Diocese of Motherwell: Spiritans Community Enforces Face Coverings… No Mask, No Mass
Editor writes…
After reading Pat McKay’s comment on the blog here, I suggested he contact the priest concerned. Turned out, he had been refused entry to Mass on All Saints Day at the Spiritans chapel at Carfin. Pat lodged a complaint and I followed it up with a supporting email – see below:
Dear Father …
After reading a comment on our blog about a gentleman who had been refused entry to Mass on All Saints Day because he was not wearing a facemask despite having evidence of his exemption, I emailed the blogger for further details. He had not published the details of location, or any identifying features in his comment, and so I was disappointed to learn that this shocking incident took place in Carfin, at the Spiritans’ chapel. Below, the link to our discussion, where the first comment is the focus of this email. For the record, I am copying this email to the Chancellor of the Diocese of Motherwell, which I trust he will bring to the attention of Bishop Toal, and, of course, to Patrick McKay.
Is Former First Minister Bashing Scotland Or IS He Right To Say That Scotland IS “Stuck In Treacle”? – Catholic Truth (catholictruthscotland.com)
Mr McKay tells me that he has now emailed the Community Fathers to lodge an official complaint – no doubt aiming to ensure that this scandal does not continue so that others, perhaps of weaker Faith, are not driven from the Church. The tsunami of scandals in recent years has already hugely diminished the standing of the Church and churchmen – and so to further alienate hitherto committed Catholics is unlikely to bring God’s blessing on your work.
Clearly, the officious bully who refused Mr McKay entry to Mass on the Feast of All Saints must be reprimanded. Not to do so, is uncharitably to permit him to continue to cause scandal. Indeed, I would be grateful if you would forward this email to him, since he needs to be confronted with the fact that he IS a bully – and the country is full of similarly officious little bureaucratic tyrants operating in the name of “the virus” since the onset of Covid-19, a virus from which 99.97% of those who become infected with it, recover. The first two publicly reported recoveries featured on the mainstream TV news (BBC) were of elderly people, one male, one female, both well over 100 years of age (one, the woman was 112).
So, officious bullies like your gatekeeper need to be told to stop their nonsense. For Catholics to be so terrified of death, in any case, is scandal enough but to refuse entry to anyone wishing to attend Mass in the name of this non-deadly virus is unconscionable. Maybe that man needs to read over Our Lord’s treatment of the lepers – and His obvious disapproval of lockdowns, given that He ignored them in order to touch and heal the lepers.
I look forward to your assurance that you will, in fact, correct this person who has taken it upon himself to turn people away from Mass.
Thank you. Ends.
Editor continues…
Promptly, and very humbly, the priest replied to apologise and promised to investigate the matter, expressing his regret that this had happened. I shot back a brief “thank you” and thought that would be the end of the matter. Imagine my surprise, then, to read the following second email from the same priest this afternoon, which I consider to be beyond scandalous:
Dear Patricia,
I appreciate your email, and i hope this email meet you well.
I have been able to investigate the complaint i received from both you and Patrick McKay yesterday been the 20th of November 2021 for an incidence that happened since the 1st of November 2021. It is my pleasure to inform you that our workers or “gatekeepers” as you called them did not act on their own. They were only carrying out the instruction given to them by Fr Terry the community leader before he died on the 7th September 2021.
First of all, the chapel at the Spiritan community Carfin is a private chapel, and it is within our sole responsibility to protect ourselves; especially as we have elderly, sick, and vulnerable priests in the house who also make use of the chapel, and also to protect those who may wish to worship with us. Hence, the decision of not allowing any exemption in our chapel, and that anyone who wish to worship with us must wear a face covering was taken because of the fact that it is our chapel and a private chapel at that, and also because we have the obligation to protect ourselves and those who worship in our chapel. More so, the fact that we have sick and vulnerable priests in the house with severe health conditions like MND, and these too make use of that chapel, justifies the decision made by the community leader. Therefore, it becomes necessary that such instruction should be enforced to protect everyone who uses the chapel.
