Don't Tell Bill de Blasio!

CNA Staff, Mar 30, 2020 / 02:45 pm (CNA).- Amid lockdowns responding to the coronavirus pandemic, at least three priests were arrested Sunday for celebrating Mass publicly, in alleged defiance of government orders banning religious gatherings during the pandemic.

In Uganda, Fr. Deogratius Kiibi Kateregga was arrested March 29 for celebrating Mass at St Joseph’s Catholic Parish in Mpigi, Uganda. There were reportedly at least 15 Catholics in attendance at the Mass.

The priest is well-known in Uganda, and came to national notoriety after a televised 2018 sermon at the memorial Mass for a Ugandan musician, Mowzey Radio, who died from injuries sustained in a bar fight. 

Local officials said the priest was arrested along with seven other Catholics and was detained at the Mpigi police station.

“He was found preaching in the church in contravention of the presidential directives,” said Herbert Nuwagaba, the Mpigi District Police Commander.

“We want him to tell us why he is doing this," Godfrey Matovu, the Mpigi District Internal Security Officer, told the Daily Monitor.

The priest was released after parishioners protested on his behalf at the police station, according to local media reports.

On March 18, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni suspended religious and cultural gatherings for at least 32 days in an attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19. Uganda currently has 30 cases of the coronavirus.

He's Doing a Bang-Up Job Already, So Why Not?

CNA Staff, Mar 30, 2020 / 10:00 am (CNA).- New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Friday, March 27 threatened to “permanently” shut down houses of worship that continue to hold public services in violation of the city’s ban on gatherings of any size. 

The mayor cited a "small number of religious communities, specific churches and specific synagogues,” that are continuing to hold religious services despite a prohibition on anyone being within six feet of a person they do not live with. The restrictions were made in an attempt to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, which has infected thousands of New Yorkers and has killed over 1,000 people in the state.  

Mayor Warren Wilhelm, Jr, AKA Bill De Blasio

De Blasio warned that if these communities were found to be holding religious services, “our enforcement agents will have no choice but to shut down those services.” 

The religious congregations would also be subject to other punishments for continued defiance of the stay-at-home order, de Blasio added. This “additional action” that would be taken includes fines, as well as “potentially closing the building permanently.”

Let's see what the first amendment to the United States Constitution has to say about that....

 
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Good Advice From the Christians at Chick-fil-A

An Act of Spiritual Communion

An Act of Spiritual Communion

My Jesus, I believe that Thou art present in the Blessed Sacrament. I love Thee above all things and I desire Thee in my soul. Since I cannot now receive Thee sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. As though Thou wert already there, I embrace Thee and unite myself wholly to Thee; permit not that I should ever be separated from Thee. Amen.

Gesù mio, io credo che sei realmente presente nel Santissimo Sacramento. Ti amo sopra ogni cosa e ti desidero nell’ anima mia. Poiché ora non posso riceverti sacramentalmente, vieni almeno spiritualmente nel mio cuore. Come già venuto, io ti abbraccio e tutto mi unisco a te; non permettere che mi abbia mai a separare da te. Così sia.

I'm Too Smart to be a Bishop

 This is stupid on stilts. Shame on you, Bishop Rozanski!

 

CINO

Washington D.C., Mar 27, 2020 / 08:51 pm (CNA).- After rescinding a controversial policy concerning sacramental anointing of the sick, the bishop of Springfield, Massachusetts told priests Friday afternoon that anointing of the sick is “suspended” within the Diocese of Springfield.
Earlier this week, Bishop Mitchell Rozanski authorized a change to norms for the sacrament of the anointing of the sick, permitting a nurse, rather than a priest, to conduct the physical anointing, which is an essential part of the sacrament.

“I am allowing the assigned Catholic hospital chaplains, standing outside a patient's room or away from their bedside, to dab a cotton swab with Holy Oil and then allow a nurse to enter the patient's room and administer the oil,” Rozanski told priests in an email March 25. 

On Friday afternoon the diocese told CNA it had rescinded that policy.

In fact, Rozanski emailed Springfield priests Friday afternoon explaining that “After further discussion and review, I am rescinding my previous directive and temporarily suspending the Anointing of the Sick in all instances.” 

The sacramental anointing of the sick is conferred upon those Catholics who are in danger of death.

In Contrast, There Have Been 8 China Flu Deaths in MISSOURI

 This is an amazing story.

St. Louis, Mo., Mar 25, 2020 / 01:30 pm (CNA).- In the basement of St. Francis Xavier College Church on the campus of Saint Louis University stands a statue of the Blessed Mother and the Child Jesus.

