Faith

"He did not pray. He did not offer a word of balm or condolence to those who are grieving," says the bishop who oversees the church. Washington's mayor was more direct: "Shameful!"

After U.S. Park Police and National Guard troops pushed demonstrators out of Lafayette Park, President Trump walked from the White House to St. John's Church where he posed for pictures with a Bible.

The Catholic Diocese of St. Cloud says it has reached an agreement with survivors of clergy sexual abuse on a framework to settle their legal claims. It includes a $22.5 million trust to compensate abuse survivors and a future bankruptcy filing.

Craig Breimhorst was the kind of guy who would walk into a room, and within 10 minutes was friends with everyone — which came in handy when he started his own church in Faribault over 30 years ago. He died on April 16 at 71, Rice County’s first victim of the coronavirus.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced Saturday that religious gatherings — including funerals and weddings — can reopen at 25 percent occupancy. The new order takes effect Wednesday.

The Eid celebration this year won’t be what it used to be. There are no big festive gatherings at homes, no dining at all-you-can-eat restaurants and no hanging out at the Mall of America and Valleyfair for kids and teens.

"These are places that hold our society together," Trump said. "In America, we need more prayer, not less."

Twin Cities Archbishop Bernard Hebda said that Catholic churches in Minnesota would agree to limit service attendance, require parishioners to wear masks, and change protocol for communion, avoid congregational singing and urge vulnerable people to wait to return to church until it is safer.

Minnesota's Roman Catholic bishops said Wednesday that they will allow Masses to resume next week despite Gov. Tim Walz's continued prohibition on most religious gatherings.

The closure of churches due to the coronavirus could have long-lasting effects on congregations. Some people say they have become more connected with their faith, while others may be drifting away.