Fr. Mark Withoos: Cardinal Pell, the Living Martyr

Pope Francis Strips God’s Wrath From Mass for Pandemic, by Jules Gomes

‘We’re in Unknown Territory’: Uncertainty Follows Parish and Diocesan Employee Layoffs, by Mary Farrow

By Fr. Mark Withoos, Crisis Magazine, April 3, 2020

A cardinal, a Prince of the Church, remains locked up in a small cell, separated from all, locked in, and without access to the sacraments. No, this is not coronavirus, and this is not Italy. In many ways it is a metaphor—we might even be forgiven for thinking it a paragraph from Lord of the World—but for the man concerned, George Cardinal Pell, it is not a metaphor but reality.

We seem to be wallowing in metaphors at the moment. Many of the faithful are deprived of the sacraments by their bishops, some even in the face of death, and many churches are closed. The government rules by edicts and executive order, no longer by Parliament, as if we are on a war footing. Many have lost their jobs, perhaps for longer than any predicted “shut-in” or “lockdown”—further metaphors. Meanwhile, in Spain and Italy older people are dying alone and neglected. “He who has eyes to see…” ….

Read more here: crisismagazine.com/2020/cardinal-pell-the-living-martyr