Pope tells priests to go out and meet the coronavirus sick

  • Thread starter Thread starter mdgspencer
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Well, our disagreement is not going to change anything anyway.

So – you go with that argument. We can reconvene in a few months and compare notes then.

One final question: Do you currently have enough priests in your parish / diocese to say Masses, administer the sacraments, etc? If you do, then your situation is truly blessed.
 
ricmat said:
We can reconvene in a few months and compare notes then.
Click to expand...
That’s my point. I am not talking about what might happen in the next 6 months, I am talking about what is happening right now.
ricmat said:
Do you currently have enough priests
Click to expand...
In my Parish there are 4 priests and over 21,000 registered parishioners. Is that enough priests per capita? I can’t say.
 
Currently we have 50,000 registered parishioners, and 2 priests, one of which is retired.
 
@ricmat

I think the idea that priests/nurses/doctors are going to drop like flies is already highly irrational fear to begin with.

Secondly, if I had to choose between a Church with many priests that doesn’t care for the sick and the dying and the vulnerable and a Church with few priests that does, I would take the later a thousand times over, and I’m pretty sure Jesus would too. And it’s not just clergy that are called to corporal and spiritual works of mercy: it is everybody. Priests, of course, are distinct in that they can hear Confessions and do Anointing of the Sick.
 
Last edited:
It is actually what th church has always done. We are always the last to leave disaster zones. It the times of leprosy colonies, priest were practically the only ones that entered. Being that we all need comfort in difficult times and that God indeed protects his people on missions, I think it is a beautiful thing not to be discouraged.
 
TK421 said:
I think the idea that priests/nurses/doctors are going to drop like flies is already highly irrational fear to begin with.
Click to expand...
I never said that.
TK421 said:
Secondly, if I had to choose between a Church with many priests that doesn’t care for the sick and the dying and the vulnerable and a Church with few priests that does, I would take the later a thousand times over, and I’m pretty sure Jesus would too. And it’s not just clergy that are called to corporal and spiritual works of mercy: it is everybody. Priests, of course, are distinct in that they can hear Confessions and do Anointing of the Sick.
Click to expand...
And Mass.

In emergency situations, there is a process called triage. Does that mean that Doctors/nurses etc do not love everybody equally? No of course not, they love them all.
Does that mean that they treat all in exactly the same way? No. If you don’t understand why, look up triage.
 
Patri said:
It is actually what th church has always done. We are always the last to leave disaster zones. It the times of leprosy colonies, priest were practically the only ones that entered. Being that we all need comfort in difficult times and that God indeed protects his people on missions
Click to expand...
Yes, St. Damian being the most well known.

But a leper colony was total quarantine, not “go in, fix it, come out, go back to your normal job” St Damian died on the job. Of leprosy. We NEED our priests to "go back to your normal job.’ The loss of even a few has a huge impact on many many people.
Patri said:
I think it is a beautiful thing not to be discouraged.
Click to expand...
Self sacrifice is a beautiful thing. I agree. Self sacrifice that hurts more people than it helps, I don’t agree.
 
Last edited:
@ricmat

The Mass isn’t a magical incantation. Our ability to profit from the Sacraments is dependent upon our cooperation with grace, and God can provide in any and all circumstances. Large groups of Catholics have gone with scarce access to the Mass on various occasions: in different periods of state persecutions throughout the early Church, during violent revolutions, anti-clerical revolutions, occupations from foreign powers, or groups of Christians being cut off from Rome.

It isn’t just about having a Mass to go to, although that is obviously what everybody wants. It’s about obeying Christ and following Christ. The sick and the elderly and the vulnerable aren’t a liability. They are treasures.

Here is the list of when people tended to the sick and the dying or those who supported the sick and the dying in hazardous situations:

The Pentateuch
The Prophets
The Gospel
The Acts of the Apostles
The Desert Fathers
The Fathers of Nicea-Constantinople
The Medieval Doctors
The Fathers of Trent
The Fathers of Vatican 2
Our current Holy Father
 
Last edited:
I’m already spending 50 hours per week on 5 ministries.

Have you ever volunteered to provide compassion and comfort to a Coronavirus patient?
 
I don’t know if things are made easier for the Church in Italy, but on my side of the border it’s simply impossible to minister to the sick.

Elderly homes are closed, no Mass or other religious services, no visits even from family members.

Hospitals have forbidden visits too, the only authorized exceptions being the parents of hospitalized children and the close family of a dying person. Clergy has no access to the sick.
 
ThomasMT said:
It’s in the young everywhere… the elderly are simply the most vulnerable to the most serious symptoms. This is nothing new. With respect, what is the point of these types of statements other than to stoke panic?
Click to expand...
excuse me?
 
The Lord will not leave us without priests. He can shield them from illness. He can restore them to health if they do get sick. He can raise up new priests to replace them if they die. The priests should not fear to give Last Rites, but rather fear that the Lord will find them asleep on the watch if they do not.
 
Our local hospital just released new guidelines for visitors.

Each patient is allowed just one visitor. For their entire stay. Which means that if I am there, I can list my visitor as my husband OR my son Or my pastor.

I can’t have more than one.

And no, they don’t mean at a time. Just one may be listed for your entire stay. You may not switch people out and in.
 
The priests will need those special medical wears. I halted my regular visit to homeless people in Tokyo for now. I hope those professionals in the city govt cares for the infected among the homeless. I think one needs a good training and equipments to visit the sick.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top