Abp. of Turin Cesare Nosiglia criticized for closing churches
Posted on 03/03/2020 12:06:03 PM PST by ebb tide
ROME (ChurchMilitant.com) - Catholics deprived of Mass are berating the bishops for "cowardice" in the face of the coronavirus crisis, while clergy afraid of being disciplined are celebrating the Eucharist "clandestinely" to small groups of the faithful in Northern Italy.
In an open letter to the archbishop of Turin, Catholic campaigner Angela Ciconte shames the bishops of "all the dioceses of Northern Italy" for "abandoning" and "betraying" the faithful and "submitting as cowards to political correctness" by shutting down churches in the region while "mosques and shopping centers" remain open.
"It is strange to hear of a church that has recently defined itself as an outgoing church and field hospital — to see it transform even faster than the infection itself into a self-closed church for fear of health," Ciconte, organizer of the "Rosary of Reparation" against the gay pride parade in Turin, writes to Abp. Cesare Nosiglia.
Ciconte is also protesting the "unconditional" imposition of communion in the hands instead of on the tongue and appealing to the archbishop to withdraw his directive.
Abp. of Turin Cesare Nosiglia criticized for closing churches
Medical doctor Silvana De Mari, another voice challenging the acquiescence of the hierarchy to the fear of infection, is demanding the re-opening of churches in the region.
"The bars are open and the churches are closed. If our priests are too terrified to keep them open, we will keep them open," she warns.
The physician highlights the irony of the bishops' response: "In the event of an epidemic, the first gesture of elementary prudence and common sense is to close the borders." Instead, the "new Church 3.0" wants open borders but closed churches. "The new Church 3.0 imposes on Italians an immigration of people who are often tested positive for scabies, tuberculosis and AIDS, but are they terrorized by coronavirus?" she asks.
"Closing churches during an epidemic is an atheistic gesture, so we note that a good part of the new Church 3.0 is completely atheist. Completely atheist and completely aligned with the elites who want the destruction of the Christian European civilization, but above all of Italy which is its heart," Dr. Mari adds.
Appealing to Catholics to "go to church, kneel down, ask for forgiveness of all our infinite sins," the medic says "the worst thing that can happen with coronavirus is to die."
But "the worst thing that can happen with closed churches is to live without God's will," which is "a hundred thousand times worse than death," she observes.
It is an underground Mass, celebrated in disobedience to the bishop's dictates but in obedience to the mandate of Christ.Tweet
"Someone should explain to bishops and cardinals that the red and purple they wear are not colors for fun, but symbolize the blood of martyrdom. Christianity is a religion of people who are not afraid of death and pain," writes the doctor comparing the situation with martyrdom in Nigeria where Christians are burned alive in their churches.
Sources in Northern Italy told Church Militant of "clandestine" Masses being celebrated in the Lombardy region of Italy, mainly in the Novus Ordo rite.
Andrea Riccardi, Silvana De Mari and Angela Ciconte
"As always, the dispositions are ambiguous: some churches were closed, some were left open and Mass was suspended, some hosted Masses not intended for 'the people,' but if someone found themselves inside they didn't throw you out. Some priests celebrated without people, others took advantage and didn't celebrate at all," a local Catholic confirmed.
Church Militant is not revealing the locations to protect the identity of the priests.
Former Vatican journalist Aldo Maria Valli also confirmed his attendance at "an underground Mass, celebrated in disobedience to the bishop's dictates but in obedience to the mandate of Christ."
"It happened this way centuries ago in England, when, faced with the king's orders, the episcopate obeyed, with the sole exception of the bishop of a small diocese, Rochester, under Bp. John Fisher," Valli wrote.
He elaborated poignantly:
A Mass celebrated "softly, without songs, so as not to draw attention to the outside; a Mass like those celebrated in Mexico during the Cristiada, like those celebrated beyond the Iron Curtain before the fall of communism. A touching Mass, celebrated by the priest with intensity and attended by the small flock with awareness. We are here to receive the true Body of Christ. We are here kneeling in front of a tabernacle, and not in an armchair in front of a television screen.
