San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone on Friday expressed his gratitude and appreciation for priests who found creative ways to circumvent Covid-19 lockdown orders in order to offer Mass and provide the Holy Eucharist to Catholics during the height of the pandemic response.
Cordileone, who publicly and vigorously pushed back against the top-down COVID church closures in 2020 as a violation of the right to worship, made the remarks during a May 26 ceremony of ordination to the Sacred Priesthood at the North American Martyrs Church in Lincoln, Nebraska. During the ceremony, three deacons of Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary, a Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) seminary in Denton, Nebraska, were ordained to the priesthood.
The FSSP is a priestly community devoted to the Traditional Latin Mass and sacraments.
In his comments, Archbishop Cordileone noted that “it is the Eucharist that binds us together in the communion of God’s love and grace, which enables us to carry on the mission of Our Lord, which He has entrusted to His Church.”
“Without the Eucharist we are nothing,” he said. “Consequently, without the priesthood, we are nothing.”
“We now happily have the Covid pandemic behind us,” he continued. “But still fresh in our people’s minds is the sadness that so many of them experienced from being deprived of the Eucharist.”
Wryly observing that the fight to “Free the Mass” in San Francisco amid California’s draconian Covid lockdown rules “would take a separate two-hour lecture,” Cordileone hailed the FSSP priests who bucked the mandates.
“I know that many of you, who are priests of the Priestly Fraternity, found ways to celebrate Mass for your people, even clandestinely,” he said. “I am grateful to you for that, and proud of you for doing so.”
“Common to all of us, though, is the powerful lesson that the pandemic taught of what life is like without the Eucharist,” Cordileone added.
He said the separation of the people from the Mass and the Eucharist during Covid could be seen as a milder parallel with the sufferings of Polish-American Catholic missionary Priest Walter Ciszek, who was imprisoned under the Communist regime in the Soviet Union. Cordileone said Ciszek rejoiced when he was transferred to a labor camp in Siberia because there he could once more offer the Mass.
….“So, see, this is wiping out the image of God from the face of the Earth. So, it’s not kind of rhetoric or poetic exaggeration to call it demonic; it literally is,” he said. “So we have to engage. We have to engage in other ways too: political activism and educational … All that, but most of all through our spiritual arms.”
Full story at LifeSiteNews.
Anyone who doesn’t like Nick in the Disney story wearing women’s clothes but likes the men in the pic of this story wearing grandma’s tacky couch fabric on their vestments needs to think hard about consistency.
Solid colors on liturgical vestments, please. No effeminate floral patterns.
You might do some research of historic vestment patterns before making such a comment.
If they were worn long ago, they were ugly then too, as they are ugly now.
Amazing that you think this is a mic drop comment.
Even you dissidents offer sub par mediocre zingers. #ClownWorld
You must secretly think it’s pretty good because you don’t have an effective, pointed rejoinder, just an ad hominem with an adolescent hashtag. LOL
It seems you lack an understanding of vestments. For example, look at the vestments worn by Saint Junipero Serra and other missionary priests in the 18th century. See below. Or, another example would be our Eastern Catholic or Eastern Orthodox vestments. To call a sacred vestment “tacky couch fabric” is irreverent. (And, what’s your issue with “grandma?”)
https://missionsantaines.org/vestments
I hope that helps.
I agree that it looks effeminate, and I don’t understand why a man would want to wear such fabric.
It looks effeminate to your eyes, at this time and place. Emperors and Roman soldiers wore colorful tunics and togas (and most of them were not effeminate). Styles change over centuries. A man comfortable with and confident in his masculinity doesn’t worry about wearing vestments. He can even where (mostly plain) rose, almost pink, vestments during Advent and Lent. (They are to remind Catholics of the joy even in the times of penance.) And, I’ve seen fathers where pink shirts on occasions honoring their daughters. I suggest withholding judgment based on our personal preferences.
Because those fabrics were the most expensive, labor intensive, complex patterns/designs available, in other words – the finest in which to glorify God in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Ditto for lace – it was all hand-made and took hours and hours and high skill to make. In certain epochs, men wore satin, lace, powdered wigs, breeches, high heel shoes with fancy buckles, times and fashions change, God changes not.
Women are not allowed to wear these.
Yes, refusing to abide by stupid government dictates is a Catholic Value.
No.
Obedience to lawful authority is from the 4th Commandment.
Romans 13:1
So, the Church should’ve stopped meeting under Communism, when ordered to do so?
Saints Peter and Paul should’ve stopped preaching when ordered to do so?
