There is a curious and intriguing passage in the third chapter of St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, which in the context of the missive seems almost tossed-off, but which has proven to be a […]
Washington D.C., May 6, 2020 / 02:45 pm (CNA).- A Catholic nurse shared her experience treating new coronavirus patients at a White House event for National Nurses Day on May 6.
Maria Arvonio, a registered nurse and board member of the National Association of Catholic Nurses USA for ten years, was one of several nurses present at the White House on Wednesday to share her experience of treating patients with COVID-19 at her hospital in South Jersey.
She recalled her first time with a patient being transferred to the ICU, “this patient was so scared, you should have seen her face,” said Arvonio, who supervises the night shift at Virtua Willingboro Medical Center in a New Jersey suburb of Philadelphia.
The town of Williamsboro, in Burlington County, NJ, is in a COVID-19 “hot zone,” Arvonio noted.
With the nurses dressed in gowns, masks, and other protective equipment—“we look like we’re going to the moon, basically,” Arvonio said—she recounted touching the patient’s hand and telling her she would be “okay.”
“She didn’t wind up on the ventilator, we got her out of there,” Arvonio said. “I know it’s prayer, I know it’s the compassion of the nurse. It’s not just our science, it’s our compassion.”
Arvonio spoke directly to President Trump at the White House event for National Nurses Day. Other administration officials present included Vice President Mike Pence, coronavirus response coordinator Ambassador Debbie Birx, M.D., health secretary Alex Azar, and president of the American Nurses Association Ernest Grant.
“This is really the worst attack we’ve ever had. This is worse than Pearl Harbor. This is worse than the World Trade Center. There’s never been an attack like this,” Trump said of the new coronavirus pandemic, according to the Wednesday White House pool report.
He signed a proclamation for National Nurses Day, stating that “nurses reflect the character of America and epitomize the inexhaustible capacity of the human spirit. These remarkable caregivers exhibit professional expertise, selfless dedication, unrelenting advocacy, and unsurpassed mercy, strength, and compassion.”
Burlington County has seen more than 3,200 positive cases of the virus and 177 deaths as of Wednesday, according to the New Jersey health department.
Nationwide, there have been more than 1.1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, and more than 68,000 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control on Tuesday.
“Throughout these years, I administer nursing care to patients with contagious diseases,” Arvonio said in her written statement for the White House, but said that the current COVID-19 is the most “concerning” of them all.
“Yet, myself and all the beautiful nurses I am blessed to work with, continue to report to work with the same dedication and love for their patients regardless of this deadly virus,” she stated.
According to the pool report, another of the event’s participants—Sophia Thomas, president of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners—spoke to the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) health care workers are facing around the country. Thomas said she had been reusing her N95 respiratory mask for several weeks.
In 1952 Evelyn Waugh visited Goa to attend celebrations marking the four hundredth anniversary of the death of Saint Francis Xavier. Impressed by the devout and traditionally orthodox but distinctly non-European religiosity of the local […]
CNA Staff, May 6, 2020 / 12:15 pm (CNA).- Installation Masses typically see cathedrals filled to the brim with members of the Catholic faithful, with hundreds of priests attending.
But the installation of Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer as head of the Archdiocese of Atlanta on Wednesday took place in a nearly-empty church.
Just a handful of priests and bishops concelebrated the Mass, their seats spaced out to follow social distancing guidelines as the coronavirus pandemic continues to prevent large gatherings of people. Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, delivered a greeting and read the papal bull with Hartmayer’s appointment via video rather than in person.
Maureen Smith, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said it was a challenge to maintain the tradition of the installation Mass without many of the normal people who be present, according to the Associated Press.
The Mass was broadcast live on EWTN from the Cathedral of Christ the King, so that members of the diocese could watch from home.
In his homily, Hartmayer acknowledged the unusual circumstances.
“I am somewhat distressed that those I love, those I revere, those I have been asked to tend in [Christ’s] name are not gathered around me,” he said. “This cathedral is empty. And yet is it filled with the presence of the guiding force of the Holy Spirit.”
He emphasized the need to trust in God’s loving guidance as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
“I stand before you today as both sheep and shepherd,” he said, stressing his own reliance on Christ as he moves forward as head of the diocese.
Hartmayer reflected on his calling to imitate Christ as he takes over leadership of the archdiocese.
“Shepherds are called to love unconditionally…True shepherd give their lives to those who have been entrusted to them. They do not live for themselves.”
A member of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, Archbishop Hartmayer had previously served as bishop of Savannah since 2011.
In Atlanta, he follows Archbishop Wilton Gregory, who was appointed to head the Archdiocese of Washington in early 2019, after leading the Georgia archdiocese for almost 15 years.
Hartmayer was born in 1951 in Buffalo, New York, one of four children.