Catholic families told Church Militant they crossed the border driving into the Canton of Ticino in Switzerland to attend Mass in a number of local parishes in the region.
Meanwhile, Italian historian Andrea Riccardi — a Catholic — is drawing upon the research of American sociologist Rodney Stark — an agnostic — to remind Catholics how the early Church responded to epidemics with faith, not fear.
The worst thing that can happen with closed churches is to live without God's will ... a hundred thousand times worse than death from coronavirus.Tweet
Lamenting that the closure of the churches has left him with "some bitterness," Prof. Riccardi uses Stark's findings to explains "how the behavior of Christians in the epidemics was decisive: they did not flee like pagans out of the cities."
"Motivated by faith, they (early Christians) visited each other and supported each other, prayed together, buried the dead. So much so that their survival rate was higher than the pagans. Times are changing, but recent measures on coronavirus seem to trivialize the space of the Church, revealing the mentality of the authorities," he writes in La Stampa.
Santa Maria Annunciata in Chiesa Rossa, Milan, on Sunday
Riccardi pours scorn on the archbishop of Turin's quoting a government directive stating that "religious services are considered superfluous and therefore not exempt from restrictive measures." The fact that Mass is now considered "superfluous" should stir Catholics to deep reflection, the historian remarks.
He cites the example of St. Charles Borromeo, who during the 1576–77 plague in Milan, "an epidemic much more serious than the coronavirus ... fought with bare hands: visited the sick, prayed with the people and barefoot led a large procession praying for the end of the scourge."
Not even at the time of the bombing and the Second World War were the churches closed. "Rather, the people gathered confidently in them, despite the dangers of bombs and massacres," the professor lamented.
The French-owned church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, famous for three of Caravaggio's paintings, will open Wednesday, following its closure by the French embassy after a French priest from the church was taken ill. The priest is now in France and has been cleared of the threat of infection, a statement from the French embassy announced.
Ping
I don’t generally post or even read Catholic Church related threads, but this seems a little too Iran for this day and age in the West.
[Backs away, hands raised]
These numbers include Mainland China and All Others globally
90,937 declared cases
03,117 declared deceased
48,054 declared recovered
51,171 declared resolved
39,766 remaining active cases
The mortality rate at this time was deceased / deceased + recovered = 6.09%.
That is a fluid number that is now dropping at the rate of about 0.25% per day.
Due to the rapid increase in cases outside China, and the short period they
have had to reach the recovery phase, this mortality rate is slowing in it's
retreat. It may reach a point soon where it will start climbing again.
On 03/02 93.29% of all new cases were being reported outside of Mainland
China. At the same time, the outside China active cases only cover 24.23% of
remaining active cases. For the short term, recoveries from Mainland China
will overshadow the fresh cases outside Mainland China, but this active outside
Mainland China slice of the pie is growing by 4.4% per day.
51,171 cases have been decleared resolved, and that represents 56.271% of all
declared cases to date. (resolved = deceased or recovered)
Active cases fell by 1,164 today (03/02). This number fluctuates each day. So
far it is still declining. There are now 39,766 active cases. That is 19,043
cases fewer than the highest count of active cases at 15:13 PST on 02/17/2020.
That figure was 58,809.
The number of people who recovered today (03/02), was 2,959.
The big days of China's delcared cases are now over two weeks past, but don't
forget that over 75% of all active cases, still remain in Mainland China. This
means that China's numbers will still dominate when it comes to recoveries that
offset the rapidly growning numbers outside China. When it becomes near 50/50,
we may see a large active case growth figure return globally. Then again we
may see a large recovery figure develop outside Mainland China that will supress
the potential for active cases to mushroom numerically. We'll see.
These numbers address the cases outside of Mailand China.
10,786 declared cases
00,173 declared deceased
00,792 declared recovered
00,965 declared resolved
09,821 remaining active cases
At this point only 11.86% of all declared cases exist outside Mainland China.
