how uncommon and how privileged the custom of weekly Mass attendance is weekly (or even monthly) Mass was simply not an option for most Catholics In the United States, I have worked with immigrant children in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement some of whom were held for two or more years in abusive residential treatment centers where they had no access to Catholic priests or chaplains (Occasionally a Protestant pastor would show up to evangelize the kids.) One Catholic child was happy when he was transferred to a state juvenile prison because there he could participate in a ministry program have access to confession and prepare for confirmation But these ancient devotions come from the historical need for methods of expressing faith throughout the year even when priests were not available because of geographic distance What we can do now is continue to follow public health recommendations so that we can return to celebrating in community sooner rather than later Catholics should be able to attend weekly Mass whenever possible But had Covid-19 public health measures not been made into a political litmus test Postal Service sent masks to every single family and had all governors and members of Congress taken the pandemic seriously we could have reached the point many months ago where people could participate in their faith communities in a way that was relatively close to normal in part because of the resistance among a significant minority of Americans to basic public health measures for the common good parish communities could not gather for Christmas in safety and it is uncertain if we will be able to gather for the second Easter since the pandemic began What we can do now is continue to follow public health recommendations even as Covid-19 vaccinations become more widely available so that we can return to celebrating in community sooner rather than later And we can recognize that there are myriad ways to still participate in the body of Christ this has been primarily through a weekly Zoom prayer group started at the beginning of the pandemic Our group has developed new friendships and relied on each other for support as we navigate uncharted waters We are an immigration attorney in Washington a civil servant in Maryland and another immigration attorney in California—all of us connected through Ignatian spirituality the strength of our group of six will live on and with a much stronger and deeper resonance than any inconvenience due to temporary restrictions on Mass attendance Katharine Gordon is an immigration attorney a parishioner at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Washington D.C. 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Please contact us at members@americamedia.org with any questions Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker The Voice of Tennessee Catholic Life since 1937 ROME (CNS) — The Italian bishops’ conference accused the government of adopting plans to ease the country’s COVID-19 lockdown rules in a way that “arbitrarily excludes the possibility of celebrating Mass with the people.” The statement was released April 26 shortly after Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced a very gradual easing of the lockdown measures in stages through June 1 The measures foresee the possibility of once again holding funeral services The bishops said Catholics had “accepted with suffering and a sense of responsibility the government limitations imposed to face a health emergency.” Masses with the public present and all other gatherings of any kind have been banned in Italy since March 9 But during their talks with the government over the past month the bishops explained “in a very explicit way that once the limitations imposed to deal with the pandemic began to be reduced the church demands that it be able to resume its pastoral work.” “Now after weeks of negotiations in which the CEI (the bishops’ conference) presented guidelines and protocols to be used during the transition phase in full conformity with all the health norms,” the bishops said Conte’s plan “arbitrarily excludes the celebration of Mass with the public.” The prime minister and his COVID-19 task force “must distinguish between their responsibility which is to provide precise indications in matters of health which is called to organize the life of Christian communities with respect for the measures enacted but also in the fullness of its own autonomy,” the bishops’ statement said the prime minister’s office responded with a statement saying Conte “takes note” of the bishops’ statement a protocol will be studied that would allow the faithful to participate in liturgical ceremonies in maximum safety as soon as it is possible.” Conte announced his plan for “Phase 2” of handling the pandemic on the same day that the country’s civil protection service announced that almost 200,000 Italians had been infected with COVID-19 since February including 256 people in the previous 24 hours More than 26,600 people have died in Italy including 260 in the 24 hours between April 25-26 A few public construction projects and large factories were allowed to reopen April 27 but with strict measures in place for social distancing disinfection of surfaces and a requirement that people working in enclosed spaces wear masks individuals will be permitted to visit family members most factories will reopen and people will be able to go to a restaurant to order food to take away; during the lockdown Public parks and gardens also are set to reopen May 4 People will be allowed to go out for exercise — until now exercise was not a valid excuse to leave one’s home — but