Associated Press report March 10th:
From the Catholick Herald: On March 19th at 9.00-pm Catholicks around the world were asked to pray the rosary (asking god for a special favour ) in this case ..quote..'For protection from the virus' God clearly isn't listening. It went out on a Catholick TV station and online.
The Pope is urging priests to 'be brave'..I say 'reckless' and make contact with corvid-19-hit victims with the caveat that they 'take precautions' This is to show solidarity with health workers who, I'd imagine, would rather they self-isolated. The sentiment might be noble but decidedly misplaced.
He wants people quote. "to pray for the priests to have the courage to go out and go to the sick people to bring the strength of God's word and the Eucharist and accompany the health workers and volunteers in the work they are doing" Brilliant. I'd imagine the last thing a patient (other than a believer) would want is a priest god-bothering them not to mention the health workers and volunteers themselves. The part of the ceremony (the wine/Chalice) has been banned recognising its potential to transmit the virus.It's probably a racing certainty rather than a potential risk. It's rather confusing that he should be saying this on March 10th because days earlier ,March 2nd The Catholick church,in the form of the Bishops Conference-England and Wales have told priest to withdrew the Chalice. Scotland has already banned Communion. Also suspended is the sprinkling 'holy water' over people. I'll resist..
At least the Church of England has suspended services altogether. I think there's now a ban in the UK on church services generally
So, whilst others are taking precautions not so the Greek Orthodox church which will will continue with 'as you were'. Greece was low on victim numbers and no deaths, fast forward to now and it's 966 cases and 28 deaths [Worldometer] Hopefully, worshippers will see sense, clearly absent from the priests, and call time on the practice. This is what the ruling body (The Holy Synod)of this church has said. "For the members of the Church attending the Holy Eucharist certainly cannot be a cause of transmission". It's a stupid practice in normal times re health issues, anyway. So, they wipe the chalice..with the same small cloth obviously not aware of the many books written on the subject by Florence Nightingale from 1854 (Crimea War hospital observations). Rev Fr Muksuris wrote on the Orthodox Research Institutes website ..March 2nd..so, very recently. Paraphrased.. "The red wine used is typically high in alcohol which means that the chances of bacteria or germs surviving is minimal...in any event the the invisible microbes that are transmitted from the previous recipient are harmless". He goes on to say that priests drink from the chalice too and there's never been any health issues.Better not to speak too soon. I haven't read anything since that shows that this situation has changed. As ever,I stand to be corrected but putting that aside it's what was being said that left me bewildered .
Here's one (of many ) reasons why I despair of religion. I'm not sure who I despair of most. Religious leaders or their folllowers.Here's a good example in what the Rev Muksuri went on to say.." If we truly believe in God, we know quite well that God would never allow harm to come to us,most especially in the reception of Holy Communion" So, he has to ask himself what's gone wrong. Infact, across the world at least 50 priests died of the virus. I heard the back end of something a UK clergyman was saying on the radio yesterday re the virus.
" Lord,what are you trying to tell us ?" :banghead:
I was left even more bewildered when I watched the news at 6.00pm and the reporter was in Moscow. The churches are full. The reporter asked one of the worshippers if she wasn't afraid of catching the virus. "No," she said.. "You won't catch the virus in the house of god" It would be funny had it not been the case that she's a doctor.
More from the Russian Orthodox church hierarchy. (According to the RIA Novosty news agency March 25th)) The Head of the church, Patriarch Kirill said "Here is an opportunity not to think about God's wrath (re the virus)but rather about God's blessing" And what blessing would that be" . And what what silver lining has this Covid-19 got to offer ? He goes on."God is calling on our self-confident technological civilisation to understand its fragility" I'd have thought that a benign god would have a more acceptable way of letting mankind know this. A priest called Anfrei Tkachev conducted his service wearing a gas mask. .The congregation laughed at him and he took it off saying that they were right to laugh at the 'develish thing' and to switch off the tv and that would stop the virus.Sadly, he has 400,000 Youtube followers.He has also claimed that the virus was developed in some military laboratory. At least he was criticised for the gas mask stunt by one of contemporaries.
There are the purported relics of John the Baptist in St Petersburg and over a week some 70,000 people kissed them. The relics arrived there from Jerusalem for an exhibition on March 10th-17th. in a cathedral in which services were held for visitors. Russia now has a ban on gatherings of more than 5 but churches in Serbia ignore this. One Bishop in Georgia said that the government should pursue quarantine breakers not people "who wanted to be with god" .In Ukraine the police were asked to stop a service and they said they saw no crime (ie over 5 people) as the "Church is a different matter"
Remember the South Korean Shincheonji Church of Jesus..a fringe Christian group ? It has a membership of 230,000. The leader is Lee Man-hee and claims to be the Messiah. Now where have I heard that one before ? The authorities said that the members infected one another before fanning out over the country. One of the first was a 61 year old female who tested positive (initially refusing to take a hospital test) but not before she'd visited several church gatherings. At that time..March 2nd there were 3,730 cases of Covid-19 and 21 deaths and over half were members. Prosecutions of the leadership are being pursued. The leadership have apologised.
So, it's not just individuals, worldwide, that, for whatever reason, in most instances just a lack of appreciation of the seriousness of lockdowns, that are ignoring the measures worldwide but religious organisations that put their own interersts above that of the greater good. They always have sought to give themselves privilege and status.
