I know that many Catholics want the sacraments, THANKS BE TO GOD!!!! But with the pandemic shifting into high gear in the USA as well as other parts of the world, how is this to be accomplished?
Some of us believe that dying without the Lord and His sacraments is worse than illness and death itself. How many martyrs, courageous clergy and laity, gave their lives in times of pandemic for the sake of the Sacraments, meaning for the Sake of His Sorrowful Passion?
I posted a comment from a scrupulous poster, not sure if a priest or not, who thinks my drive-by blessing with Holy Water and Benediction is a threat to public health. Never mind that in Georgia grocery stores are open, drive through restaurants, liquor stores and fire arm stores are open where people are in close proximity to each other, sneezes and coughs. But what the heck, that’s more important that anything the Church has to offer—a secular, agnostic, satanic way of thinking, no?
But with that said, WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THAT BISHOPS AND PRIESTS DO SO THAT THERE IS NOT “ECCLESIAL DISTANCING?”
This is copied from Fr. Z’s blog:
The Church’s highest confessor, Card. Piacenza, says that, in this time of COVID-19, there must not be “ecclesial distancing”
At Vatican News I read that His Eminence Mauro Card. Piacenza – the Penitenziere Maggiore or the head of the Church’s highest tribunal that covers matters of the Sacrament of Penance, all internal forum issues, and indulgences has something to say to priests and bishops. He has released a letter to confessors for Easter. HERE
In this time of Coronavirus….
[L]a Misericordia non si ferma e Dio non si distanzia!Il distanziamento sociale richiesto per motivi sanitari, pur necessario, non può, né deve mai tradursi in distanziamento ecclesiale, né tantomeno in distanziamento teologico-sacramentale.[…]Mercy does not cease and God does not distance Himself.Social distancing required for health reasons, even though it is necessary, cannot and must not ever turn into ecclesial distancing, much less theological-sacramental distancing.
He acknowledges that there must be distancing, but clear the Church’s highest confessor under the Roman Pontiff, the Major Penitentiary, is urging priests and bishop to find ways, within the strictures of social distancing and local laws, to continue to confess their penitents. That’s how I read this.
We have to find sound and prudent ways to make the Sacrament of Penance available to those who need it… and who doesn’t?!?
15 comments:
Coronavirus Cases in Italy: 124,632
Deaths: 15,362
In Cardinal Piacenza's hometown of Genoa, 57 Confirmed Cases
Deaths: 9
Right now, I think distribution Holy Communion is out....barring wafers coming from a sealed container, into a sanitized container, handled with gloves while wearing mask and freshly cleaned clothes and consecrated/distributed by all of the above....
BEING there for the Mass a much simpler matter as I have always said...sanitize pews before and after each Mass or prayer session...remove common contact points such as door opening/closing, hymnals/missals/water fonts...maintain recommended spacing...check temperatures of individuals/groups and turn away any group who has a member with elevated temp to eliminate the obvious carriers of SOMEthing...
and as said earliest, can even mandate playtex gloves and some manner of covering nose/mouth in case the all too common sneezer/cougher who STILL will use hands rather than sleeve to muffle, or unmuffled at all....this would require maybe more Masses, depending upon how many brave souls sally forth.
Most other Sacraments administered with same as first provisos...gloves, face covered, known uncontaminated oils/containers, oils can be sanitized with heat, 165°F+ in oven or several spaced high cycles of 1 min each in microwave in a pyrex container...
This is going to run into the foreseeable future, unless over half of population becomes immune the hard way or the virus mutates to be less infectious....
right now, even facial covering is a joke, as everybody has shut down most places who sell supplies from which effective coverings can be made, leaving grocery stores and those dept stores who also sell groceries as sole sources of materials which will be swiftly stripped, and they may as well tell folk to cover face with toilet paper....go try to buy elastic, rubber bands, bandanas, etc right now....we will soon not have filters for ACs due to home mask makers or vacuum cleaner bags or whatever latest trendy idea catches on.
I cannot see people gathering for Mass for at least a few weeks, but many parishes are live streaming their Mass, EWTN has done this since their beginning.When the Church was driven out of Asia(Korea?)the people were not able too receive Eucharist for decades. When priests were allowed to return, they found a flourishing Church eager for the sacraments. Bells are an audible reminder that can help minimize “ecclesial distancing.” Baptisms really don't require a large congregation of people. For Last Rights, I still find it hard to believe health care facilities and Parish Priests (with the assistance of their Bishop) cant find a solution. There must be some Priests that are also MD's,RN's,LPN's,or PA's. I hear that many Fire Departments do have chaplains among their staff. The same with the military, and President Trump did say this is a war.
Is it an oversimplification to recommend that a cadre of priests be established as volunteers to enter the quarantine of the dying for this purpose with the knowledge that they will be required to stay until the threat is past or they are overcome? They would discrete from the regular priests that remain in their posts, praying the Mass for the rest of us daily, until the threat is over.
