IMAGE: CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz By Mark Pattison WASHINGTON (CNS) — One byproduct of canceled Masses is no offertory collection. And a byproduct of no offertory collection is puncture wounds in the budgets of parishes, dioceses and national collections. "It’s a big hit, and it’s gonna hurt," said Patrick Markey, …

IMAGE: CNS/screen grab By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the daily lives and routines of millions of people have been turned upside down, Pope Francis said, but they must help each other stay firm in faith. In a video message released March …

IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy Sabat family By Judith Sudilovsky JERUSALEM (CNS) — Communal church life is an integral part of family life for George and Randa Sabat and their four children, but with a strictly enforced lockdown on the city and the two neighboring towns of Beit Jala and Beit Sahour, …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Rhina Guidos By Dennis Sadowski CLEVELAND (CNS) — Social distancing and sheltering in place doesn’t have to mean total isolation for people of faith accustomed to advocating for peace and justice concerns. Prayer, keeping in touch with friends and colleagues through online technology and digital communication, and creativity …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Zoey Maraist, Arlington Herald By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — This Lent is one for the record books. Parish fish fries, prayer services, Stations of the Cross, and daily and Sunday Masses are all canceled, and some dioceses have already announced they will not have services during Holy …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Flavio Lo Scalzo, Reuters By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis began his early morning Mass praying for prisoners experiencing great uncertainty and worrying about their families who cannot visit them due to lockdown measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic. Dressed in white vestments to …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Nacho Doce, Reuters By Lise Alves SAO PAULO (CNS) — The Archdiocese of Sao Paulo has offered the city a community center, House of Prayer, to lodge homeless who get the coronavirus. Homeless communities throughout the country are among the most vulnerable to COVID-19, church officials said. The …

IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy Archdiocese of Baltimore By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — During the coronavirus pandemic, life as most people have known it, including parish life, has come to a halt. But despite closed churches, canceled parish gatherings and limited outreach, many church leaders are emphasizing that Catholics can take …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Kamil Krzaczynski, Reuters By Tom Tracy WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CNS) — The COVID-19 global pandemic creating havoc across the U.S. poses a stark threat to the homeless, while an economic downturn may create a new wave of homelessness, several Catholic Charities staff members report. In Southern California, …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Cindy Wooden By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — If a priest is wearing a mask and standing 3 feet or 6 feet away from a penitent requesting the sacrament of reconciliation, is he really more present to a penitent he knows than he would be by telephone? …