| 1. Shroud of Turin Will Go on Display. By Francis X. Rocca, The Wall Street Journal, April 6, 2020, Pg. A11 The Shroud of Turin, which devotees believe to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, will go on a rare display the day before Easter as part of the Catholic Church’s observance of Holy Week amid the coronavirus pandemic. Archbishop Cesare Nosiglia of Turin said Saturday that he would pray before the shroud in the city’s cathedral on Holy Saturday and that the event would be televised and live-streamed on the internet. https://www.wsj.com/articles/shroud-of-turin-goes-on-rare-display-amid-coronavirus-pandemic-11586086761?
___________________________________________________________ 2. Christian Relief Comes to Central Park: New York welcomes Samaritan’s Purse—though the mayor and others are suspicious. By Nicole Ault, The Wall Street Journal, April 6, 2020, Pg. A17, Opinion Samaritan’s Purse has sent medical teams to Haiti, Bangladesh, Iraq—and now to New York’s Central Park, where it has set up a field hospital across Fifth Avenue from the affluent Upper East Side. The nonprofit relief organization is providing and funding 68 beds and several dozen personnel to assist Covid-19 patients from Mount Sinai Health System hospitals around the city. The effort will “allow us to expand inpatient and critical care capacity,” according to a statement from Mount Sinai’s chairman of emergency medicine. Trust progressives to find the political catch. Samaritan’s Purse is an evangelical Christian organization that requires employees to commit to a statement of faith, including a traditional view of marriage and sexuality. The Rev. Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse (and the son of the late Billy Graham), has criticized gay marriage and Islam. Mayor Bill de Blasio told the press last week that he found the organization and Mr. Graham’s comments “very troubling” and that his office would “monitor” the situation. https://www.wsj.com/articles/christian-relief-comes-to-central-park-11586111772?
___________________________________________________________ 3. Australia’s highest court to judge cardinal’s abuse appeal. By Rod McGuirk, Associated Press, April 6, 2020, 2:21 AM Australia’s highest court on Tuesday will judge Cardinal George Pell’s appeal against convictions for molesting two teenage choirboys more than two decades ago. But the legal battle over the world’s most senior Catholic convicted of sexually abusing children may not end there. The High Court could deliver Pope Francis’ former finance minister a sweeping victory or an absolute defeat. Or the seven judges could settle on one of several options in between that could extend the appeal process for another year or more. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/australias-highest-court-to-judge-cardinals-abuse-appeal/2020/04/06/d6f8daa0-77ce-11ea-a311-adb1344719a9_story.html
___________________________________________________________ 4. Conservative Catholics Decry Halt on Masses: Vocal minority sounds an alarm, saying crisis raises the need for the church even more. By Francis X. Rocca, The Wall Street Journal, April 6, 2020, Pg. A11 A vocal minority of conservative Catholics are criticizing the suspension of Masses in response to the coronavirus pandemic, arguing that such a crisis is precisely when believers need the church most. Over the past month, Catholic dioceses across the U.S., as in most countries around the world, have stopped offering public Masses to limit the spread of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Most churchgoing Catholics have accepted the policy as a necessary public health measure, many turning instead to watching the liturgy on TV or over the internet as Easter approaches. https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-coronavirus-halts-masses-conservative-catholics-push-back-11586102383?
___________________________________________________________ 5. The Democrats’ pup tent: There’s no room in the party’s ever-shrinking ‘big tent’ for pro-lifers. By The Washington Times, April 6, 2020, Pg. B2, Editorial It went largely unreported by most of the media, eclipsed by the “all-coronavirus-all-thetime” reportage, but the Democrats recently kicked someone out of their quickly shrinking “big tent.” That’s apparently their idea of “social distancing.” Rep. Dan Lipinski, Illinois Democrat, lost his bid for a ninth term in the March 17 Democratic primary for the suburban Chicago 3rd Congressional District to a far-left intraparty challenger, Marie Newman. … “I could never give up protecting the most vulnerable human beings in the world, simply to win an election,” the younger Lipinski said at a postelection news conference. “My faith teaches, and the Democratic Party preaches, that we should serve everyone, especially the most vulnerable.” The pre-born are nothing if not the most vulnerable, but the party that claims to speak for the voiceless doesn’t want to hear that. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/apr/5/editorial-no-room-democratic-partys-big-tent-pro-l/
___________________________________________________________ 6. Palm Sunday services held without public; some on rooftops. By Frances D’Emilio, Associated Press, April 5, 2020, 5:46 AM Pope Francis celebrated Palm Sunday Mass in the shelter of St. Peter’s Basilica without the public because of the coronavirus pandemic, while parish priests elsewhere in Rome took to church rooftops and bell towers to lead services so at least some faithful could follow the familiar ritual. … Normally, tens of thousands of Romans, tourists and pilgrims, clutching olive tree branches or palm fronds would have flocked to an outdoor Mass led by the pontiff. Instead, Francis celebrated Mass inside St. Peter’s Basilica, which seemed even more cavernous than usual because it was so empty. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/palm-sunday-pope-celebrates-without-public-in-st-peters/2020/04/05/521d9bc4-7722-11ea-a311-adb1344719a9_story.html
___________________________________________________________ 7. Trump campaign kicks off Catholic voter outreach project. By Elana Schor, Associated Press, April 3, 2020, 12:35 PM President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is ramping up its courtship of Catholic voters ahead of a likely November matchup against a devout Catholic Democrat, former Vice President Joe Biden. The campaign previewed its message at a Thursday night launch of a “Catholics for Trump” coalition, touting the president’s religious freedom record and anti-abortion policies. … The campaign is poised to get outside help in its work to turn out churchgoing Catholic voters from the nonprofit CatholicVote.org, which is investing in mobilizing that bloc with a pro-Trump message. The group’s senior political adviser, former Kansas GOP Rep. Tim Huelskamp, is also a member of the Trump campaign’s Catholic outreach project. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/trump-campaign-kicks-off-catholic-voter-outreach-project/2020/04/03/1d5f4130-75c9-11ea-ad9b-254ec99993bc_story.html
___________________________________________________________ TCA Media Monitoring provides a snapshot from national newspapers and major Catholic press outlets of coverage regarding significant Catholic Church news and current issues with which the Catholic Church is traditionally or prominently engaged. The opinions and views expressed in the articles do not necessarily reflect the views of The Catholic Association. | 