An unelected health czar (or a governor with a bachelor’s degree in political science) should be able to tell the archbishop that he cannot have more than 10 persons in a cathedral that seats 2,400?
You are correct, generally, we are to obey government authority. But, there are contexts and limits. When Saint Peter and the other Apostles were ordered not to teach about Jesus, they replied, “We must obey God rather than man.” (Acts 5:29)
Lawful.
You know the Faith.
You were just being a devil’s advocate I guess.
CCC 1903
Authority is exercised legitimately only when it seeks the common good of the group concerned and if it employs morally licit means to attain it. If rulers were to enact unjust laws or take measures contrary to the moral order, such arrangements would not be binding in conscience. In such a case, “authority breaks down completely and results in shameful abuse.”
The mandates were not lawful, we refuse to be “good Germans”. 4th Commandment, your interpretation is faulty.
I said nothing about the mandates at all.
I responded to the false teaching that refusing to abide by stupid government dictates is a Catholic Value.
Be a strong Catholic who upholds what is right and stop hiding behind an absurd notion that Catholics are beholden to idiocy.
If you are going to make up your own religion, call it something other than Catholic. That one is taken.
Yes, God bless the FSSP, the Institute of Christ the King and the Ordinary Mass priests who found ways to keep churches open and serve the Mass. I know I am going to get “kicked in the teeth” for saying this, but thanks to the SSPX for their Angelus Press 1962 Missal, which got me through the changes in the outdoor Traditional Masses until I found the St. Andrew Daily Missal which was smaller for my hands and whose leaves did not blow in the wind while outside under tents. Makes one emphasize a little more with the Israelites who worshipped all those years in the desert without the temple.
Great post. Some of our parishes here, carry the 1962 Roman Missal from Angelus Press, and sell it to parishioners attending the old Latin Mass, at a reduced price. Angelus Press has many other good Catholic books. Many orders of contemplative nuns handcraft liturgical vestments, following ancient patterns, rich with holy religious symbols. The vestments are blessed before being put to use for the Church. No one should ever criticize these holy vestments, worn by our priests. I recall, many, many years ago, a young Dominican priest wearing his big, black cappa magna over his white Dominican habit for the first time, explaining to parishioners all about it. He was very proud of his order, and all their unique customs. And we all were very proud of him. I must confess, that the first time my sister and I saw the new post-Conciliar chasuble, worn by our pastor for the New Mass in April of 1969, we both suppressed a giggle– what was this— some sort of Protestant vestment? And then, no altar boys, no Prayers at the Foot of the Altar (etc.) everything changed — and next, to see the priest turn and face the people, with a Pauline greeting? What was this? He is supposed to face God. But we got over it quickly, with respect, although the Novus Ordo was a horrible shock, that day. We had some foreign students visiting, from France, and they were just horrified. We all vowed to pray for the return someday, of our beautiful Latin Mass. But I said, “don’t get your hopes up, knowing the Catholic Church, and its complicated politics– we may never again see the old the Latin Mass, or even a vernacular version of it, especially in our lifetimes. But I will pray for this intention, anyway.” I told the college foreign students how sorry I was, that their first post-Vatican II Mass had to happen far from home, in America. They were terribly upset with it, and so depressed.
A few days after the first Novus Ordo Mass at our parish, I was helping a priest with something in the church– and stubbed my toe on the new “table altar,” now in use for the Novus Ordo Mass. It was placed in front of the beautiful High Altar. That was many long years ago. Today, there is much interest in the lovely, old Latin Tridentine Mass, while many Catholics are now content with just attending the New Mass. Life goes on.
I misspelled “empathize” in my post June 3 at 9:19 pm.
Thank God for the two SSPX priests (one in CA and one in NJ) who sued their respective leftist governors over the Mass restrictions and won at the SCOTUS. They secured the freedom to worship for all Americans. Meanwhile, the Novus Ordo bishops and clergy were largely silent accomplices to the government (and in fact, they shuttered their Masses before the government mandated it).
I certainly wouldn’t praise the beloved SSPX for this or for anything. It is not the court of earthly law that matters in the end, but the Heavenly Court in the Kingdom. In that Court, the beloved SSPX would be found most guilty of disobedience and dissent.
ummm. jon, you praise the SSPX every time you call them “beloved”.
Nah. You’re reading too much into it. There are people Our Lord called us to love, but not necessarily to praise.
You should stop your mockery of the “beloved” SSPX and other religious groups you hate. I challenge you to read a book by Abp. Lefebvre, such as his autobiography, and make an intellectually objective report on it.
