1. Vatican moves American, European Catholic giants closer to sainthood, By Elise Ann Allen, Crux, May 28, 2020
On Wednesday, the Vatican announced that it was moving two towering Catholic figures from different corners of the world forward on the path toward sainthood, approving miracles for Venerable Father Michael McGivney, and Blessed Charles de Faucauld.
McGivney, founder of the colossal American charity organization the Knights of Columbus, will now become a “blessed,” meaning there is one more miracle required for his canonization to be green-lighted, whereas Faucauld, a French hermit, will formally be canonized as a saint.
Though they hail from different corners of the world, each is widely considered to have made mammoth contributions to the Catholic Church in terms of charity, Catholic-Muslim relations, evangelization, service to the poor.
https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2020/05/vatican-moves-american-european-catholic-giants-closer-to-sainthood/
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2. America’s Churches Weigh Coronavirus Danger Against the Need to Worship: State rules and personal feelings among the faithful vary widely, while experts say houses of worship are prime spots for the spread of the virus, By Ian Lovett and Rebecca Elliott, The Wall Street Journal, May 28, 2020, 7:00 AM
After two months of gathering almost exclusively online, America’s houses of worship are throwing their doors open again. But questions over how to do so safely—and whether restrictions on them are constitutional—have turned churches, synagogues and mosques into battlegrounds.
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The fight is taking place at all levels of American society. President Trump announced last Friday that he would “override the governors” if they stop houses of worship from opening, despite questions about his authority to do so. Churches have filed lawsuits, saying restrictions on how they can worship violates their religious freedom. Denominational officials are arguing with their clergy about when they should reopen.
States have imposed rules for houses of worship that vary as wildly as the faiths that are impacted. In Texas, every other pew must be cordoned off. In Massachusetts, face masks are required. In New York, services are limited to no more than 10 people.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/americas-churches-weigh-coronavirus-danger-against-the-need-to-worship-11590663601?
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3. Vatican orders founder to leave ecumenical community, By Catholic News Agency, May 28, 2020, 6:00 AM
The Vatican has ordered the prominent Italian Catholic layman Enzo Bianchi to leave the monastery he founded in 1965.
The Holy See made the ruling in a decree dated May 13, signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and approved by Pope Francis, following an apostolic visitation.
A statement on the Monastic Community of Bose’s website said the pope had approved the apostolic visitation in response to “serious concerns” about “a tense and problematic situation in our community regarding the exercise of the founder’s authority, the governance, and the fraternal climate.”
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/vatican-orders-founder-to-leave-ecumenical-community-30699
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4. US priest who founded Knights of Columbus to be beatified, By Associated Press, May 27, 2020, 8:04 AM
The founder of the Knights of Columbus, the influential U.S.-based lay Catholic organization, is moving a step closer to possible sainthood.
Pope Francis has approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of the Rev. Michael McGivney, a Connecticut priest who died at age 38 of pneumonia in 1890 during a pandemic similar to the current coronavirus outbreak.
He would be the first U.S. parish priest to be beatified, the first major step before canonization.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/us-priest-who-founded-knights-of-columbus-to-be-beatified/2020/05/27/30f4ba0e-a012-11ea-be06-af5514ee0385_story.html
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5. Vatican exiles leader of Bose monastic community, By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press, May 27, 2020, 10:05 AM
The Vatican has disciplined another charismatic religious leader, exiling the founder of an Italian monastic community over governance problems.
Enzo Bianchi, a Catholic layman who founded the Bose Monastery in northern Italy, had enjoyed the blessing of three popes for his outreach to other Christians. He was appointed an ecumenical expert for Vatican meetings in 2008, 2012 and 2018, and Pope Francis named him as an adviser to the Vatican’s ecumenical office in 2014.
But the Vatican launched an investigation last year after what the community said were “a series of concerns from the Holy See that indicated a tense situation and problems concerning the exercise of authority by the founder, governance issues and the fraternal climate in the community.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/vatican-exiles-leader-of-bose-monastic-community/2020/05/27/127f7198-a023-11ea-be06-af5514ee0385_story.html
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6. LA archdiocese announces reopening plan, By Matt Hadro, Catholic News Agency, May 27, 2020, 10:35 AM
After California relaxed public health restrictions on churches on Monday, the nation’s largest diocese announced its plan on Tuesday to resume public Masses.
In a two-step plan for parishes to reopen and offer the sacraments, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles on Tuesday provided a checklist for each parish to observe. The state’s dioceses and archdioceses have all curtailed public Masses since March, but starting June 3 the archdiocese will allow for public Masses.
While Governor Gavin Newsom’s four-step reopening plan for the state had initially placed churches in stage 3 of reopening, that of “higher-risk workplaces,” on Monday the state announced that churches could begin reopening subject to county restrictions. The state is currently in stage 2 of Newsom’s reopening plan, where manufacturing and some retail businesses have been allowed to reopen.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/la-archdiocese-announces-reopening-plan-59005
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