Bishop Michael Sis will offer Masses in English and Spanish on Jan. 1, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. The 10:00 a.m. English Mass and 12:00 p.m. Spanish Mass will be livestreamed from the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in San Angelo. The Masses will be available on the cathedral's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SanAngeloCathedral.
On December 14, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Doctrine, and Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, issued a statement on the new COVID-19 vaccines. In their statement, the bishops address the moral concerns raised by the fact that the three vaccines that appear to be ready for distribution in the United States all have some connection to cell lines that originated with tissue taken from abortions.
El coronavirus se había estado propagando en nuestra área ya por ocho meses. Le agradecí a Dios por el don de la salud, que me permitió seguir sirviendo a nuestro pueblo en un momento de grave pandemia y agitación social. Aquí en San Ángelo, llevábamos mucho tiempo planeando un foro de relaciones raciales, en el cuál incluía líderes comunitarios, funcionarios gubernamentales, portavoces universitarios, y pastores de varias iglesias. Yo tenía grandes esperanzas en su potencial para enfrentar el racismo. Sin embargo, dado que el número de casos aumentó, decidí posponer el evento.
The coronavirus had been spreading in our area for eight months. I was grateful to God for the gift of health, allowing me to continue serving our people in a time of serious pandemic and social turmoil. Here in San Angelo, we had long been planning a race relations forum, involving community leaders, government officials, university spokespersons, and pastors of various churches. I had great hopes for its potential in confronting racism. Nevertheless, as the number of cases spiked, I decided to postpone the event.
The National Catholic Bioethics Center has organized an online introduction to the moral issues involved with COVID-19 vaccines which will be available at 6:00 p.m. Central Time on December 7.