My Catholic friend has strange ideas about the COVID-19 pandemic

[Michael98]

I would really appreciate people’s thoughts on this. A friend of mine who is a traditional Catholic from Indonesia was recently telling me some very questionable opinions she has about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Though it seems she agrees COVID-19 is an actual virus, she insists that the pandemic around it is a hoax invented for the purpose of creating a universal vaccine everyone will soon be forced to take. She says this vaccine will contain a microchip, and as soon as a person takes this vaccine and receives the chip, they will have the mark of the beast. She says that’s why we are being told to keep two metres apart: because the chips cannot be picked up by radio signals if they are within one meter of each other. Further, while this vaccine is being propagated, the Church will ban the traditional Latin Mass worldwide, and Catholics who wish to attend this Mass will have to do so secretly at churches outside the Church’s authority.

I have no doubt there are demonic forces that are trying to use this pandemic for evil purposes. However, my friend’s ideas seem, to put it lightly, far-fetched. What are your thoughts on this? Is any of it plausible, or is it all just fear-mongering propaganda? Have you heard these opinions expressed before? What is their source?

 

[Mythicalbio]

It’s just the usual conspiracy theory stuff. I’d just ignore it. Although I won’t be taking the vaccine ever myself. Also if the Church bans the Mass, attending it outside of the authority is at least schism.

Also this isn’t anywhere near the time of the antichrist and Mark of the beast. It’s way too soon and this virus isn’t severe enough to be worthy of apocalyptic speculation. I’ll start listening to that when we have a disease of an extreme worldwide death rate.

One of the main evils propagated by the virus is fear, being afraid is the worse thing done right now. It makes everything worse and takes away from submission to God’s providence and trust in the Divine Mercy.

 

[HomeschoolDad]

Though it seems she agrees COVID-19 is an actual virus, she insists that the pandemic around it is a hoax invented for the purpose of creating a universal vaccine everyone will soon be forced to take. She says this vaccine will contain a microchip, and as soon as a person takes this vaccine and receives the chip, they will have the mark of the beast. She says that’s why we are being told to keep two metres apart: because the chips cannot be picked up by radio signals if they are within one meter of each other. Further, while this vaccine is being propagated, the Church will ban the traditional Latin Mass worldwide, and Catholics who wish to attend this Mass will have to do so secretly at churches outside the Church’s authority.

I have no doubt there are demonic forces that are trying to use this pandemic for evil purposes. However, my friend’s ideas seem, to put it lightly, far-fetched. What are your thoughts on this? Is any of it plausible, or is it all just fear-mongering propaganda? Have you heard these opinions expressed before? What is their source?

This sounds like garden-variety far-far-right ultra-traditionalist Catholic extreme thinking. Sources would be good to have. It sounds like something that would come out of an unapproved apparition (I have one particular apparition in mind, well-known in the United States, which I don’t accept, but I can’t discuss it here, per CAF guidelines).

Don’t waste minutes of your life that you can never get back, thinking about this kind of thing. I know nobody wants to stay at home, nobody wants to give up their summer vacation (as we are being forced to do ourselves), people want to get back to Mass, but I think it’s been proven by now, those places that took a stricter line against the virus have flattened their curves and are getting back to some semblance of normal. In other places where, shall we say, the love of liberty runs deep, we are seeing some of the highest infection rates in the entire world. So where the secular authorities have been strict, they’ve saved lives. I fail to see how that is a problem.

 

[ZemD]

The vaccine/microchip idea has been around long before COVID19. Alex Jones has been ‘warning’ about it for years. I don’t think he came up with the idea but he has supported it.

I would not get a vaccine for COVID19, but not because I think there is a chip in it.

No idea where the “banning of the Latin mass” is coming from.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I personally know some Catholics and some non-Catholics who hold these sorts of crazy views. Obviously the non-Catholic is probably not going to be worrying abou Latin Mass being banned (If he even knows what it is), but all the microchip/ mark of the beast/ lack of ability to worship are also tales that some Protestants worry about.

