Why Are Catholics Refusing To Have Large Families… That, & Mass Mask-Wearing? Please!
I understand that Covid was scary for a lot of people but when exactly do parishioners intend on leaving the mask at home? My local church is quite small and like many churches there are more people there aged over 50 than under. There are some families with young children, but it certainly is not chock-a-block with them which has me thinking; if Catholics obeyed the Church’s rules on family planning as strictly as they did government health dictates on Covid, there would be a lot more toddlers toddling around this church.
In fact, the truth is I strongly, strongly object to masks at Mass and I feel that the powers that be – the Bishops, I assume – should now be encouraging the faithful to leave them at home. Amazingly, the Church is now one of the few places where we are subjected to this attack on our humanity and I’d rather my four kids were not surrounded by mask wearers.
I am grateful that all my fellow Mass-goers are very friendly to my children, often kindly chatting to them, but this charity is severely hindered by mask-wearing. Masks spread fear and, in truth, I would rather people kept their fear to themselves. That is what you are doing when you surround children with mask wearers – telling them to be fearful. Jesus told us many times: “be not afraid”.
It troubles me how the church and the faithful were such sticklers for masks and remain so. Do these people continue to wear them in shops and transport, or do they just cover their faces in church? We already know children’s language skills have been hindered by masks and lockdowns, and babies especially rely on seeing the human face made in the image of God to develop language and social skills. These even small interactions in Mass instead of being a joyful give-and-take between the older generation and the next, are now covered and hindered by mask-wearing. Instead of joy and hope, there is fear.
I do think there are some tough questions to be asked as to why the faithful were incredibly eager to follow whatever the public health authorities told them about Covid, yet, on the whole, ignore church teachings when it comes to family planning. The fertility rate in Britain continues to decline, reaching all-time lows. It is certainly not the case that Catholic families buck the trend. They are very much representative of the country as whole.
As a result, these days, having more than two children is considered odd, three is just about permitted and four or more is positively frowned upon (I have been blessed with four). In fact, so common is the two-child family, I now refer to it as the “unofficial two child policy.” Where once an only child was considered rare, now they often outnumber the children with siblings in a class room.
So, we must ask ourselves: why are Catholics refusing to have larger families? It is true that raising a family is now harder than ever – housing costs continue to climb and the cost of living crisis will squeeze families even harder. Sadly, the next generation faces even more debt and more demands on their time and resources so things are unlikely to improve in the future. But Catholics should be front and centre in demanding more family friendly polices from the government. This government turned our lives upside down for Covid: they could at least improve things for families if there was enough public pressure and will for them to do so. The more families shrink in size, the worse the economic and social conditions will be for those families left behind.
If there is one thing we as Catholics know it is that children are a blessing. They are not something to fear, either as a bio-weapon that will kill granny, or as a huge financial drain that you could not possibly provide for. The needs of children have been utterly ignored in the last two years. This must end and it could start with the simple action of interacting with them at Mass – face to face.
Laura Perrins is co-founder and co-editor of The Conservative Woman
Editor writes…
I can’t think of anything to add to Laura Perrins’ excellent article, except to encourage her to start attending a Traditional Latin Mass, where Covid-fearmongering and mask-wearing is less prominent-through-to-non-existent. If you can think of anything to add, please tell us in the comments below…
Comments (17)
Yes, mask-wearing stopped at the TLM I attend a good while ago. I think only a couple of very elderly / partially disabled people wear them. Possibly they feel they are more vulnerable, I don’t know. There are a lot of younger, larger families at the TLM I attend as well. At a local novus ordo religious order chapel that I used to have links with, many years ago, I was informed by someone who still attends Mass there that the attendance is embarrassing now – just a handful of elderly people. The Polish Mass there is apparently somewhat better attended and there are at least some children. It’s the Vatican II / Novus Ordo effect writ large. Casti Connubii and Humanae Vitae were thrown out of the window by the hierarchy, and the priests followed suit, and then the laity. As Sister Lucia said back in 1957: “Father, the devil is in the mood for engaging in a decisive battle against the Blessed Virgin. And the devil knows what it is that offends God the most, and which in a short space of time will gain for him the greatest number of souls. Thus the devil does everything to overcome souls consecrated to God, because in this way the devil will succeed in leaving the souls of the faithful abandoned by their leaders, thereby the more easily will he seize them.” “That which afflicts the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Heart of Jesus is the fall of religious and priestly souls. The devil knows that religious and priests who fall away from their beautiful vocation drag numerous souls to hell. … The devil wishes to take possession of consecrated souls. He tries to corrupt them in order to lull to sleep the souls of laypeople and thereby lead them to final impenitence.”
