Houses of worship struggle back, tread lightly on vaccines (The New York Times) Houses of worship have struggled over the past year as pandemic-related rules forced them to shut their doors for months and then limited how many people were allowed inside at a time. Most depend on donations to pay their bills, and while the number of worshipers and the size of their donations has slowly begun to rebound, the progress remains tenuous. Most churches in the city do not require worshipers to be vaccinated. Instead, rules vary from place to place…
Are online Masses keeping some Catholics from returning to church? (National Catholic Register) Church leaders are emphasizing that getting back to in-person Mass is imperative, to partake in “the Eucharistic sacrifice, which is the fount and apex of the whole Christian life” (Lumen Gentium, 11). And while bishops and parish communities are welcoming the flock with open arms, concern is being expressed that online worship may be having a detrimental effect on the willingness of some of the faithful back to return to their parish churches…
Kathy Hochul thanks “big Irish Catholic family” as she becomes New York governor (AP) Kathy Hochul became the first female governor of New York on Tuesday, vowing to bring new energy and urgency to solving immense challenges as she took over an administration criticized for inaction during Andrew Cuomo’s distracted final months in office. At a ceremonial swearing-in later Tuesday morning at the State Capitol, Hochul promised a “fresh, collaborative approach” in state government. “I want people to believe in their government again,” she said. “It’s important to me that people have faith…”
Virginia parish help Afghans arriving in U.S. (Arlington Catholic Herald) Hundreds of Afghans fleeing Taliban rule in their native country were brought to Northern Virginia after the withdrawal of U.S. troops in recent days. To help the evacuees, the Social Outreach Committee of St. James Church in Falls Church held an emergency toiletry drive Aug 21…
Texas school faces backlash over rules on sexual identity (Houston Chronicle) Over the weekend, an alumna of Antonian College Preparatory High School shared rules inscribed in the school’s 2021-2022 student handbook, which threaten to expel transgender students, among other policies…
How an encounter at an abortion clinic changed life of Eduardo Verastegui (CNA) Eduardo Verastegui, the producer and star of the film “Bella,” on Saturday recalled a moment where he realized his movie helped save a life. Verastegui addressed the Aug. 21 gala of the pro-life group Live Action, held in Dana Point, California. He received a “Life Award” from the group for his pro-life work in the entertainment industry…
