Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Al- lergy and Infectious Diseases, has emerged for many as the voice of reason and integrity as the nation confronts the novel coronavirus pandemic. Much of that he learned at Re- gis High School, a no-tuition, Jesuit-run boys college-prep school in New York City that is renowned as an academic haven. Fauci, a member of the class of 1958, told a group of alumni last May that attending the school was the best educa- tional period I could ever have imagined having. Fauci also is a graduate of College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, an- other Jesuit institution, and Weill Cornell Medicine, then called Cornell University Medi- cal College. The alumni address was part of a return to Regis by Fauci, now 79 and known for his pow- er walking, who, while not a household name at the time, was apparently nearing the end of a long career in government ser- vice working for six presidents. I take great comfort in know- ing that when he speaks that he is speaking the truth and noth- ing but the truth, Jesuit Father Daniel Lahart, Regis president, told National Catholic Reporter. Father Lahart now supervises a school, like most across the country, conned to online classes as COVID-19 disrupts normal life. The priest said the most fa- mous Regis alumnus has exud- ed integrity throughout a career, which, before this latest out- break, was best known for rais- ing the alarm about HIV/AIDS at the highest levels of govern- ment in the 1980s.
Dr. Fauci, Dedicated to Public Service, Formed at N.Y. Jesuit High School
Pope Donates Equipment On His Name Day
VATICAN CITY (CNS)-To mark his name day, the feast of St. George, Pope Francis gave the gift of medical supplies to several countries reeling from the coronavirus pandemic. The pope, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, donated respirators, masks and protective eyewear on the April 23 feast. Five new respirators were for a hospital in Suceava, Romania, the epicenter of the outbreak in that country, two respirators for a hospital in the southern Italian city of Lecce and three for hos- pitals in Madrid. The donation is a beautiful sign that falls on this particular day in which the Holy Father doesnt receive a gift but gives a gift to others, said Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner. The respirators and medical equipment, he added, are a hug from the pope during a difficult situation for the whole world. Vatican News reported that the respirators and medical equipment going to Romania will be transported on a ight carrying a Romanian medical team of 11 doctors and six nurs- es who had been helping in Italy since April 7.
From Making Uniforms To Face Masks
WASHINGTON (CNS)- When Tom Shipley, chair- man of Dennis Uniform in Portland, Oregon, wondered how to respond to the grow- ing COVID-19 pandemic, the bolts of plaid fabric and sewing machines at the Portland uni- form factory that has been in his family for three generations provided an obvious answer. Amid a growing demand for face masks and the outcry of those in the health care work- force using bandannas or no masks at all, he decided his company could produce masks and donate them to those in the medical profession, using fab- ric on hand with an interface barrier sewn in. He cant remember the exact day he proposed the idea this spring, because the days have blurred into each other. But everyone in the company - union and nonunion employ- ees, executive team and board members - agreed this was the right thing to do. So, the 100-year-old compa- ny, which makes uniforms for 2,500 private schools across the country including hun- dreds of Catholic schools, put its school uniform production on hold for a few weeks to just make face masks. To date, they have donated at least 15,000 masks, all with recognizable plaids that are the pattern of many Catholic school jumpers or skirts. Donations have been primar- ily in the Portland area to start but requests for more masks has begun.
(CNS photo/courtesy Pauline Media)
Sisters Begin COVID-19 Spiritual Adoption
Daughters of St. Paul perform in 2017 during their annual Christmas concert. The religious order has launched a "spiritual adoption" project as part of their #SpiritualCommunion online response to the COVID-19 pandemic. There are three aspects: It allows participants to become spiritually adopted, to have their loved ones become spiritually adopted or to become "spiritual adopters" themselves. All participants can sign up online at www. tinyurl.com/SpirituallyAdopt. Then Daughters of St. Paul pair participants together and connect them virtually.
News in Brief
Head of FDA urged to ensure any COVID vaccine be free of abortion connection
WASHINGTON (CNS)-The chairmen of four U.S. bishops' committees, joined by the leaders of several health care, bioethics and pro-life organizations, "urgently and respect- fully" implored the commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ensure any vaccines developed for the coronavirus "are free from any connection to abortion. To be clear, we strongly support efforts to develop an effective, safe, and widely available vaccine as quickly as possible," the leaders said in an April 17 letter to Dr. Stephen M. Hahn, the FDA commissioner. "However, we also strongly urge our fed- eral government to ensure that fundamental moral principles are followed in the development of such vaccines, most im- portantly, the principle that human life is sacred and should never be exploited," they said. Copies of the letter were sent to President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Health and Humans Services Secretary Alex M. Azar.
COVID-19 takes toll on Maryknoll religious community in New York
CLEVELAND (CNS)-The Maryknoll religious com- munity in Ossining, New York, has been hit hard by COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. At least one priest and three women religious have died of the illness during the month of April. Dozens more have been diagnosed or suspected of having the coronavirus. Father Raymond Finch, superior general of Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, told Catholic News Service that nine priests living at the order's residential facilities had died since April 2. The Maryknoll Sis- ters announced April 20 that three sisters died of COVID-19. Another 24 sisters have tested positive. In addition, eight of the congregation's staff members also have tested positive.
(CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)
The Maryknoll Society Center in Ossining, N.Y.
(CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Pope Francis and his predecessor, retired Pope Benedict XVI, 93.
(CNS photo/courtesy Regis High School)
Dr. Anthony Fauci meets with New York City's Regis High School stu- dents and the school's president, Jesuit Father Daniel Lahart, in 2019. For More Information Contact:
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