Again, inasmuch as i have already apologised to Patrick Mckay, it is pertinent to still stressed that the Spiritan community Carfin do not allow any exemptions as regards face covering, as we are not yet ready to change this decision. Therefore, if Mr Mckay or anyone else who wishes to worship with us in our private chapel moving forward, MUST as a matter of charity for the protection of our sick priests and others who use the chapel, put on a face covering.
I have also copied my provincial superior into this email for his record.
Regards,
Fr. Jude Kurumeh, C.S.Sp.
Community Bursar Ends.
Editor adds…
For the up-to-date ruling from the Scottish Government on face masks click here where you will read the following about exemptions…
There are exemptions to this rule for some people and situations. If exempt, you may choose not to wear a face covering. This would be the case if, for example:
- you’re under 12 years old
- you’ve got an illness or disability which means you cannot wear one
- wearing one would cause you severe distress
Now, click here to read 20 medical reasons face masks are dangerous and don’t work and see if you think there will be no shortage of people who, reading that list, just might conclude that wearing one would cause them severe distress – and thus realise that, hey presto, they are exempt. So, having established proof that these ridiculous face coverings are about as much use as a pair of sunglasses in a hurricane, let’s consider the religious and moral position of these priests, which boils down to their irreligious and immoral position. For the record, I could have chosen any number of articles from medics warning of the dangers of face masks but the above is one of my favourites. Brain Damage From Masks CANNOT BE REVERSED is another very enlightening read on this subject. However, the issue with these priests is that they have decided not to accept exemptions! For sheer nerve they are entitled to public acclaim. I believe they’ll get that at the Last Judgment. Christ’s example with the lepers isn’t good enough for them, and even the secular Government’s decision to permit exemptions, isn’t good enough for them. This lot are, as they say these days, something else.
Editor concludes…
The decision of the Spiritans (Holy Ghost Fathers) to prohibit entry to their chapels in the case of those not complying with the unlawful Government imposition of face coverings in places of worship, is way beyond scandalous. It is manifest evidence of their loss of supernatural faith, evidence that they have rejected the Kingship of Christ in favour of the workings of the prince of this world: For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places. (Ephesians 6:12).
In other words, these priests are working for “the other side”. That’s how it seems to me. What about you?
Comments (17)
Not so much Spiritans as Covidians. It’s an alternative religion that has nothing to do with Christ.
It is disgraceful that clergymen impose political and not scientific restrictions to assist at the Holy Mass.
I for one will not be giving them another penny. Quite shocking.
What we have to recognise in this latter response of Fr. Kurumeh is a loss of supernatural faith. They speak of charity to neighbour and yet they do not understand what charity is. Charity is first a supernatural virtue which places the health of souls way above the health of the body, which is why Our Lord cured the sick and diseased who came to Him, why the martyrs sacrificed their lives for the truth and why armies of priests and religious down through the ages put their own lives at risk in times of real and genuine plague to care supernaturally for souls.
So what they call charity now is actually the inverse of charity, namely, humanism and self preservation which is empty of God and utterly devoid of trust in His providence. They follow the voice of spirit of this world and no longer that of the Good Shepherd, who bars no one from entering His House and approaching him. There is not a single precedent in the glorious history of our holy religion when the Church forbade entrance to the House of God for fear of a spreading of disease, not even in times of the deadliest plagues aginst which COVID is a case of the sniffles.
We have to accept that many clergy and religious in the Church today have lost the supernatural gift of faith and have consequently sacrificed the spirit of Our Lord in favour of the spirit of this world. These should reflect on Matthew 25: 31-45 and repent of their grave error or they will almost certainly find the Gates of Heaven closed to them upon death, which will come to us all at a time and in a way solely determined by Almighty God. This admonishment is given also to their gate-keeping enforcers.
The COVID-19 pandemic lie comes from the Father of Lies. Anyone with true faith and objective mind can see this by researching the official data. There is no plague upon the nations. But even if there were such a plague, face masks are certainly of no use since respiratory disease can easily enter the body through the eyes. It’s about compliance and virtue signaling to the diktats of Freemasonic and Communist governments whose eyes are set especially on the destruction of Christianity. Who could ever have imagined that so many of the ordained, right up to the Chair of St. Peter himself, would participate in such an evil. This is what Our Lady warns of in the Third Secret of Fatima – the great loss of faith in the Church from the top down resulting in a turning to the spirit of this world.
