"It is strange that bars and restaurants can open but churches are limited to just ten people", said Fr Pete Roe the Parish Administrator of St Francis of Assisi parish of Ohariu, Wellington.

Roe says the thriving parish normally has over 1,000 attendees and was already struggling with how to cater for congregations of what it thought would be one hundred.

"But now it's just ten, and it's the limit the Government has put on one table in a restaurant", Roe said.

He observed that Churches generally have more space than restaurants.

With no projection on when Churches might be allowed even one hundred Roe says that Churches are left in limbo.

"Do we have to wait for Level One?" he asked.

Roe is sensitive to those who at this point may feel uncomfortable about coming out of lockup straight back to church but says it is ultimately about people's choice.

He admits that some parish procedures will need to change. For example, contact tracing would be a little strange for parishioners but said that it is not an impossibility.

"We know it's not business as usual and there's an element of new wine and new wineskins in these times", Roe said, referring to Matthew 9:17.

Last evening the New Zealand Catholic Bishops also expressed surprise at Jacinda Ardern's decision.

"Many people will be disappointed in this news of more restricted gatherings than expected but others will be grateful for more time to prepare safely," the bishops commented on Facebook.

The bishops are inviting on the faithful to reflect on Romans 12:12, "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer".

They say they are looking at the details of the announcement with urgency.

Little churches

The decision to limit church congregations to ten means the Wellington Ohariu parish will further its investigation into a concept it is calling Little Churches.

"Normally Churches are the opposite of little; they are for all-comers, yet we're being limited to in effect minister to the few," said Roe.

Roe acknowledges that not everyone will be comfortable with the Little Churches concept.

Little churches is an alternative way of gathering for worship based on the practice of the early Christians as recorded in The Acts of Apostles.

As part of a parish survey, the leadership team in St Francis of Assisi parish of Ohariu, Wellington is asking for parishioners for feedback on a proposal to establish little churches.

The little churches concept is a limited assembly of up to 10 of parishioners gathering in a home for worship that includes prayer and possibly to receive the Eucharist.

In support of the idea the parish notes The Acts of Apostles records:

• "Every day, they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people". (Acts 2:46 -47).
• "Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah". (Acts 5:42)

"The model of Little Churches can be considered as being akin to a parish ecclesia (assembly) in which the gathering happens in many different rooms," the parish says in its newsletter.

The parish has identified several practical issues that need to be resolved, including:

• Identification of leaders
• Identification of participants
• Protocols around people meeting safely in homes
• Protocols around the safe distribution of the communion hosts
• Preparation of a worship outline that will give facilitators some direction and
  confidence in running such a group.

The St Francis of Assisi leaderships hopes that in facilitating the establishment of Little Churches, they will become like living cells, both nurturing and being sustained by the body as a whole.

The team say they realise that the implementation of the concept of Little Churches will need to develop.

They also acknowledge there are some whom it may pose too high a risk, and there will be some to whom the idea will not appeal.

Source

• Supplied; St Francis of Assisi Ohariu Parish
• Facebook
• Image: tuimotu.org

New Zealand's COVID-19 death toll has increased more than tenfold over the past two months.

The government's decision to keep schools and non-essential businesses open and to remove most public health restrictions is being blamed for the spike.

Our COVID death toll stood at 68 at the beginning of March when the Omicron wave began here.

By May 3 the number of COVID deaths had increased to 777.

More than half of these occurred in April.

According to the Ministry of Health, more than 950,000 people have had COVID, which is almost one in five. Nearly all of these cases were recorded in the last two months.

Whether that is the real total is open to question as the official figures are based on self-administered and self-reported rapid antigen tests (RATs).

Nor does it take into account the number suffering from Long COVID, a set of conditions that can include severe damage to the heart, lungs and brain.

The healthcare system, which was already facing a crisis of understaffing and unmet needs before the pandemic, has been overwhelmed by the Omicron wave.

Thousands of nurses and doctors have been infected. Vital operations and treatments have been postponed.

Royal NZ College of General Practitioners medical director Dr Bryan Betty says there have been reports of emergency departments "all over the country" being filled to capacity.

He says this is due to "a combination of the pressures that we've been under with COVID, the pressures that we've been under in general practice," as well as an increase in other viral illnesses.

The outlook's not rosy either.

Christchurch District Health Board chief executive Peter Bramley said last week that COVID case numbers "are not dropping away as quickly as we originally predicted, and we envisage this situation will continue for some time."

Wellington emergency surgeon Dr Kelvin Ward has started a petition calling for the government to urgently adopt a "vaccines plus" approach to COVID.

This would introduce public health measures in addition to a stepped-up vaccination campaign.

His open letter petition was co-written by nine other scientists and public health experts including epidemiologists. It has been signed by more than 150 doctors and scientists.

It calls for the reinstatement of mandatory masking in schools, carbon dioxide monitors, air filtration systems and "clear ventilation standards for indoor public spaces."

Better public education about the nature of the airborne transmission of the virus and how to prevent it is necessary, the letter says.