Cut from plain white stone, the statue stands smaller-than-life on a pedestal across from a small chapel. It bears some obvious signs of age: the fingers on the child’s hand, extended in blessing, have eroded away, and the corner of Mary’s lips displays a darkened blemish. It appears, on first sight, rather unremarkable.

Unremarkable, that is, until one learns its place in the history of the school.

Weirdly, the Bishop KEPT THE CHURCHES OPEN!

By May 1849, the situation had grown dire. A letter from Fr. Pierre-Jean De Smet, S.J., then second-in-command of the local Jesuit province, records that in that month, prayers against the calamity were “said every evening in our churches and novenas said in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.” Among these churches was St. Francis Xavier.

WOW.

 The official death toll for the city from cholera that year stands at 5,547. The actual number is almost certainly far higher due to the inexactitude of many records and the fact that many of the dead were buried outside the city proper. Many estimates, Gordon said, place the actual number between 7,000 and 8,000. Either way, it amounts to a sizable fraction of the 77,000 population in the city.


With students back at the school, they were all of them safe from the effects of cholera, and all priests remained in good health despite their constant ministry to the sick.
The epidemic that had claimed around a tenth of the population of the city and wreaked havoc across the world had not crept into campus walls. The student body remained whole, and none of the Jesuits had not fallen sick despite their vigorous ministry to the infirm.

The Death Cult Rolls On

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz entered a stay-at-home executive order that will deepen the destructive economic impact of our current shutdown. The stated purpose of the order is to slow the spread of the Wuhan virus: “Recent developments, including the presence of community spread in Minnesota, the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases both globally and in Minnesota, and the first COVID-19 related death in our state, require Minnesota to take additional proactive measures to slow the spread of this pandemic. Slowing the community spread of COVID-19 is critical to ensuring that our healthcare facilities remain able to accommodate those who require intensive medical intervention.”

The order is premised on modeling performed by state and University of Minnesota public health experts. According to the modeling as reported by the Star Tribune, “up to 2.4 million Minnesotans could become infected with COVID-19[.]” Further, “researchers roughly calculated that 74,000 Minnesotans would have died if no community mitigation measures had been taken, including limitations on crowd sizes and closing schools, restaurants and bars.”

The implication is that we have been “doing nothing.” We have been “doing something” for the past few weeks. A full set of the governor’s executive orders is accessible here. Among those insulated from the new regime established by Walz’s order are “[p]roviders of, and workers supporting, reproductive health care,” i.e., abortion services — in the interest of protecting life, of course. 

So how many babies are aborted in Minnesota every year? Just short of 10,000.

I am Too Smart to be a Bishop

London, England, Mar 24, 2020 / 11:30 am (CNA).- The bishops of the United Kingdom have ordered the closure of all Catholic churches, even though they were exempted from shuttering by the countrywide stay-at-home order.
 

St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Norwich, England

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued the lockdown directive on Monday evening. The rules restrict when and for what purpose someone is permitted to leave their home; these four reasons include shopping for necessities, exercise, medical needs, and traveling to and from work for jobs deemed essential. 

Houses of worship were specifically exempted from the stay-at-home order, and the guidance provides that “places of worship should remain open for solitary prayer” despite the suspension of public religious services.

Going beyond the government guidance, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) made the decision to close all churches to the public until further notice.
“Following on from the PM's message last night, all churches must close and remain closed,” said Cardinal Vincent Nichols on Tuesday.  “It is essential that we all follow this instruction, painful and difficult though it is. As our churches remain closed, let us open our hearts even wider,” he said.

Pachamama, PLEASE FORGIVE US!

ROME — Pope Francis told a Spanish journalist Sunday that nature never forgives and the coronavirus pandemic is nature’s cry for humans to take better care of creation.

Asked by a Spanish journalist via Skype whether the COVID-19 pandemic is nature’s way of taking “revenge” on humanity, the pontiff suggested that nature is calling for attention.

 “There’s a saying, which you have heard: ‘God always forgives. We sometimes forgive. Nature never forgives,’” the pope said. “Fires, earthquakes … nature is throwing a tantrum so that we will take care of her.”

The Party of Death

Restaurants and bars have closed; major sporting events have been canceled, with parts of the playing season called off.  Small businesses have been locked down, threatening their solvency along with the material support of the families that depend on these businesses.

In this adamant conviction about the saving of human lives, there has not been a flicker of doubt even among the talking heads of the liberal media. They don’t seem to doubt that the overriding purpose is to save lives, of the young and healthy, as well of people who are older and at the edge of their lives.