Westminsterfly,
And didn’t Sr Lucia also say that the Devil’s final battle would be marriage and the family? Once those are destroyed, he wins. He is definitely on the winning side right now but, thankfully, as we know, Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart – and thus Christ, Our Lord – will triumph in the end. Deo gratias.
Editor
Yes – Sr Lucia said that to Cardinal Caffara – https://insidethevatican.com/news/newsflash/letter-28-last-battle
Westminsterfly,
Just ask yourself one question…
Am I (is editor) ever wrong? 😀
Mask-wearing at our traditional parish was rejected from the very start of the scam, though our priests put a box of masks in the vestibule for anyone who wanted one. They removed it after about 9 months….only one young lady actually wore one, as well as an occasional visitor.
Meanwhile, this site owner apparently doesn’t realize the utterly ludicrous disconnect between running a site called “Traditional Catholic Femininity” and this:
https://tradcatfem.com/store/catholic-face-masks/
RCA Victor,
That site reminds me of the Carfin Grotto (Diocese of Motherwell, here in Scotland) where they sold face masks with images of Our Lady during the scamdemic (and I’m sure other holy images, can’t quite remember) but now there is nothing for sale in their “shop” – I’ve just checked.
I left the following message at the “tradcatfem” site…
I am shocked to see the ridiculous display of face masks on your site. How utterly faithless! God help you – you’re about as Catholic as Joe Biden!
You must surely disapprove of Our Lord’s action in breaking the lockdown in the first century, to go and TOUCH the poor lepers ostracised by the society of that time. My goodness. You really haven’t a clue. Praying for you.
God help these poor clueless Catholics in Name Only… If they knew anything at all about the Faith, they’d have recognised the Covid-con for what it is…
Editor,
I’m glad you did that. I thought about doing the same, briefly, but concluded that it would be much better if a traditional Catholic woman, rather than a male, commented….and whaddya know, you read my mind once again….
RCA Victor,
You thought briefly? Well, there’s a first time for everything! 😀
Seriously, it can be dangerous for men to think too much. Could cut down on the number of proposals of marriage being ditched out. “Why?” you say (thoughtfully)… Well, did you hear the one about…
The husband who comes home and says to his wife:
Honey, I invited a friend to have dinner with us today.
She yells at him:
What? Are you crazy? The house is a mess, I did not buy any groceries, the dishes are dirty and I’m not in the mood to cook anything special.
Hubby responds:
Yes, I know.
Puzzled wife: So why did you invited him?
Because the poor guy is thinking about getting married. 😀
See what I mean? Men should avoid thinking, at all costs!
ED it’s the same in my Parish. Since our Bergoglion Bishop stopped our Sunday Latin Mass I have went to 2 N.O. Masses where most ( not all ) wore the Masks. At our Latin Mass on a Week Day only 1 Person wears a Mask . I know He has an Illness so probably that is His reason. The rest of us do not wear Masks.
Going back to the Family Situation am afraid it’s a little more complicated today than in our Childhood. Am not denying anything but my Daughter had to give up a Well Paid Job and career when She had Her Third Granddaughter. It’s a fair blow to a Family when one wage is completely cut off. Of course the Government could and should be doing more . But when your spending £Billions putting up illegal Immigrants in 5 Star Hotels there’s not a lot left.
Am not Rich by any manner of means but only for me there are lots of Times She wouldn’t have been able to Pay Her Rent . Also Her Man is Taxed to The Hilt and works lots of Hours.
It’s all wrong.
Faith of our Fathers,
I do sympathise with your daughter (and members of my own family) who struggle to make ends meet and who therefore maybe think they shouldn’t have more children. That is exactly what the devil wants. If there is one thing that’s clear in our society today, it’s that the devil hates children.
