Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Pope leads Way of the Cross in empty, torch-lit St. Peter’s Square

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By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — For the first time in his papacy, Pope Francis led the Way of the Cross from St. Peter’s Square rather than Rome’s Colosseum, where it has been held annually for more than five decades. Two rows of torches lit the pathway from the stage set […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Sacrament by intention (during the coronavirus) and genuflecting or bowing

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QUESTION CORNER Q: I am a recent (fervent) convert to the Catholic Church. I am also a registered nurse and have held many patients as they passed on to eternity. I am concerned over the issue of priests being “barred” from hospitals during the current coronavirus epidemic; I have heard many Catholics bemoan the fact […]

Father Richard G. Malloy, SJ: What do we mean by ‘spiritual Communion’?

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COMMENTARY “Sacraments are those signs that achieve in human hearts and lives what they signify to human minds,” University of Notre Dame theologian Jesuit Father Brian Daley once said. At this time of the coronavirus pandemic, most are unable to receive physically the Eucharist, the sacrament of holy Communion at Mass. Some want to know […]

Across Europe, churches offer empty facilities

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By Jonathan Luxmoore Catholic News Service OXFORD, England (CNS) — Catholic dioceses and religious orders across Europe are offering to turn church facilities into spaces needed for health care or housing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Church leaders throughout Europe have been struggling to maintain Catholic religious devotions during enforced national lockdowns against the coronavirus, but […]

CORONAVIRUS: Masses on TV, social media provide alternatives to closed church doors

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  Note: In the Diocese of Honolulu, a Mass with no congregation will be live-streamed from the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu each Sunday at 9 a.m. and can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/HonoluluCathedralBasilica or www.hictv.com. By Mark Pattison Catholic News Service WASHINGTON — In pandemic-unnerved America, we’re all shut-ins now. In another time, […]

CORONAVIRUS: Coronavirus restrictions could renew appreciation for community, faith

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By Carol Zimmermann, Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — During the coronavirus pandemic, life as most people have known it, including parish life, has come to a halt. But despite closed churches, canceled parish gatherings and limited outreach, many church leaders are emphasizing that Catholics can take this time of recommended isolation and pause of […]

As the church becomes more diverse, the Catholic vote becomes harder to define

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Faith politics By Rhina Guidos Catholic News Service WASHINGTON — In the last presidential election, some political pundits referred to the “Catholic vote,” one that predicted Donald Trump’s rise to the presidency, and one that aligned in 2016 with the voting constituency that landed him the White House: overwhelmingly white and politically conservative voters. But […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: When Gospel accounts conflict, Politics from the pulpit

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QUESTION CORNER Q: In the Gospel for the feast of the Epiphany, Matthew indicates that the Magi visited with King Herod in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus’ birth and that apparently very soon after their visit, the Holy Family fled to Egypt to avoid the wrath of Herod and stayed there until Herod had […]

CORONAVIRUS: How Italy went from ‘wash your hands’ to ‘stay at home’

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By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service ROME — Acknowledging how difficult it can be to adapt to restrictive measures aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus, Pope Francis told people watching his morning Mass March 12 that it was for “our own good.” After two Chinese tourists in Rome tested positive for COVID-19 on […]