Danse Macabre by Michael Wolgemut, 1493 [Duchess Anna Amalia Library, Weimar, Germany]

The commentators are apparently willing to save the lives of people they don’t know, and so they cannot know that all of these people are equally deserving of their concern.  The mandate to protect human life is evidently cast over everyone, even people the media find repugnant, and the only rationale can be that these are the lives of human beings. 

By now many of my readers know where this has been heading:  If the overriding commitment is to protect human life, in all conditions and all ages, how could the same liberal commentators show not the least concern for the killing of around 860,000 small, innocent human beings every year in this country in abortions?

There, they stand back not merely with indifference, but with rapturous celebration of the “right” to kill in that way for one’s own self-interest.

That the contradiction has not broken in on them is a reflection of something that has gone deeply dysfunctional in what used to be thought a staple of liberal education: some elementary practice in reasoning about matters of moral consequence in a principled way.

Aristotle well understood that this kind of exercise might have little appeal to people who are more interested in doing rather than knowing. But as he recognized in the Ethics, “the defect is not due to lack of years but to living the kind of life which is a succession of unrelated emotional experiences.”

Our "Catholic" Senator gets a shout-out...

In my last column, I recalled the matter of the Born-Alive Survivors of Abortion Act, making its way finally to the floor of the Senate.  In opposing that bill, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois offered an impassioned concern for the higher rate of “infant mortality” among black newborns.  And yet he surely had to know that in cities like Chicago and New York the abortions of black children have often exceeded the live births.

Durbin reflected the same obtuseness I’ve been noting here for the liberal political class in the crisis over the virus.

Too Bad Cardinal Burke is Not the Pope

“In the past, in fact, governments have understood, above all, the importance of the faith, prayer and worship of the people to overcome a pestilence,” he said, but the advance of secularism meant this understanding no longer exists.

“We cannot simply accept the determinations of secular governments, which would treat the worship of God in the same manner as going to a restaurant or to an athletic conference,” the cardinal added, while underscoring the importance of “those objective encounters with God, who is in our midst to restore health and peace.”  

Burke called upon fellow bishops and priests to explain to secular leaders “the necessity of Catholics to pray and worship in their churches,” as well as to “go in procession through the streets and ways, asking God’s blessing upon His people who suffer so intensely.” 

It is important that civil authorities understand the importance that places of worship have in times of national crisis, the cardinal said. And the cardinal suggested that churches could take similar steps to other essential public institutions which remain open, including grocery stores and hospitals. 

“Many of our churches and chapels are very large,” said Burke. “They permit a group of the faithful to gather for prayer and worship without violating the requirements of ‘social distance.’” 

It Takes a Jesuit To Misread the Law

Vatican City, Mar 20, 2020 / 11:05 am (CNA).- Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, has said that the coronavirus pandemic may justify the use of general absolution, in extraordinary circumstances, for Catholics unable to go to individual confession.

The Apostolic Penitentiary in Rome is responsible for issues touching the sacrament of penance and the seal of confession.

“The seriousness of the current circumstances requires reflection on the urgency and centrality of the sacrament of Reconciliation, together with some necessary clarifications, both for the lay faithful and for the ministers called to celebrate the sacrament,” Cardinal Piacenza wrote in the formal note from the penitentiary, published March 20.

 What does Canon Law say about this?

Can. 960 Individual and integral confession and absolution constitute the only ordinary means by which a member of the faithful conscious of grave sin is reconciled with God and the Church. Only physical or moral impossibility excuses from confession of this type; in such a case reconciliation can be obtained by other means.

Can. 961 §1. Absolution cannot be imparted in a general manner to many penitents at once without previous individual confession unless:

1/ danger of death is imminent and there is insufficient time for the priest or priests to hear the confessions of the individual penitents;

2/ there is grave necessity, that is, when in view of the number of penitents, there are not enough confessors available to hear the confessions of individuals properly within a suitable period of time in such a way that the penitents are forced to be deprived for a long while of sacramental grace or holy communion through no fault of their own. Sufficient necessity is not considered to exist when confessors cannot be present due only to the large number of penitents such as can occur on some great feast or pilgrimage.

The Jesuit Bishop of Rome is not helping:

 
Seeking to bring God’s mercy and consolation to people everywhere during the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis has authorized the granting of a plenary indulgence under specific conditions to all the faithful who are victims of coronavirus, as well as to their family members, health workers, and all others who care for them, including those who simply pray for them.
He has also reminded bishops and other pastors throughout the world of the possibility of granting “general absolution” to the faithful, “without prior individual confession,” in situations such as the present emergency, especially in zones most badly hit by the crisis.

