Francis also denounced fake news about COVID-19 and vaccines on Jan 28, but he also urged that people who believe such mistruths are helped to understand real scientific facts.

"We can hardly fail to see that these days, in addition to the pandemic, an ‘infodemic' is spreading: a distortion of reality based on fear, which in our global society leads to an explosion of commentary on falsified if not invented news," Francis said.

Francis has been a consistent proponent of COVID-19 vaccines and advocated for their equitable distribution. He said that "to be properly informed, to be helped to understand situations based on scientific data and not fake news, is a human right."

His remarks came during a meeting with representatives of Catholic Factchecking - a consortium of various Catholic media outlets launched in March 2021 seeking to counter misleading claims about COVID-19 vaccines.

"Pope Francis, the Holy See and bishops' conferences from around the world have spoken out about the importance to get vaccinated to respect not only one's own life, but also that of others," the group states on its website.

Francis was happy to give the group his seal of approval.

"At a time when we are feeling the effects of the pandemic and of divisions in society, the fact that you are networking as Christian communicators is itself sending a message," he said.

"Correct information must be ensured above all to those who are less equipped, to the weakest and to those who are most vulnerable," the pope continued.

Francis asked for a merciful, missionary approach to those who fall prey to misinformation, so they can be helped to understand the truth.

"Fake news has to be refuted, but individual persons must always be respected, for they believe it often without full awareness or responsibility," he said.

"Reality is always more complex than we think. We must respect the doubts, the concerns and the questions that people raise, seeking to accompany them without ever dismissing them."

Sources

Religion News Service

National Catholic Reporter

The holy day of prayer and fasting is one of the highest contact observances on the liturgical calendar. It takes place on 17 February this year.

Many churches mark the beginning of the penitential season of Lent with clergy marking the sign of the cross on congregants' foreheads with ashes. The ashes are remnants from the burning of palm fronds from the previous year's Palm Sunday celebrations.

The practice presents a problem when health experts fighting COVID-19 have advised people to avoid touching their faces or coming close to others.

Ahead of the beginning of Lent, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments published a note detailing how Catholic priests are to distribute ashes. It says:

• The priest blesses the ashes and sprinkles them with holy water in silence.
• He then addresses those present, reciting once the formula found in the Roman Missal. He says "Repent, and believe in the Gospel" or "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return".
• The priest then "cleanses his hands and puts on a face mask. He will distribute ashes to those who come to him. Or, if appropriate, he goes to those who are standing in their places."
• He then sprinkles the ashes on each person's head "without saying anything."

The Pope's Ash Wednesday plans have also been impacted.

Pope Francis will celebrate Ash Wednesday Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. This is in place of making the traditional walk from the Church of St. Anselm to the Basilica of Santa Sabina on Rome's Aventine Hill.

Because of ongoing concerns about drawing a crowd and the potential that could have for spreading the coronavirus, the Mass and distribution of ashes will take place with a congregation of about 100 people at the Altar of the Chair.

In the UK, the Church in England and Wales is preparing to celebrate Ash Wednesday under unprecedented circumstances. Catholics are being urged to stay at home and bless one another with the sign of the cross to mark the beginning of Lent.

Speaking to churchgoers in London, where the South African variant of the coronavirus has been detected in several boroughs, Cardinal Vincent Nichols said: "My suggestion is this: celebrate Ash Wednesday at home, with your family, in the household or ‘support bubble' of which you are a part."

The Rev. Stacy Gahlman-Schroeder of Norway Grove Memorial Lutheran Church in DeForest, Wisconsin, plans to stand in the church parking lot throughout the day, dipping disposable Q-tips into the ashes, rather than her finger, or offering a blessing, if it's preferred.

Sources

Vatican News

The Tablet

Religion News

America Magazine