He joined the Conventual Franciscan novitiate in Ellicott City, Maryland in 1969 and made his solemn profession in 1973.
He was ordained a priest for the Franciscan order in 1979.
In addition to a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy from St. Hyacinth College and Seminary in Massachusetts, Hartmayer holds three master’s degrees: a master of divinity degree from St. Anthony-on-Hudson, in Rensselaer, New York; a master of arts degree in pastoral counseling from Emmanuel College, Boston and a master of education degree from Boston College.
Prior to being named bishop of Savannah, Hartmayer had spent 16 of his 32 years of priesthood in Catholic high school education, with the remaining in parish ministry.
He spent many years in New York and Massachusetts, but in 1995, he moved south to teach at a Catholic high school in Florida, before being asked to serve as pastor of St. Philip Benizi Church in Jonesboro, Georgia. He was appointed bishop of Savannah in 2011.
The Archdiocese of Atlanta covers 21,445 square miles in the northern half of Georgia. The archdiocese has over 100 parishes and serves around 1.2 million Catholics, according to 2018 stats.
Washington D.C., May 6, 2020 / 12:08 pm (CNA).- During a week in which the Supreme Court heard arguments via telephone for the first time, the case of the Little Sisters of the Poor came back before the justices on Wednesday.
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Vatican City, May 6, 2020 / 11:47 am (CNA).- The annual swearing-in of new Swiss Guards, which would usually take place May 6, was moved to Oct. 4 because of the coronavirus.
Instead, the Pontifical Swiss Guards marked Wednesday’s anniversary of… […]
Washington D.C., May 6, 2020 / 10:00 am (CNA).- Supporting Lebanon’s Christian population is key to ensuring the political survival of the country and wider regional security, a Maronite bishop said Tuesday.
Bishop Elias Zaidan of the… […]
Vatican City, May 6, 2020 / 09:30 am (CNA).- Pope Francis Wednesday advanced the sainthood causes of five men and women, including an Italian teenager who died of a brain tumor in 2009, declaring them “venerable.”
After a May 5 meeting wit… […]
Vatican City, May 6, 2020 / 07:00 am (CNA).- Pope Francis said Wednesday that Christ’s light illuminates the darkness of sin in our world and in ourselves.
“It is the mission of Jesus to bring light. And the mission of the apostles is to b… […]
Vatican City, May 6, 2020 / 05:30 am (CNA).- The coronavirus crisis can be an opportunity to recenter work on the dignity of each person, Pope Francis said in an appeal at the end of his general audience broadcast on Wednesday.
“On May 1, I received several messages about the world of work and its problems. I was particularly struck by that of the agricultural workers, among them many migrants, who work in the Italian countryside. Unfortunately, many are very harshly exploited,” Pope Francis said May 6.
“It is true that the current crisis affects everyone, but people’s dignity must always be respected. That is why I add my voice to the appeal of these workers and of all exploited workers. May the crisis give us the opportunity to make the dignity of the person and of work the center of our concern,” he said.
Amid fears of a food shortage, the Italian government is currently discussing whether to legalize some undocumented migrant workers. These workers are particularly vulnerable to exploitation with illegal contracts that can pay less than half of Italy’s minimum wage for the agricultural sector.
May 1 is recognized as Labor Day in Italy and many countries throughout Europe, however it is not an official holiday in the Vatican, which instead celebrates the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, established by Pope Pius XII in 1955.
On the feast day, the pope asked St. Joseph to help Catholics fight for dignified work. He prayed that “no one might be without work and all might be paid a just wage.”
Pope Francis said in his Wednesday audience that prayer is “a cry that comes for the heart of those who believe and entrust themselves to God.” The pope began a new cycle of weekly catechesis on May 6 focused on prayer.
“Not only do Christians pray, they share the cry of prayer with all men and women. But the horizon can still be widened. Paul says that the whole creation ‘groans and suffers the pains of childbirth,’” he said, quoting St. Paul’s letter to the Romans.
“The Catechism states that ‘humility is the foundation of prayer,’” the pope said. “Prayer … comes from our precarious state, from our continuous thirst for God.”
Pope Francis focused his catechesis on the Gospel account of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar from Jericho.
Bartimaeus “uses the only weapon in his possession: his voice. He starts shouting: ‘Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me,’” the pope explained.
“And Jesus listens to his cry. Bartimaeus’ prayer touches his heart, the heart of God, and the doors of salvation are opened for him,” he said. “He recognizes in that poor, helpless, despised man, all the power of his faith, which attracts the mercy and power of God.”
“Stronger than any argument, there is a voice in the human heart that calls out. We all have this voice inside. A voice that comes out spontaneously, without anyone commanding it, a voice that questions the meaning of our journey down here, especially when we are in the dark: ‘Jesus, have mercy on me! Jesus, have mercy on me!’ This is a beautiful prayer,” Pope Francis said.
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