Furthermore, it also asks for government funding to ensure a good supply of N95 and similar high-quality masks, rather than the inadequate surgical masks widely in use.

A stronger effort to boost vaccination rates, particularly for children, is also called for.

"Relying on ‘personal responsibility' without effective public health measures will result in repeated waves of infection, an overloaded and dysfunctional healthcare system and ongoing disruption to daily life," the letter warns.

Source

• World Socialist Web Site
• Worldometers
• Image: NewsHub

During the deadliest months of the coronavirus pandemic, when many New Yorkers most needed their faith communities, houses of worship were either closed or operating with limits on attendance.

The solace of grieving with family and friends, the comfort of the communal rituals of prayer and the joys of ceremonies celebrating births and weddings, were missing.

The absence took a deep physical, spiritual and emotional toll — not only on the faithful but also on clergy members who struggled to serve worshipers from afar. Congregants' needs were unending.

The ability of clergy to respond was at times limited by disease, distance and the number of hours in a day.

Priests, rabbis, imams and ministers leaned on the teachings of their faiths to comfort their flocks, and themselves.

They also employed modern technology, including Facebook Live and Zoom, to pray with congregants safely.

This month, Ramadan, Easter Week and Passover overlap, and New Yorkers are gathering at their houses of worship, many for the first time in two years, now that many Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted.

And although some houses of worship appear to be returning to a semblance of normalcy, conversations with clergy members revealed the profound ways in which the pandemic has altered their lives and their work.

My grandmother would say that "trouble will call you to your knees." It will change your position. Covid certainly called us to our knees.

Even while churches were closed, churches started to grow.

More people tuned in online, including the spiritual but not religious.

They were looking for answers and felt like those answers weren't necessarily found in the traditional places of worship.

There was certainly a coming home — a calling to invest in our own spiritual growth and to really ask the hard questions.

What am I doing?

Why am I here?

And why was I spared?

While there's been so much death and so much grief and so much sickness and so much mourning, Covid has also given us some gifts.

The gifts of reimagining worship, of recognizing that the spirit of God is within and that we're connected by our humanity, by our breath, and not only by a pew or a temple or a synagogue or a mosque or a church.

It's helped us to reimagine what it looks like to be in ministry and to reimagine a future that can be even more inclusive.

It is wonderful to be able to gather in person again in communal worship, but there are folks who haven't come back into church because of this continued evolving of Covid. It's not over.

I will always remember the last Mass on Sunday, March 15, 2020, because it was like a funeral.

The parishioners were crying and crying. The churches closed the next day because of Covid, and people were knocking on the doors out of fear.

I remember being very disturbed by the feeling of not knowing what to do.

That Holy Week of 2020 was the first in history without the public. It was terrible celebrating all the rites with the church empty.

But it meant a new opportunity to rediscover my faith because of all the limitations, and the problems compelled believers to understand that faith was something even deeper.

And we had much more time for prayer and a very, very deep need. There were so many deaths here in Corona, often several people from the same family.

I think now, after two years, that the faith of the people is stronger.

I see a rebirth. People understand the value of the Eucharist and of a very personal relationship with God.

And we realize that everything we do affects our neighbours and can even mean death or life in certain cases. We belong to a family, to a community, that is one body, always connected.

I realized just how fortunate I am to be part of a community that is very caring and generous. At the onset of the pandemic, New York City's systems were being overwhelmed.

My students, and our broader community, recognized that our role wasn't merely to sit at home and do nothing.

Over the course of the pandemic, we've probably raised, as a centre, over $7 million in Covid relief funds.

We ran campaigns to raise funds to support people of any background with micro-cash grants.

We collected masks and gloves to distribute to hospitals and ran crowdfunding campaigns to help with funeral costs.

We supported survivors of abuse who were stuck at home with their abusers. Read more

It shows a grieving daughter calling messages of sorrow as the hearse carrying her mother drives into a cemetery without her.

New Zealanders in Level 3 lockdown are facing tight restrictions, with all funerals and tangihanga limited to 10 people. Distressingly, those under level 4 are forced to stay away entirely.

Tipene Funerals' video shows just what these restrictions mean.

It shows a hearse driving into Auckland's Manukau Memorial Gardens. The car following it is forced to stop as the cemetery's gates begin to close.

A woman gets out and calls after the hearse: "I'm sorry mama."

Security guards, heads hung low in respect, close the gates as the grieving daughter's cries follow her mother.

"We love you mama, ofa atu mama, I'm sorry I can't be there with you mama."

The daughter and other family break down, the sounds of their grief fading as the hearse drives away.

"This is what we experience every day during lockdown," Tipene Funerals wrote online.

"As the gates close, we feel their pouri [sadness] and mamae [pain] and we tangi [cry] for them as we continue to bury their loved one on their behalf.

"We continue to face these challenging moments," Tipene Funerals continued, adding their gratitude to the family who entrusted their last farewells to them for the video.

Commentators on the video universally acknowledged the pain the restrictions are causing to grieving people.

"This is so cruel and wrong," one says.

