Rev. Robert Sirico: The Church’s ‘anemic response’ to COVID-19 hurts everyone

Action Institute ^ | June 29, 2020 | Rev. Ben Johnson

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Rev. Robert Sirico: The Church’s ‘anemic response’ to COVID-19 hurts everyone

The political response to COVID-19 has created an economic downturn unprecedented since the Great Depression. However, the Church’s “anemic response” has deprived the poor of spiritual solace and the Church of its vocation and vitality, said Acton Institute President and Co-founder Rev. Robert Sirico on a nationally syndicated radio interview.

“If we sit back and look at the big message of the Church, it’s, ‘We’re closed. We’ll let you know when we open again.’ And I think that’s very dangerous,” Rev. Sirico said on the June 26 episode of The Catholic Current with Fr. Robert McTeigue, S.J.

Rev. Sirico, who co-founded the Acton Institute in 1990, addressed the role the Church should play during a time of economic devastation – and how shirking this responsibility hurts both the poor and Christians themselves:

The proper role of Christian charity is to be close enough to people in need that you see Jesus Christ. If we bureaucratize this or allow others to take on that role, it’s not just the poor who suffer from it, no matter what material things they may be provided with. They will suffer because of the lack of spiritual depth, but we will suffer because of the lack of encountering the suffering Christ in the poor, Who comes to us in distressing disguises.

“By not having that,” Rev. Sirico said, “we lose our vitality.”

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Ping

[Bayard]

A Church in terror does not reflect the belief in the resurrection of the dead.

[SunkenCiv]

• Yesterday, while praying for peace and unity in our city and the protection of the Saint Louis statue, Black Lives Matter protesters started to harass, berate, and assault the Catholics that were peacefully praying.

[SunkenCiv]

• US Catholic Charity CEO: Catholic Church is Racist Because Jesus Was 'White'

[Chainmail]

I knew it had to be you.

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I knew it had to be you.

Wow!

You're omniscient, just like God.

[MurphsLaw]

Wow... 1st commandment much.....hereesy

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1st commandment much.....hereesy

Pathetic

[Chainmail]

Nothing like that: all I had to do was see that it was another crackpot article about opening up the churches to "full throttle ignore the plague" status and I knew it was you posting.

Not hard at all.

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So says the shut-ins who probably havn't been inside a church since March.

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