Lex Iniusta Non Est Lex

The Canon Law Made Easy site is asked if  Bishops may cancel Mass. Her response emphasizes the difference between granting dispensation and cancelling Mass.The site does not permit copying and pasting things, so go to it and read the whole thing. It is inspiring.

Here's my take away:

"To be blunt - if our parish clergy aren't at the parish to celebrate Mass, administer the sacraments, and otherwise tend to the spiritual needs of the faithful, then what are they there for?"

And this:


"Make no mistake, obeying an unjust and illegal order is not virtuous."

I guess instead of going to Mass on Sunday, I will stand at the window waiving a peace sign to everyone.

 

Get Out the Pez Dispensers!

 Got this news today:


At 9:00 Sunday morning, Father Uriel will be live streaming Mass on the St. Mary's Church Facebook page.

At 9:30, he will distribute the Body of Christ, drive-thru style, at St. Mary's Church.

At 10:30, he will distribute the Body of Christ, drive style, in the parking lot of St. Joseph Church. Enter from Centennial Street, between the church and Casa St. Joseph.

 

 

Auburn, KY – Due to skyrocketing interest and unprecedented demand, First Lutheran Church is adding a second communion drive through window and offering extended hours this Christmas season.

“That whole hour long church thing just seemed a little inefficient,” said Pastor Charles Franklin. “Now, instead of being forced to endure painfully awkward sermons, dirge-like organ playing, and stunted conversation during the fellowship hour, our members have the option to just take drive through communion.”

The new pilot program has exploded with popularity. The premise is simple: using a drive through window connected to the church sacristy, members can receive absolution from sins, the printed sermon, and even the Lord’s Supper! In exchange for a $100 donation, members can experience all the benefits of an hour long worship service in one two minute visit – without ever having to leave the comfort of their car.

FUNDRAISER!

Knights with Bikes

Vancouver, Canada, Mar 6, 2020 / 08:19 pm (CNA).- A Vancouver-based bicycling charity broke a long-standing partnership with a local Knights of Columbus group this week and rejected their donations of bikes over the Knight’s “anti-LGBTQ+” beliefs, The B.C. Catholic reported.

“I’m sad that religious intolerance seems to be getting in the way of getting bikes to poor people,” Graham Darling, the spokesman for the local Knights council, told The B.C. Catholic. 

Obvious Lesbian Hater with Bicycle

The PEDAL Society is a non-profit that recycles and refurbishes used bicycles, and also provides education in bike mechanics to the community. Darling said the society called to let him know that the organization would no longer accept bikes donated by the Knights because the group is “anti-LGBTQ+”.

The Knights had been donating bicycles in partnership with the organization since 2006, and Darling said that “no issues have ever arisen” in that time.

The Death Cult Kills Another Career

 Next time a Democrat complains about the President's reaction to the Chinese Virus, we should point out how anti-life they are.

Chicago, Ill., Mar 19, 2020 / 11:00 am (CNA).- Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) conceded his primary race on Wednesday, saying that he stood by his pro-life principles even if they led to his defeat.  
“There was one issue that loomed especially large in this campaign, the fact that I am pro-life,” Lipinski, a Catholic eight-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives, told reporters on Wednesday as primary election results showed him more than 2,400 votes behind his challenger Marie Newman.

“Over the years I’ve watched many other politicians succumb to pressure and change their position on this issue,” he said, noting that his pro-life stance was based upon his Catholic faith and “on science, which shows us that life begins at conception.”

“I could never give up protecting the most vulnerable human beings in the world, simply to win an election,” Lipinski said.

“My faith teaches—and the Democratic Party preaches—that we should serve everyone, especially the most vulnerable,” he said.


“To stand in solidarity with the vulnerable is to become vulnerable. There is no higher calling for anyone. But politicians don’t like to be vulnerable.”

Lipinski, representing Illinois’ third congressional district on Chicago’s south side and suburbs, is recognized as the last reliably pro-life Democrat in the House.

In recent years, he joined Republicans in supporting a “pain-capable” 20-week abortion ban, a bill to mandate care for babies who survive botched abortions, and legislation to strip Planned Parenthood of federal funds.

Pachamama, Protect Us!

The Diocese of Belleville has suspended all public Masses effective immediately.
The cancellation of those services will remain in effect until further notice, the Rev. Msgr. John T. Myler, spokesman for the diocese, said Tuesday.

The diocese oversees about 70,000 Catholics in the 28 southernmost counties in Illinois, along with 108 parishes and 29 schools.

Myler said a letter from Bishop Edward Braxton will be released Wednesday morning, and that it will provide more details about the closings, as well as information about issues such as weddings, funerals and confessions.

