Shutting down churches during pandemic?

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The_Catholic_Dude

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Given the current pandemic situation with the current death rate, is it OK to completely shut down churches effectively eliminating the access to the sacraments for the faithful?
 
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Baptism, confession, last rites are available. If you need it, get it. It is better to be this way.

If you need to go to the hospital go to the priest first, since you might not get out, and he might not be let in.
 
The_Catholic_Dude said:
n the current pandemic situation with the current death rate, is it OK to completely shut down churches effectively eliminating the access to the sacraments for the faithful?
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No it’s not, it took me 2 months to get a confession and with the churches closed we wont be attending mass and any other sacraments, and closing the Church wont stop people from getting covid, they wont get covid in that particular parish but they will get covid inevitably, and when they do i pray for them to have access to confession and the last sacrament if they actualy get sick.
 
Ok. So if its not fine to shut down the sacraments now, is there a severity of a pandemic that would ever make it ok, or is access to the sacraments more important?
 
Theological question:

Do you think that God does not take the fact we’re in the middle of a global pandemic into account if we die in a state of mortal sin because we couldn’t get to confession?
 
Wouldn’t that depend on the severity of the pandemic? A common cold pandemic would probably not merit shutting down churches.
 
The_Catholic_Dude said:
Ok. So if its not fine to shut down the sacraments now, is there a severity of a pandemic that would ever make it ok, or is access to the sacraments more important?
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The way you phrase your question causes me to think of other questions, in order to better understand the context of your question.

For example, the governor of Michigan shut down many things she felt were not essential. Interestingly, she felt the ability to buy lotto tickets and have abortions were essential. So, in your mind are the sacraments essential or non-essential? @PaulinVA is right that God understands the situation we are in, however, I don’t trust government officials, who support quite godless laws, to understand the necessity of the sacraments.

To be clear: it is NOT ok for the government to “completely shut down churches.”

You should not trust elected officials to make this call, especially when they were silent about the transmission of COVID during the protests. They care about control, and their election…they do not care about your soul.
 
Maybe the answer is more frequent, smaller masses with the number of congregants limited until the health emergency is over?
 
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Texas doctors put out a list of risky activities. Going to Church (albeit a large congregation), is among the most risky:

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The_Catholic_Dude said:
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KMC:
sacraments essential or non-essential?
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I think the Sacraments are essential.
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Even when you’re dispensed?

To be fair, confession, baptism, etc… were always available at my wife’s parish. There just wasn’t Mass.
 
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You are correct in that we are dispensed (at least in my diocese) from going to mass, but dispensation does not confer grace.
 
KMC said:
You are correct in that we are dispensed (at least in my diocese) from going to mass, but dispensation does not confer grace.
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Fair enough, but the longer we ignore, or don’t take, the proper precautions the longer it’ll be before we’re open…

I know my wife isn’t going close to church until this is over, or the dispensation runs out.
 
This is absolutely correct! I went in for a routine procedure, didn’t go see the priest. My heart crapped out on the operating table. I won’t make that mistake again.
 
TC3033 said:
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KMC:
You are correct in that we are dispensed (at least in my diocese) from going to mass, but dispensation does not confer grace.
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Fair enough, but the longer we ignore, or don’t take, the proper precautions the longer it’ll be before we’re open…

I know my wife isn’t going close to church until this is over, or the dispensation runs out.
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that’s fair too. Which is I why support the bishops taking responsibility to make the decision, because they “get it,” not some godless government official.

also, I don’t think everyone is ignoring the risk of COVID (some certainly are), but there is also a balance to be struck, especially as we learn more and more. We can’t just stop everything.
 
Would love to know how they came up with some of those rankings.
 
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