFN Live,” a program on the Catholic Faith Network, which serves New York, New Jersey and Connecticut…
Elf on a shelf? How about Mary on the Mantel? (CNA) Erica Tighe Campbell, founder of the Catholic lifestyle products company Be A Heart, was pregnant with her first child last year when she came up with the idea of creating a Mary doll. “I was doing my baby registry, and..I saw a closet for a doll, and I thought, ‘What doll needs outfits?’” Campbell told CNA.“Then I started thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, wait, Mary has so many outfits in all of her different apparitions. What if there was a really beautiful Mary doll that looked like other things that are selling?’”…
