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BEIJING — Catholics are upset about a directive from China's communist government asking priests to "preach on patriotism" as a condition for reopening liturgical services, suspended earlier this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Until June 1, no Catholic bishop had publicly participated in "taking a knee" — a gesture to publicly protest police brutality — but that day, Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, became the first. Surrounded by priests from his diocese who also kneeled with him and holding a "Black Lives Matter" sign, he put both knees on the grass at El Paso's Memorial Park, where a protest had taken place a day earlier and closed his eyes.
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, who was killed while in police custody in Minneapolis as a white officer knelt on his neck for an extended time, drew sorrow and anger across the United States, spawning nationwide protests against police brutality and societal racism in its wake.
Even as sanctuaries across the country closed their doors to stop the spread of the coronavirus, a sacred space in Jasper, Indiana, remained accessible. Encircled by shrines depicting the mysteries of the rosary with a 12-foot-tall manmade cave as the centerpiece, the town's outdoor Geode Grotto became a refuge even from the fear of airborne viruses.
The morning of May 31, the sisters saw the destruction up and down King Street and realized how blessed they were to have escaped the night undamaged.
Father Stefan P. Starzynski, hospital chaplain at Inova Fairfax Hospital, reports that they're celebrating 1,000 COVID discharges. Nurses made posters which are on display at the entrance for people to sign. Father Starzynski says they're celebrating seeing a light at the end of the tunnel!
When we strive to act with love for our neighbors, we are setting down a strong foundation for dialogue and community. If we want to heal divisions in our community, we must first begin by caring about its members.
Addressing all "dear brothers and sisters in the United States” during his livestreamed general audience June 3, the pope said, "Today I join the church in St. Paul and Minneapolis, and in the entire United States, in praying for the repose of the soul of George Floyd and of all those others who have lost their lives as a result of the sin of racism."
One of the more predictable byproducts of the coronavirus pandemic has been an uptick in apocalyptic warnings that the end of the world is at hand. The folks who send me emails announcing that COVID-19 signals the arrival of the End Times mean well, and their eagerness to spread the news is understandable. But they’re missing the point — two or three points, in fact.
A moral crisis
If you ever have to wager your last nickel on which passage in the Bible is the most famous and best loved of all, bet on John 3:16. We hear it read in our very brief Gospel reading, “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, so that all who believe in him might not perish, but might have eternal life.” Since we celebrate Trinity Sunday this week, focus particularly on the first words of that passage, “God so loved the world, that he gave.” Love is nothing other than giving. The very definition of love is to will the good of another person, entirely for their own sake. Our belief in the Trinity teaches us that such total, unconditional, self-sacrificing love is God's very identity. Our Lord’s words challenge us to make that love our identity as well.