CNA Staff, May 8, 2020 / 07:00 am (CNA).- A new “dial-a-Mass” service enabling Catholics with no internet connection to listen to Sunday Masses is proving a success, an English bishop has said. 

Bishop Terence Drainey of Middlesbrough said that 100 people used the Mass-by-Phone service when it launched May 3.  

Public Masses were suspended in England from March 20 and churches ordered to close days later. The government has not indicated when churches will be allowed to reopen. 

The Diocese of Middlesbrough, in northern England, decided to introduce the phone line -- believed to be the first of its kind in England -- when it became clear that some Catholics were unable to follow livestream Masses because they didn’t have smartphones or Wi-Fi.

Bishop Drainey told CNA: “We’re trying to reach out to as many people as possible. But it became obvious to us that there are some people who aren’t on the internet and they are being completely missed and also wanting to somehow take part in the Mass.”

“As a result of that, talking to our communications people, we came up with this idea of having a ‘dial-a-Mass’ system.”

When Catholics call the service, they hear a brief message welcoming them to St Mary’s Cathedral in Middlesbrough. A recording of the Sunday Mass then begins. 

The Knights of St Columba Council 29 is funding the service, which the diocese believes is the first in England that doesn’t require special access codes.

Bishop Drainey said the line was part of the Church’s creative response to restrictions imposed by the government to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“One of the things that this crisis situation has brought out is people’s imagination: how to initiate new ways of praying, new ways of getting in touch with the larger Church, participating virtually in liturgical celebrations,” he said.

He added that the service was likely to continue after the crisis passed. He recalled that an 86-year-old woman had phoned him just before the lockdown to talk about livestreamed Masses:

“I said we’re about to do it. ‘That’s fine, great,’ she said. ‘But when all this is finished, you need to continue livestreaming. People like me who can no longer get out, we long to be able to somehow be in contact with the Mass. So promise me there you'll really encourage livestreaming after this has all passed.' And I said: 'Yes, absolutely. I agree.'”

In addition to livestreaming Masses and Mass-by-Phone, the diocese is planning to hold a virtual pilgrimage to Lourdes after it was forced to postpone its regular trip to the French shrine at the end of May. The online pilgrimage will include services on Facebook as well as special prayers and reflections. 
 

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Vatican City, May 5, 2020 / 03:30 am (CNA).- Pope Francis prayed for those who have died alone during the coronavirus pandemic at his morning Mass Tuesday.

At the start of Mass in the chapel at Casa Santa Marta, his Vatican residence, he said May 5: "Today we pray for the deceased who have died because of the pandemic. They have died alone, without the caresses of their loved ones. So many did not even have a funeral. May the Lord welcome them in His glory."

More than 250,000 people have died of COVID-19 worldwide as of May 5, according to Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.

In his homily, the pope reflected on the day’s Gospel reading (John 10:22-30), in which Jesus is asked to declare openly whether he is the Christ. Jesus replies that he has already told his listeners, but they have not believed him because they are not among his sheep.  

Pope Francis urged Catholics to ask themselves: “What makes me stop outside the door that is Jesus?”

One major obstacle is wealth, the pope said.

“There are many of us who have entered the door of the Lord but then fail to continue because we are imprisoned by wealth,” he said, according to a transcript by Vatican News. 

“Jesus takes a hard line regarding wealth… Wealth keeps us from going ahead. Do we need to fall into poverty? No, but, we must not become slaves to wealth. Wealth is the lord of this world, and we cannot serve two masters.”

The pope added that another barrier to progress towards Jesus is rigidity of heart.  

He said: “Jesus reproached the doctors of the law for their rigidity in interpreting the law, which is not faithfulness. Faithfulness is always a gift of God; rigidity is only security for oneself.”

As an example of rigidity, the pope recalled that once when he visited a parish a woman asked him whether attending a Saturday afternoon nuptial Mass fulfilled her Sunday obligation. The readings were different to those on Sunday so she worried that she might have committed a mortal sin. 

Rigidity leads us away from the wisdom of Jesus and robs us of our freedom, he said.

The pope named two further obstacles: acedia, which he defined as a tiredness that “takes away our desire to strive forward” and makes us lukewarm, and clericalism, which he described as a disease that takes away the freedom of the faithful. 

He identified worldliness as the final obstacle to approaching Jesus. 

“We can think of how some sacraments are celebrated in some parishes: how much worldliness there is there,” he said. 

“These are some of the things that stop us from becoming members of Jesus’s flock. We are ‘sheep’ of all these things -- wealth, apathy, rigidity, worldliness, clericalism, ideologies. But freedom is lacking and we cannot follow Jesus without freedom. ‘At times freedom might go too far, and we might slip and fall.’ Yes, that’s true. But this is slipping before becoming free.”

After Mass, the pope presided at adoration and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, before leading those watching via livestream in an act of spiritual communion.

The congregation then sang the Easter Marian antiphon "Regina caeli."

At the end of his homily, the pope prayed: “May the Lord enlighten us to see within ourselves if we have the freedom required to go through the door which is Jesus, to go beyond it with Jesus in order to become sheep of His flock.”

