The Catholic Weekly 17 May 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 16 17, May, 2020 WORLD This is not just: bishops Out of isolation, artist creates icon of healing Re-openings vary for Europe’s churches French Church speaks out against a seeming double standard WHEN WORD came that resi- dents in his US state were be- ing asked to stay home and the Archdiocese of Chicago suspended public Masses in mid-March, Chicago-based iconographer Joseph Mal- ham was at loose ends, like so many others. He decided to use the time to create, and the result is a 3-foot-by-4-foot icon of Christ the Healer, an image he completed in just about three weeks. “Like the rest of the world, I thought, ‘I can sit around listening to my own fears and anxieties and uncertainties or I can do something creative,’” said Malham. “That’s when I came up with doing this for the sufferers of COVID-19.” The US has been devastat- ed by the coronavirus with a death toll, in percentage terms, many times higher than in other countries. The icon is intended to comfort not just those who are ill or who have loved ones who are ill or have died. It’s also for all those suffering financially or emotionally, those isolated from friends and family mem- bers and those who put their own health at risk to care for those who are sick, Malham said. He counts himself among that number, as the work he does creating icons for parish- es and other institutions has dried up and the art restora- tion jobs are all gone. “Then I think about the parishes, and whether they’ll have the wherewithal to com- mission something when they come out of this,” Malham said. At the same time, it’s be- come impossible to get some of the materials he usually uses, so everything in the icon comes from supplies he had on hand. The board that forms the base is a piece of oak he found while cleaning out the parish garage. Because he could not get the gesso he usually uses, HERE IS a roundup of what some European countries had decided as of May 7: l The French government announced on 28 April it would begin a gradual easing of restrictions starting on 11 May 11, but churches will not be able to resume public litur- gies until at least 2 June (see story at left) . According to government directives, places of worship can stay open as they are now and funerals can be celebrat- ed in churches and cemeter- ies, but with no more than 20 people present. l In Switzerland, the Catholic bishops’ conference issued guidelines on 27 April on the norms to be followed ALTHOUGH FRANCE began ‘Phase 2’ of the easing of coro- navirus restrictions, starting on 11 May, public celebration of Mass was not part of the list of activities permitted as an- nounced by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe in a 28 April address to the French Parlia- ment. Before the announcement, Catholics around the nation voiced pleas for the govern- ment to reconsider its prohi- bitions against the Church. Once the announcement was made, however, the decision to exclude the Church’s con- cerns aroused a general outcry at every level of the Catholic world in France. Many French bishops have expressed strong reactions, of- ten indignant. Before the announcement, France’s bishops present- ed a detailed safety plan for churches to prevent the spread of the virus. An opinion column signed by a 130 priests was pub- lished three days before the government announcement, encouraging President Em- manuel Macron to authorise the Church to resume public celebration of Mass on 11May. “We asknomore, but no less than others,” the priests wrote. “We are not asking for a total resumptionof our celebrations without any discernment or prudence, but we’re asking to be trusted to set up and live a progressive ease of lockdown, following stages, while totally respecting the sanitary rules.” The government announce- ment came as a heavy blow to the faithful, who will miss the celebration of the Ascension and Pentecost if this decision remains in effect. “It is just like if we were a bunch of kids who can’t put something together,” Arch- bishop of Paris Michel Aupet- it said in a 29 April interview, expressing his “extreme disap- pointment.” “Something was not re- spected here,” he said. Bishop Matthieu Rougé of the Diocese of Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine) said that the most striking and saddening aspect of the controversy is that Philippe announced that liturgical resumptionwould be allowed three weeks after the reopening of many other activ- ities in the country — and that he did so without ever having responded to the bishops’ ¾ ¾ Michelle Martin ¾ ¾ Solène Tadié The icon of “Christ the Healer” by Joe Malham. IMAGE: CNS PHOTO/COURTESY JOE MALHAMVIA CHICAGO CATHOLIC he coated the board in plain white paint. Since he had no gold leaf, the icon is highlighted with gold paint. “I’m not striving for any- thing that is perfect or beauti- ful