social distancing must be maintained Stores and museums will be permitted to reopen beginning May 18 but only if they can guarantee social distancing restaurants and hair salons has been postponed at least until June 1 and schools will not reopen until September CATHOLIC PASTORAL CENTER 2800 MCGAVOCK PIKE | NASHVILLE Diocese of Nashville homepage In Puglia the second edition of Miss Progress International will bring their projects dedicated to Human Rights Health and Environment and discover the wonders of Salento A special prize for the Cultural Integration Are now coming to the conclusion the works of the organization of the second edition of Miss Progress International the original event created and produced by the Cultural Association In Progress of San Giorgio Ionico which is symbolically assigned the role of Ambassadors of Progress will travel across the Salento peninsula to discover the natural wonders of the area and will present to a jury of experts chaired by the director of the competition their social and humanitarian projects that put to all of them together with the common goal to make the world a better place in which to live Also this year are expected delegates from all the five continents which enhances the woman well past her outward appearance continues to gather support at all latitudes Among the official partners there are prestigious names such as Skyteam which offers discounts to those who want to fly to the airport of Brindisi from around the world and Gil Cagnè creator of his own line of cosmetics distributed by the very well known Italian company will coordinate the work of its make-up artists who will take care of the make-up of each contestant the first edition was won by William Julieth Lugembe who in Taranto won the jury thanks to the contents and the feasibility of her project dedicated to the preservation and integration of albino that are the subject of persecution and harassment Logistics base of Miss Progress International 2014 will be the magnificent Hotel Messapia of Santa Maria di Leuca which will host the contestants and the coronation ceremony of Saturday “The novelty of this year – says Giusy Nobile president of the association – concerns the allocation of the sash dedicated to the cultural integration Since developing a specific project on that topic is very complex we prefer that they will be the contestants themselves to choose the girl who best embodies the concept of brotherhood and sharing of customs More informations are available on the official website www.missprogressinternational.com that will soon be completely renewed and enriched by a blog through which the organization will tell about the various days of the event Italian Catholics will be able to attend Mass in public beginning on May 18 This was agreed to on May 7 by the Italian prime minister and the president of the Italian bishops’ conference when they signed a protocol governing the reopening of places of worship The protocol lays down certain conditions for the celebration of Mass during this period of the coronavirus pandemic The faithful are obliged to wear face masks and will not be allowed to attend services if their body temperature is higher than 37.4 degrees Celsius (99.6 Fahrenheit) The faithful with coughs or flu are asked not to attend Mass as are those who have been in contact with persons who are suffering from Covid-19 The text insists that the norms governing social distancing have to be respected at all times: 1.5 meters (about five feet) from the next person on entering and exiting the place of worship and one meter from the next person during the celebration of the Mass If the number of those wanting to attend exceeds the capacity of the place of worship then additional Masses will have to be arranged The parish priest will have to determine the total number of persons that can participate in the Mass in respect of the social distancing norms He will also have to ensure that there are persons (volunteers or collaborators with personal protective equipment like gloves and masks) at the entrance to the place of worship to ensure that the maximum number of persons allowed in the church is not exceeded and to ensure an orderly exit A notice is to be posted outside the church indicating the maximum number of persons allowed to attend the Mass or other liturgical services Gatherings of people at the entrance or exit to the place of worship or in places linked to it are prohibited It is recommended that the entry and exit doors remain open to avoid the faithful having to touch door handles The protocol recommends that the number of celebrants and assistants to the priest is to be reduced to the minimum have to respect the social distancing norms at all times It allows the presence of an organist but not a choir Collections are not to be taken during the Mass; the faithful can place their offerings in collection boxes Collections are not to be taken during the Mass; the faithful can place their offerings in collection boxes located at the entrance to the place of worship or in some other suitable place The protocol asks that special provisions be made for differently abled persons the celebrant or the extraordinary minister of the Eucharist has to sanitize their hands and wear gloves and a mask They must take care not to touch the hands of the faithful in the distribution of Communion The protocol suggests that when the indoor place of worship is not adequate for the celebration of Mass in accordance with these norms then the bishop should evaluate the possibility of celebrations in the open air but always respecting social distancing and other norms It