Growing crops, fishing, harvesting fruits and nuts from the forests are just some examples of the activities that millions of people do daily to get food to eat or to earn a living. But when their rights to that land or those natural resources aren’t recognized, livelihoods and food sources can disappear from one day to the next.    

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The second installment in our weekly series spotlights titles that may have been lost in the news amid the COVID-19 pandemic

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Mar del Plata, Argentina :: A church congregation learns about nations without access to the gospel.

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Leonard Rodriquez's grieving loved ones say he was a man who would drop everything to help those in need. But they say his death could have been prevented if he'd had the personal protective gear he needed to do his job.

According to OPP, a man allegedly pulled over a woman on April 23 driving on Naylor Side Road near the intersection of North Talbot Road, while "wearing clothing resembling the uniform of a police officer."

Some residents of Canmore, Alta., are mourning the death of an unusual elk that went by the name of Marvin. He was known to frequent backyards and hang out with pets.

Tinashe disciples and shows Zimbabweans that they, too, are called to serve; everyone can share their own stories with others to show the love of Christ. 

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price has reached out to give support to two boys who lost their parents during the Nova Scotia mass shooting last month.

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I just hate it when my fellow Italian-Americans squabble.

My childhood friend has joined America’s “deaths of despair.”

An OMers love for people from the Island of Comoros led her to start a Discovery Bible Study for them at a university.

Ministry opportunities in Hungary open up the mission experience for families with younger children.

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London, England, May 1, 2020 / 05:00 am (CNA).- The metropolitan archbishops of England and Wales acknowledged the pain of Catholics who cannot receive the sacraments because of the coronavirus lockdown in a message issued Friday. 

In the message, entitled “A People who Hope in Christ”, published May 1, the archbishops said that while livestreamed Masses nourished faith, they were no substitute for public liturgies.

“None of us would want to be in the situation in which we find ourselves,” they wrote. “While the livestreaming of the Mass and other devotions is playing an important part in maintaining the life of faith, there is no substitute for Catholics being able to physically attend and participate in the celebration of the Mass and the other sacraments.”

Writing on behalf of the Catholic bishops of England and Wales, the five archbishops continued: “Our faith is expressed powerfully and beautifully though ‘seeing, touching, and tasting.’ We know that every bishop and every priest recognizes the pain of Catholics who, at present, cannot pray in church or receive the sacraments. This weighs heavily on our hearts.” 

“We are deeply moved by the Eucharistic yearning expressed by so many members of the faithful. We thank you sincerely for your love for the Lord Jesus, present in the sacraments and supremely so in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.” 

“The bishops and priests of every diocese are remembering you and your loved ones at Mass each day in our churches as we pray ‘in hope of health and well-being.’ We thank our priests for this faithfulness to their calling.”

Nevertheless, the archbishops said, the Catholic community had to play its part in preserving life and seeking the common good amid the pandemic. Restrictions on public liturgies would therefore have to remain in place until they are lifted by the government.

The U.K. is among the countries worst affected by the pandemic. With a population of 67 million, the U.K has had more than 172,000 documented coronavirus cases and 26,700 deaths as of May 1, according to Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.

The archbishops emphasized that Church officials were in talks with public health agencies and the government about the reopening of churches, which were closed March 24. 

“As the government’s restrictions are relaxed step by step, we look forward to opening our churches and resuming our liturgical, spiritual, catechetical and pastoral life step by step,” they said. 

“This will also be of service to those beyond the Catholic Church who depend on our charitable activity and outreach through which much goodness is shared by so many volunteers from our communities...”

“Together with Catholics across England and Wales, we desire the opening of our churches and access to the sacraments. Until then, we are continuing to pray and prepare.”

The message was signed by Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, Archbishop Malcolm McMahon of Liverpool, Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham, Archbishop George Stack of Cardiff and Archbishop John Wilson of Southwark.

The archbishops concluded: “May the peace of the risen Lord reign in our hearts and homes as we look forward to the day we can enter church again and gather around the altar to offer together the Sacrifice of Praise.”

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 with Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the pope approved the heroic virtue of Italian priests Francesco Caruso (1879-1951) and Carmelo De Palma (1876-1961), as well as the Spanish Redemptorist priest Francisco Barrecheguren Montagut (1881-1957).

Before becoming a priest, Barrecheguren Montagut was married (he was later widowed) and had a daughter, Maria de la Concepción Barrecheguren García (1905-1927), who was also declared venerable by the pope May 6.

