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FaithVatican Dispatch
Gerard O’Connell
The coronavirus has become Italy's most major crisis since World War II.
Pope Francis celebrates Mass on March 12, 2020, in the chapel of his Vatican residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae. At the beginning of the liturgy, the pope encouraged people to pray for their government leaders, who must make difficult decisions to contain the coronavirus pandemic. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
FaithVatican Dispatch
Gerard O’Connell
Pope Francis will continue his all-out efforts to eliminate the triple form of abuse by clergy in the church—the abuse of conscience, of power, of sex—and to ensure that a safe environment is established in all church institutions worldwide for children and young people.
A man wearing a mask takes a photo as Pope Francis appears on a video monitor in St. Peter's Square as he leads the Angelus from his library in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican March 8, 2020. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
FaithVatican Dispatch
Gerard O’Connell
The pope appeared to be in good health and appeared for a moment at the window at the end of the Angelus to greet the small gathering in St. Peter's Square “in real time.”
A woman wearing a mask for protection from the coronavirus watches as Pope Francis leads the Angelus from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican March 1, 2020. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
FaithVatican Dispatch
Gerard O’Connell
These changes correspond to Italian government restrictions on large public gatherings to limit transmission of coronavirus.
People wearing masks for protection from the coronavirus tour the Vatican Museums at the Vatican Feb. 29. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
Politics & SocietyVatican Dispatch
Gerard O’Connell
The normal services of the health and hygiene sector of the Vatican city-state were “temporarily suspended” following yesterday’s positive test for Covid-19 on one patient in order “to sanitize the areas.”
Several visitors enter an empty security queue before visiting St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on March 4. Visitors and pilgrims to churches, museums and landmarks in Rome have sharply declined following an outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus in northern Italy. (CNS photo/Junno Arocho Esteves)
Politics & SocietyVatican Dispatch
Gerard O’Connell
In a small indication of how rapidly the contagion is affecting Italy, by the time the Vatican spokesman sent his communique to the media, the number of victims had risen dramatically—the total number of cases rising to 3,858 and deaths to 148.