"Yet it's ok to watch you parliamentarians on tv walking close together."

One recent change to the rules has been made recently, with funeral directors saying after petitioning the government they are "delighted" that viewings to farewell a loved one under alert level 4 are now allowed.

So long as they are in the same "bubble", family members are allowed to attend viewings at a registered funeral home during alert level 4.

The body is still not permitted to leave the funeral home for viewing purposes at any time.

David Moger, chief executive of the Funeral Directors Association while the new government requirements are identical to the ones the association suggested, one may be difficult.

"There is a requirement that the funeral director supervising the viewing must be fully vaccinated. This is problematic because when we asked for early access to the vaccination programme for funeral directors as an essential service this year, we were denied."

He says the ministry cited limited community transmission as the reason and told the association funeral directors are not deemed to be an essential health service.

"This means that the number of funeral directors available that are now fully vaccinated is limited," Moger says.

"We are trying to assess what impact that delay will have had on today's announcement."

Source

• NZ Herald
• Image: NZ Herald

He made the claim after police confronted him during the weekend for hosting a church service during a pandemic lockdown.

Bromley, the Life Connection Missionary Baptist Fellowship founder, insisted on holding a church service on Sunday despite the Alert Level 4 COVID-19 rules. Any gathering outside one's own household bubble is currently banned to prevent spread of the virus. Gatherings at churches are included in this restriction.

Bromley took to social media on Sunday to air his views about having his service closed down.

In first of three videos (since removed for misinformation about COVID), a police officer confronts Bromley.

She warns him he could face arrest or a fine, but he says he won't "bow down to any legislation that deprives me of my God-given right to worship."

He tells her the legislation is a breach of his human rights and claims he's happy to be arrested and go to jail over it.

Comparing the current COVID-19 public health measures with Nazi Germany, he goes on to tell the officer: "Just because it's legal, doesn't make it right; just because it's illegal, doesn't mean it's wrong."

Bromley is not alone in comparing the COVID legislation to the uber-regulated Nazi regime. Various anti-lockdown activists have compared New Zealand's restrictions to the horrific Nazi regime of the 1930s, but there are marked differences between the two.

The Government's level 4 regulations are designed to stop people falling ill and dying from COVID-19. The Nazis, on the other hand, actively sought to marginalise, imprison and exterminate people.

In another video filmed after the service, Bromley can be seen accosting four police officers. They were waiting outside his home to speak to church-goers about the health regulations.

"I'm the pastor here… are you waiting to arrest me after worship, are you?"

They explained they weren't arresting anyone, just educating them on the COVID-19 regulations. With that, Bromley laughed, saying "what a totalitarian state is all about."

Police say no arrests were made or infringements issued during the incident. However, they "will not hesitate to take enforcement action for deliberate and blatant breaches.

"The safety of our community is front of mind. We continue to take an education-first approach to advise members of the public of the current alert level 4 restrictions," a Police spokesperson says.

In his third social media post, Bromley says the Government is "seeking to rape me of my God-given right to worship Christ." Like the "totalitarian foot soldier" police and the public, who "endorse and tolerate this tyranny" - should be ashamed.

"I will die on this hill if need be, by the grace and provision of God," he says.

Among the reasons Bromley opposes the lockdown are what he sees as the disproportion to the risks associated with COVID-19 and the unrealistic notion of an elimination strategy.

He also thinks it is part of a conspiracy to encourage more vaccinations and violates human rights and the Nuremberg Code.

Source

• Newshub
• Image: Newshub

Bishop Kevin Doran of Elphin says after consulting with clergy, baptisms, First Holy Communions and confirmation ceremonies will be held. The regulations for general religious services will be followed.

"The mission of the Church cannot be put on hold indefinitely," he says. He describes the state's guidance as "advice by government rather than regulation."

Three other Irish Catholic dioceses will follow suit. Like Doran, the bishops of Clogher, Waterford and Lismore wrote to the government last week informing it that access to the sacraments "will go ahead from mid-August."

Taoiseach (prime minister) Micheál Martin responded, saying he did not approve "any unilateral breaching of regulations no matter what quarter they come from.

"I'd say to the Church authorities that the government's only motivation here in terms of the regulations we have brought in, in respect of gatherings and congregations, is to protect people and to protect people's health."

Last month Archbishop Eamon Martin, who is the Primate of All Ireland, accused the government of communicating in a "grossly disrespectful" way that the baptism, confirmation and communion ceremonies should be delayed due to COVID-19.

The government's decision marked a "complete reversal" of its previous position in June, where the Taoiseach indicated the ceremonies could go ahead the following month.

Martin says he has been "deluged with calls from parishes" and priests and others have been extremely disappointed by the government's change of mind.

By 31 July, Ireland's 4.9 million people had recorded 299,549 COVID-19 cases and 5,035 related deaths. It is currently experiencing a fourth COVID wave driven by the Delta variant.

Waterford and Lismore's bishop is criticising the way the government and its COVID health team saying its communications with the Church "regarding the sacraments leaves a great deal to be desired.

