VATICAN CITY ‑ A new letter from the Vatican Secretariat of State has banned the private celebration of Masses at side altars in St. Peter’s Basilica, effective March 22. The regulation might seem tailored to meet COVID restrictions, as Italy prepares to tighten its pandemic measures once again. However, the new rule appears to be permanent. 

The Vatican’s doctrinal office on March 15 clarified that the Catholic Church does not have the power to give liturgical blessings of homosexual unions. Answering the question “Does the Church have the power to give the blessing to unions of persons of the same sex?,” the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith responded, “negative.”

“Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be.” If the Bible assures us of anything, it is that the path to follow Christ isn’t an easy one. It requires sacrifice, surrender and a willingness to change. To follow Christ is to join Him on the path. To remain with Him is to die with Him.

Since the dawn of Christianity pilgrims have prayerfully retraced the steps of Jesus’ path to Calvary. Following in their footsteps, we experience the Stations of the Cross discovered uniquely in our local churches, as we seek to encounter our Lord while meditating on His most Holy Passion.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act in the U.S. House of Representatives on March 10, Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the chairmen of six USCCB committees, released a statement. The bishops expressed support for the provisions in the bill that would provide relief to help those in need during the ongoing COVID pandemic but were also critical of the bill’s lack of protections for the unborn.