Deacon Richard Becker, director of pastoral care and ethics, blesses patient Camille Watts on World Day of the Sick at Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip, N.Y., Feb. 11, 2021. Hospital chaplains have had to adhere to COVID-19 protocols while offering pastoral care during the coronavirus pandemic. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz) Feb. 24, 2021 Catholic News Service WASHINGTON When health care chaplains talk about the need for self-care, they really mean it, especially after this past year. That s because they have been on call to provide emotional and spiritual support to patients, families and medical staffs in ways beyond what they had ever prepared for when the coronavirus hit the United States last February and since it just surpassed the death toll of 500,000 this Feb. 22.
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CNS / Cristian Gennari, pool
Pope Francis sprinkles ashes on the head of a cardinal as he celebrates Ash Wednesday Mass in 2020. In the Diocese of Little Rock, priests will take special precautions in distributing ashes on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17, by sprinkling ashes on the top of people’s heads.
CNS / Cristian Gennari, pool
Pope Francis sprinkles ashes on the head of a cardinal as he celebrates Ash Wednesday Mass in 2020. In the Diocese of Little Rock, priests will take special precautions in distributing ashes on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17, by sprinkling ashes on the top of people’s heads.
What you can expect
The Tablet February 8, 2021
Third-grade teacher Eugenia Hannigan prepares to read a book to her students during the first day of classes at Sts. Cyril & Methodius School in Deer Park, N.Y., Sept. 9, 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo:CNS/Gregory A. Shemitz)
By Carol Zimmermann
WASHINGTON (CNS) Catholic school enrollment figures for the current school year significantly impacted by the pandemic dropped 6.4% or more than 111,000 students from the previous school year, which is the largest single year decline in almost 50 years.
The National Catholic Educational Association issued highlights from its annual report on school enrollment Feb. 8. The full report, titled “United States Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools 2020-2021,” will be available Feb. 17.