NEWS STORY
RNS-Paczki-Day: Paczki Day brings Chicagoans together for one last indulgence before Lent
CHICAGO (RNS) — For many Poles, both in the U.S. and beyond, Tuesday is Paczki Day. It’s the kickoff to Lent, the 40 days of fasting and prayer Catholics and many Christians in liturgical traditions observe leading up to Easter. This week, Kolatek’s Bakery on the Northwest Side of Chicago alone will sell 25,000 paczki, a bready dough fried and stuffed with jams or custard. But one doesn’t need to be religious to enjoy a paczek. One doesn’t need to be Polish either. Father Marek Smolka of Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago says, “It’s for everybody because we are living in one community.” By Emily McFarlan Miller. 1,055 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Coronavirus-Churches: US Chinese churches on the frontlines of coronavirus vigilance
CARY, N.C. (RNS) — There has been no sustained community transmission of the coronavirus in the United States so far, and many Chinese churches such as the Raleigh Chinese Christian Church are doing their best to keep it that way. Churches such as this one, a nondenominational congregation with services in Mandarin, Cantonese and English, have taken it upon themselves to self-quarantine, in keeping with Centers for Disease Control guidance. By Yonat Shimron. 1,100 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Welcome-Mass: Hundreds welcome new bishop to lead San Bernardino diocese with special Mass
CHINO HILLS, Calif. (RNS) — Several hundred people gathered Monday at St. Paul the Apostle Church for a Mass that welcomed Bishop Alberto Rojas — who was named to lead the Diocese of San Bernardino, one of the nation’s largest Roman Catholic dioceses. The three-hour service was held in English, Spanish, Vietnamese and Igbo. Archbishops Christophe Pierre, the papal nuncio to the United States; Archbishop José Gómez, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Cardinal Roger Mahony; and visiting priests and parishioners from Chicago and Mexico were among those in attendance. By Alejandra Molina. 902 words. (category: a)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Reese-Oped: When saints fall
(RNS) — L’Arche founder Jean Vanier, who died last year at the age of 90, has been credibly accused of an abusive sexual relationship with six non-disabled adult women. I can forgive sins of weakness, but I am not ready to forgive men who are alleged to have abused their power to prey on the vulnerable. By Thomas Reese. 885 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Heasley-Oped: What Trump should have told India’s Modi this week
(RNS) — President Trump has made freedom of religion a focus of his administration. In his India visit, he may have found that India’s religious minorities have their own stories to tell about an increasingly hostile environment, if he had only listened. By Ellis Heasley. 700 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Burton-Oped: Once the excess before a Lenten fast, today’s Carnevale is rite for many traditions
(RNS) — In an age of spiritual uncertainty, more and more of us are finding our spiritual ‘tribes’ within existing religious traditions, be they pagan nature worship or medieval Catholicism. By Tara Isabella Burton. 825 words. (category: k)
