The Archdiocese of Toronto, recognizing the contagiousness of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, has issued new guidelines to parishes to help stem its spread.

The number of COVID-positive doctors, nurses and other clinical staff at Toronto’s Catholic hospitals has crept up into the hundreds, Toronto’s Unity Health has told The Catholic Register.

Except for funeral ceremonies with up to 25 attendees, Quebec’s churches will remain empty for the foreseeable future.

LA CROSSE, Wis. -- Cardinal Raymond L. Burke remained hospitalized for COVID-19 but as of Aug. 21 he was taken off a ventilator that he had been on for some days and taken out of the ICU to be returned to a regular hospital room, according to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse.

VATICAN CITY -- U.S. Cardinal Raymond L. Burke remains hospitalized, on a ventilator, "in serious but stable condition" with COVID-19, a spokesman said late Aug. 17.

Take a moment and reflect on the last three conversations you had. Was COVID-19 the subject of any of them? If not, give yourself a pat on the back. Clearly, you’ve been making an effort to avoid the topic. But if you’re like myself and many others, pandemic conversation has become a serious problem.

As of July 26 the City of Toronto has jabbed its citizens in the arm 4.3 million times. Provincially, 89.5 per cent of the eligible population of Ontario has been at least partially vaccinated. Globally, 3.5 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed.

At the start of the pandemic, retired surgeon Dr. Frank Browne got up at 5 a.m. ready to head into the hospital to tend to the sick. He had heard the call to retired doctors to assist as COVID-19 was taking its toll on the health-care system.

We can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

A glimmer of light is now visible at the end of our 15-month-long tunnel of unnatural existence.

Provincial governments across Canada are presenting faith adherents with rays of hope by unveiling roadmaps and timelines on the lifting of public worship restrictions heading into the summer months.

OTTAWA -- As Canadians continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, the question of what happens after the global community recovers from COVID’s impact remains unanswered.

MUMBAI, India -- The High Court in Mumbai ordered prison authorities to take an ailing 84-year-old Jesuit to the hospital, as it heard his appeal to receive bail on medical grounds, Indian media reported.

If you call Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH) Chinese Catholic Church in Calgary these days, it’s likely pastor Fr. Joseph Nguyen will be the one picking up the phone.

Premier Christian Radio in the UK just sponsored a survey that investigated how the COVID crisis has affected religious beliefs and attitudes. There were three major findings — namely, that 67 per cent of those who characterize themselves as “religious” found their belief in God challenged, that almost a quarter said the pandemic made them more fearful of death, and that around a third of those surveyed said that their prayer life had been affected by the crisis.