Catholic Church

March 31, 2020

Fr. James Goodwin: What To Do With No Confession: Forgiveness In The Time Of Coronavirus

By Fr. James Goodwin, Simply Catholic - These times are difficult for everyone. The current COVID-19 pandemic has affected virtually every part of our lives. For Catholics, it is a special trial, especially since we cannot go to Mass and Confession. It is truly a Lenten penance… This is not the first time the Church has encountered such a situation. We have been through plagues and natural disasters before where normal sacramental life was disrupted. God does not abandon us in these situations and continues to work through his Church… For many, right now the fear is that we might become ill or even die without the chance to receive the sacraments.

March 31, 2020

Canonical Deep Breath Time, by Edward Peters

By Edward Peters, JD, JCD, Ref. Sig. - Do not assume that some wrong, even stupid, policies being announced by various levels of Church government are necessarily canonically illegal policies. Christ, who foresaw COVID19, nevertheless gave considerable authority to his Church, specifically to his bishops and popes, to formulate how the Church would carry on his mission in these days. People should be very wary of concluding that a given a local Church policy is canonically illegal and can therefore simply be disregarded.

March 31, 2020

With Courage and Conviction, Little Sisters of the Poor Face Coronavirus Threat, by Mary Rose Short

By Mary Rose Short, EWTN News - The Little Sisters of the Poor have cared for their elderly and infirm residents through two world wars, the Spanish flu pandemic, the Great Depression and numerous natural disasters… Now, as the COVID-19 coronavirus spreads around the globe, the Little Sisters’ fourth vow of hospitality to the elderly poor is bringing them to the forefront in the fight to protect those most at risk from the virus… “One of the most challenging pieces of this is that it’s a constantly changing situation,” Little Sister Constance Veit told the Register.

March 31, 2020

The Coronavirus Pandemic and the Ethics of Triage, by R. J. Snell

By R. J. Snell, Ph.D., Culture of Life Foundation - As the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Italy, many hospitals are overwhelmed with patients, necessitating difficult triage decisions that can seem like choosing who lives and who dies. In the United States, already some hospitals and caregivers are overburdened, with expectations that things will soon become even more difficult. Hospitals and health authorities are releasing guidelines on the rationing of ventilators, with those guidelines already under criticism by disability groups and others. And the stress on our health systems is really just beginning—things will likely worsen, perhaps dramatically, in the next days.