"We are all conscious of the need to remain vigilant. Parishes have been exemplary ... but for any local parish community and their priest who wish to avail themselves of these sacraments, they must be allowed to do so."

The bishop of Clogher, whose diocese straddles the border with Northern Ireland, says the ceremonies will take place in the Republic of Ireland from 20 August.

"The appropriate protocols presently in place in our churches will be maintained, and families are reminded of the need for adherence to public health guidance in relation to social interactions following the church celebration," he says.

He says the diocese will follow the same practice as last year. The liturgies will involve small groups of children. Attendance will be restricted to the child, the parents/guardians, and sponsor."

The new regulations effectively criminalise Mass with a congregation, Martin says.

After meeting with Ireland's health minister, he stressed that priests' pastoral work should be "deemed essential, rather than subject to penal sanction" amid the pandemic.

Source

• The Catholic World Report
• Image: Independent.ie

The Republic's Public Health Ministry authorised sales of Archbishop Samuel Kleda's medicinal recipes as an "adjuvant" or supplementary aid to fighting COVID-19 infections.

"This is in response to your application for a Cameroonian marketing authorization for your improved traditional medicines called 'Adsak Covid, bottle and Covid elixir of 125 ml'," the Ministry said.

"I have the honor to inform you that your file has received a favorable opinion by the National Medical Commission, which met in session from May 17 to 19, 2021.".

This authoriszation is valid for a period of three years.

Kleda, 62, was named coadjutor archbishop of Douala in 2007 and became ordinary in 2009. He has practiced traditional medicine for 30 years.

During the past year Kleda has been offering people ill with the COVID-19 virus the medication he developed using medicinal plants from the African savannas.

The medicines' main elements are Trichilia emetica, a plant from the savannas of northern Cameroon, supplemented by a variety of aloe vera. It is not toxic,

A number of prominent Cameroonians, including those in the government, have acclaimed the archbishop's treatment.

In May last year, Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute met with Kleda to inform him that President Paul Biya supported his traditional medication.

The government has also sought his advice. A month after his meeting with Ngute, Kleda was invited to a special session of parliament that discussed the use of traditional medicines in fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

A few months later in September, Kleda held a press briefing to assure people his remedies are safe and effective.

"The protocol effectively treats the coronavirus with respect for standardization norms and the manufacturing process," he said.

"The mixture is not toxic and does not produce any side effects. No patient has ever presented any discomfort after taking the treatment," he added.

Nor has anyone he's treated with his herbal mixtures died. "Even patients on respirators have been saved," he said.

Cameroon's COVID-19 Response Fund has been criticized by the supreme court's audit bench, which highlighted the "erratic management" of drugs used for treatment. The government has also been overcharged for screening tests.

According to official figures, the overall vaccination rate of its about 26-million population is just 15 percent.

There may be hope on the horizon, however, in the shape of support from donations from other countries.

The Africa Report says the US is planning to send additional vaccine stocks to seven African countries, including Cameroon.

The US will be sending Cameroon 303,050 doses of J&J vaccine, the newspaper says.

During the past year, Cameroon has been simultaneously dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic and cholera outbreaks. There are currently over 81,000 confirmed cases and have been about 1,330 deaths.

Source

• La Croix
• The Africa Report
• Image: Reuters

The Gardaí (police) fined Fr. P.J. Hughes, 500 euros (NZ$830) after he offered Masses with a small number of parishioners present.

This was the second time Hughes defied the gardai's request to lock the church's doors when he celebrated Mass to prevent parishioners from attending. He ignored their first request last November and continued to leave the church open.

Despite the police action, Hughes remains adamant that people should be able to enter the church and participate in public Masses.

"I do not accept this demand by people who do not realize the wrong they are doing. It is our constitutional right to protest so long as it is peaceful; it is our constitutional right to practice our faith and assemble to pray together."

"For those who are afraid of catching the virus in the church then they have the free choice to stay at home and live their lives as they think it best to do.

"I will exercise my constitutional right even though people are complaining, even though I am not obeying my bishop when I go against his advice. We can't just reject Jesus in the Holy Eucharist."

Sources close to Hughes say he is not willing to pay the fine and is ready to be jailed rather than cease public worship.

In a parish newsletter dated March 21, Hughes wrote:

"Next Sunday marks the journey of Holy Week.

"It is hard to believe that for a second year people cannot come to take part in the ceremonies of Holy Week.

"Despite the size of the church and the holy place that it is because of the presence of Jesus in the Holy Tabernacle, the church has been deemed a hot spot for the spread of the virus by the gardaí."

Emphasising his constitutional right to celebrate public Masses and encouraging parishioners to make up their own minds, he said:

"The majority of people are healthy and able to go shopping, bring their children to school and many are working in enclosed environments.

"We are committing a grave mistake by rejecting our Lord and God Jesus Christ by staying away because government officials say we must."

This is the second time since the COVID-19 pandemic began that public Masses have been suspended in a nationwide lockdown in Ireland.

The first lockdown ran from March until June during the pandemic's first wave.

