LONDON -- Police halted a Good Friday service after a complaint that pandemic regulations were not being met, leading the parish priest to complain that officers had "brutally exceeded their powers."

Thinking about a horrible death doesn’t come naturally to 21st-century humans, even on Good Friday.

The annual Good Friday procession that brings the Stations of the Cross to life in the streets of Toronto’s Little Italy has been cancelled for the second straight year due to COVID-19.

VATICAN CITY -- The coronavirus is not some form of divine punishment but a tragic event that, like all suffering in one's life, is used by God to awaken humanity, said the preacher of the papal household.

VATICAN CITY -- With Holy Week celebrations closed to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis postponed the traditional Good Friday collection for the Holy Land to September.

The annual Good Friday procession through downtown Toronto streets is another victim of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As you read this we will be in the last few weeks of our Lenten promises. If you are like me you have probably slipped once or twice.

The following is an edited version of the Easter message from Bishop Lionel Gendron, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops:

VATICAN CITY - The cross serves as a warning to the powerful and a message of hope for the poor and oppressed, said the preacher of the papal household.

JERUSALEM - For four decades, Mousa Kamar has taken his place at the head of the heavy wooden cross used during the Franciscan Good Friday procession on the Via Dolorosa.

ROME – Leading a prayer to God for the grace to feel ashamed and repentant for so many sins in the world, Pope Francis highlighted the hope that always comes from Jesus.

VATICAN – Papal preacher Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa dedicated his Good Friday homily to young people, comparing them to the apostle John and urging them to have the courage to go in the opposite direction of the selfishness of the world, running instead toward the sacrificial love of Jesus on the cross.

Do not be afraid, the angel said to the frightened women at the empty tomb. Do not be afraid, the risen Christ told His anxious disciples behind locked doors.

The story of Good Friday feels even more real when you’ve lived it, even if it’s only in a play. 

Nicodemus is the organization man who realizes his organization does not have the answers. So, he looks further afield. You are not supposed to do that, but he does it anyway. His heart hungers for more than arid policies, and what do you know, but he finds that something more.