Slightly elevated? The flu has a death rate of 0.002% in the US. (Source) According to this, the Coronavirus has a death rate of 209 out of 13,859, or 1.5%. A death rate that’s 750 times larger is hardly “slightly elevated.” (And note this is the US–it’s worse in some countries, most notably Italy where the death rate is at 8.3%). Even if we accept, as some have claimed, that the death rate in the US is actually lower because we haven’t been able to count people who have such mild cases they weren’t tested, you’d have to have a crazy amount of the population to be infected already for it to qualify as only “slightly elevated” compared to the flu. (not to mention that if it spreads too much, we end up with overcrowded hospitals which mean less effective medical treatment which of course ups the mortality rate)
Your research seems limited to what snapshots you can find to bash our Church. Did you not know that Spanish flu came in 3 waves over 3 years precisely because it took a while to figure out that strict isolation reduced transmission and stopped flareups.
That speaks very well of today’s bishops. Thank God for them!
Was that the last time we were given this dispensation before this?
Back then, laity were united with the bishops, and were ready, if absolutely necessary, to resist and defy government, and the secular media, if need be.
This sort of worldwide pandemic is a once in 100 year event but there’s been cause for Church closures or sporadic availability of Mass in different regions for different reasons such as during the blitz in London and around Europe during WWII. Mass vaccination has made disease epidemics a rare thing in the 20th century and beyond.babochka:
Was that the last time we were given this dispensation before this?
As an unconditionally prolife Catholic, I don’t get this double standard that is manifesting in the traditionalist sphere. Human beings are creatures endowed with such dignity that even the lives of sick and the old are as important as the young and the healthy. Personally I’ve gone to Mass every Sunday at the very least for 58 years. Like the Priests and bishops, this in not an opportunity to skip Mass and get out of ones duties. It comes from a genuine concern for lives that matter. Preventing transmission by isolation is a sacrifice and an act of charity.
When someone says they are jaded, that’s admitting they aren’t thinking clearly and objectively on this particular issue because their mind is clouded by other things.
Very well said
Many traditionalists go to the Ordinary Form and they generally refer to at ‘Novus Ordo’ also.
Agreed. I live in Brooklyn and all of NYC is being hit with this especially hard right now. I though this was overhyped until about a week ago. Since then I’m taking it extremely seriously and have sheltered in place since my job allowed us to work from home. I’m still amazed at the people cavalierly going about like nothing is wrong and making the problem worse. The quicker we unite on this the faster it will be over. Some self sacrifice is necessary. I think the problem is that they can’t immediately see the effects. I’ve lived here through the blackout, the transit strike, Sandy and people reacted because they saw the immediate effect. With this I don’t know maybe because they can’t see it, they are in denial.