in a technical sense,” Mal- ham said. “I think it’s the most genuine icon I’ve ever done.” Its message, he said, is a plea for help, but a plea made to Jesus in hope rather than fear. That’s also the tone of a prayer that accompanies the icon that was composed by Auxiliary Bishop Mark Barto- sic of Chicago. The first half of the prayer calls on Jesus who sees what when church services were set to open to the public starting on 8 June. l In Germany, dioceses were able to decide on the date to open churches for public worship after a six- week lockdown. The earliest date was 20 April with other dioceses staggering their start dates until 10 May. Each diocese established guidelines with direction from the bishops’ conference. l In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson outlined plans to partially lift its lockdown on 10 May but Catholic churches remained closed. A statement from the Bish- ops of England andWales said proposed plan. “The Catho- lic Church in France wants a responsible ecclesial ease of lockdown, at the pace of the rest of the society, and we pre- sented a very rigorous plan in terms of distance between the faithful inside churches, at the entrance and exit, during pro- cessions, proposing liturgical adaptations and the possibil- ity of wearing masks,” Bishop Rougé said. In a widely publicised in- terview a few days earlier, Bishop Rougé lamented a “lack of respect towards be- lievers” by the government. Indeed, while food mar- kets, shops and public trans- portation will resume their normal activity and schools began progressively reopen- ing beginning on 11 May, it is still unclear why places of worship represent a greater risk for French citizens. “It is foolish to think that consumers are more respon- sible than the faithful, and that contamination would be stronger in churches, while supermarkets and garden stores are already open, and that we are about to send children back to school,” Bishop Bernard Ginoux of Montauban, in southwestern France, told the US National Catholic Register . The difference in treatment between the various realities in the country induced many Catholic leaders to speak out, including those who are usu- ally reluctant to get involved in national controversies, such as Archbishop Robert Le Gall of Toulouse, who said French authorities had com- mitted an injustice and an in- fringement on the freedom of worship. ncregister.com we cannot. “It’s the idea that Christ sees to the bottom of everything,” Bishop Bartosic said. “Something that seems so opaque and dark to us is not opaque and dark to Jesus. It’s to trust that we don’t have to see to the bottomof it because he does. “Day by day, we have to do what they tell us: Wash our hands, maintain social dis- tance, take care of the poor and the sick. But we have to trust in Christ to see the bigger picture.” Part of that trust is under- standing that the nature of hu- man existence hasn’t changed from six months ago, Bishop Bartosic said. People depend- ed on God for everything then, and people depend on God now. “We always stand in need of healing,” Bishop Bartosic said. “Even when we’re not in a pandemic. We don’t always realise it until there’s a crisis. What we’re asking for now is what we should ask for every day of our life.” Malham said he hopes people contemplate the icon and pray the prayer during the Easter season, noting that it can be one more thing that is drawing Catholics together in a time when everyone is staying apart. - CNS Catholic churches remain closed to the public until fur- ther notice. However they said plan- ning is underway for the re-opening of Catholic churches when restrictions are eased. While “there is no substi- tute for Catholics being able to physically attend and par- ticipate in the celebration of the Mass and the other sacra- ments,” said the statement, “it is right that the Catholic com- munity fulfils its role in con- tributing to the preservation of life and the common good of society.” l In Ireland, the Catholic Church together with leaders of the nation’s main Chris- tian communities, released a joint statement on 4 May after discussing the future reopen- ing of churches and places of worship, saying they look forward to the reopening of churches. l In Italy, the public will be allowed to be present for liturgical celebrations starting on 18 May. Among the norms that must be respected: members of the public must wear a fa- cial mask inside the church; avoid any form of assembly throughout the structure; and maintain a five-foot distance from each other. Individuals must not par- ticipate if they have a fever or flu-like symptoms. - CNS We are not ask- ing for a total resumption of our celebrations without any dis- cernment or prudence, but we’re asking to be trusted to set up and live a progressive ease of lockdown ... while totally respecting the sanitary rules.” Open letter by French priests