also reminds the faithful that they are dispensed from the obligation of attending Mass for age or health reasons It recommends that those who cannot attend can follow liturgical celebrations online The protocol states that these regulations are to apply to other celebrations besides the weekly Mass It emphasizes that the sacrament of reconciliation is to be administered in a large while always respecting social distancing norms and the requirement to wear masks and gloves the celebration of confirmation is postponed The protocol insists that the places of worship have to be regularly sanitized at the end of every celebration the vessels and other objects used at the celebration have to be carefully disinfected RELATED STORIES Catholic parish life (as we knew it) is not coming back anytime soon.Michael J. O’Loughlin Coronavirus is devastating the Italian economy.Gerard O’Connell Cardinal Bassetti emphasized that the protocol “is the fruit of an in-depth collaboration and synergy between the government [its scientific advisory council] and the Italian bishops conference where each one played its part in a responsible manner.” He said the church was committed to making its contribution to overcoming the present pandemic crisis “The measures for safety envisaged in the text express the most suitable [practices] to ensure that the recommencement of the liturgical celebrations with the people take place in the safest way.” He thanked the Italian bishops’ conference “for the moral and material support it is given to the entire national collectivity in this difficult moment for the country.” A similar agreement has been reached with the other religious communities who was also present at the signing of the accord Gerard O’Connell is America’s Vatican correspondent The translation is automatically generated by the system therefore it may present lexical imperfections The Institute for the Sustainable Protection of Plants of the CNR sent to Puglia region the results on the characters of resistance to Xylella of the two varieties for which the relative evaluations were requested:  Holm oak of the Horn e lecciana whether these olive varieties can be added to the current ones Fabulous (Fs17) e Leccino for the moment the only ones considered resistant to the vector Despite the due caution that such a verification requires - and also due to the expectations that it inevitably generates - the results have not been made public one has the feeling that the experimentation has offered interesting indications will the Puglia Region itself decree it with a specific provision La lecciana, as known and already mentioned by OlivoNews in a previous in-depth article is the variety resulting from a genetic improvement developed by Agrimillora and the University of Bari (referent to prof Salvatore Camposeo) having as parents Leccino and Arbosana it is of medium-low vigor and quickly enters into production which owes its name to Corno farm in San Casciano Val di Pesa (Fi) where it was identified in 1929 it is one of the most widespread cultivars in Central-Northern Italy which has been assessed over time to also be particularly suitable for high-density olive growing the Region's Phytosanitary Observatory has issued the circular relating to the obligations for the owners or managers of agricultural land and for the owners and managers of uncultivated agricultural areas located at an altitude of up to 200 meters above sea level Of carry out superficial work on the land by 10 April 2024 such as ploughing harrowing and shredding envisaged by the Action Plan to counter the spread of Xylella fastidiosa “These are fundamental activities to reduce the presence of the vector insect the spittlebug – recalled the Agriculture Councilor of the Puglia Region The monitoring of insect vectors carried out by the Phytosanitary Observatory has highlighted that the current climate trend has brought forward the life cycle of the vector In the municipalities closest to the coast the insect is close to reaching the 4th juvenile stage and this is why it is necessary to carry out tillage as soon as possible roadsides and state-owned areas clean: we must all take care of our territory to fight Xylella".  The municipalities affected by the circular are located in delimited areas for Xylella fastidiosa sub species pauca in accordance with the Action Plan to combat the spread of Xylella fastidiosa (Well et al.) in Puglia In light of the discovery of trees affected by Xylella fastidiosa subspecies fastidiosa in the Triggiano countryside land work to limit the presence of the vector insect must also be carried out in the municipalities of Triggiano In areas where access with mechanical means is difficult or impossible interventions can be made with physical means (fire weeding or steam) In case of impossibility of intervention with the means mentioned it is possible to intervene with appropriate herbicide treatments favoring low impact products The phytosanitary measure of tilling the land to control the presence of the spittlebug does not apply in protected areas in woods and pine forests and in private gardens horticultural or floricultural crops alongside the olive tree or in land used for pasture soil work must be carried out only in the area beneath the olive tree aimed at verifying the correct execution of the phytosanitary measures will be carried out by the Observatory making use of the Forestry Carabinieri also with the aid of aerial photogrammetric surveys carried out during the periods in which the mandatory phytosanitary measures are carried out To stay up to date, sign up for our newsletter here! olivonews@pieralisi.com