Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Catechists: commissioned to receive, and hand on, the faith

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CATECHETICAL SUNDAY: SEPT. 20 By Jayne Ragasa-Mondoy Special to the Herald This year, the church will celebrate Catechetical Sunday on Sept. 20. The 2020 theme is “I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you.” Catechetical Sunday is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the role each person plays, by virtue of […]

Avoiding the ‘presence and propulsion of respiratory droplets in the air’

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By Patrick Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald No singing in church. Or playing wind instruments. That’s the latest directive by Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell, issued Aug. 18, to affect Catholic worship. Why singing? Because, the ruling explains, it (and other similar activities) “increases the presence and propulsion of respiratory droplets in the air.” Respiratory droplets spread […]

Small parish, many connections, even the streaming kind

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By Anna Weaver Hawaii Catholic Herald At the small parish community of St. Ann in Waihee on Maui, you’re likely to know every face in the pews. Although small, the parish is also active. If you’re a preteen or teen that attends church there you most likely do something with youth ministry. So when COVID-19 […]

Talk story: Coming out of the pandemic better than before

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OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY “Faith, hope and love necessarily push us toward this preference for those most in need, which goes beyond necessary assistance. Indeed it implies walking together … to build the better future we all need.” (Pope Francis, papal audience, Rome, Aug. 19, 2020) As Hawaii faces yet another “work at home, stay […]

At Kapolei parish, ‘missionaries’ venture into unfamiliar territory

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By Jayne Ragasa-Mondoy Special to the Herald The brain likes familiarity. Familiarity is safe, effortless, easy. Unfamiliarity takes effort, is cognitively demanding, and can be stressful. Yet in their commitment to evangelize and catechize parents and children of their parish during the pandemic, the catechists of St. Jude Church in Kapolei, Oahu, are courageous missionaries […]

Letter to our readers: no political endorsements, please

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The Hawaii Catholic Herald received a number of letters from readers who objected to the Catholic News Service article “60 years after JFK, wait continues for the second Catholic president” (Aug. 21) about Catholic candidates for the U.S. presidency and vice presidency. The story, by longtime CNS reporter Mark Pattison, stated that, if Joe Biden […]

Hawaii Catholic schools remain open after confusion about Oahu shutdown restrictions

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With only two days between the announcement and start of a new stay-at-home order on Oahu plus confusion over the order’s directives for public versus private schools, Hawaii Catholic schools and their families had little time to figure out if they were switching to distance learning on Aug. 27. Mayor Caldwell announced the City and […]

Bishop extends Mass attendance dispensation through Oct. 31

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By Patrick Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald For the third time since the coronavirus epidemic hit, Bishop Larry Silva has given to Hawaii Catholics an “extension of dispensation from Sunday Mass obligation.” This time it is through Oct. 31. The dispensation is for “all the people of the Diocese of Honolulu and all visitors to the […]

Pearson Place, at new location, helps those with crisis pregnancies

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By Ava Montes Special to the Herald In 1970, three years before the Supreme Court’s infamous Roe v. Wade decision, Hawaii became the first U.S. state to legalize abortion on demand. The Aloha State’s claim to shame only worsened after the high court’s ruling. The Hawaii State Department of Health estimated nearly 5,000 abortions in […]