Public worship was suspended again last October and remains off-limits.

Ireland is under strict "Level 5" COVID-19 restrictions until at least April 5. The government has not revealed what COVID-19 restrictions will be in place after that.

In Northern Ireland, bishops have announced that public worship may resume from 26 March in time for Holy Week.

Ireland, a country with a population of almost five million people, has recorded a total of 230,599 cases of COVID-19 and 4,587 deaths as of 22 March.

Authorities reported 769 new cases on Sunday, the highest figure since 26 February.

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• Image: The Irish Times

One of the recipients was a 28-year-old female Sumatran orangutan named Karen, who had garnered headlines at the zoo when she became the first ape to undergo open-heart surgery in 1994.

Each of the nine animals received two doses of an experimental vaccine originally designed for dogs and cats, with the apes exhibiting no adverse reactions. They are all doing well, zoo spokeswoman Darla Davis said in an email to Reuters.

Read More

The poll focused on 14 countries with what Pew calls "advanced economies". It was released in late January.

Of the Americans surveyed, 28 percent said the pandemic had strengthened their own religious faith and the same number said it had strengthened the faith of people in their country.

At the same time, however, 68 percent said their own faith had not changed much, while 47 percent said the faith of other Americans had stayed about the same.

The other countries Pew surveyed were: Australia, Canada, Japan and South Korea, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

The countries closest to the United States in reporting increases in faith were Spain and Italy.

In Spain, 16 percent of respondents said the pandemic had strengthened their faith and 17 percent said it had strengthened the faith of other Spaniards. In Italy, 15 percent said it had strengthened their own faith and 19 percent said it had strengthened the faith of other Italians.

Across all 14 countries surveyed, the median was 10 percent saying the pandemic had strengthened their own faith, while 15 percent said it had strengthened the faith of people in their country.

The only country of those surveyed that registered single digit increases to each question was Japan. Just five percent said it had strengthened their own faith and five percent said it had strengthened the faith of people in their country.

In South Korea, however, 9 percent said the pandemic had weakened people's faith. Compared to the 10 percent who said the pandemic had strengthened their faith, the pandemic resulted in a net positive increase in faith of just one percent.

The only country with as small a net gain as South Korea was Sweden. There, three percent said the virus had strengthened their faith and two percent said it had weakened it.

Family bonds have strengthened during the pandemic, Pew found.

In Spain, 42 percent reported stronger family bonds, while America, Britain Kingdom and Italy registered 41 percent. Yet even in those countries, a higher percentage of respondents said that had not changed much, either.

Regardless of nation, people with lower incomes reported stronger faith than those with higher incomes.

In the United States, 34 percent of respondents with lower incomes said their faith had been strengthened because of COVID as against 22 percent with higher incomes.

Asked whether Americans' responses represented a pause in the nation's continuing slide toward secularization, a Pew spokesperson said: "I wouldn't go that far. One thing is pretty clear, that in the last few years in the United States, there is a secularization trend — more people saying they have no religion, and a fall in the faith of the people who say they are observant."

Source

• Angelus
• Image: UCA News

Cardinal John Dew and Bishop Patrick Dunn identified the option in messages to pastoral leaders and people in their respective dioceses.

"If the Alert Level changes back to Level 1 on Wednesday night, we will look at having the belling and distribution of the ashes at Masses next Sunday", Dew wrote.

Meanwhile, there will be no liturgical events nor parish gatherings in the Archdiocese, including weekday Masses, until the Alert Level changes back to Level 1.

Bishop of Auckland, Patrick Dunn is also looking to the possibility of transferring Ash Wednesday celebrations.

"I need to advise you that all weekday and Ash Wednesday Masses are to be postponed in the Auckland region until at least Thursday", Dunn said on Facebook.

However, he also is not ruling out distributing the Ashes at Sunday Mass.

In contrast, the Coadjutor Archbishop of Wellington and Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Christchurch, Bishop Paul Martin SM is calling on Christchurch Catholics to sacrifice the liturgical celebration of Lent and asks the people of Christchurch to pray for those in Auckland, especially those affected by the latest COVID outbreak.

Given what Ash Wednesday means Martin said it is a source of sadness for people in the diocese to be unable to mark the beginning of Lent in this way.

Despite the short notice, he asks that no Ash Wednesday liturgies take place this year, however, notes that Catholics can still begin a time of fasting, prayer and almsgiving.

He has undertaken to distribute a prayer resource to parishes for use at home. The resource will be available today to anyone who calls into a parish to collect one.

Michael Dooley, Bishop of Dunedin, acknowledges the disruption to the start of Lent but calls on Catholics in the name of the common good to use the denial of Ash Wednesday to draw closer to God.

Dooley says that it is over to the parishes to determine whether there will likely be too many in attendance to meet social distancing requirements and the 100 person limit.

He told Dunedin Catholics that there will be no public gatherings of more than 100 people.

However, in an interesting twist, Dooley noted that although the 100 person restriction obviously means most schools will not be able to join with parishes for Ash Wednesday, they will be able to hold their own school liturgies.

