Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Bishop’s memo: Resumption of Sunday Mass Obligation

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MEMORANDUM To: All Pastors and Parishioners From: Bishop Larry Silva Date: March 5, 2021 Subject: Resumption of Sunday Mass Obligation Peace be with you! As we continue on our Lenten journey, we look forward to the joyful celebration of the Paschal Mystery, the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, the greatest event in […]

Hawaii sees a 60% drop in Mass attendance due to pandemic

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By Patrick Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald Mass attendance in the Diocese of Honolulu saw a nearly 60% drop during the coronavirus pandemic according to the annual October count, released this month by the diocesan chancellor’s office. The numbers fell from 46,141 in October of 2019 to 18,995 in 2020, a difference of 27,146 or 58.8%. […]

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 […]

Bishop Larry Silva: Alternative spiritual exercises

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LETTER | ALTERNATIVE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES February 1, 2021 Dear People of God of the Diocese of Honolulu, Peace be with you! As we go through the pandemic, we are enjoying the lifting of some restrictions, even as we still need to observe others for the safety and health of our community. I had extended the […]

Bishop extends Mass dispensation to Holy Thursday

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By Patrick Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald Although Bishop Larry Silva wanted to reinstate the obligation for Hawaii Catholics to attend Mass on Sunday and holy days of obligation at the beginning of Lent, he has nevertheless extended his dispensation from the obligation until the end of Lent. In a Feb. 1 letter to the “People […]

Widespread vaccination, backed by pope, faces obstacles

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By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — The hurdles on the path toward a fair, global distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine are economic, technical, political and moral. The difficulty of vaccine rollouts even in the world’s richest countries demonstrates what a daunting task it is to quickly get the inoculations into the arms […]

Catholic Charities Hawaii successfully handled millions in COVID-19 rental assistance requests

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By Anna Weaver Hawaii Catholic Herald During the 2020 holidays, while many were taking time off to enjoy the season, a team at Catholic Charities Hawaii worked long days, seven days a week to make sure that Hawaii renters got the assistance they needed during the pandemic. Led by Stella Wong, vice president for programs, […]

Dioceses dispute conclusions of AP report on funding

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By Tom Tracy Catholic News Service U.S. dioceses are crying foul over an investigative report on coronavirus relief funding they say grossly mischaracterized the Catholic Church’s finances and unrestricted cash flows, leaving the crass impression the church used the 2020 CARES Act to hoard cash. Officials of the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, said their […]

Philippine archdiocese allows families to distribute ashes

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By Catholic News Service MANILA, Philippines — An archdiocese in the Philippines will allow churchgoers to distribute ashes among family members at home to mark the beginning of Lent Feb. 17. Ucanews.com reported the Cebu Archdiocese in the central Philippines released a prayer guide Feb. 10 for the celebration of Ash Wednesday at home for […]