The Catholic Weekly 19 April 2020

18 19, April, 2020 C omment catholicweekly.com.au When obedience can save lives A recent open letter from a group of con- cerned American Catholics calls on the bishops of that country to take steps to ensure Catholics have access to all of the sacra- ments during the coronavirus pandemic. Titled “We are an Easter people,” the message calls the sacraments the spiritual “per- sonal protective equipment” of Catholics that “enable us to be in the field hospital of the sick and the dying.” It asks the bishops to provide “safe access to the anointing of the sick” and “some form of pub- lic celebration of Mass during this time of strife and pan- demic,” and for them to “keep our churches open for prayer and adoration.” While this clearly is a cri de coeur from those who, like we, desperately miss the sac- raments during this time of global crisis, we strongly be- lieve that much of what the message advocates is ill ad- vised and, worse, could cause great harm. We should note that we do not disagree with the entire message, and we certainly understand the sentiment be- hind it. We strongly agree that the sacrament of the anoint- ing of the sick should be wide- ly available, particularly at a time when reception of oth- er sacraments isn’t possible. By nature of their celibacy, priests are “free” to serve in just such a capacity, while at the same time taking stringent precautions. With no spous- es or dependents, priests are available – and even called – to reach out to those most in need and bring themGod’s grace. That being said, these he- roic acts of love and ser- vice should be restricted to those priests outside the most vulnerable population (as deemed by age or condi- tion), and only if their bishop has deemed it to be prudent. Some US dioceses are asking priests to volunteer or have devised plans that ask a limit- ed number of young, healthy priests to dedicate them- selves to providing the anoint- ing of the sick to the grave- ly ill. During this time, that should be their only task, and they should remain isolated from others – including other priests. Though the Sacrament of Reconciliation was not dis- cussed explicitly within the message, we also believe the church and bishops should find a way to make this one- on-one sacrament available, if possible, while exercising all possible precautions. But with all due respect to Mass is live-streamed from an empty Church in Bloomington, Indianna, on 24 March, 2020. PHOTO: CNS PHOTO/KATIE RUTTER An appeal for access to the Mass is a cry from the heart. But it is not the whole of the matter either philosopher and theologian Janet Smith, who has contrib- uted many times to these pag- es and whose initiative this is, we have serious concerns about several other points contained within. Early on, the open letter raises the question of religious liberty. We, of course, agree that religious liberty needs to be upheld. But to frame questions of public health as matters of re- ligious liberty when bishops themselves have exercised their authority to restrict ac- cess to the sacraments is to create a strawman. And it’s a strawman with consequences, creating strife between lay Catholics and their bishops at the very mo- ment when the church needs to be united in prayer, suppli- cation and penance for those poor souls who are suffering and dying fromCOVID-19. Underlying the document is a view, which is misguid- ed at best, that receiving the sacraments are unalienable rights. The church’s sacra- mental theology explains that they convey Christ’s grace, “the gratuitous gift that God makes to us of his own life” ( Catechism of the Catholic Church , No. 1999). As gifts, the sacraments are given on the giver’s terms – that is, on the terms of the church. Sacraments should not be sought or received out of a sense of entitlement, and we especially should not de- mand themwhen such de- mands could lead even to death. “Obedience is better than sacrifice,” Scripture re- minds us (1 Samuel 15:22). Regarding access to the holy Eucharist more partic- ularly, this is a time of great challenge for the church and the world, and sacrifices, un- fortunately, must be made by all. Any potential distribution of holy Communion makes the presider particularly vul- nerable – both in the giving and receiving of the virus. The average age of our American priests is above 60; that places the majority of them in a “protected class” during this outbreak. There is a great danger in turning the priest into a vector of the disease by putting one man in contact with the mul- titudes, thereby becoming less a minister of the sacraments and more an angel of death. It is irresponsible to assert that we know enough about the virus to encourage, in good conscience, the sorts of decisions that could very well end up becoming matters of life and death. The supposition that we can simply wave a magic wand and make Communion available to all in the midst of this crisis is idealistic to an extreme – and, when con- sidering all the people that it puts into harm’s way, selfish at best. Some of the other pro- posals listed are unclear, but the open letter explicitly asks bishops to relax the suspen- sion of public Masses, espe- cially at Easter. But, again, to what end do we ignore the recommenda- tions of public health officials who have determined that things undoubtedly will get worse before they get better? Had the US bishops’ con- ference opted to issue nation- al guidelines or centralised pastoral guidance that could have been modified at the diocesan level, perhaps that would have helped unify Catholics across the country and soothe souls during this time of trial – even if it might not have satisfied those who drafted this letter. In the midst of this public health emergency, however, individual bishops have acted in faith, charity, justice and an overall concern for the com- mon good; they have not sim- ply taken their cue from civic leaders. Moreover, the decision to suspend public Masses in their various dioceses has cre- ated a massive financial bur- den – the consequences of which the church will be fac- ing for the foreseeable future. For it is clear that this cri- sis will leave a lasting impact on the institutional church in ways we cannot now even imagine. Furthermore, we know many people already are not taking this crisis seriously. Why embolden them further? All of us who desperately are missing the sacraments right now could be living with the consequences of this pan- demic for decades if the virus becomes widespread among our nation’s vulnerable pres- byterate. This open letter fosters fur- ther division among Catho- lics during this time of global crisis, tragedy and grief. This is a time when we should be coming together – striving for unity even without physical community. So much work has been done by so many people to unite the church during this moment. Protesting the theo- logically sound, pastoral- ly sensitive decision of those bishops who have clearly act- ed in the interest of the com- mon good is both imprudent and dangerous. We are in a time of crisis. Nobody wants to be here. No- body wants to be separated from the sacraments. Nobody wants to be separated from one another. But as an Easter people, we know that Christ is still among us, as he promised (see Mt 28:20). And we know that the risen Lord, who is not bound by the sacraments that he gives us out of his generous love, provides for the good of our souls. The magnitude of this cri- sis requires bold actions in response. In shutting down public Masses, the bishops took a bold move that will cost them dearly. But their choice was prudent and lov- ing. Because while the body of Christ in the Eucharist is most assuredly worth dying for, we should never risk killing the members of the body of Christ in order to receive it. - CNS The above editorial, “A re- sponse to ‘We are an Easter people,’” appeared on 4 April on the website of Our Sunday Visitor, a national US Catholic newspaper. For it is clear that this crisis will leave a lasting impact on the institutional church in ways we cannot now even imagine.”