Permanent crisis and religious life

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ontheway1

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The world has been under lockdown for nearly two months. Some politicians argue that this will last much longer. What does that do to our religious life. If the state of emergency we are living under becomes permanent, as some argue, what are the implications for church attendance?

If the governmetn can close churches for two months, why can’t it close them permanently, using the argument that church is dangerous to your health?
 
That would be unconstitutional in the US. In my state, it’s the bishops who have agreed to go along with the governor’s decision to avoid large gatherings, which resulted in closing Mass to the public. It will be the bishops’ decision to let the Catholic congregations gather again. My state never ordered churches to close. It was however strongly encouraged.
 
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It’s not going to become an indefinite state of affairs. The government doesn’t actually have the power to perpetuate it. I don’t mean that in a constitutional sense, I mean that this entire lockdown relies on the willing cooperation of the public. Without mobilizing the military the government can’t project the power to keep it going and mobilizing the military is a massive escalation. Most nations are not set up to project power against their own citizenry on that level.

In the US you can already see people increasingly refusing to play along. It’s not just economic reasons that some states are opening back up. A stay at home order no one listens to is in some ways worse than no stay at home order at all.
 
Irishmom2 said:
I don’t think this will happen. It may seem like it is, but it won’t last forever.
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Not many things last forever and it is likely that this will end at some point. But, here we are in May and there are no signs that the crisis will end soon.
A while back I thought that May will be the final month of our confinement, but this is likely to be extended into summer. Any predictions?
 
ontheway1 said:
A while back I thought that May will be the final month of our confinement, but this is likely to be extended into summer. Any predictions?
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I can’t predict a time frame, but broadly speaking, I think we will have greater freedom if the people are more disciplined about contacts with others (shopping, entertainment, commuting, travel) and personal hygiene (handwashing, covering coughs and sneezes, and perhaps wearing face coverings when close to others).

By freedom, I mean freedom from disease and its consequences, not freedom from government regulation. Government is not the enemy; COVID-19 is.
 
ontheway1 said:
If the [government] can close churches for two months, why can’t it close them permanently, using the argument that church is dangerous to your health?
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They can and in time will.

“Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority. It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters." - Daniel Webster.

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” - Sir John Dalberg-Acton.
 
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This. Our governor limited the size of ANY kind of gathering, not just religious. And he explicitly spoke in favor of traveling to places of worship for events that otherwise fall within gathering guidelines.
 
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