An American On The Apostasy – Featuring The Catholic Church in Scotland… You Don’t Say!
Editor writes…
American commentator, Anthony Stine, offers some biting comment on the shocking dereliction of duty of the bishops across the world, who closed churches and effectively declared God to be unessential during the Covid-19 fear-fest. The bishops are now suffering the consequences of that faithless decision. Given that Scotland rarely gets a mention in commentaries abroad, Anthony’s focus on this poor land, is welcome. But what about the reasons he gives for the current widespread loss of Faith within the Catholic community? Do you agree? Your thoughts…
Comments (12)
(You reading my mind again, Editor? I saw this on my YouTube channel yesterday and thought about sending it to you. Will comment later….)
RCA Victor,
Dear old Crofterlady sent the link so when I saw it in my inbox, and set aside the 15 minutes or so to watch it, I thought, RCA Victor would have sent me this if he’s seen it, but still… 😀
I think Mr. Stine’s reasoning, overall, is very good. However, I’m not sure the thought process he ascribes to the faithful is entirely accurate (namely, if the leadership of the Church says that worship is not essential, then why should we go to church?). That might be a part of it, but I’d wager there are other factors, like scamdemic-induced germaphobia about going out in public; Vatican II-induced lack of faith to begin with; reduced income from economic lockdowns; and the ongoing mask and sanitizing practices required by the clerical saps who cower unquestioningly before the state. Who wants to go to Mass celebrated by a masked priest, and surrounded by masked faithful practicing social distancing?
There is also a major unknown that can’t be determined by generalizations: how many of those who no longer attend Mass are faithfully practicing their devotions at home?
RCA Victor,
Well, I think the fact that the bishops offered to close the churches ahead of any Government order (if it came – who knows if the politicians would have dared to impose that, but for the “shepherds” offering to do so and thus giving the impression that God is unessential…) would certainly have affected the thought processes of the faithful, in my considered view. That’s not to say that the other factors you name did not come into play – I believe they did, but what a message to receive from your bishop… Don’t trust God! Stay home, protect the NHS, save lives, and don’t give a second thought to saving souls!
Just as the decisions of any patient will be affected by the recommendations of their GP, so the attitude and actions of the bishops are bound to have affected the way the faithful thought about Mass going and, in fact, continue to think about it. After all, if worshipping God wasn’t essential during an alleged national/international health crisis, when would He be essential? And so it came to pass, that fewer and fewer pews were fill on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation.
I repeat… You don’t say! Or, as they say in Cockney London: it’s obvious, init?
Editor,
Can’t argue with the “bishops’ effect” (and I never argue with a woman…), but part of my original point was, do most Catholics these days care about, pay attention to or even know what their bishops say?
As for “protect the NHS” as the rationale for a lockdown, that will never cease to strike me as the most bizarre and laughable policy justification ever invented. Somewhat of an analogy: if someone in your household gets sick, would your reaction be “protect the furniture”?
(Or, better yet, “protect the ibuprofen!”)
Victor you make a real point of those who celebrate their Devotion at Home I.E. watch Mass on the Internet. I personally was Never a Fan of such even when our Churches were locked. Also when Our Churches opened it didn’t mean that the Sunday Obligation started immediately. In fact in my Diocese it was Months after our Church opened that the obligation was reinstated.
As for the only Mass that gained attendance it was our Sunday T.L.M. of course that had to be cancelled due to Bergoglio. Roche . and T. C.
I though actually think it was to do with Global Warming or Climate Change.
After all as far as Bergoglio is concerned isn’t everything to do with Climate Change. Also this crisis of lack of Money may give our Bishops the chance to lose some weight. I mean if the rest of us have to go Short surely the Bishops shouldn’t mind.
RCA Victor,
I agree, most Catholics don’t pay attention to the bishops but in a case like lockdown, when it suited them, they would be only too pleased to point to the bishops and say, see, it’s not necessary to go to church so we ought to stay hope to “stop the spread”. Then, as FOOF points out, the bishops didn’t exactly rush to re-instate the obligation so it was easy to conclude that Sunday Mass wasn’t essential after all. Those bishops will face a serious set of questions about this when their time comes.
FOOF,
One of the most shocking things about the bishops closing the churches was to see the begging messages on parish websites, asking for us to continue our donations. In my case I kept my purse tightly shut. How dare they withdraw all concern for our spiritual welfare and then ask us to pay up anyway! No way!
Things just get progressively worse in the Archdiocese of Glasgow… And just as a reader up north alerted me to the American video, so a priest overseas contacted me with news of the conviction of Father Neil McGarrity – shocking and tragic in just about equal measure…
https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/shamed-glasgow-priest-sexually-abused-26033849
and
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-64350101
That’s so sad – Father Neil McGarrity is the last person I’d have thought would be guilty of such abuse. It’s tragic what is happening to the priesthood. I believe he was learning and hoping to offer the TLM
This is another interesting video from the same man, on the same subject of the banning of the TLM but also now, a reverent novus ordo!
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