Did ‘the Roman Catholic Church’ Unjustly Collect Federal Aid? AP Story Misrepresents Church Finances, Expert Says

A Feb. 4 investigative story from the Associated Press inaccurately portrays “the Roman Catholic Church” as a “giant corporate monolith” that raked in federal aid while sitting on billions of dollars that they could have used to pay employees, a canon and civil law expert told CNA.

In reality, “the Roman Catholic Church” in the U.S. is made up of tens of thousands of separate nonprofits, most of which did not have legal access to liquid cash necessary to pay their employees when the pandemic took hold last year.

Saint Spotlight: St. Bernadette Soubirous

St. Bernadette Soubirous
Patroness of body illness, poverty, people ridiculed for their faith, and Lourdes, France
Feast Day – April 16

In Lourdes, France, a small town at the foot of the Pyrenees Mountains, Marie-Bernarde Soubirous was born on January 7, 1844. Her father was a miller and her mother a laundress. He became sick from the dust of the flour mill and had to rely on small jobs. The loss of money forced them to live in a long-closed, unhealthy, damp prison called Le Chacot. This affected the 4’ 7” Bernadette because of her asthma.

Saint Spotlight: St. Therese of Lisiuex

Marie François Thérèse Martin was born January 2, 1873, in Alençon, France. She did not fully comprehend what the Carmel was, but at 15 desired to enter. On September 24, 1890, she received her Carmelite veil in Lisieux as Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. Although young, she was an accomplished artist, playwright/poetess, composer of prayers and avid letter writer. Knowing that she could not do great things, she adopted her “Little Way” – childlike surrender to God in everything, joyful humility, confidence and trust in His mercy and kindness, perseverance in prayer and love in all things.