"The same with the military, and President Trump did say this is a war."
He also said:
"We have it under control...gonna be just fine"
"Will go away in April...we're in great shape"
"Within a couple of days will be close to zero"
"Coronavirus will disappear like a miracle"
"Anybody can get tests, and they're perfect"
"I don't take responsibility at all"
"Our response is a 10"
"We've done a fantastic job"
"We're doing fine, try reopening by Easter"
"We've done one helluva job"
"“And we’re prepared, and we’re doing a great job with it. And it will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away.”
And my fav
"You know, my uncle was a great person. He was at MIT. He taught at MIT for, I think, like a record number of years. He was a great super genius. Dr. John Trump. I like this stuff. I really get it. People are surprised that I understand it. Every one of these doctors said, 'How do you know so much about this? ' Maybe I have a natural ability. Maybe I should have done that instead of running for president."
Today, however
"There will be a lot of death unfortunately."
And you STILL listen to ANYTHING this man has to say?
JB....his job as a LEADER is not to inspire nationwide panic, but to calm and reassure people as much as possible, while the experts up top try to figure out a way to deal with this....
Had he attempted to act more decisively far earlier, the same ones who called him a racist when he stopped flights from China would have had him in court and injunctions/stays filed, same when he tried to limit European flights where it was roundly condemned even by Europe...
The same news organizations now trying to go after him, whose talking points you are echoing, were roundly condemning him for attempting to seal borders just weeks earlier.
Which leaves him what options past making soothing noises while the Federal govt tries desperately to make up for 50 states utter lack of preparation attempts for an epidemic which ANY thinking person knew was only a matter of time?
He should maybe have said, "MILLIONS in the USA are going to die!!! It's every man for himself!!! First thing you need to do is go buy all the PPE you can find!!! Hospitals will be useless, don't trust them!!! Get your stuff while you still can!!! Save yourselves!!!! Food supplies will be strained, so get it while you can!!!!"
Look what happened, even with trying to let folk down gently...
In short, blaming this on Trump or the government shows an utter lack of understanding in just how little a government can actually do, where even NOW they are finally recommending face covering simply to stop the unmuffled sneezer/cougher crowd from sowing more death....
the vast majority of deaths upcoming are strictly due to INDIVIDUALS not taking hygiene practices seriously or even today knowing the meaning of the word, compounded by super dense population centers, and population at large ignoring this until it was firmly entrenched....
you want to blame somebody, blame the wealthy minority wealthy enough to spread this worldwide and country wide, as they are the ones who did the virus carrying...not the poor majority who dare not even dream of flying stateside, much less, Europe, and whose "vacations" consist of only a few days at home and off from work.
I really don't want to comment on a religious blog about politics (I am sick of politics) but: You cannot argue about President Trumps lack of ability as a motivational speaker, he has no ability in giving presidential speeches. IMHO you also cant argue about Mr. Presidents abilities as a project manager, for that he has decades of experience. He did manage the construction of skyscraper's in Manhattan, I think he can handle managing a supply chain for FEMA. I also his sitting on corporate boards might also have taught him to listen to knowledgeable advisers, and to ignore the incompetent .
The Chinese created the virus, moved quickly to lock down the city where it originated, and if their figures are to be believed, had fewer deaths than the UK has to date (and it hasn't peaked here yet). Meanwhile, Western economies have effectively been shut down whereas theirs is more or less unaffected, which gives them a considerable advantage which they will not hesitate to exploit.
Conspiracy theorists will have a field day.
John, even without a conspiracy the US has huge debt and a domestic energy industry that is being attacked by Russian and Saudi market tactics. When this ends we could be in a situation reminiscent of post WWII Europe, ready to start anew with our workforce largely intact. But with crippled lines of credit and possible dependency on foreign energy sources we need to be very careful how we play our ball over next several weeks.
Anonymous at 10:25
Thanks for the laughs. I guess you have never seen any of President Trump's rallies or press conferences. I guess you have also forgotten his hapless predecessor who could not speak except with a teleprompter. He was a babbling idiot without a prepared text. You know, the same guy who said Austrians speak "Austrian."
TJM - Yes, you would be the one to find Trump's consistent lies, inaccuracies, and blabbering a "laugh."
Anonymous K,
We know you love lying Abortion drooler and destroyer of religious liberty Obama. By comparison the plain speaking Trump is a paragon of honesty.
TJM - Lies and misinformation are not plain speak.
"Paragon of honesty" is, without a doubt, the most absurd statement you have made on this blog.
Anonymous K,
The most absurd thing is that a morally and intellectually bankrupt creature masquerading as a catholic priest is a pastor of a catholic parish.
The earlier comment about Austrians reminds me of a comment made about the great contralto Kathleen Ferrier (1912-1953): 'She learned German from Bruno Walter, who taught her Austrian.'
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