“My heart breaks at the thought of what is happening to this vulnerable group of people who need our support now, more than any other time in SFLG’s history,” said McIntosh.

Pope Francis continues to provide charitable support for developing countries as they struggle to deal with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. On Thursday, the Office of Papal Charities announced that it had arranged for the purchase of 38 ventilators, as well as other medical equipment, which have been sent to nine different countries around the world.

Inmates’ relatives outside the Dom Bosco Juvenile Detention Centre, where detainees rioted in April of 2020 after authorities suspended family visits to prevent the spread of coronavirus. April 18, 2020. (Photo by MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP) (Photo by MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP via Getty Images)   Inmates’ relatives, pastoral workers decry insufficient information, safety measures By Eduardo

An open letter circulating among people of faith in Ireland demands that the government commit to “never again impose a blanket ban on public worship.” The letter, addressed to the Taoiseach (prime minister), calls on the government to respect “the fundamental right of freedom of religion” in accordance with the Irish constitution and international law;

We are, right now, apparently willing to look the other way on abuse of the elderly because we really don’t believe it is abuse of people who are “like us."

Beginning on May 10, the government will allow religious services to resume, with a limit of 50 people in attendance, regardless of the size of the worship space or whether worshippers have been vaccinated.

"Recent developments that penalise the celebration of Holy Mass have been disturbing not only to the Irish Bishops’ Conference but also to the Bishops of Scotland," says Bishop Hugh Gilbert, President of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland. "We all recognise the need for restrictions to protect the common good of all people in a pandemic but to enact legislation that criminalises those who gather to celebrate Holy Mass is indeed extreme and unjust."

Pope Francis expresses his spiritual closeness and offers prayers for victims of tragedies in Iraq; the Mediterranean; and the the Caribbean island nation of St Vincent and the Grenadines.