What about the salvation of souls?
An astute woman who has written for The Catholic Thing just sent me this:
I don’t know if you read [Washington D.C.] Archbishop [Wilton] Gregory’s official statement in the coronavirus section of the archdiocesan website about suspending public Masses. I am bringing this to your attention (if you haven’t seen it) not because of the decision, which can be argued about either way, but because of the kind of slip of the mask which is all too tiresomely familiar with official statements from Catholic churchmen nowadays: [emphasis added]
“We are aware of the rapidly developing district and state guidelines regarding the coronavirus. My number one priority as your Archbishop is to ensure the safety and health of all who attend our Masses, the children in our schools, and those we welcome through our outreach and services. Please know that this decision does not come lightly to close our schools or cancel Masses.”
Did you get his number one priority as Archbishop? And no one flagged that when he or someone else wrote it, or told him he should qualify that a bit and include something about care of souls and such. They don’t believe – they keep letting that out all the time.
She’s absolutely right. It’s precisely in times like these, when people are making large public statements, that their fundamental assumptions are revealed.
Read more at the Catholic Thing