Research suggests that the prevalence of obesity in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is higher than in typically developing children. The US Preventive Services Task Force and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have endorsed screening children for overweight and obesity as part of the standard of care for physicians. However, the pediatric provider community has been inadequately prepared to address this issue in children with ASD. The Healthy Weight Research Network, a national research network of pediatric obesity and autism experts funded by the US Health Resources and Service Administration Maternal and Child Health Bureau, developed recommendations for managing overweight and obesity in children with ASD, which include adaptations to the AAP’s 2007 guidance. These recommendations were developed from extant scientific evidence in children with ASD, and when evidence was unavailable, consensus was established on the basis of clinical experience. It should be noted that these recommendations do not reflect official AAP policy. Many of the AAP recommendations remain appropriate for primary care practitioners to implement with their patients with ASD; however, the significant challenges experienced by this population in both dietary and physical activity domains, as well as the stress experienced by their families, require adaptations and modifications for both preventive and intervention efforts. These recommendations can assist pediatric providers in providing tailored guidance on weight management to children with ASD and their families.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a higher prevalence of epilepsy compared with general populations. In this pilot study, we prospectively identified baseline risk factors for the development of seizures in individuals with ASD and also identified characteristics sensitive to seizure onset up to 6 years after enrollment in the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network.

OBJECTIVES:

Our goals for this study were to characterize the frequency of agitation in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) admitted to an inpatient pediatric medical unit and to identify risk factors associated with agitation.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:

Guidelines suggest young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) receive intensive nonpharmacologic interventions. Additionally, associated symptoms may be treated with psychotropic medications. Actual intervention use by young children has not been well characterized. Our aim in this study was to describe interventions received by young children (3–6 years old) with ASD. The association with sociodemographic factors was also explored.

BACKGROUND:

Emergency department (ED) care processes and environments impose unique challenges for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The implementation of patient- and family-centered care (PFCC) emerges as a priority for optimizing ED care. In this article, as part of a larger study, we explore PFCC in the context of ASD. Our aims were to examine how elements of PFCC were experienced and applied relative to ED care for children with ASD.

BACKGROUND:

Long delays between parents’ initial concerns about their children’s development and a subsequent autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis are common. Although discussions between parents and providers about early ASD concerns can be difficult, they are critical for initiating early, specialized services. The principles of shared decision-making can facilitate these discussions. This qualitative study was designed to gain insights from parents of young children with ASD about their experiences communicating with primary care providers with the goal of identifying strategies for improving conversations and decision-making regarding the early detection of ASD.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:

Families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience challenges navigating multiple systems to access services. Family navigation (FN) is a model to provide information and support to access appropriate services. Few studies have been used to examine FN’s effectiveness for families of children with ASD. This study used mixed methods to (1) characterize FN services received by a sample of families in the Autism Treatment Network; (2) examine change in parent-reported activation, family functioning, and caregiver strain; and (3) explore families’ experiences with FN services.

CONTEXT:

Research reveals racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in autism diagnosis; there is limited information on potential disparities related to other dimensions of services.

The Autism Treatment Network and Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health were established in 2008 with goals of improving understanding of the medical aspects of autism spectrum disorders. Over the past decade, the combined network has conducted >2 dozen clinical studies, established clinical pathways for best practice, developed tool kits for professionals and families to support better care, and disseminated these works through numerous presentations at scientific meetings and publications in medical journals. As the joint network enters its second decade continuing this work, it is undergoing a transformation to increase these activities and accelerate their incorporation into clinical care at the primary care and specialty care levels. In this article, we describe the past accomplishments and present activities. We also outline planned undertakings such as the establishment of the Autism Learning Health Network, the increasing role of family members as co-producers of the work of the network, the growth of clinical trials activities with funding from foundations and industry, and expansion of work with primary care practices and autism specialty centers. We also discuss the challenges of supporting network activities and potential solutions to sustain the network.

Idiopathic acute eosinophilic pneumonia is a rare and potentially life-threatening condition that is defined by bilateral pulmonary infiltrates and fever in the presence of pulmonary eosinophilia. It often presents acutely in previously healthy individuals and can be difficult to distinguish from infectious pneumonia. Although the exact etiology of idiopathic acute eosinophilic pneumonia remains unknown, an acute hypersensitivity reaction to an inhaled antigen is suggested, which is further supported by recent public health risks of vaping (electronic cigarette) use and the development of lung disease. In this case, a patient with a year-long history of vaping in conjunction with tetrahydrocannabinol cartridge use who was diagnosed with idiopathic acute eosinophilic pneumonia with associated bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy is described.

A previously healthy 9-year-old immigrant girl from Mexico was evaluated in the emergency department (ED) with one week of fatigue, fevers, rhinorrhea, and cough. She initially presented to her primary pediatrician, where a complete blood count revealed neutropenia, prompting referral to the ED. In the ED, she was found to be influenza A–positive. Because of dehydration, she received intravenous fluids and was admitted to the pediatric hospital medicine service. After 2 days, influenza symptoms improved, and oral intake increased. However, she was noted to have decreased bilateral lower-extremity strength, absent Achilles reflexes, decreased lower-extremity sensation and proprioception, a positive result on the Romberg sign, and abnormal heel-to-shin testing results. These findings prompted an urgent neurology consultation. After extensive imaging, laboratory evaluation, and further consultations, a diagnosis was established.

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