The fifth sainthood cause to move a step toward canonization was that of Italian teenager Matteo Farina, who lived from 1990 to 2009. 

Farina grew up in a strong Christian family in the southern Italian town of Brindisi. He was very close to his sister, Erika.

The parish where he received the sacraments was under the care of Capuchin friars, from whom he gained a devotion to St. Francis and St. Padre Pio. 

The postulator of Farina’s cause for sainthood said that from a young age Farina had the desire to learn new things, always undertaking his activities with diligence, whether it was school or sports or his passion for music.

Starting at eight years old, he would receive the sacrament of reconciliation often. He was also devoted to the Word of God. At nine years old, he read the entire Gospel of St. Matthew as a Lenten practice. Farina also prayed the rosary every day.

When he was nine years old, he had a dream in which he heard St. Padre Pio tell him that if he understood that “who is without sin is happy,” he must help others to understand this, “so that we can all go together, happy, to the kingdom of heaven.”

From that point onward, Farina felt a strong desire to evangelize, especially among his peers, which he did politely and without presumption.

He once wrote about this desire, saying “I hope to succeed in my mission to ‘infiltrate’ among young people, speaking to them about God (illuminated by God himself); I observe those around me, to enter among them as silent as a virus and infect them with an incurable disease, Love!”

In September 2003, a month before his 13th birthday, Farina began to have symptoms of what would later be diagnosed as a brain tumor. As he was undergoing medical tests, he began to keep a journal. He called the experience of the bad headaches and pain “one of those adventures that change your life and that of others. It helps you to be stronger and to grow, above all in faith.”

Over the next six years, Farina would experience several brain operations and undergo chemotherapy and other treatments for the tumor.

His love for Mary strengthened during this time and he consecrated himself to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

In between hospitalizations, he continued to live the ordinary life of a teenager: he attended school, hung out with his friends, formed a band, and fell in love with a girl. 

He later called the chaste relationship he had with Serena during his last two years of life “the most beautiful gift" the Lord could give him.

When he was 15, he reflected on friendship, saying “I would like to be able to integrate with my peers without being forced to imitate them in mistakes. I would like to feel more involved in the group, without having to renounce my Christian principles. It’s difficult. Difficult but not impossible.”

Eventually, the teenager’s condition worsened and after a third surgery he became paralyzed in his left arm and leg. He would often repeat that “we must live every day as if it were the last, but not in the sadness of death, but rather in the joy of being ready to meet the Lord!”

Farina died surrounded by his friends and family on April 24, 2009. 

Francesca Consolini, the postulator of Farina’s cause, wrote on a website dedicated to the young venerable that in him emerged “a deep inner commitment oriented toward purifying his heart from every sin” and he experienced this spirituality “not with heaviness, effort or pessimism; indeed, from his words there emerges constant trust in God, a tenacious, determined and serene gaze turned to the future...”

Farina often thought about the faith and the “difficulty of going against the current.” Concerned about a lack of good faith education for young people, he undertook this task among his own peers. 

He once wrote in his journal: “When you feel that you can’t do it, when the world falls on you, when every choice is a critical decision, when every action is a failure ... and you would like to throw everything away, when intense work reduces you to the limit of strength ... take time to take care of your soul, love God with your whole being and reflect his love for others.”

“The climb has taken me far beyond the mountain,” says Canadian Freedom Climber Denise Heppner, who knows that helping even one person makes a difference.

A Russian tycoon who bought former Rangers owner Craig Whyte’s Highland castle is to stand trial over an alleged £8 million fraud.

From Thursday 16 January to Sunday 2 February 2020, musicians from across the world will take part in over 300 events in venues throughout Glasgow for the UK's premier celebration of celtic music.

IN April 2004, the Victoria & Albert museum in London staged an exhibition of the work of Vivienne Westwood. The show was a celebration and a culmination of the fashion designer’s move from the margins of the industry in the 1970s, where she was creating clothes for the punks who hung around the King’s Road, to her 21st-century incarnation as first among equals in British haute couture.

Education Week found 22 public schools named after politicians who signed the Southern Manifesto opposing school integration after the 1954 Brown v. Board Supreme Court decision.

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A study of 900 middle schoolers finds that students who report having a sense of belonging both at home and school are less likely to engage in bullying.

If you have never given your gender much thought, count yourself lucky. If that tick in the box on almost every form requires no more effort than a flick of the wrist, be aware that for many people gender is not so straightforward.

There are nearly 2 million homeschooled students in the United States, making homeschooling a small, but integral part of the K-12 education ecosystem.