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Inclusion of a reference to “reproductive rights” in a United Nations resolution on combating the coronavirus has the Vatican up in arms. Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, called the resolution “deeply concerning and divisive” in remarks he made Sept. 11 after the UN General Assembly in New York endorsed the resolution, entitled “Comprehensive and coordinated response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The House of Repre­sentatives passed a massive new COVID­­19 relief legislation as a follow up to the CARES Act in May. However, unlike the CARES Act, the House bill entirely excluded private and parochial school students and teachers from its K–12 aid provisions.

The Hyde Amend­ment is such important life-saving legislation that it has passed in Congress every year since 1976 as an attachment to spending bills with bipartisan support. Named for the late Rep. Henry Hyde (D-IL), who sponsored the amend­­ment, it bars taxpayer funding of elective abortion.

Catholic schools across the country are welcoming back students for in-person instruction this month that will involve stringent safety protocols while also offering continued options for virtual learning that Catholic schools across the nation so adeptly adopted in March as COVID-19 spread.

Last week, in some caucus meetings at the Democratic National Convention, the words “under God” were omitted in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. That did not sit well with the Knights of Colum­bus who were instrumental in getting the words “under God” added to the Pledge of Allegiance.

Earlier this summer, Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) of the District of Columbia ordered part of 16th Street, near the White House, painted with the slogan “Black Lives Matter” during the mass anti-racism protests in Washing­ton, D.C. Protesters also painted “Defund the Police” on the same street as an addition to Bowser’s message with no pushback from her.

Although the Catholic Church is not an expert in the global health crisis forged by the COVID-19 pandemic, Catholic social teaching is fundamental to healing the issues faced by the world today.

During these past few months as we faced the pandemic and the protests for social justice and racial equality, the need to have school choice in place for every student in the nation has never been more apparent. That is why a bill, “The School Choice Now Act,” sponsored by two Republican senators, Tim Scott and Lamar Alexander, both from South Carolina, needs to be passed immediately by the Senate and have the bi-partisan support from the Demo­cratic-controlled House of Representatives.

A few days after a violent mob tore down the statue of St. Junipero Serra in San Francisco, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone held a prayer service at the base of where the statue once stood. “Evil has made itself present here. So we have gathered together to pray for God to ask the saints...for their intercession, above all our Blessed Mother, in an act of reparation, asking God’s mercy on us and on the whole city, that we might turn our hearts back toward him,” the archbishop said.

This year has been especially difficult for students of all ages in our Diocese — from kindergarten to seniors in high school. The COVID-19 pandemic changed the lives of students in a way that no one has ever experienced. This issue of The Beacon pays tribute to the Class of 2020 — a group of graduates who deserve high praise for their perseverance and pluck.

As the doors to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist opened wide onto Main Street in Paterson and bishops and priests processed out of the mother church of the Diocese on July 1, the music and voices singing grew louder. Directly across the street from the cathedral were family members who belonged to the Neocatechumenal Way at two parishes. They were playing instruments and drums while singing “Alleluia” as they awaited their first official look at the new bishop of Paterson who had just been ordained to the episcopacy and installed as Paterson’s eighth bishop.

Last week a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Gary Sharpe found it was illegal for N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) to limit religious worship services over the coronavirus while condoning and encouraging massive anti-police brutality protests.

All the faithful in the Diocese of Paterson are looking forward to joyfully celebrating the ordination/installation of Bishop-elect Kevin Sweeney as the eighth bishop of the Diocese on Wednesday, July 1, the feast day of St. Junipero Serra. Often called the “Apostle of California,” this Franciscan priest not only helped to convert thousands of Native Americans to Christianity and taught them new agricultural technologies but also was a staunch advocate for them and a champion of human rights.

It is never easy to say goodbye. And sadly, the pandemic in our nation has only made farewells even more difficult: no huge gatherings to pay tribute to one’s lifetime of achievements, not even a handshake for a job well done is safe to do. In this “new normal” has come the time for the Diocese of Paterson to bid a fond farewell to Bishop Serratelli upon his retirement.

The U.S. House of Representatives recently voted on and passed the Health and Economic Recovery Omni­bus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act along party lines with the Democratic majority prevailing. The U.S. Senate is now in the process of reviewing the bill that has an issue that should concern every Catholic.

There is still hope that Congress can once again take up the Born Alive Act. The optimism comes from two newly elected members of Congress who signed a petition May 26 to bring a key pro-life bill to the House floor for consideration. That same day, Reps. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.) and Tom Tiffany (R-Wisc.) were both sworn in to the House, and signed the discharge petition for the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act afterward according to the office of Minority WHIP Steve Scalise (R-La.).

The Paycheck Protec­tion Program (PPP) under the CARES Act was an emergency loan measure to help eligible small businesses and non-profits with 500 employees or lesss. Under the Small Business Association (SBA), these loans kept employees on the payroll during the pandemic with the specific understanding that the loans could become grants. If a business was affiliated with a larger national organization under existing SBA rules, then it would be counted together with the larger organization and all its affiliates.

On the 100th anniversary of the birth of St. Pope John Paul II on May 18, also the first day public Masses resumed throughout Italy, Pope Francis offered his morning Mass in the chapel of the saint’s tomb in St. Peter’s Basilica. The legacy this Pope who became a saint left to us is undoubtedly unprecedented in the more than 2,000-year history of our Catholic Church.

It is deeply disturbing that the Little Sisters of the Poor again find themselves in court defending their community against attempts to force this religious order to violate their conscience. The Supreme Court of the United States began hearing oral arguments May 6 in the case of Little Sisters of the Poor v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Other states have joined this suit against the Little Sisters including California, and sadly, New Jersey.

One good thing that has evolved during the pandemic is that telemedicine has started to become more prevalent as patients are now able to have appointments with their doctors and interact with them over their smart phone, tablet or home computer. This digital linking of physicians and patients has become a much-needed staple since the pandemic that has separated patients from visits to their doctor’s office due to shelter-in-place edicts.