Morality and Self Isolation

[Yeoman]

This weekend I happened to watch an episode of the discovery channels’ Alaska: The Last Frontier, which is focuses on the Kilcher family out of Homer Alaska (they are not Catholics). That area of Alaska is not as remote as some others, being south of Anchorage on the Kenai peninsula, but it got me thinking about something.

Back in the 70s John McPhee published a book called Coming Into the Country about people living in the Alaska out back. Some of them lived way out back, basically by themselves. And in the 18th and 19th Century (and even in the early 20th Century) there were a fair number of individual Catholics or Catholic families that also did. I suppose this is true for Canada and Australia as well.

What’s the moral situation involved in that? If we as Catholics have certain obligations towards the Church, what circumstances apply to people who have self isolated far from an actual church?

 

[tafan]

A topic that I have been interested in also. I am curious to hear of other’s views. In what circumstances can one morally place themselves in where they know they will not have access to the sacraments, to the point of missing SUnday obligation?

 

[Yeoman]

Indeed I can see a lot of ways that this might otherwise occur, other than the examples I gave. For example, if a person took a very prolonged job in a non Christian country, or even a Christian country where Catholicism was rare. In such an occupation it might be months before a person could go to Mass.

 

[TheRealJuliane]

Interesting question. Your first scenario, where a family has specifically moved to an isolated location, would seem to me to be deliberately cutting oneself and one’s family out of the Body of Christ. Not just the Eucharist, but also BEING the Body of Christ. How can we affect the world if we are not IN the world?

Now, the second scenario, where someone takes a job, say, somewhere in the Middle East where there are no Catholic churches…That’s a little different. Still not ideal, but if a temporary situation, perhaps not as grave. But still not ideal. Being cut off from the grace of the Eucharist, as well as a community of other Catholics, could affect one’s spiritual condition.

Although I have heard that even in the most Muslim of countries, there are underground and “house” churches…still very difficult to take that kind of risk…

 

[Yeoman]

Interesting question. Your first scenario, where a family has specifically moved to an isolated location, would seem to me to be deliberately cutting oneself and one’s family out of the Body of Christ. Not just the Eucharist, but also BEING the Body of Christ. How can we affect the world if we are not IN the world?

Now, the second scenario, where someone takes a job, say, somewhere in the Middle East where there are no Catholic churches…That’s a little different. Still not ideal, but if a temporary situation, perhaps not as grave. But still not ideal. Being cut off from the grace of the Eucharist, as well as a community of other Catholics, could affect one’s spiritual condition.

Would that really be different? It might only be different in terms of perception, with the reality being the same. Or perhaps it really is different, due to the intended duration.

Although I have heard that even in the most Muslim of countries, there are underground and “house” churches…still very difficult to take that kind of risk…

Yes, and you might put the other Catholics at risk there. I wonder what a person’s duty in those regards would be?