It is not a “Catholic thing”, it is unfortunately the type of conspiracy theory that stressed and gullible people read or hear, and fall for. Anxiety can do strange things to people’s brains. Our priest just said in the homily at Mass that apparently some people will not come back to Mass because they think the end of the world is upon us. I think in some cases there may be elements of mental illness with people who believe and spread this stuff too .

Of course it’s not plausible. Pray for your friend. If she asks you what you think you can tell her nicely that you think it’s poppycock and that she should place her trust in the Lord and stop reading or watching whatever is giving her such ideas.

 

[Buks]

There seems to be a logic flaw in the theory. People would not expect to need social distance after vaccination, yet the conspirers intend to utilize social distancing due to the stated technical limitations of the chip.

 

[MrZoom]

An implanted microchip as the mark of the beast has been a common feature of Fundamentalist end time theories since at least the early '90s.

 

[HomeschoolDad]

I personally know some Catholics and some non-Catholics who hold these sorts of crazy views. Obviously the non-Catholic is probably not going to be worrying abou Latin Mass being banned (If he even knows what it is), but all the microchip/ mark of the beast/ lack of ability to worship are also tales that some Protestants worry about.

I have noticed what looks to be a certain “cross-pollination” factor regarding end-times prophecy and speculation. In fact, if it hadn’t been for the comment about the Latin Mass, I would have mistaken it for some fundamentalist fear-mongering. I am old enough to remember all the agonizing that went on over bar codes on retail products — there were people preaching that this was the Mark of the Beast.

Still, though, if they ever get to the point of requiring a chip, capsule, or what have you, to be inserted into one’s hand or forehead (not everyone has a hand, but everyone has a forehead), that would be something requiring some serious, serious questioning. To say the least.

 

[otjm]

Your friend is either extremely gullible, or is off the edge into free fall. I would not bother trying to argue with her, as this is not a matter of a rational discussion, and wading into the area of the irrational is not going to change her opinion.

A long time ago I came across an article which expanded on the issue of “friend” and “acquaintance”. The writer’s position was that we have a tendency to call people friends, when what they actually are is an acquaintance with whom we are friendly. I suspect this individual of whom you speak is the latter - an acquaintance with whom you are friendly.

I understand you may be concerned for her, and that is good; but take care to not be trying to save her from herself; the issues she is dealing with are not ones you can modify.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Still, though, if they ever get to the point of requiring a chip, capsule, or what have you, to be inserted into one’s hand or forehead (not everyone has a hand, but everyone has a forehead), that would be something requiring some serious, serious questioning. To say the least.

We are highly unlikely to get to that point in anything approaching the near future. Of course, the people who worry about this stuff will interpret just about anything as a “mark” including ordinary vaccines. I pray daily for patience and charity because it is difficult for me to watch people expending endless energy on this nonsense that could be put to better use addressing problems and issues we are having this very hour and day.

 

[OurGodIsWithUs]

Chip in a vaccine? Your friend is an idiot. It’s IMPOSSIBLE for a chip to fit in the needle! The needle is less than 0.6 mm in diameter, a size for the flu shot.

Furthermore, what powers the chip? Also, if the chip is indeed small enough, won’t it get excreted from the body? Also the body itself has electric charges. Biologically speaking, the body’s charged ions (K/Na/Cl/Ca) will dominate any signals from this teeny tiny chip, making tracking impossible. Surely Satan is smarter than that!

I repeat. Your friend is an idiot. I suggest that you cut off the friendship for your own sanity. The next thing you know he/she will tell you to jump off a bridge to avoid the (what’s it called…) the beast! The thing thats supposed to wreck the earth. Is he or she a flat-earther too? How are you even friends? I run away from such people seconds after I meet them. I’m amazed that such people exist on the face of the earth. Good grief!

 

[Rau]

Have you heard these opinions expressed before? What is their source?

Check with The writers of the X-Files series. One could also check the hospital intake in Florida and various other US cities for another perspective.

 

[Rau]

I would not get a vaccine for COVID19, but not because I think there is a chip in it.

Why not - do you consider covid-19 too low risk to bother?