Mindful of the 100 person limit and social distancing, Palmerston North parishes are doing their own thing.

Where possible, due to numbers, some will proceed, while others with larger congregations are either opting not to hold an Ash Wednesday ceremony or will work on a first come first served basis and lock the doors once the 100 person limit has been reached.

Officially the Diocese remains in wait for the announcement of a bishop, however as one parish priest told CathNews today, "We don't need a bishop, we're getting on nicely as we are."

The Bishops met early Monday morning to discuss the latest Covid-19 alert level restrictions and given the limited time between the Prime Minister's announcement and Ash Wednesday decided to respond best they could for each diocese.

Their first concern was the safety of people.

In making their decision the bishops noted the potentially volatile nature of the situation and agreed that if necessary, they will meet again later this week to consider what action is needed pending the further expected Government announcements.

The need to change Ash Wednesday arrangements came about due to the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern's Sunday announcement that from midnight Sunday, Auckland would move to alert level 3 and the rest of New Zealand to alert level 2.

The increase in alert levels follows the diagnosis of a south Auckland, mother, father, and daughter with the UK variant of Covid-19.

The new alert level status remains at least until 11:59pm Wednesday 17 February.

Source

• New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference
• Supplied: Archdiocese of Wellington, Diocese of Auckland, Diocese of Christchurch, Diocese of Dunedin, Diocese of Palmerston North.
• Image: Crosswalk.com

Te Tari Taiwhenua - the Department of Internal Affairs - is linking September's 116 percent increase on the June quarter to the end of Covid-19 restrictions.

A Te Tari Taiwhenua spokesperson says the September quarter figures are higher than any of the June quarter figures for the past five years.

The increase is linked to regained access to level four venues when lockdown ended, the spokesperson says.

Under the level four restrictions, the pokie-machine venues were closed for seven to eight weeks.

The massive increase was also influenced when the Auckland region moved back into alert level three lockdown, the Te Tari Taiwhenua spokesperson says.

The pokie-machine profit for the September 2020 quarter was 8.1 percent higher than forecast. The forcast was based on the March 2020 quarter and historic gambling patterns.

Te Tari Taiwhenua is changing the way it structures and presents gambling data.

In doing so, it aims to increase its usability for more audiences to offer additional opportunities for understanding the wider gambling sector.

It also releases quarterly statistics in its role as regulator for gambling.

The Ministry of Health funds and coordinates problem gambling services.

For free and confidential information call 0800 654 655 or see the ministry's website.

Source

• Radio New Zealand
• Image: Morning Bulletin

The Salvation Army says although the application period for CIRP ended last week, only one in ten people who have finished their CIRP are in work.

Some people have been able to transition onto the Jobseeker benefit.

A further 20,000 or so will not be eligible for Government support as the payments run out.

Besides the CIRP group, 37,000 people lost their jobs in the three months to September.

This is the biggest quarterly increase since 1986. The number of New Zealanders unemployed is now at about 151,000.

Thousands of people may be looking for paid work as Christmas approaches.

Salvation Army director of community ministries, Jono Bell, is expecting a 20 per cent increase in demand for support with Christmas food and gifts this year.

"Increasingly, our clients are severely stressed and anxious about how to get through the festive season, and, beyond that, what the future holds," he says.

Bell notes that 92 percent of the clients using the Salvation Army's financial mentoring service have incomes of less than $50,000 a year. Twenty-two percent earn less than $20,000 a year.

"The pressure on our clients and their whanau to make ends meet is enormous, and COVID-19 has added more uncertainty," he says.

Source

• Scoop
• SunLive
• Image: Wairarapa Times Age

Archbishop Luigi Ventura (75) had produced a doctor's note saying it was too dangerous for him to travel from Rome to the trial in Paris during the coronavirus epidemic.

Lawyers for the accusers of the retired papal envoy asked for the trial be postponed because he wasn't present.

The court ruled against a postponement.

A detailed testimony from multiple men stated Ventura groped their buttocks in public settings.

The accusers included a former seminarian, Mahe Thouvenel, who said Ventura grabbed him repeatedly when they celebrated Mass in December 2018.

"These are facts that happened to me, that hurt me, and I suffered a lot," he said.

Asked in court what he would have said to Ventura had the former papal envoy attended the trial, Thouvenel replied: "Monseigneur, why did you do that?"

Represented by his defense team, Ventura was tried on five counts of alleged sexual assault.

Three of his alleged victims were in court.

Ventura has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. Sexual assault is punishable by up to five years imprisonment and fines in France.

His lawyer, Solange Doumic, told the court the case had been blown out of proportion.

It has become "the trial of the Vatican, of hidden homosexuality at the Vatican," she argued.

The accusations are "minor," she said.

While agreeing Ventura touched hips or backs, his intentions were never sexual, Doumic said.

As none of his gestures lasted more than a few seconds, he might not have realized they could be regarded as inappropriate, she explained.

She also said Ventura had experienced behavioral problems since he was operated on for a brain tumor in 2016.