Don’t do it. Books by schismatics have errors, some of them so subtle that it will take an act of the Lord (Holy Spirit) and Mary’s intercession plus your Guardian Angel’s guidance for you to avoid falling for them.
Give them a break and don’t expose yourself.
Lefebvre died excommunicated and his soul is now in perdition. Enough said.
Abp. Lefebvre was known as an outstanding Catechist, in years of service to the Church, before making the decision to return to the old Latin Mass. I bet reading a book by him about his life might be very interesting for you. At least, you would then know why you object to him so strongly. Many fine clerics who did not return to the old Latin Mass as he did, had similar views, after the Council ended in 1965. All of them were highly intelligent and deeply devoted to the Catholic Faith– unlike many top clerics of today’s Church. Several clerics who had previously been silenced by the Church, were suddenly asked to take top leadership roles in Vatican II– such as Jesuit “Americanist” Fr. John Courtney Murray. Previously an “outcast,” with the near-heretical “Americanist” philosophy in his books, Murray was suddenly the “top man, most highly wanted,” for the Council. The Vatican is quite fickle, worldly and political at times—- that is a reality which you must accept. The souls of these good, now-deceased clerics are all probably with God, contrary to your misguided ideas. They all were good clerics, unlike many clerics of today, who are very corrupt, morally– and heretical, too! And one point you must admit to– is that important parts of Vatican II actually do contradict some important Church teachings that were previously accepted firmly, down through the centuries, prior to the Council. The Catholic Church is not always 100% honest in what they do, at top levels. Everyone knows that. You just have to live with it– nothing you can do about it. Wait until the nutty Synod on Synodality resumes, this Fall– and drives everyone crazy.
This is why you invent your own religion.
Get back to the Catholic Church if you were a Catholic.
If you were raised in a schismatic or other denomination, learn the Catholic Faith.
You need a good Catholic education and lots of experience with the Catholic Church to really understand it. And always stand up for Christ’s true teachings. You may be shocked to find out, that some clerics actually reject Him, and are just full of huge religious academic degrees, but are mere Church bureaucrats, not true Christians. Many of them just sway with the times, preferring to be populist, not true servants of Christ. Sometimes there are good clerics on both sides of a question, both true Christians, at heart. Complicated, but true. The cleric who was prefect of the Holy Office (now called Dicastery of the Faith), Cardinal Ottaviani, at the time of Vatican II, was not in favor of it, and voted “no” to everything. Abp. Fulton J. Sheen found this to be humorous. There also were other Cardinals not in favor of Pope St. John XXIII to hold Vatican II. St. Padre Pio desired to be a faithful son of the Church, but he humbly requested permission from Rome– which he was granted– to only say the holy Latin Tridentine Mass, never the Novus Ordo Mass. Sounds contradictory? Vatican II is long over with and done. We have to abide by it. It is absolutely necessary to have faith in Christ’s true teachings. But always, there will be Church practices that may be changed. For example– Pope St. Pius X was heavily against the heresies of Modernism, at the turn of the 20th century. Yet, his successor, Pope Benedict XV, softened all of this– and did away with much of Pope St. Pius X’s ideas. Pope Francis totally changed many Church practices of his two predecessors, Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. It is informative to read all of what these different clerics have to say. But in the end, we must be faithful to Christ and comply with the practices of the Church of our time, too– as best we can.
In my comment of June 8th at 5:37 pm, I meant to say, “Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith.” The name has been changed several times.
People, hindsight is 50/50. However, during the lockdown/mandates, it was widely reported that there were people getting sick and many of them were dying. What was the prudent measure then? The very thing that the “Novus Ordo bishops and priests” were doing: complying with the known health care directives, for the safety and health of people. In other words, for the common good. As long as the directives were not draconian, most dioceses and parishes reasonably complied.
Therefore, in light of the widely known and reported facts about Covid during the lockdowns, a person can interpret the policies of the beloved SSPX and FSSP in a different way: these people couldn’t care less for the physical health and safety of their congregants. They’d rather you continue going to their chapels, give your contribution, so they can keep going financially, at the risk of your physical safety. It’s all about money people.
That’s certainly a way of interpreting their actions. Nothing brave nor noble in it.
Maybe money. They would say it’s faith but it may have been superstition.
It’s not a licit Mass and all the priests are suspended and are not supposed to be saying public Masses so I don’t know.
The Eucharist is the Real Presence but since it is not part of the Catholic Church that limits it.
I always think of it as if the Wise Men kidnapped Jesus and made Mary and Joseph come visit him.
It is not how God wants it.
SSPX not FSSP.
FSSP Masses are valid and licit.
