Friday, March 29, AD 2024 6:29am

PopeWatch: A Candle in the Darkness

May this Bishop’s tribe increase:

Bishop Peter Baldacchino of the Diocese of Las Cruces said the Church is the “essential service of hope” during the coronavirus pandemic, and that the Church must “welcome as many as we can” in line with public health regulations.

The bishop announced April 15 that public Masses and sacramental life in his diocese – including weddings and funerals – would resume, even while observing state public health rules that prohibit indoor gatherings of more than five people.

“We are the great essential service of hope, now more than ever,” the bishop told CNA in an April 16 interview.

On Wednesday, Baldacchino circulated a letter to all the priests of his diocese, lifting the outright ban on the public celebration of Mass and encouraging them to resume sacramental ministry.

“You look around us right now in this country and what do you see? People are dying of this terrible disease, but also of despair. There are reports of increased suicides, crises of addiction, violence in the homes. This is a moment of total darkness for many.”

“We must bring the light of Christ into this darkness. We cannot close ourselves off, closeness in this moment is the one thing forbidden, and yet this is what we are called as priests to be: close to our people,” the bishop wrote.

Baldacchino’s April 15 letter also authorized priests to distribute Holy Communion, while observing a specific protocol he delineated, and to hold weddings and funerals on church property. 

The bishop told CNA that, so far, the response in his diocese had been broadly positive, and Catholics have thanked him for the move. But, he said, there he has also heard criticism, both from those insisting he has not gone far enough and those who think he has gone too far.

Baldacchino said he is surprised by some comments objecting to the five-person limit to public Masses inside church buildings, pointing out that this is a reflection of state law and not his own preference.

“First of all, I don’t want to limit the churches to only five people. This is the decision of the governor to call churches ‘not essential,’ and I couldn’t disagree more. Many of our churches are able to hold hundreds, so we could safely fit 20 or more people while observing all the needs of social distancing. I believe the governor is misguided in not allowing churches to safely have more than 5 people, while Walmart and HomeDepot can. Which of these do you think is more essential? If we have a soul, the answer is clear. You can’t buy what we offer.”

 

 

Go here to read the rest.  Which of these do you think is more essential? If we have a soul, the answer is clear. You can’t buy what we offer.  Amen.

Even from a purely secular standpoint the ban on church services is foolish.  In times of great stress, people who are able to go to church and take solace in religion are bound to be usually involved in much less destructive behavior, and much more positive behavior,  than those sitting home and brooding 24-7.  Precautions should be taken of course.  I like the idea of parking lot services.  Those most vulnerable could have Communion taken to them by family members.  The requirement to attend mass should remain in abeyance for the time being, but those who want to come should be accommodated.  With imagination and innovation much could, and should, be accomplished.

 

 

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Foxfier
Admin
Monday, April 20, AD 2020 6:27am

<3

Saw this the other day.

Because I have that kind of mind– I fully expect some idiot to try to infect them, deliberately.

Because hate makes you dumb.

Rudolph Harrier
Rudolph Harrier
Monday, April 20, AD 2020 11:33am

This is exactly what the bishops should be doing: finding ways to continue having mass and administering the sacraments while also giving thought to health concerns and obeying reasonable government edicts. If the governments go completely over the line and do things like banning worship outright, then it will be necessary to engage in civil disobedience, but before then it makes sense to use creative solutions to accommodate the edicts.

But most bishops seem to be using their ingenuity to find ways to shut things down even before there is a problem. For example, in my diocese the perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament has been shut down. The reasoning is that while it is very rare to see more than 10 people in adoration and while even in normal circumstances people generally do not stay close to each other, in this time of crisis with no masses more people might decide to take part in adoring the Eucharist, and that could potentially get to the point where health recommendations are violated. So the practice is suspended for everyone.

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