Those lucky enough to have retained the gift of faith can see what’s happening and yet are powerless to prevent it. All we can do is admonish the guilty who close the House of God to those they deem unsuitable to enter, pray for them and avoid them. There is a plague in the Church right now, the plague of apostasy, signified by those who value the body above the soul. We must at all costs stay clear of such wretches, especially those who use the word “charity” as a cloak for malice. The tragic irony is not lost on me either that in this particular instance those who claim to be acting in “charity” call themselves Holy Ghost Fathers. We can but echo the words of Our Lord from the Cross: “Father forgive them for they know not what they do”!
Athanasius,
I’m lost for words reading your comment here. I hope those Spiritans priests (never heard of them) are hanging their heads in shame. So many of us have lost all respect for priests having watched their weakness and cowardice, their unpriestly attitude, throughout Covid. It’s been such a disappointment.
Laura
I’m by no means certain of this, but I think “the Spiritans” may once have been called “The Holy Ghost Fathers”. I’m assuming this because the Holy Ghost Fathers always had a house opposite Carfin grotto and these priests seem to claim that the Carfin chapel in question is run by them in a private capacity, hence the reason I assume they’ve changed their name from the wonderful Catholic one they once ministered under to this non-specific “Spiritans” alternative. I sincerely hope I’m wrong in this assumption.
Whoever they are, “Spiritans” is a vague name to choose for a Catholic community. If it’s ecumenical in nature then it’s not truly Catholic anyway – that heresy having been consistently condemned by the official Magisterial teaching of the Church right up to Vatican II, which, unlike previous Councils, was purely pastoral in nature and therefore could not reverse previous Magisterial teaching in the matter. Popular or not, ecumenism remains a condemned heresy.
Athanasius,
Somewhere on their site, they put Holy Ghost Fathers in parenthesis and they also describe themselves as the “Congregation of the Holy Spirit, under the protection of the Immaculate Heart of Mary”, so I don’t think they’re “ecumenical”. Whatever, given their shocking attitude to the unmasked, they’re not authentically Catholic either. What next – vaccine passports required for entry to their highly exclusive “private chapel”?
Editor
It would not surprise me if the vaccine passport regime did come in at Carfin, it’s already in place in some dioceses in Canada and elsewhere. I read of one bishop in Canada (can’t remember his name or the diocese) who has mandated that all parishioners above age 12 who are unvaccinated by a certain date will no longer be able to attend Mass or receive the Sacraments. Truly diabolical!
Athanasius,
Utterly shocking. I have an update to report on the Spiritans’ situation which I will do a little later, but suffice to say right now that I quoted from your comment in an email reply to the Provincial, pointing out that what this Canadian bishop did, is where the “stay safe” propaganda inevitably leads.
Stay tuned!
This is truly unbelievable. Priests putting their own supposed best health interests before the souls of their people. I would never EVER have believed it, if I hadn’t read that letter for myself.
When I think of the great saints in the middle ages who braved a real plague to take the sacraments to the sick and dying, AND to tend to their sores, as one did (I think St Charles Borromeo) and also St Roch was a saint who caught the plague and then miraculously recovered and went on to continue tending the sick.
This is what happens when you have a feminised priesthood. We need real men in the priesthood – we’re not seeing that these days.
I’ve just popped in to post my reply to the Spiritans, which is very short and anything but sweet…
Dear Father Kurumeh,
Your [latest] email is utterly shocking. It is beyond scandalous. So much so, that I have published it on our blog with commentary. You will find most of what I want to say in reply, on the blog… just published a moment ago… I am copying my reply to your Provincial, the Diocese and Pat McKay.
https://catholictruthscotland.com/2021/11/21/diocese-of-motherwell-spiritan-community-enforces-face-coverings-no-mask-no-mass/
The rest of what I would like to say is unprintable.
