Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Fire ravages historic California San Gabriel Mission

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By Pablo Kay Catholic News Service LOS ANGELES — The fire that ravaged Mission San Gabriel Arcangel church in the predawn hours of July 11 left behind a haunting scene. In a matter of minutes, the mission’s 230-year-old roof was nearly gone. The sunlight pouring down through the holes revealed the charred planks that had […]

Loans keep ‘essential ministries’ going during national emergency

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By Julie Asher Catholic News Service WASHINGTON — The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ domestic policy committee said the federal emergency “bridge loans” that dioceses, parishes and other Catholic entities applied for provided a lifeline, allowing “our essential ministries to continue to function in a time of national emergency.” “The Catholic Church is the largest […]

U.S. carries out first federal execution in nearly 2 decades

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By Natalie Hoefer Catholic News Service TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — On the grounds of the Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-of-the-Woods near Terre Haute, news of the execution pierced the quiet on the morning of July 14. The bells of the Church of the Immaculate Conception there are tolled after any execution in the nation, […]

New York Archdiocese closes 20 schools; six more close in Brooklyn

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By Catholic News Service NEW YORK — Twenty schools in the Archdiocese of New York will not reopen in the fall because of the financial fallout caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic. Archdiocesan education officials also announced that three schools will merge. A news release from the archdiocese cited the pandemic for sickening thousands of […]

Court: employer may opt out of contraceptive coverage

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By Carol Zimmermann Catholic News Service WASHINGTON — In a 7-2 decision July 8, the Supreme Court upheld regulations by the Trump administration giving employers more ability to opt out of providing contraceptive coverage in their health plans. The decision, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, said the administration had “the authority to provide exemptions from […]

Richard Doerflinger: Two approaches to racism

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A MORE HUMAN SOCIETY It is clear where the Catholic Church stands on racism. The U.S. bishops’ document for Catholic voters, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” has long condemned acts of racism as “violations of human dignity” that, like abortion and euthanasia, are “intrinsically evil” and should be rejected by any just society. They have […]

Cardinal blesses ashes of Mexican nationals who died of COVID-19

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By Rhina Guidos Catholic News Service WASHINGTON — Inside New York’s iconic St. Patrick’s Cathedral, some 250 Mexican nationals were hailed as anonymous heroes July 11, after dying of COVID-19, which they likely contracted as they kept the city moving when it was experiencing the peak of the pandemic earlier this year. Their cremated remains […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Is the death penalty admissible? When should seminarians wear the Roman collar?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: My home state recently made national news with the decision to go forward with the executions of several inmates on death row. As a Catholic, I do not understand the idea of returning death for death, and I see executions as being more about revenge than any kind of justice. Surely life […]

In the Oregon State Penitentiary for murder, inmate lived inspiring Catholic life behind bars

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‘Serving God, not time’ By Ed Langlois Catholic News Service PORTLAND, Ore. — In 1993, 39-year-old nuclear engineer Hal Elkins hit the bottle and fell into a jealous rage. He pocketed a gun and stumbled into a Salem restaurant. There, he shot his girlfriend, Kathryn Linn, and the man she was with, Marvin Eugene Mayer. […]