Coronavirus and Public Masses: An Integralist Perspective

[ioannes_pius]

Coronavirus and Public Masses: An Integralist Perspective – The Josias

In an article posted at The Josias blog, Felix de St. Vincent gives an Integralist view of the present situation where masses have been suspended by both ecclesiastical and civil authorities. Despite its brevity, it’s perhaps the best analysis I’ve seen on this matter so far.

From the article:

Does the governor have the authority to tell the bishop that the faithful cannot attend Easter Mass? Can the bishop say, when it is all over someday, “My hands were tied, a decision was made by the public authority?”

The short answer is yes…

 

[1Lord1Faith]

In my state the answer is no. Apparently there are still other religious gatherings taking place in OH. The Catholic bishops’ decision not to allow the congregation to attend Mass in OH was a voluntary one. Their hands were never tied.

 

[Freddy]

We’re restricted to groups of two people down here (Australia). Weddings can be five and funerals 10. Otherwise, stay at home. If you’re out of your home then you need a very good reason or you will be fined.

 

[CathBoy1]

Have you considered going to an EO church for Easter (if this option is available, obviously you wouldn’t be able to receive, also the EO date for Easter is different than ours) I believe in extraordinary circumstances such as these (seeing as the EO have valid sacraments) this is probably the best option.
I am in the exact same situation here in TX and seriously considering this as a possible option.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Apparently there are still other religious gatherings taking place in OH. The Catholic bishops’ decision not to allow the congregation to attend Mass in OH was a voluntary one. Their hands were never tied.

This is true. There’s some big Protestant megachurch that’s held big services despite the governor’s order.
In PA the governor’s order has a specific exemption for “religious organizations”.
We could still have Mass, but the Archbishop chose to suspend them, even before the governor came out with his order.

I would note that other Catholic religious gatherings are not banned, apart from Mass. Pastors have chosen on an individual basis whether to leave churches open or closed, or whether to make some other arrangement. If you want to go pray in one that is open, you’re expected to practice social distancing. I was in a church yesterday with about 10 other people praying in it when I was there, we just all stayed away from each other. Some churches are planning “drive up” prayer services for Holy Week where people can come and park in the parking lot of the church with their windows up and participate in some kind of group prayer.

I’m guessing the governors don’t want to get into a legal fight with some church over Constitutional rights, and are just counting on the church leaders to be good citizens and do the right things.