Patricia
Ends.
Editor,
What I’ve been thinking is also unprintable!
This morning, I received an email from the Provincial of the British Province of the Spiritans, addressed to Pat McKay, into which I was copied (as was the Diocese of Motherwell).
The Provincial’s reply to Patrick was very humble, and – with Fr Kurumeh’s support – corrected the previously stated position of the Order. Fr states that “being exempted from wearing face covering and having the evidence for it is generally enough for access.”
Since I was copied into the message, I replied as follows: but note: I omitted to point out that no evidence for exemption is required (See Government link in the introduction to this thread) so I have now written a follow-up message to correct that and to point out that nobody should ask for evidence but, instead, take the word of the person claiming exemption.
Dear Fr Dr Ugo Ikwuka
Your email is wonderfully humble, and I am certain that it will console Patrick a great deal. I have just visited our blog and was shocked to read that “one bishop in Canada … who has mandated that all parishioners above age 12 who are unvaccinated by a certain date, will no longer be able to attend Mass or receive the Sacraments.” As the blog commentator concludes, this is “truly diabolical” and it immediately brought to my mind the Church-approved prophecies of Our Lady about these times when she appeared at Quito in Ecuador 400 years ago and more recently at Fatima in the 20th century. The Church, and especially the priesthood, is currently under severe diabolical attack. With a few praiseworthy exceptions, the response of the clergy to this virus is a crystal-clear example of this sad truth. The decision of that Canadian bishop is where the “stay safe” propaganda will ultimately lead everyone who believes it. I say “believes” because it is, itself, a new religion, displacing the rule of Christ the King.
Thus, I am so pleased to read your personal awareness that there has been (and continues to be) a “paranoiac response to the pandemic”. It is incredible to witness Catholics, including priests and prelates, so terrified of illness and death that they are willing to hand over spiritual, religious, and moral authority to secular politicians and Governments. It is dispiriting to think that it took 27 Protestant ministers to challenge the Scottish Government in court, so that our churches could be re-opened during lockdown last year. The Bishops of Scotland offered no such challenge – indeed, they have co-operated with the Government at every stage, reinforcing the scandalous impression that God is not essential in life.
I am sorry for Fr Kurumeh – he was probably cast into doubt about his initial right instinct when he spoke to those around him, and in his humility would consider himself to be in the wrong. He is obviously a good priest with the correct Catholic sense in this matter, and hopefully will learn from this that the judgement of those who take such worldly positions are not to be trusted in matters of Faith and Morals.
I conclude by thanking you once again for your very humble email, the sense of which I will add to our blog discussion.
Kindest regards – God bless you.
Patricia
Ends.
Follow-up email…
Dear Fr Dr Ugo Ikwuka,
I omitted one important point from my previous email to you. Where you write: “ I will not go into clinical details but being exempted from wearing face covering and having the evidence for it is generally enough for access.” I should have pointed out that the Government does not require anyone to produce evidence of exemption. It is clearly stated on the Government website that nobody should ask for evidence but should take the word of the person. We are not even required to hold an exemption badge, but they are freely available for those who prefer to have some form of “evidence” – most people do not want to risk confrontation. However, the fact is, nobody is required to prove exemption.
Ends.
Editor,
That is quite the happy ending to this sorry saga. It’s one thing to do the wrong thing, but another to apologise and put it right. I’m pleased at this outcome. If only more priests were as humble as those Spiritans.
Your anti-mask and anti-vaccine agenda is not God’s work
Miles from
SourgrapesStourbridge,Why not?
I am glad that this situation seems to have been resolved amicably.
I cannot imagine how it would feel to be denied access to the House of God by officious power mongers.
I am glad that, at the SSPX chapel I attend, both clergy and lay people put their faith in God rather than Government rules and regulations.
Gabriel Syme,
I agree – the priests have now apologised sincerely and Pat is welcome to return there anytime. It’s not often that we receive such a humble response from priests when we contact them with concerns, so this is a happy ending, for once.
I’ll now close this thread to comments, with thanks to all who contributed to it.
Comments are closed.