I went to search for an article about this and this is the first that came up. I was thinking it was very good until I noticed there was a quote from Pope Francis about this, bang in the middle of the page. I read it and then was surprised and pleased to see it described by the author as a “worldly” view. It’s exactly what people say today, you need to be a “responsible” parent, which means if you’re struggling to make ends meet, stop having children – instead of trust in Divine Providence and leave yourself open to children. I know the Church allows natural planning to space children but only for a temporary period and in an emergency. I, personally, know people who refuse to do that, preferring to trust God, even though they are quite poor.
https://www.osvnews.com/2017/10/11/can-catholic-couples-choose-childlessness/
You’re obviously a great dad and I am sure your daughter appreciates that and loves you to bits!
Josephine,
That’s a great article.
The answer to why more Catholics are not having larger families is because they have the same values as secular people have, they’ve abandoned Catholic values. Who wants to be poor, these days? That’s the bottom line, IMHO. They want to be well off and keep up with the Jones’s, instead of keeping up with the Holy Family.
Nicky,
Sadly, true.
Nicky,
I don’t think it’s as simple as “keeping up with the Jones’s” – some people live on benefits out of necessity and really do struggle. A devoted Catholic might feel that there is real necessity for NFP and could feel, in conscience, that they can consider it “temporary” even if we wouldn’t think, say, a couple of years is temporary.
Women who are married to selfish husbands have twice the struggle with this, as there are men who just won’t abstain, so I don’t think it’s always as easy as some people think. You can rely on God to provide but still need NFP for a bit.
I’ve just posted a link to a report about Prince Charles supporting masks for cows, to save the planet, LOL! It’s horrifying to think there are Catholics wearing these hideous face nappies in churches. Have they really no sense of the sacred?
I would certainly love to see far more Catholic married couples choosing to have much bigger families. Similarly, I’d also like to see more single Catholic women become nuns. I’ve never understood why so many single devoutly Catholic women choose to live their entire lives alone rather than either getting married and having children or joining a convent.
But I guess that’s the modern, feminist world we live in today, where women want to be independent and pursue a career and enjoy life.
Susan P,
Not everyone is cut out either for marriage or religious life. I have friends who entered both and ended up living as singles, LOL!
There are some who are feminist worldlings, as you say, and want to be independent to have a career etc. and I suppose with the way things have gone in the Church, that’s not too surprising. Women are being encouraged to be more worldly, even being given leadership positions in the Vatican to rub in the importance of woman working outside the home. It’s such a shame.
To your point, though, I don’t suppose many Catholic women (or other women) actually choose to live alone, but God doesn’t call everyone to marriage or religious life. It’s usually the single sibling who becomes the carer for aging and sick parents, for example.
Susan P,
I think Fidelis has really answered your comment, but when I read it, it struck me immediately that you have expressed your view, focusing on marriage and religious life as being really the preferred, if not the only option, open to any real Catholic woman, on this, the Feast of the single laywoman, St Catherine of Siena, celebrated on 30th April in the traditional calendar. And not any old laywoman, but the first ever female to be declared a Doctor of the Church.
Catherine Benincasa, as she was known before being canonised, is always pictured wearing the Dominican Habit, which makes lots of people think she’s a nun, but she wasn’t a nun. She was a single woman; as a Third Order member of the Dominicans, however, she was entitled to wear the Habit.
All lay Third Order members of the various Orders are permitted to wear the Habit. I once remember being surprised (to say the least) when a couple I was visiting, in explaining their Third Order (Dominican, as it happens) membership, produced the husband’s religious Habit… On another occasion, a friend told me how his father had been buried wearing the Franciscan Habit, he being a Third Order Franciscan. The fact remains, St Catherine of Siena, one of the Church’s greatest and most influential saints, was NOT a religious, nor was she married, she was a single person, a laywoman.
As Fidelis says, God does not call everyone to either marriage or religious life. Some people are disappointed not to have married, others tried a religious vocation and found that it was not for them, just as some people get engaged to be married and then realise either that they don’t want to marry that person after all, OR their other half makes the decision for them! I remember once being engaged to Mr Right. Delighted, I was until I discovered that his first name was “Always”. 😀 The old ones are the best!
No, Susan, God’s ways are not our ways and we can only wonder, and perhaps marvel, at His plans for each individual soul. The one thing we can be sure of is this: He calls everyone to holiness. The route, the means, may differ, but, in that sense, His plan is always the same for each of us, whether called to marriage, religious life, or the single lay state.
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