Bishop-elect Michael McGovern of the Diocese of Belleville joins Bob to talk about his recent appointment as a bishop to the southern-most diocese in the Catholic Conference of Illinois. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, his episcopal ordination and installment is postponed until late summer. Next, Lauren McCormack, executive director of the USCCB’s office of government relations, discusses the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) and its provisions for faith-based entities, especially regarding the Payroll Protection Program and unemployment insurance. Then, Jennifer Junis, RN, MSN and senior vice president of St. Gabriel Digital Health for OSF HealthCare headquartered in Peoria, talks about OSF’s partnership with the state of Illinois in remote monitoring of patients with its Pandemic Health Worker Program (PHWP). Finally, Steve Roach, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, talks about the agency’s free, new COPE Line, in which therapists listen to and talk with residents of the 28-county diocese who are experiencing stress because of the coronavirus pandemic.
