Priest: Churches should require proof of vaccination (The Daily Mail) A Catholic priest and cable TV contributor has said that unvaccinated parishioners should not gather in church for Christmas Mass because ‘we owe one another the gift of peace’ as the nation copes with the new wave of COVID cases fueled by the Omicron variant. Father Edward Beck, who is a religious commentator for CNN, said on Friday during a segment of the network’s New Day, that he believes all churches should require proof of vaccination…
Pope decries “demographic winter” in Italy (CNS) On the Catholic feast of the Holy Family, Pope Francis criticized his adopted country’s “demographic winter,” saying an increasing preference not to have children is doing damage not just to families but to the country and society at large. When thinking of the family, “a concern comes to mind, a real concern, at least here in Italy: the demographic winter,” the pope said in his Dec. 26 Angelus address…
Pope Francis sends condolences on death of Desmond Tutu (Vatican News) Pope Francis has sent his condolences to the family and loved ones of Archbishop Desmond Tutu who has died aged 90. In a telegramme sent to Archbishop Peter B. Wells, Apostolic Nuncio in South Africa and signed by Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, the Pope said he was saddened to learn of the Archbishop’s death…
Historic chapel in Antarctica at risk (CNA) The coronavirus pandemic has suspended efforts to save the Chapel of the Snows at McMurdo Station, the hub of the U.S. Antarctic Program. But one Catholic who regularly serves at the station has said he hopes the chapel has a permanent future at the station. “We had probably the only place in the world where you would go to Midnight Mass (for Christmas) and have to wear sunglasses inside the church, because the sun was so bright,” said Robert Mullenax, a Catholic meteorologist who works for a NASA contractor…
