Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Coronavirus and creation

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Lessons learned from the shutdown transformed into prayer and action By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — During the height of the COVID-19 lockdowns in Europe and North America, city-dwellers — including Pope Francis — were struck by the hush on the streets, the blueness of the skies and the songs of birds. […]

‘Faithful Citizenship’: Gospel cannot be parsed in partisan terms

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By Dennis Sadowski Catholic News Service CLEVELAND — The U.S. bishops’ quadrennial document on political responsibility is rooted in the Catholic Church’s long-standing moral tradition that upholds human dignity and the common good of all, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City said. “The document is meant to give Catholic voters an opportunity to reflect […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: What is the status of the women deacon commission? Standing or kneeling at communion?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: A few years back. Pope Francis set up a commission to study the feasibility of permitting women to become permanent deacons. Has that commission made a recommendation to the pope, and where does the matter lie now? (Personally, I think that women deacons are long overdue, and this pope could make history […]

60 years after JFK, wait continues for the second Catholic president

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By Mark Pattison Catholic News Service WASHINGTON — Thirty-three men between George Washington and John F. Kennedy served as U.S. president. Until Kennedy, all were white Anglo-Saxon Protestant men. It took 172 years for a Catholic to win the presidency. The wait for the next Catholic president sits at 60 years — and could be […]

Americans have wide support for COVID-19 worship restrictions

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PEW SURVEY By Mark Pattison Catholic News Service WASHINGTON — Americans overwhelmingly back pandemic-related restrictions on worship services, saying houses of worship should not be exempt. Americans, by a 4-to-1 margin, said houses of worship should be subject to the same social-distancing rules as other organizations. The ratio backing this view was 3-to-1 for Christians, […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Please explain death as a consequence of sin. If I am distracted in prayer, should I go back and redo those parts?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: In one of your recent columns — about Our Blessed Mother’s Assumption — you wrote “Some theologians feel that, since death is a consequence of sin, Mary would not have had to die.” I have never thought of sin as causing death. Can you explain this a little more? (Montvale, Virginia) A: […]

COVID-19 changes campus classes, dining halls, dorms

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By Carol Zimmermann Catholic News Service WASHINGTON — The fall semester at Catholic colleges and universities around the country will look and feel very different. As the nation continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, university life is cautiously stepping back into the fray of bringing students, faculty and staff members back together under extreme […]

Church’s reputation on the line when judging sanctity

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By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — In the Catholic Church, a person’s canonization is almost always preceded by decades of meticulous investigation into the minute details of the candidate’s life. Thousands of saints have been raised to the altars after these thorough investigations, while the causes of many other candidates are […]

Elise Italiano Ureneck: Our vanishing children

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FINDING GOD IN ALL THINGS An Associated Press report revealed June 29 that the Chinese government has devised a widespread plan amounting to the “demographic genocide” of its Uighur population through forced sterilization. It appears to be designed to either drastically curb or totally eradicate the Muslim population in the Xinjiang region and is being […]

Congress looking into disappearance of Chinese bishop

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By Mark Pattison Catholic News Service WASHINGTON — The disappearance — and rumors of the possible death — of a Chinese Catholic bishop was the subject of a July 30 hearing by Congress’ Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. The prelate in question, Bishop James Su Zhimin of Baoding, was arrested in 1997. “We are saddened […]