Olympic Athletes to Be Barred from Tokyo [Catholic] Churches Due to Covid

Crux ^ | 7/13/21 | Ines San Martin

[marshmallow]

ROME – As Tokyo readies to welcome thousands of the world’s top athletes later this month for the Olympics, the local archbishop has announced that “regrettably” no Catholic parish will be able to welcome them due to the spread of COVID-19, as the Japanese city is once again in a state of emergency.

The Olympic Games, originally scheduled for 2020, will run July 23 to Aug. 8. Close to 10,000 athletes will compete in the international multi-sport event and several thousand more in the para-Olympic games, set to begin in Aug. 24.

Though not every athlete speaks openly about their faith, there are several, including some from TeamUSA, who have referred to their Catholic faith as something they lean on, including one of the greatest female gymnasts of all times, Simone Biles, who two years ago broke the all-time record for most medals won by a gymnast at age 22. Such athletes, however, won’t be practicing that faith while they’re in Tokyo, at least in any facility run by the local church.

Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi announced his decision in a message to the faithful of Tokyo published by UCANews.com on July 12. In it, he explains that the provisions issued by the archdiocese on June 20 remain in place, while new ones were issued that will keep athletes from receiving pastoral attention from the archdiocese.

Among the restrictions that were already in place is a limited number of faithful allowed to take part of in-person celebrations, and limiting attendance at liturgical events to registered parishioners only. In addition, the elderly and the sick are encouraged to pray at home, parish meetings are to be online and there needs to be a transparent barrier between priest and the penitent during the sacrament of Confession.

[KierkegaardMAN]

Bring a Chaplain.

[ebb tide]

In Monday’s statement, Kikuchi invited athletes and those who accompany them during their time in Japan, to refrain from visiting churches, recalling that the guiding principle followed by the Church of Tokyo in the pandemic has always been “not to infect oneself and not to allow others to be infected.”

"Invited" them to "refrain from visiting churches"? What a disgraceful, inhospitable, apostate bishop. His "guiding principle" is not a Catholic principle but a secular one.

[IgnorerOfLiberals]

I bet they will still supply all of the athletes with a couple of dozen condoms though.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Wow this is terrible. :(

[CondoleezzaProtege]

24 Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. 25 Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. 26 So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; 27 but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.

- Saint Paul 1st letter to the Corinthians