I pray that we will never again allow our civil liberties and our liberties to be so easily confiscated and trampled underfoot.
Now that the COVID-19 public fitness emergency has been officially declared over, it’s time for us to assess the horrific toll those draconian measures have taken on our human family. A recent comment by Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch gives us a starting point. for this evaluation. In his remarks, he gave a scathing look at how civil liberties have been trampled on in COVID lockdowns, restrictions, and court orders, and warned about classes that America deserves to be informed of. Here are some of his comments:
In fact, I hope that many of us will be informed of the many terrible classes beyond the age of 3. I pray that we will never again allow our civil and devout liberties to be so easily confiscated and trampled underfoot.
Some will seek to disgrace those of us who look askance at many COVID restrictions. It is true that many have died from the virus and many others have suffered its physical effects, but if we are going to communicate about numbers, can we ever?Does the full cost, especially for our spiritual fitness, such as COVID lockdowns and restrictions, count?Let’s take a look at some of those costs:
If we need to count COVID deaths and dishonor those like me who sincerely question whether the harsh measures were really mandatory or value the cost, we deserve to include the other prices in the assessment. There was also the destruction of accepting as true with and relationships that happened in the overheated climate of silencing opposing perspectives and shaming all who raised doubts, many of which later turned out to be fair or legitimate.
Finally, as a priest and disciple of the Lord, what worries me most is the toll worry takes even on believers. In the Letter to the Hebrews (2:14-15), a central painting of the Lord Jesus is described as follows:
During the plague, where was the central biblical invocation: “Do not be afraid?He has rarely been heard. The Church was huddled, anxious, afraid of being called carefree to call others to courage. There is, of course, a satisfied middle ground between recklessness and progressive fear, and this is called caution. But the fear, even among Christians, and the willingness to do so was troubling and shameful.
The unbalanced preoccupation with physical rather than non-secular threats is also worrisome. If only God’s other people were as involved in avoiding mortal sin and soul loss as they were in avoiding contracting or spreading COVID. It turns out that COVID-19 has demanded radical, life-changing action, but COMMANDMENTS-10, not so much.
As the new COVID restrictions come to an end, I can only pray that we have learned vital classes and never backtracked allowing ourselves to so gently convey vital freedoms as well as our precious liturgy and sacraments. There is so much more to life than avoiding COVID or illness. Say yes to caution but no to fear.
Bishop Charles Pope is most recently dean and pastor of the Archdiocese of Washington, D. C. , where he has served on the Council of Priests, the College of Consultors and the Council of Priest Personnel. In addition to publishing a daily blog on the Archdiocese of Washington’s online website, he has written for pastoral magazines, led retreats for priests and lay faithful, and also conducted weekly Bible studies in the U. S. Congress and the White House. He was appointed Monsignor in 2005.
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SAINTS
My father is not the “parents know more” type, but he is the only father I ever had and I enjoyed it.
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