 

[HomeschoolDad]

HomeschoolDad:

Still, though, if they ever get to the point of requiring a chip, capsule, or what have you, to be inserted into one’s hand or forehead (not everyone has a hand, but everyone has a forehead), that would be something requiring some serious, serious questioning. To say the least.

We are highly unlikely to get to that point in anything approaching the near future. Of course, the people who worry about this stuff will interpret just about anything as a “mark” including ordinary vaccines. I pray daily for patience and charity because it is difficult for me to watch people expending endless energy on this nonsense that could be put to better use addressing problems and issues we are having this very hour and day.

I really have to doubt that the “Mark of the Beast” prophesied in Revelation can take place in a world where millions of Christians know their Bible and would understand what was being done, and why. You would have to have a world where everyone is either ignorant of the Bible, or knows what it says and refuses to believe it. Sadly, it is evangelicals and fundamentalists — not Catholics, at least not nearly as much — out there “front and center” calling attention to what the Bible says.

 

[ZemD]

No. I consider the risk of getting a vaccine with no long term safety study too high.

 

[NevermoreLenore]

I think in some cases there may be elements of mental illness with people who believe and spread this stuff too .

I agree that for some there are elements of mental illness. I also think sometimes a person latches onto such theories because of stress. The present situation and state of the world is unstable and uncertain. In the midst of upheaval, some people embrace a conspiracy theory as a comfort because it orders the chaos, giving them answers to difficulties, offers them a solid ‘enemy’ or target to blame, alleviates personal responsibilities for the problems, and prescribes a final outcome. All of these ‘rewards’ provide something to look towards that ties all of the stressors together and offer a structure with which to view the world. This can alleviate a lot of anxiety because the person has ‘answers’, an explanation for the current situation, and a ‘probable’ outcome; it helps the person feel more in control and, for some, it is a point of pride to have ‘inside information’, especially when they believe it comes from God. People believing these ideas rarely occur in isolation, so I would guess that the comfort of a group in which to belong is also a motivating element.

Whether worldwide or personal, when met with suffering we invariably seek answers: why? what does the future hold? what can I do about it? The conspiracy theory provides answers for some people, even if those answers are implausible. I do not mean to be uncharitable, but conspiracy theories are often embraced by people with lower intelligence and critical thinking skills.

 

[NevermoreLenore]

A long time ago I came across an article which expanded on the issue of “friend” and “acquaintance”. The writer’s position was that we have a tendency to call people friends, when what they actually are is an acquaintance with whom we are friendly. I suspect this individual of whom you speak is the latter - an acquaintance with whom you are friendly.

I can count my friends on one hand. Everyone else I know are acquaintances. Perhaps it’s just an issue of semantics, but I find the distinction between a friend and an acquaintance to be very helpful.

Your friend is an idiot.

I repeat. Your friend is an idiot.

You raise some excellent questions, however they’re overshadowed by a great lack of charity.

I suggest that you cut off the friendship for your own sanity. The next thing you know he/she will tell you to jump off a bridge to avoid the (what’s it called…) the beast! The thing thats supposed to wreck the earth. Is he or she a flat-earther too? How are you even friends? I run away from such people seconds after I meet them. I’m amazed that such people exist on the face of the earth. Good grief!

It is possible to be an acquaintance, a friend, even, with someone who believes differently than you. It’s good to interact with people who have different views, even if their views are ridiculous conspiracy theories. As said above, you ask excellent questions worthy of discussion, but condescension and lack of charity effectively makes your questions rhetorical, thereby shutting down discussion.

 

[SPONP4US]

She could be right , of course.

 

[TheLittleLady]

Before microchips were reality, MOTB theories included social security numbers, debit cards and dozens of other things.

Our OPs friend is sadly caught up in teachings that are not of the Church, their roots are in fringe protestantism.

There are good books to combat these false teachings, however, as said above, when a person is deluded it is hard to present them with reason.

 

[PrayForMe]

My mother believes that stuff, too and it’s depressing to have to hear such doomsday, dystopian views of how life will unfold in the near future.

Fortunately, as others have said, it isn’t true. Don’t listen to it.