 

Dr. Braxton

 Doctor Braxton said,  "There is nothing more important to the Catholic Church than your physical health. It is way more important than your spiritual health. If there was ever a time for people to go to Church it is not during a crisis of any kind. The fact that only 6 people in the Diocese have contracted the virus and none have died is irrelevant.

I think cancelling all Masses will remind people how unimportant going to Mass on Sunday is, and will help us recruit more priests. May Pachamama watch over us."

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

WHo the Heck is in Charge Here?

Rome, Italy, Mar 12, 2020 / 01:15 pm (CNA).- The vicar general of Rome, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, announced Thursday the closure of all churches in the diocese through April 3
.
Since March 9 public Masses have been canceled throughout the diocese, but churches had remained open for personal prayer, and some had held Eucharistic adoration or confession.

Starting from the decree's publication March 12, entrance to the parish and other churches of Rome is forbidden to the general public and to lay Catholics. 

Has anyone informed the Bishop of Rome?

Kill 'Em All!

Washington D.C., Mar 9, 2020 / 04:00 pm (CNA).- If elected president, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) would use his Medicare for all policy to increase access to abortion nationwide, and roll back limits on state funding for the procedure, his campaign announced on Saturday.

“Bernie believes abortion is a constitutional right, period,” says the opening of his campaign’s “Reproductive Health Care and Justice for All” plan, published on his website March 7. 

 The Vermont senator is one of three candidates remaining in the race for the Democratic nomination for president. If elected, Sanders’ campaining said he would move to overturn the Hyde Amendment, which prevents federal funding from going to abortion services. Abortion and other reproductive health services “will be provided free at the point of service,” along with contraception. 

 42,000 babies were killed by abortions in Illinois last year. The corona virus has killed a total of 36 Americans.

You Mean Like We Did During the Swine Flu? Or the Black Plague?

Seattle, Wash., Mar 11, 2020 / 05:45 pm (CNA).- The Archdiocese of Seattle will indefinitely suspend public Masses in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has left at least 31 dead in Washington, along with 375 people in the state who have tested positive for the virus.

“I want to acknowledge the best science that is out there, that basically says despite our best efforts, this epidemic is going to continue to spread, that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be doing everything we possibly can to restrict the spread of this virus and of this epidemic,” Archbishop Paul Etienne said in a video released Wednesday afternoon.

“So I am going to ask that all of our parishes in western Washington, in the Archdiocese of Seattle, effective today, suspend the celebration publicly of the Eucharist.”

Good on ya, Bishop Kurtz!


Louisville, Ky., Mar 11, 2020 / 04:32 pm (CNA).- Kentucky’s Governor Andy Beshear on Wednesday encouraged churches to cancel their services in fear of the spreading coronavirus. The Catholic archdiocese in the state does not plan to cancel Masses this Sunday.

On March 11, the governor announced that the eight patients with COVID-19 in the state were "stable and doing well” but stressed that the number of infected will likely increase.
"That number is expected to grow," Beshear said, WDRB reported. "We expect to see more cases. We are prepared to see more cases." 

According to the Archdiocese of Louisville, the state’s bishops have been in contact with the Department of Health and Wellness and discussed prevention methods with each other and local pastors. However, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz said he will not cancel Masses.


“With the information I have now, I will not be calling for a diocesan-wide cancellation of daily or weekend Masses,” said Kurtz, in a letter to parish priests.

“We will ask pastors to encourage those who are ill or have symptoms to stay home as an act of Christian charity for their fellow parishioners. … Pastors will be asked to publicize times for Mass of the Air, which is available through a variety of platforms around the Archdiocese,” said an archdiocesan statement.

The statement emphasized the importance of the Eucharist to parishioners and the Church, especially during times of difficulty. It said, though, parishioners who feel vulnerable and afraid may exercise individual discretion.

"Can We be Required to Receive Communion in the Hand, Becauase of the Virus?"

 From Canon Law Made Easy comes the answer:

"Absolutely not:".

[92.] Although each of the faithful always has the right to receive Holy Communion on the tongue, at his choice,[178] if any communicant should wish to receive the Sacrament in the hand, in areas where the Bishops’ Conference with the recognitio of the Apostolic See has given permission, the sacred host is to be administered to him or her. However, special care should be taken to ensure that the host is consumed by the communicant in the presence of the minister, so that no one goes away carrying the Eucharistic species in his hand. If there is a risk of profanation, then Holy Communion should not be given in the hand to the faithful.[179]

https://canonlawmadeeasy.com/2020/03/12/communion-in-the-hand-virus/