SSPX Masses are valid, but not licit. The current pope deemed their Masses and Confessions licit, for a little while, then changed his mind.
No. Their Masses have never been licit. He gave faculties for their priests to absolve sins in Confession.
How does one “make money” exposing one’s self to others if the risk posed by the disease is so high as to be considered absolute?
Where’s your respect for this Archbishop’s stance on Covid? Your constant derision of posters ( i.e., “you people”) for disrespecting the hierarchy is hypocrisy.
For the record Cordileone complied with healthcare directives during the lockdown and encouraged his parishes to do so, but at the same time he rightfully complained about the state’s interference on people’s right to worship. Therefore, Cordileone’s stance on Covid is not in dispute, contrary to “Axiom’s” comment.
Jon, it wasn’t about money, it was about the sacraments being available in a great time of need. Appreciate as Archbishop Cordileone does, the priests who continued to serve their flocks in time of trouble.
You avoid my main point that the entire Covid lockdown revealed that there are people out there such as the beloved SSPX and others who’d disregard people’s lives and safety, disregarding reasonable guidelines. I believe it’s about money, because admit it folks, there’s no diocese out there that they can lean on to bail them out. They’re on their own.
The people who we should appreciate more are those parishes that found creative ways to minister to the flock without risking their health and safety. That excludes people like the beloved SSPX and others.
Not avoiding your point, just disagree with you. Again.
Did Tarsicius “disregard people’s lives and safety”? Or was it “about the money”?
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14461a.htm
If I was one of his priests that he told to shut down and here he is praising priests who clandestinely did the Eucharist, I would feel very betrayed.
I would feel that way too. But then I thought: this story is from LifeSite News, an unofficial mouthpiece for the disobedient “traditionalists”. I haven’t seen a recording of the ordination nor a transcript of the homily. So, I wouldn’t put it past this outfit to misrepresent the Archbishop’s words.
I had not noticed that and you are right. I could not access the video.
Missouri inmate Michael Tisius was executed Tuesday evening for shooting and killing two jailers more than two decades ago during a failed attempt to help a pal escape from a rural jail.
Praise God. Justice served. Life imprisonment is not sufficient guarantee of protecting innocent lives in some cases, such as this one.
“prison”, don’t be uncouth. There is a time and place for everything. This article is not about the death penalty, but about disobedient “traditionalists” disregarding the safety and health of the public.
We don’t believe in Karma. We believe in God, He is just to the just and merciful to the merciful
No, jon. LifeSiteNews is certainly not a traditionalist website. Their founders are Canadians, and they cover the Catholic news, and stand up for Catholic teaching. That’s all.
LifeSite New is not “traditionalist’? Have you read the multiple articles they have trying to rehabilitate the memory of the excommunicate Lefebvre?
It’s awful.
In New York the government was transferring older people who did not have COVID into elder care places where the older people already had COVID, when they could have housed them someplace else. That was part of the problem.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/06/04/first-lockdown-prevented-1700-deaths-landmark-study-finds/
It would be great if at least one bishop would apologize for being a coward during the lockdown. Instead the evangelical churches showed more fortitude and fought.
There is a rich history behind liturgical vestments, which are holy, going all the way back to the time of Christ. The Swiss Guard uniforms have an interesting history. It is believed that their original uniforms were designed by Michaelangelo, in 1500. Today’s “updated” Swiss Guard uniforms were designed and implemented in 1914, over 100 years ago. Our Church has a wonderful, rich history.
But the church is dying in America. Go to mass and look around at all the grey hair.
The Catholic Church is not dying in America. There are thousands of new converts in RCIA programs each year, and people of all ages attend Masses in many different places. Times may change, with even atheists in some places. But Christ is Eternal, through all the ages, until the end of time. The young Catholics are deeply involved in the Church, with the Pro Life movement, and evangelization. Many married young Catholics are raising their children in the Church. Traditional religious orders are attracting hundreds of young Catholic vocations.
Grey is right and it’s important to acknowledge the truth of the Church’s situation. Her numbers are severely diminished, yet Her Glory remains and there will always be a remnant, small but present.
The True Church, of true believers– much fewer than just the numbers of people who show up for Mass– will endure with Christ, forever.
On the cover of the most recent edition of the “Catholic Voice,” in large type, it was noted that the Diocese of Oakland was blessed with a total of 1,496 new Catholics, in the past year. Incredible.
In related news, Johnson & Johnson’s covid “vaccine” was revoked by the FDA over blood clot concerns. Dupes who took the clot shot prematurely because they believed the lie that it was safe have to live with it now in their bodies. The covid shots were untested, unproven, and ineffective.