The time has come for Catholics to return to Mass in person, and the time has come for bishops to restore the Sunday Mass obligation. Catholics are not missing the sacrifice of the Mass because of Covid-19, they are skipping Mass because they simply do not think it is important enough. (The same was true before the pandemic.) The vast majority of Catholics are not even aware of the dispensation. They simply believe that Covid-19 gives them an excuse to miss Mass. While this may have been true for a while, it is clear that attendance is both safe and critical for the Catholic faith.
Countless bishops across the globe issued statements back in March that remain intact today. Most, if not all, bishops stated that they “dispense all Catholics in the territory of this diocese from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass, until further notice.” It is absolutely critical that the Church provide exactly what our obligation toward worship is in these unprecedented times that are becoming more and more safe despite Covid-19, because the virtual is not the same as the physically present.
On February 9th, Archbishop Allen Vigneron, of the archdiocese of Detroit, issued a letter announcing the expiration of the general dispensation from attending Mass in person. He stated, “God did not come to us virtually. He came to us — and continues to come to us — in the flesh.” Archbishop Vigneron’s leadership is both refreshing and needed.
The dispensation is still in place for people meeting certain criteria, such as the elderly, those with pre-existing conditions, pregnant women, and those who have significant fear or anxiety of contracting the virus at Mass. Using this line of reasoning, Archbishop Vigneron and the other bishops could have done this with the dispensation months ago.
Most Catholics who are not attending Mass are not in the category of advanced age, nor are they individuals with pre-existing conditions. They’re also, for the most part, not viewers of virtual Masses. The large portion of Catholics not attending were also not attending before the virus. However, harm has been done, because countless Christians saw that churches closed down for quite some time last year, leading them to believe that attendance at Mass must not be that important.
Therefore, the restoration of the obligation is essential to show that the Church is back (she never left) and that being physically present is necessary. Restoring the obligation to attend Mass in person can also be a great opportunity to teach what the Church means by requiring attendance as mandatory while showing that this is the constitutive element of following Jesus Christ because it is where He is actually present.
In its section on the Sunday obligation, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “The faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on days of obligation, unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness, the care of infants) or dispensed by their own pastor. Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin” (CCC 2181).
The key term in the above-mentioned statement from the catechism is “participate.” This evokes the understanding of active participation at the Mass. The Church chooses her words carefully, and she decides that participation is a pivotal ingredient to keeping the Sunday obligation. What exactly does it mean to participate in the Eucharist? Pope Benedict XVI, in The Spirit of the Liturgy, noted that participation is not constricted to the external sphere.
“The word ‘part-icipation’ refers to a principal action in which everyone has a ‘part.’ And so, if we want to discover the kind of doing that active participation involves, we need, first of all, to determine what this central action is in which all the members of the community are supposed to participate….”
The above comes from a Feb. 25 story in Crisis magazine.
AB Vigneron serves a see where traditionally the archbishop has been made a cardinal. In the minds of Cardinal Cupich and James Martin SJ, will the AB’s Catholic faith keep them from recommending him to Pope Francis?
Voris has been and is currently crucifying Vigneron. Vigneron must be eyeing a peaceful early retirement away from Detroit.
Voris has said some untrue things about the Archdiocese of Detroit, including a leading scholar there that I know personally. I tried contacting Church Militant directly on more than one occasion, but couldn’t get a response. When something about that, critical of Church Militant’s misreporting, was posted on this site, they then replied here that they weren’t aware of anything untrue and that I should (again) contact them directly. I did. That was a long time ago and they’ve never addressed the factual errors that I pointed out to them. They seem about as responsive as the current Vatican and some chanceries.
Who knows, they may post something here now, like, “please contact us.” Unless they’re willing to answer legitimate critical questions, that’ll be just a PR ploy to look good for Cal Catholic Daily readers.
Hail Mary…Come, Holy Spirit…
I used to get so upset with them and their distortions and the misleading of their viewers. I just had to get totally away from it. There are some things that are good in it.
Catholics should truly understand how important it is to avoid the sins of the tongue. Both the speaker and the listener are sinning, sometimes gravely
Sounds good, but the clergy (with some exceptions) told their Parishioners to go pound sand when COVID struck.
No Sacraments. No Anointing of the sick. No Extreme Unction. Just die without the benefit of the comfort of Holy Mother Church.
And don’t you dare try to get into a church for a visit. You will be arrested.
Police tramping down the aisle to warn brave priests to “stop” who tried to minister to their people. (Yes, folks. This did happen in Kansas.)
One clueless priest in St. Louis told his flock that he was going on a hiking vacation to the Grand Canyon. Too stressed out, I guess.
Sorry, clergy. You lost a whole bunch of people by your behavior. Time for you to go and pound sand.
Agree. My lowpoint was an email from a priest reminding people to social distance while queing for communion. He expressed worry about spies on premises. His word. Spies. And, unfamilar people on premises. Again. his wording. Worried about strangers entering a Church on Sundays?!
Keith, folks report to the bishop on masks, distance, priests. Bishops then chastise pastors. Priests are to be agents to enforce the diocesan mandates.
I supplied at a small parish in Nov.. Temps were 40º Sat. eve. Nothing was set up for outdoor when the ban on indoor worship came out < 12 hrs before Mass. I canceled the public Mass, left the church open for prayer with distance ropes. When folks arrived, I told them no public Mass but I would give communion after my private Mass: ad orientem, no community response or readings from the ambo. A spy called the chancery. The bishop called to chastise the pastor. Are bishops agents of the state or successors of the apostles?