(eod: 03/02)
Here's what that figure was going back in two day increments. (End Of Day figures
02/29 08.23%
02/27 05.48%
02/25 03.63%
02/23 02.78%
02/21 01.77%
The current mortality rate of deceased / deceased + recovered is 18.60%. That
figure is grosely high, and should not be used for purposes of extrapolation
of what lies ahead. It takes serveral weeks for people to be infected, and recover.
That gives the deaths a head start. As in the large body of cases above, this
mortality rate will decline, and will pick up speed as the recovery rate outside
Mainland China reaches it's full potential. That will take another week or so.
There are now 9,821 active cases outside of Mainland China. The number of
active cases grew 1,514 cases today, and that was a rate of 18.43%. (eod 03/02)
There are now 78 nations declaring cases within their borders. 1+
Three nations of the 77 nations or entities outside of Mainland China
account for over 75% of all active cases outside China at this time.
4,812 44.61% South Korea
2,036 18.88% Italy
1,501 13.92% Iran
77.41% of all cases ourside of China...
These are clearly three break-out naitons. The next possible hot spots:
France
Germany
Netherlands
Norway
Spain
Switzerland
I did not include the United States in this list, but it is on my radar. It hasn't
doubled it's cases in short order, but it is showing steady growth. It does have
the potential to show up on the next list of who to watch.
(based not only on current numbers, but the velocity at which they are adding new
numbers. ex. A nation with few numbers, can grow them exponentially if they are
currently demonstrating significant percentage growth already.)
One other rather interesting thing I noticed over the last five days or so...
I noticed a lot of new nations swarming to report their first cases. Some of these
nations weren't what you'd expect to see experiencing a lot of international travel.
It almost looks like a concerted effort to involve as many nations as possible in
short order.
Last 120 hours:
01: Azerbaijan
02: Belarus
03: Lithwania
04: Netherlands
05: New Zealand
06: Nigeria
07: San Martine
Last 96 hours:
08: Ireland
09: Mexico
10: Monaco
Last 72 hours:
11: Ecuador
12: Luxumbourg
13: Qatar
Last 48 hours:
14: Armenia<
15: Czeck Republic
16: Dominican Prepublic
17: Iceland
18: Indonesia
Last 24 hours:
19: Andorra
20: Argentina
21: Jordan
22: Latvia
23: Morocco
24: Portugal
25: Saudi Arabia
26: Senegal
27: Ukraine
Next thing you know they will be using those Priest holes in the UK that were used centuries ago.
Offer mass over TV. Preferably one pre 2nd Vat council latin with the narrator doing a voice over of the prayers the celebrant is saying during the ongoing ceremony in the local language.
Here’s the Orthodox position, which also applies to Holy Water:
https://www.oca.org/reflections/fr.-john-breck/disease-and-holy-communion
(This article mentions an earlier pandemic, but applies to COVID-19 also):
Where is Iran??
What is a Priest hole?
.
I had never heard of this until I was watching a show on Acorn TV that had a mansion with a Priest Hole.
Catholics were so hated that anyone wanting to practice had to have a place for the Priest to hide.
Quote of the day.
Iran and two other nations are specifically mentioned starting in paragraph eight after this heading.
These numbers address the cases outside of Mainland China.
You’ll note that Iran is one of three nations that make up 77.41% of all cases outside Mainland China.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3821409/posts?page=4#4
All this fuss over a flu...Bring Out Your Dead
Post to me or FReep mail to be on/off the Bring Out Your Dead ping list.
The purpose of the “Bring Out Your Dead” ping list (formerly the “Ebola” ping list) is very early warning of emerging pandemics, as such it has a high false positive rate.
So far the false positive rate is 100%.
At some point we may well have a high mortality pandemic, and likely as not the “Bring Out Your Dead” threads will miss the beginning entirely.
*sigh* Such is life, and death...
If a quarantine saves just one child's life, it's worth it.
Lord Obama would say sneeze into your sleeve and ‘all good’
Despite the traditional Orthodox view that I mentioned in an earlier post, the Romanian Orthodox Church is taking “proper precautions” against the coronavirus:
Thanks so much, RummyChick, for your replies.
Thanks much.
Thanks so much, RummyChick, for your replies.
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