Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Lifting dispensation not enough to get Catholics back

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By Mark Pattison Catholic News Service WASHINGTON — The mere act of lifting the dispensation from the Sunday Mass obligation as the coronavirus pandemic eases won’t be enough to get Catholics to come back to church, and some dioceses and Catholics are actively working to bring people back. (Bishop Larry Silva ended his dispensation of […]

Housing vouchers a win-win for local landlords

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This article represents a joint message from the diocesan Office for Social Ministry, HOPE Services Hawaii, Catholic Charities Hawaii and the Hawaii Catholic Conference, working with the Office of the Governor’s Coordinator on Homelessness. While homelessness often seems an intractable problem, Hawaii has an opportunity to significantly reduce homelessness due to unprecedented levels of housing […]

Faith of Guam’s Catholics remains resilient through COVID

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By Julie Asher Catholic News Service A remarkable thing happened in the Archdiocese of Agaña, Guam, about eight weeks after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a worldwide pandemic. On May 2, 2020, thousands of Catholics came out of their homes as a rare procession passed by: A pickup truck took Guam’s revered statue of […]

Diocese says keep masks on

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On the day the Center for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC announced that face masks were no longer needed for those who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, May 13, Deacon Modesto Cordero, director of the diocesan Office of Worship, announced that in Catholic churches, workplaces and schools in Hawaii, the masks would stay on […]

With May rosaries, Pope Francis prays to Mary for end of pandemic

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By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Under the gaze of a seventh-century icon of Mary, Pope Francis launched a monthlong, global recitation of the rosary, pleading for Mary’s intercession for the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. And he prayed May 1 that Mary would move people’s consciences “so that the enormous amounts […]

And now, the good news …

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The pandemic brings record enrollment to some Hawaii Catholic schools By Anna Weaver Hawaii Catholic Herald The trend for Hawaii Catholic schools for many years has been declining enrollment. But along with all the uncertainty brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, some local parochial schools have found an unexpected boost to their student numbers. Parents tired […]

Catholic coalition stresses importance of vaccine for all

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By Carol Zimmermann Catholic News Service WASHINGTON — On World Health Day, April 7, a new group of 31 U.S. Catholic organizations encouraged people to get the COVID-19 vaccine as an act of charity and solidarity with others. The group also emphasized the need for vaccine equity in the United States and around the world. […]

Bishop Silva is reinstating the obligation for island Catholics to attend Sunday Mass

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End of dispensation By Patrick Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald Bishop Larry Silva on Easter will end the dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass that he issued more than a year ago in the Diocese of Honolulu because of the coronavirus pandemic. In a two-page March 5 memo to pastors and parishioners (see text […]

Bishop says latest COVID-19 vaccine can be used in good conscience

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By Catholic News Service WASHINGTON — In a new video, the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Doctrine reiterated that use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine “can be used in good moral conscience.” “There’s no moral need to turn down a vaccine, including the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is morally acceptable […]