Kudos to the group of Roman Catholic Cardinals and an Archbishop (with many other signatories) who have produced a statement concerning the birdemic which is exactly what is most needed.
This is solid evidence that real Christianity remains active and effective (if not dominant) within the Roman Catholic Church; and puts to shame the other major Christian denominations who have failed to make similar statements (who have indeed actively colluded-with the global powers of anti-Christian materialism).
Excerpts:
The facts have shown that, under the pretext of the [birdemic], the inalienable rights of citizens have in many cases been violated and their fundamental freedoms, including the exercise of freedom of worship, expression and movement, have been disproportionately and unjustifiably restricted. Public health must not, and cannot, become an alibi for infringing on the rights of millions of people around the world, let alone for depriving the civil authority of its duty to act wisely for the common good.
We also ask government leaders to ensure that forms of control over people, whether through tracking systems or any other form of location-finding, are rigorously avoided. The fight against [the birdemic], however serious, must not be the pretext for supporting the hidden intentions of supranational bodies that have very strong commercial and political interests in this plan. In particular, citizens must be given the opportunity to refuse these restrictions on personal freedom, without any penalty whatsoever being imposed on those who do not wish to use vaccines, contact tracking or any other similar tool. Let us also consider the blatant contradiction of those who pursue policies of drastic population control and at the same time present themselves as the savior of humanity, without any political or social legitimacy.
Finally, as Pastors responsible for the flock of Christ, let us remember that the Church firmly asserts her autonomy to govern, worship, and teach. This autonomy and freedom are an innate right that Our Lord Jesus Christ has given her for the pursuit of her proper ends. For this reason, as Pastors we firmly assert the right to decide autonomously on the celebration of Mass and the Sacraments, just as we claim absolute autonomy in matters falling within our immediate jurisdiction, such as liturgical norms and ways of administering Communion and the Sacraments. The State has no right to interfere, for any reason whatsoever, in the sovereignty of the Church. Ecclesiastical authorities have never refused to collaborate with the State, but such collaboration does not authorize civil authorities to impose any sort of ban or restriction on public worship or the exercise of priestly ministry. The rights of God and of the faithful are the supreme law of the Church, which she neither intends to, nor can, abdicate. We ask that restrictions on the celebration of public ceremonies be removed.
Why do you keep replacing “covid-19” with “birdemic?”
Yeah, I thought the piece was a satire or something. Yes, “read the whole thing”; the reproduction on this site is useless.
I also have wondered about “birdemic.” In the first place, the virus comes from bats, who are not birds. They are mammals.
It’s used by people who think that COVID-19 is a hoax so that they can talk about the “hoax” online without the government finding them through search engines.
Seriously. WmJas posted the link.
Not a hoax, exactly. I think most everyone agrees that there is a real bug going around and that it has killed a fair number of people. What is being questioned is the appropriateness of, and the motivation behind, the reaction to it.
I think the reaction of trying to avoid the infection is quite normal and to be expected. .
“Normal”? “To be expected”? Whether or not you think it’s justified, you have to admit that it’s completely unprecedented, that people have never reacted to an epidemic in this way, ever, in the known history of the world!
Amen from the Choir.
I read Wm Jas’s link. Good explanation, thanks! It’s not used mostly by people who think the virus is a “hoax,” which of course it isn’t. But it is being used by people who want to post sensible comments or suggestions which are questioning of or contrary to the authorities who are enforcing the strict shutdowns.
https://narrowdesert.blogspot.com/2020/04/birdemic.html
@ME – The terminology is explained here: https://narrowdesert.blogspot.com/2020/04/birdemic.html
Reading the whole article was refreshing and encouraging. Would that we could but hope that the Anglican Bishops would do the same.
From my own observations, even at the secular level many people are now questioning what is actually the agenda now.
With respect, this is not evidence of real Christianity being active or effective within the Roman Catholic Church. The evidence for that would be the Reformation of Rome’s unbiblical teachings and practices, whether on the right (Tradition trumping Scripture) or the left (Liberalism denying Scripture). This is what the 39 Articles teaches…
I thought the days of this sort of anti-Catholic rhetoric were long past.
Agreed .
“Cranmer believed that the Roman Catholic Church and specifically the papacy were enemies of true Christians and that the Mass was a superstitious rite that threatened to lead people away from a correct understanding of Christianity. Thus, for Thomas Cranmer, the debate over eucharistic theology was not simply an intellectual exercise to establish correct doctrine, but was a matter of saving souls.”
(from: ‘Pulling up the Roots of Error: The Importance of the Eucharist in the Theology of Thomas Cranmer’, by Daniel Burns)
Amazing, isn’t it, that when one quotes Cranmer‘s opposition to Rome’s false teachings, suddenly there are no further accusations of ‘anti-Catholic rhetoric’ in this thread? Anglicanism was founded as the Reformed Church of England in opposition to Rome – something we should never forget. Why? Because the gospel was – and still is – at stake.
This ‘rhetoric’ is of the essence of historic Anglicanism. Please read the Articles.
Not while there are Bible-believers around.
I come at this as a bit of a skeptic. Our national reaction to the Wuhan, or Xi, Flu has spawned 10 more problems. I think we’ve over reacted and I am pissed as hell that we can’t seem to get decent, accurate statistics. But politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies.
That said, I don’t grasp the panic over “lost rights” while the epidemic still continues. I’m fine staying out of church and reciting the Daily Office at home. Christ is present to me in so much more than the specific elements of the Eucharist. I’m blessed to be able to work from home. I’ve observed social-distancing protocols (not perfectly) but I’ve still engaged with family, friends and neighbors.
The time to protest lost rights will be if/when restrictions continue after the Chinese Virus is under control. But as noted above, we can’t seem to get good data. Frankly, that’s w hat we should be demanding…our right to be informed, not our”right” to become infected or to infect others.
My county has 125 positive tests. 1 eighty year old man with other health complications has died. 115 people that tested positive are considered recovered. 9 people are being actively monitored although it isn’t clear if any are in hospital. There is no information on how many people have been tested. I imagine that most people tested have symptoms although there is always hypochondriacs that think they should be tested a couple times a day. The drive through testing tent is a 15 minute drive away. I think the going rate is $118. I can smell perfume through my mask while shopping at COSTCO.