Gosh, well sure everyone should be a-fwaid of complaints from parishoners and feckless bishops!
“The bishop called to chastise the pastor. Are bishops agents of the state or successors of the apostles?”
I know the answer to that one. Do you?
Human respect can be a tryrant. Father Hardon.
Finally some honest self-assessment from a bishop. He gets the grim reality that at least 80% of Catholics don’t care about the church enough to come to Mass.
Los Angeles is larger than Detroit and doesn’t have a cardinal either [retired Cdl Mahoney should not count]. Presumably Abp V. has consulted competent scientific advisors regarding reopening.
Abp Vigneron was my bishop for some 9 years in Oakland [prior to his being translated to his home Archdiocese]. He can be clumsy and petulant, but over all is a faithful Catholic Bishop. No bishop is perfect, and hindsight grandstanding may give the patina of authenticity, but until you have walked in your bishop’s shoes, perhaps kindness would be a better alternative? I have had no contact since shortly after his leaving Oakland; he is not perfect, but he is faithful. Voris’ beef with the Archbishop is a blot on the whole church. When he goes off on specific personalities he leaves me in the dust. Perhaps rather than criticize bishops we should pray for them? They have an impossible job I know how easy it has been for laity in my parishes to write me off as a “bad priest” when I comment on what they consider their sacred politics, or when I have opposed abortion and euthanasia: it is easy to smear the guy up in front.
No he will not be a cardinal, Detroit used to be a thriving local church, it is no more, not for lack of the Archbishop’s trying. And some of those who wear the red no doubt would most heartily oppose his elevation [as with Archbishop Gomez] because Vigneron and Gomez still believe in God and the church. Dear Jesus, bless Archbishop Vigneron.
I find it disheartening that so many are designating themselves as research experts on COVID and the protocols still required if we as a community are ever going to really get it under control and finally gone. I’ve seen congregants from a variety of churches who go from “I will defiantly go to services/mass despite COVID because I 1) maybe don’t believe it’s real, 2) God will protect me because I am being faithful, and 3) this will prove to others how faithful I am and allow me to point to and blame others as being not so faithful”. Blaming (see also undermining the authority of) bishops and other church leaders for what’s going on – that’s seditious in my view, trying to persuade others to question and perhaps not follow a chosen leader because he doesn’t do what they, as laity, believe to be best for a diocese or parish… rather presumptive and perhaps even anti-church! Some folks avoiding Mass under the guise of COVID – the concern seems to be again about blame and shame. Restore the HDOO edict to create conflict and shame in those who are genuinely and even legitimately afraid of getting sick. There are people who will refuse to go to church when flu season is rampant for the same reason, and now you want to shame them into going, perhaps getting ill, going to the hospital and even die? (Or are we back to the “I am faithful” and “God will protect me for showing my faith” paradigm again?). A blanket edict does not take into account the variants of the disease: maybe some areas are relatively safe compared to others, but the church can ill afford losing tithing congregants to a disease they can avoid. Do some NOT go because they don’t want to go? Yes, indeed, as always has been an issue, so it’s not new, and declaring it a sin is not really going to cause many to return, ESPECIALLY if there is still only a given amount of herd immunity around. One young mother with a co-morbid issue told me she was not going until it was truly all clear: had her shots, and safe protocols not needed per the state. When a EXTREMELY judgmental and devout (like daily mass devout) older woman told this mother how sinful she would be, the mother simply replied, “How might you comfort me and my husband if our baby got it and died, or them if I died!”… Too many variables to start opening everything up, so let people decide without the shame and blame, or you might lose a few to death, or perhaps worse, they will leave the parish!
maybe some of us like freedom
Thank you Michael. Well spoken!
“Too many variables to start opening everything up, so let people decide without the shame and blame, or you might lose a few to death, or perhaps worse, they will leave the parish!”
Too many variables: Not really. Not after one year of experience. There is much evidence that the lockdowns have been ineffective in reducing infection. We now know that this affects mainly the elderly and those with other health issues including obesity. If you or family members are ini these categories then it’s up to you to decide how you will behave. But, let’s be clear, it;s not for you to determine what I a healthy 60 YO male will do.
“Blaming (see also undermining the authority of) bishops and other church leaders for what’s going on – that’s seditious in my view, trying to persuade others to question and perhaps not follow a chosen leader because he doesn’t do what they, as laity, believe to be best for a diocese or parish” We all have the right and duty to question complex and contradictory information where ever we find it. Including if not especially in our Church in these matters. One has only to view the contradictory stories on this web site. And, the experts? One day Fauci says no masks needed, then needed, the double masks.
It doesn’t surprise me that an archbishop overseeing as excellent a seminary as Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit values the Mass and urges the faithful to return safely. He didn’t throw caution to the wind. As the story notes, “The dispensation is still in place for people meeting certain criteria, such as the elderly, those with pre-existing conditions, pregnant women, and those who have significant fear or anxiety of contracting the virus at Mass.” Priests and seminarians from the region have benefitted from the Archbishop’s leadership. Yet, he is especially not likely to be made a cardinal since at least a couple of the professors at his seminary have written critically of the current papacy.