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Thursday, February 13, 2020

IS THIS AN EXTREME MEASURE?

 UPDATED PHOTO WHICH WILL DRIVE THE UNSCRUPULOUS ABOUT COMMON CHALICE CONTAGION TO GO OFF THE DEEP END!

 
Catholics celebrate Mass at Hong Kong's Catholic Cathedral with protective masks Feb. 2, 2020. The threat of spreading the coronavirus has forced Catholic officials in Hong Kong to suspend all public Masses on Sundays and weekdays from Feb. 15 to Feb. 28. (CNS /Francis Wong)
 
Some cardinals are such germaphobes. Don't they know they get more germs from door knobs and shaking hands and drinking from the common chalice.

My sober recommendation is do away with the common chalice and communion to the laity. It's not really required for the laity to receive at Mass except during the Easter season at least once. Regular reception is simply a pious custom.

Coronavirus, the diocese of Hong Kong suspends masses to avoid contagions

Card. Tong announces special pastoral measures. The only religious activities that will not be suspended are weddings and funerals. Parishes and chapels will remain open. The changes will also affect Lent and Easter.
Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - From the day after tomorrow and until February 28, the diocese of Hong Kong has decided to suspend the Eucharistic celebrations in churches and chapels to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission. The government of the former British colony has declared that the next two weeks will be decisive in the fight against the epidemic: the population is invited to stay at home and avoid crowded places. In response to these directives this morning Card. John Tong, apostolic administrator of Hong Kong, issued a note announcing special pastoral measures.

The only religious activities that will not be suspended are weddings and funerals. Parishes and chapels will remain open; they can establish specific times of the day or week, in which to allow the faithful to adore the Blessed Sacrament and pray for the end of the emergency. The diocese offers two alternatives to participation in Sunday mass: follow the live online function, broadcast on the diocese's website, or meditate on the readings of the day and pray the Rosary.

In a separate notice, the diocese has published some notices regarding Lent and Easter. On February 26 - Ash Wednesday - there will be no public celebrations. Penitential practices such as the Via Crucis will not be conducted collectively. Finally, the celebration of the rite of the Christian initiation of adults will not take place at Easter but will be postponed to the solemnity of Pentecost (May 31)

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Frequent, even daily, communion is far more than "simply a pious custom."

"Those who have charge of the children should zealously see to it that after their First Communion these children frequently approach the Holy Table, even daily if possible, as Jesus Christ and Mother Church desire, and let this be done with a devotion becoming their age." (Pius X Quam Singulari)

The Holy father is not encouraging what is merely a "pious custom."

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

Of course my comment is tongue in cheek, although Holy Mother Church recognizes that many do not avail themselves for Holy Communion at all, so the law is to make one's Easter duty.

But apart from my very dry, arid sense of humor, which is better, deny Holy Communion to the laity or cancel Mass altogether?

Dan said...

Of the current 7,499 cases with an outcome - 18% were deaths. Of those still fighting the illness - 15% are critical. Anyway, this looks like a very bad virus.

Anonymous said...

The epidemiological issue is not Communion.

The epidemiological issue is that having large numbers of people gathering together increases the likelihood that contagion will spread.

Cancelling any such gathering - closing movie theaters, cancelling sporting events - is the way to reduce the possibility of contagion.

It is better, under their circumstances, to cancel mass.

Anonymous said...

SARS had a fatality rate of 9.6% compared to coronavirus fatality rate of 2.1%. (MERS was 34%, Swine Flu was 0.02%)

The outbreak is serious, but if you’re living in the United States, the odds are that the everyday flu is a much more serious risk to your health. At this point, the seasonal flu carries much greater odds of killing you while in the United States than the novel coronavirus recently identified in Wuhan, China.


rcg said...

Anon at 11:45 makes a good point. The problem (not to hijack the discussion) is similar to “global warming” in that “authorities” respond according to goals and guidelines that might not have a direct response to the problem but are political in nature.

Anonymous said...

Bee here:

Wow, not even Mass because of germs! And for the next 2 weeks at least! But Fr. Kavanaugh says it's very unlikely we could catch anything even if we share the common cup.

As recently as January 21 2020 (at 3:42pm) Fr. Kavanaugh said in response to Fr. McD saying, "Contagious diseases is (sic) easily caught."

"Wrong. That is your germ phobia talking nonsense to your head. If it were easy to catch contagious diseases, you and I and everyone else would be dead by now."

On Jan 2, 2020 Fr. Kavanaugh said, "It is not "common sense" to conclude that it is necessary to suspend the common cup for communion in order to prevent an epidemic. It is hysteria which, itself, is all too common nowadays."

I guess the bishops in Hong Kong are being hysterical. Too bad they didn't consult with Fr. Kavanaugh before suspending Mass. He'd have set them straight.

:-)

God bless,
Bee

Fr. Michael J. Kavanaugh said...

"But Fr. Kavanaugh says it's very unlikely we could catch anything even if we share the common cup."

And I still do. Why? Because that's what science tells us. Science trumps germaphobia and fear-mongering.

"If it were easy to catch contagious diseases, you and I and everyone else would be dead by now."

I stand by that statement, based on what infectious disease specialists say. We encounter "contagious disease" causing bacteria and viruses every day. The great majority of us have immune systems that handle the organisms without a notice. It is not easy to catch a contagious disease.

"I guess the bishops in Hong Kong are being hysterical."

Well, I don't. The bishops are using the best available information and advice from medical professionals, especially epidemiologists and infectious disease experts, and have made the best decision.

"Too bad they didn't consult with Fr. Kavanaugh before suspending Mass."

They didn't need me. They have the best available information and advice from medical professionals, especially epidemiologists and infectious disease experts, and have made the best decision.