The Vatican lifted Ventura's diplomatic immunity, allowing for his trial.

However, the prosecutor, Alexis Bouroz, produced a Vatican letter at the trial on Tuesday. It said Rome still reserves the right not to apply any eventual punishment for Ventura, if he is convicted.

"The only question I ask myself is why does he deny the facts?" Bouroz said. "This question will remain unanswered."

He asked for a 10-month suspended jail term.

Lawyers for the alleged victims were not pleased at the suggestion the Vatican could spare Ventura punishment, if he is convicted.

"The Holy See doesn't give a hoot for your deliberations," Thouvenel's lawyer told the three judges.

Thouvenel said his seminary expelled him after he filed a police complaint.

Another accuser, Mathieu De La Souchere, said Ventura touched his buttocks repeatedly during a public reception.

The judge said during prior questioning, Ventura he had a "Latin" temperament: there was nothing sexual about his gestures.

"Mr. Ventura is lying," De La Souchere told the court.

"There is talk of a hand on a buttock," he said. "It was more than that."

The Vatican recalled Ventura last year and he later retired. It has recalled other diplomats when they get into trouble during overseas postings.

The court is expected to deliver its verdict on 16 December.

Source

• US News
• Image: La Croix

Some countries are likely to experience a spike in births, while others are likely to see fewer births.

Few women want to have a child in a time of uncertainty.

In the rich world many are delaying starting a family or adding to it. But in the poorest places, where women often have less choice, a baby boom may be on its way.

The lockdowns, people looking for "lockdown partners" and reduced access to contraception is resulting in unplanned pregnancies in Uganda, says a resident.

Shops to buy condoms weren't open. A delivery service doled out free condoms. Unplanned pregnancies occurred anyway.

In contrast, in wealthy Singapore, contraception is easily available. People reluctant to start a family before the pandemic are even more so during a global recession.

Singapore's government is offering couples one-off grants of about AUD $3000 for having a child in the next two years - on top of pre-existing payments and savings schemes.

It will be a few months before the effect COVID-19 is having on global fertility rates can be measured.

In Japan, the prime minister is calling for health insurance to cover in vitro fertility treatment. The government says there has been an 11 per cent fall in new pregnancies in the three months from May relative to last year.

In poor countries mass displacement is adding to sexual activity. In refugee camps informal work disappeared up during lockdowns. Transactional sex is expected to rise.

In India millions of urban workers lost their jobs and fled to their home villages across the country, in Nepal, Bangladesh and beyond. They were reunited with lovers they usually see just a few times a year.

More sex doesn't necessarily mean more babies. But COVID-19 has disrupted supply chains for contraception.

Poor people rarely have stores of contraceptives. Data from health facilities in India show between December and March the contraceptive pill distribution fell by 15 percent, condoms by 23 per cent.

The Guttmacher Institute, a pro-choice think-tank, estimates 50 million more women will not get the contraceptives they need this year, leading to 15 million unintended pregnancies.

The Institute estimates 28,000 mothers and 170,000 newborns will die, and there will be an extra 3.3 million unsafe abortions.

At the same time, rich-world women have greater control over family planning, but pandemic anxiety is likely to cause a sharp decline in birth rates.

The Institute's survey of American women aged 18 to 34 in families earning less than AUD $106,701 found a third want to get pregnant later or have fewer children because of COVID-19.

A 15 percent drop in America's monthly births between November and February is predicted by one research group. This is 50 percent larger than the decline following the 2007-09 financial crisis.

A reduction in birth rates seems likely, says a fertility clinic director.

"You're not going to see a bunch of people being born in December and January because (people) were home and bored and having sex," he says. "They were home and bored and scared."

Source

• The Australian
• Image: Twitter

There is disquiet that the monetary response to Covid-19 is fuelling inequality by driving up share-markets and house prices.

Recent Stat's NZ data shows high-spending households are benefiting from zero inflation on the mix of products and services they buy. In contrast, price rises are still impacting those with less money to spend.

Stats NZ says thanks mainly to falling interest rates, high-spending households experienced zero inflation in the three months to the end of September. This was even while prices overall rose 0.4 percent.

The biggest losers in the inflation stakes over the past three months were superannuants. Stats NZ says they had the highest inflation rate during the quarter - 0.7 percent.

The reason: they were proportionally most impacted by rises in local authority rates bills.

"The highest-spending households benefited the most from the recent drop in interest rates, helping offset rising local authority rates," consumer prices manager Nicola Growden says.

"Interest payments make up about $1 in every $10 of this household group's spending."

Growden says spending on interest payments fell 6.4 percent when compared with the three months to the end of June and by 10 per cent compared with a year ago.

Rates rose 3.1 percent during the quarter.

The Council of Trade Unions (CTU) has also expressed concern in a recent report about unemployment inequalities.

The report says women are disproportionately impacted by unemployment, which rose to 5.3 per cent in the September quarter.

CTU economist Andrea Black says the unemployment rate was 4.8 percent for men but 5.8 percent for women.

