It is Pentecost 2020. Restrictions continue. Many people remain isolated. Come Holy Spirit with your seven great gifts.
The gift of WISDOM helps us learn life-long lessons from the Covid-19 crisis. God invites us to consider wisely all that has been happening and to weigh up the choices we make.
The Spirit brings the gift of UNDERSTANDING. Everywhere there are statistics, econom...
Seven US Catholic bishops have issued a statement in the wake of the death of George Floyd and the protests which have broken out in Minneapolis and in other cities in the United States. Thousands of people - including several church groups also took part in a peaceful march in London from Trafalgar Square to the US Embassy, to protest against the killing.
Bishop Shelton J Fabre of Houma-...
This week (1-7 June) marks volunteer's week - an annual celebration of the millions of people who give up their time to help their communities and country - and this year, there are more people to thank than ever before.
"During the coronavirus pandemic, we have seen some amazing feats of volunteering to support the coronavirus response both here and overseas - and people of faith have be...
Now that we are allowed to go to church, subject to certain restrictions, should we? This question admits no easy answers. On balance, my position is (and this may surprise you): No!
We could say: If business can resume, why can't we? I'm unconvinced. They are two different categories. If we don't restart companies the economy collapses and everyone starves. Emergency foo...
The Jesuit Institute South Africa has noted President Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement that places of worship may reopen with a limit of 50 people or less when the country moves into Level 3 on 1 June 2020. We wholeheartedly support the call for a National Day of Prayer on 31 May, Pentecost Sunday.
Many people of faith have suffered the loss and pain of not being allowed to gather in their ...
Gospel of 31st May 2020 - John 20:19-23 In the evening of the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, 'Peace be with you', and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and he said to them again, 'Peac...
Pope Francis prayed the Rosary with many thousands of people around the world on Saturday, appealing for Our Lady's help to end the coronavirus pandemic.
About people 130 gathered at the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens with Pope Francis. As they prayed, images of many Marian shrines throughout the world appeared on a large screen by the Grotto. The day was livestreamed online, on te...
Peace is not merely the absence of violence; it is the presence of justice! (Corey Booker)
The most striking thing, at least to me, about that first Pentecost is the description of utter turmoil and noise acc...
In his homily for Pentecost Sunday, Cardinal Vincent Nichols questions why churches have not been allowed to open for private prayer, especially when car showrooms and outdoor markets can open on Monday 1 June and non-essential shops from 15 June. He specifically asks why churches have been "excluded from this decision?"
The opening of churches, even if only for private prayer, helps nur...
More than 5,000 of the poorest families in Pakistan are to receive food and other COVID-19 emergency aid, with help from Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). Orphans, widows and unemployed people are among those who will benefit from a grant approved on Thursday.
The ACN emergency aid package targets the most vulnerable people in the capital, Islamabad, as well as in Rawalpindi, and the dioc...
Gospel 30 May 2020 - John 21:20-25 Peter turned and saw the disciple Jesus loved following them - the one who had leaned on his breast at the supper and had said to him, 'Lord, who is it that will betray you?' Seeing him, Peter said to Jesus, 'What about him, Lord?' Jesus answered, 'If I want him to stay behind till I come, what does it matter to you? You are to foll...
In the last week, 705 parliamentarians and faith leaders from 36 countries, including 165 British signatories, have joined a cross-party international coalition to decry the 'unilateral introduction of national security legislation in Hong Kong', which was rubberstamped by the Chinese Communist Party today, and to call on sympathetic governments to unite together to respond against the 'flagran...
Pope Francis is due to take part in an online church service alongside the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and a number of other senior UK church leaders for the first time online. He will deliver a special message for the virtual service for Pentecost Sunday - the day Christians celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church.
The Pope's heartfelt message calls on ...
A new date has been agreed for the COP26 UN climate change summit in Glasgow. The summit will now take place between 1 and 12 November next year. Originally planned for November 2020, it was postponed due to the pandemic.
Dozens of world leaders will attend the gathering, the most important round of talks since the global Paris Agreement to tackle climate change was secured in 2015.
