Parishes facing a precarious post-pandemic world (NCR) A survey commissioned last fall by the Catholic Extension, which works to support Catholic communities in the poorest regions of the country, found that 13 of those dioceses saw an overall parish collection drop between 50-90%. Another 17 dioceses saw overall parish collections drop between 30-49% during the pandemic and more than 1,000 Catholic parishes in those dioceses said they would need financial assistance this year to be able to maintain basic ministry functions…
Arkansas bans most abortions (CNA) Arkansas is the latest state to pass legislation banning almost all abortions, in an effort to prompt the Supreme Court to revisit and overturn Roe v. Wade…
Cardinal Tagle concerned about populist leaders ‘hijacking’ religion (CNS) Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, head of the Vatican’s evangelization congregation, has expressed concern over the “hijacking” of religion by populist leaders who sow division and exploit the anger of those who feel excluded. Speaking after he delivered the 2021 Trócaire/St. Patrick’s College Maynooth annual Lenten lecture March 9 on “Caring for the Human Family and our Common Home,” the Filipino prelate warned, “There is a growing sense in the world today of divisiveness, and unfortunately religion is being used to further division; sometimes even within the same religious affiliation you have divisions…”
Online event will mark anniversary of ‘Amoris Laetitia’ (Vatican News) The 19 March virtual event entitled, “Our Daily Love”, is being organized by the Vatican Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, the Diocese of Rome and the Pontifical John Paul II Theological Institute, all based in Rome. The same day, Pope Francis will launch the “Amoris Laetitia Family Year”, which will conclude on June 26, 2022, on the occasion of the 10th World Meeting of Families in Rome with the Holy Father.
Why don’t more Catholics use NFP? (America Magazine) It is well known that most Catholics use some form of artificial contraception, but why do we accept that? Let’s look at a different issue: abortion. It is clear to us as Catholics where we need to stand on abortion issues. Abortion is morally wrong, and that is generally well known in the Catholic Church. Well, the use of contraception is also against church teaching. The prevalence of contraceptive use, inside and outside of marriages, is a huge problem for the church. If we ignore contraception and give N.F.P. only a cursory mention in marriage preparation, then Catholic couples will continue to use artificial methods of birth control. How are we going to fix this problem?…