"It is also important to note that even in good times the unemployment rates for Maori and Pasifika are higher than for Pakeha," she said.

"This trend continues with the Maori unemployment rate of 8.8 percent and Pasifika at 8.1 percent."

Black says the CTU wants the Government to invest more resources into social infrastructure. These include early childhood education, midwifery and the care sector.

Source

• Stuff
• Image: Newshub

After-tax profit jumped to US$13.4 million (NZ$19.6m) in the six months ended September 30, up from US$6.5m last year, while revenue rose 51 per cent to US$86.6m.

Founded in Auckland by Christians Chris Heaslip and Eliot Crowther, who felt awkward when they did not have any cash to make a donation in church one day, the digital payment platform for religious services is now the market leader in the United States, counting more than half of the top 100 churches among its customers. Read more

All places of worship must end acts of collective worship. There are exceptions - for limited-attendance funeral ceremonies, to broadcast acts of worship, for individual prayer, for formal childcare/school and for essential voluntary and public services, eg food banks.

The president and vice-president of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols and Archbishop Malcolm McMahon OP, say it is a "source of deep anguish" to again have a ban on public communal worship.

"Whilst we understand the many difficult decisions facing the Government, we have not yet seen any evidence whatsoever that would make the banning of communal worship, with all its human costs, a productive part of combating the virus. We ask the Government to produce this evidence that justifies the cessation of acts of public worship," they said in a joint statement.

The latest lockdown, which begins on Thursday, will bring "hardship, distress and suffering to many," Nichols and McMahon say.

"We must hope and pray that this is an effective strategy against a growing pandemic which has tragically taken so many lives already and threatens so many more."

While accepting that to counter the virus, the country will need to make sustained sacrifices for several months, Nichols and McMahon point out critical service towards the common good is created and sustained by communal worship and prayer.

This is reflected in the role faith communities play in sustaining personal, spiritual and mental health and encouraging vital charitable activities, they say. These activities include supporting hundreds of thousands of people in all sections of the community, especially the most vulnerable.

"Part of this selfless giving has been a strong ethic of responsibility in the way in which we have reopened our churches so that essential worship has been enabled. Our communities have done a great deal to make our churches safe places in which all have been able to gather in supervised and disciplined ways."

If the Government expects the country to make sacrifices to help reduce COVID-19s spread, the Government has a profound responsibility to show why it has taken particular decisions, Nichols and McMahon say.

"Not doing so risks eroding the unity we need as we enter a most difficult period for our country."

Catholic Union President, Sir Edward Leigh MP is among the senior Catholic laity objecting to the latest lockdown restrictions.

"This is an extremely regrettable step. Catholic parishes and individual volunteers have gone to great lengths and given up many hours to make churches safe...

"These new measures are particularly frustrating as we've seen no evidence that people meeting for church services are contributing to the spread of the virus in this country...

"In the absence of evidence that such services have been a significant source of transmission of the virus, outlawing religious services is a disproportionate response to the pandemic which will increase the suffering of many ordinary people."

Source

• The Tablet
• Image: Catholic News World

The Vatican says those with whom the symptomless man had direct contact are in quarantine, as is he.

The man is the first to test COVID-positive at the Santa Marta residence - which has about 130 rooms and suites - since the pandemic hit Italy in March.

Francis, who had part of a lung removed when he was a young man, is tested regularly for COVID-19.

He often seems out of breath and speaks in a whisper because of his lung condition, suggesting that wearing a mask might be particularly uncomfortable for him.

He apologized to the faithful last Wednesday for not being able to greet them and shake their hands as Italy posted a record spike in COVID19 (coronavirus) infections that is threatening to once again spiral out of control.

Instead of wading into the crowd to embrace the sick and kiss babies during his weekly general audience, he walked in through a back door directly onto the stage to begin his catechism lesson.

"I would like to come down as usual and get close to you to greet you, but with new prescriptions, we would better keep our distances," he said.

He followed his usual schedule on Saturday however, receiving three people in separate private audiences and addressing a large group of people.

The Vatican, a tiny city-state surrounded by Rome, has had about 24 confirmed cases of the virus in total.

Three Vatican residents who tested positive recently have recovered, the Vatican's statement confirms.

Eleven Swiss Guards - the small army that protects Pope Francis have tested positive for COVID-19. Of these, seven were confirmed COVID-positive last week.

The Swiss Guards say there is more testing within the 135-member corps, with a reshuffling of schedules to "avoid all risks of contagion."

Source

• AP News
• America Magazine
• Reuters
• Image: My Pope - Philippines

Bosses at a council-run crematorium said if more than one person joined in, it counted as "chanting" and was not allowed.

Minister Alison Davies, 53, was left in tears at the ban at the funeral of a 94-year-old woman.

She said: "When I started reciting it, mourners stood up and joined in.

"The family were only mumbling it quietly and were all socially distanced and wearing masks.

"But the chapel superintendent wagged her finger at me and said ‘you can't do that'."

She added: "Banning the Lord's Prayer is ridiculous at a time when people are saying goodbye to a loved-one."

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