Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.

Jesus faced “extreme desolation” during his passion, Pope Francis told the faithful on Sunday, and so he understands our own weakness, fears, and discouragement.

A group of leading scholars and bioethicists have issued a joint statement reaffirming the inestimable value of all human life and urging against discrimination toward the elderly or the disabled during the coronavirus pandemic.

Pope Francis has issued a special message for Holy Week, urging Christians to cling to hope in the midst of the coronavirus lockdown.

More and more Catholics in Italy are voicing their disappointment with Church leadership in the face of violations of religious liberty, including the classification of worship as a nonessential activity.

The streets of Rome were deserted the day before Palm Sunday, wiped antiseptically clean by fears of the coronavirus and, even more, of draconian measures instituted by the state to keep citizens confined to their homes.

Rome’s mayor, Virginia Raggi, boasts on social media that police have conducted a record number of stops of citizens and handed out hundreds of hefty fines for those judged to be in noncompliance with the coronavirus lockdown.

The government of Denmark has declared its intention to open churches on Easter Sunday so that Danes “can celebrate Easter in church in a responsible way” during the coronavirus lockdown.

The LGBT lobby group Accountable for Equality has launched an attack on Christian pastor Franklin Graham for recruiting Christian volunteers for coronavirus relief work in New York.

The mayor of Palermo, Leoluca Orlando, has released a video message warning citizens to stay in their homes during the coronavirus lockdown or they will be responsible for “mass murder.”

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has continued its crackdown on Christian house churches as the world reels under the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, according to a report Wednesday from Bitter Winter.

The president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences said Thursday that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has “primary responsibility” for the global coronavirus pandemic and owes the world “compensation for the destruction it has caused.”

Hundreds of thousands of Italians raced to apply for a 600-euro coronavirus bonus Wednesday, crashing the website for Italian social security (INPS).

Italian Catholics have launched a petition asking bishops to restore Masses and the other sacraments to the faithful during the coronavirus lockdown, joining a similar movement in the United States.

A leading Christian journal has accused New York Mayor Bill de Blasio of overstepping his authority by threatening to permanently close synagogues and churches that fail to comply with his ban on public gatherings.

Climate change is causing the wings of nightingales to get shorter, endangering their ability to migrate, the Guardian newspaper reported Wednesday.

Mozambique Bishop Luiz Fernando Lisboa said that citizens are “terrified” over a spate of recent jihadist attacks in the country, as emboldened Islamists show no sign of letting up in their assaults.

Pope Francis has warned of a possible “viral genocide” if governments prioritize the economy over the people, insisting that the state’s first task is to “defend the population.”

Rome mayor Virginia Raggi has urged citizens to become government informants by reporting on their neighbors who violate any of the coronavirus lockdown rules.

Italy’s Interior Ministry decreed Friday that going to a church to pray does not constitute a valid reason for leaving one’s home during the coronavirus lockdown, and violators are subject to heavy sanctions.

The New York Times is “mainstreaming paranoia” by blaming evangelical Christians for the coronavirus pandemic, Catholic League President Bill Donohue said on Friday.

The U.S. State Department has sent a notice to expats living in Italy that they should come home “immediately” or prepare to stay away for a long time.

Bucknell University professor of gender studies Erica Delsandro said this week that binary gendered divisions are social constructs with nothing to do with biology.

An Italian prelate who lives in the same residence as Pope Francis tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus on Wednesday and has been hospitalized in intensive care, Italian media report.

Two professors of medicine at Stanford University have proposed that current assumptions about the mortality rate of the Chinese coronavirus are deeply flawed due to miscalculations of the infected population.

Pope Francis offered special prayers for doctors, nurses, and priests who have died helping those affected by the COVID-19, calling them “heroes.”

Several Christian groups and religious leaders have expressed concerns that sweeping government actions to combat the spread of coronavirus endanger religious liberty.

The Vatican has halted production of the print version of its daily newspaper L’Osservatore Romano out of fear of coronavirus contagion, moving to an online-only format.

The province (département) of Aisne in northeast France has banned the sale of alcohol for the duration of the coronavirus lockdown.

Sister Lydie Oyane of the Catholic Congregation of Saint Mary in Gabon was found murdered in her room in Libreville on March 20, the alleged victim of a robbery.

A 72-year-old priest in Italy has died from coronavirus after giving up his respirator to a younger patient, whom he did not know.