lifesitenews--2020-05-23--Catholic woman’s online education org helps students with intellectual, learning challenges

PALMDALE , California , May 22 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) — A Catholic teacher has been successfully running an online education institution to provide a learning environment especially for Catholic children with special needs in the safety of their homes .
Margaret Walsh , a graduate of Thomas Aquinas College with a Master 's in special education , founded Secret Garden Educational Pathways to help special needs students to learn in a Catholic environment and to make up for the ways that curricula provided by schools were failing to meet the students ’ real needs .
The website was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had existed under the name Living Pictures since 2015 .
The online service , run from Walsh ’ s location in California , is named after the story The Secret Garden , where a young girl , Mary , finds a secret garden in ruins hidden on the grounds of a mansion .
With the help of her friends and a gardener , Mary transforms the garden into its former beauty .
In the process , she and her friends are also transformed .
Walsh maintains that students with learning disabilities are similar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ strengthening mental “ pathways , ” students can discover their strengths and overcome their weaknesses to blossom into successful and joyful students , she said .
The Secret Garden Education Pathways seeks to help Catholic children with special needs “ go to the heart of learning ” — namely , the Catholic Faith — to further the student ’ s learning ability .
In an email to LifeSiteNews , Walsh said the first reason she decided to start this organization was the realization that students who have difficulties learning academically will also have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she worked in a secular school , Walsh taught two Catholic high-schoolers .
She asked them a question about Purgatory and learned that they knew nothing about their faith .
She realized that Catholic students with disabilities who have little knowledge of regular subjects would also likely have little knowledge of their faith .
Walsh also desired to offer students a learning environment where parents could be confident about the content and the teachers to which their children would be exposed .
In light of the LGBT agenda ’ s infiltration of schools @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the fact that students with special needs are often more at risk than other students , Walsh sees it as important to provide a learning environment for these children in the safety of their homes .
Statistics report that children with learning disabilities are significantly more likely to be molested than non-disabled children .
“ In a time when the public schools have turned into a political battlefield rife with immoral content , and Catholic private and homeschools often do n't have the means or expertise to help students with special needs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my venture , ” Walsh said .
Special needs students are susceptible and seek to please others , meaning that exposure to people and ideas “ is even more sensitive than students without learning disabilities , ” Walsh explained .
“ It is highly important , ” Walsh continued , “ to provide a very safe and healthy environment where students can improve academically , boost their confidence , learn their Faith and have no worries about the environment or interactions .
PETITION : No to mandatory vaccination for the coronavirus !
Sign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ uses Catholic materials to offer “ professional remediation and therapy services ” for special needs students .
“ What I am doing is different than many other people , and is often a missing piece of the puzzle that is needed for outcome success , ” Walsh told LifeSiteNews .
“ Most of the time schools are helping students by modifying the curriculum and accommodating the learning style of the student , i.e .
if Johnny is a visual learner , the teacher will write things on a whiteboard or if Johnny ca @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he would be allowed to do just 5 problems .
Oftentimes this means getting a diagnosis and then learning to live with the diagnosis with accommodations , ” she said .
“ However , we are offering the other missing piece of the puzzle through remediation and education therapy .
We are looking at the diagnosis , or the expressed weaknesses a student has , and then helping the student strengthen processing and thinking skills so that they can improve their abilities and potential and reach higher levels of success .
Instead of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s learn how to live with this ’ , we are taking the approach , ‘ let 's see if we can move beyond this and strengthen the mental pathways needed to learn more easily ’ .
I call it a growth mindset and we have seen so many improvements in students we work with , ” Walsh continued .
“ An analogy would be someone who injured their leg and the medical doctor says that they will always have that injury and crutches are the best way to live with it vs. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ person strengthen the injured leg so that the chances of walking without crutches are better , ” she added .
Walsh outlined a number of reasons why parents would choose her program .
1 .
They can easily access it from home and their students often feel more comfortable working from their own home .
This also means they do n't have to drive anywhere and have the rest of the family sit in the car for hours .
2 .
We are happy to bring the parents into the learning process and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can to work better with their students .
3 .
For Catholic families , we use Catholic materials that offer room for discussion and exploration of the truths of the Church and stories of saints , that they may not have been able to understand before .
This is one of the things I love most about this is that we can help students explore their faith while strengthening their processing , which can be applied to any subject .
One of the reasons I founded this company is because I discovered that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” subjects like history and math , they are often not understanding their Faith to the fullness they can .
4 .
We are aware of the financial constraints of many families and strive to keep the cost much lower than other therapy groups , charging less than half the rate most places charge .
5 .
When we work with students , we use our own materials initially and then often help students transition to learn how to work better within their own curriculum .
While the company is Catholic , Walsh @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Catholics and Protestants alike .
The company has worked with Protestants in the past and modifies materials “ so that there is not a specifically Catholic emphasis.
” The program also uses many materials that would appeal to a wide range of beliefs , such as Aesop 's Fables , the Book of Virtues , and historical articles .
The education center helps children who struggle with reading , memory , focus , comprehension , dyslexia , dysgraphia , dyscalculia , and general learning difficulties .
It offers “ Student Booster Programs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one with specially trained teachers to overcome the students ’ weaknesses .
The center offers a Comprehension and Literacy Program and a Decoding ( reading and spelling ) Program plus consultation with therapists .
The classes are one-on-one with teachers via online classrooms on the video conference platform Zoom .
Classes are frequent to strengthen the concepts learned , starting with daily classes for several weeks .
After an assessment , students continue with about 1–3 classes each week .
“ The kids are in the comfort and safety of their home , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is actually conducive to making more progress.
” The methods used enable students to succeed in any subject .
The program “ is cumulative , ” each step building upon the previous to allow students to reach their level by working through their developmental stages .
Walsh outlined how she has helped students with disabilities learn .
“ For example , we 've worked with students who could barely read when they started with us , and now they are reading the Chronicles of Narnia ( some of them ca n't put a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ve worked with students who had great difficulties with memory and comprehension , who couldn ’ t remember what they had learned just hours previous , and now they are enjoying school , have confidence and even studying encyclicals , ” she said .
“ Though there is a wide range of how much each student can improve , we have seen very promising improvements with most of our students .
I believe this is because we are helping them strengthen their processing pathways so that the information is less corrupted due to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she added .
Parents testify that these methods help their children to learn .
One parent wrote in a comment posted on Secret Garden ’ s website : “ Margaret was a great addition to our homeschool this past year .
She worked with my fourteen-year-old son on a variety of things including strengthening his use of imagery , improving his retelling skills and increasing his reading comprehension .
My son really looked forward to his classes with Margaret , whose calm and patient ways seemed to decrease his anxiety .
Not only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I also saw his confidence increase .
Thank you , Margaret !
” “ Our son was struggling with reading quite a lot and had never really read at grade level , ” another parent wrote .
“ He always tested very low in reading as well .
After working with Ms. Walsh intensely during a 6-week summer program , his reading ability was noticeably improved , and kept improving as the school year went on .
What has been most remarkable is seeing his most recent test results .
Marked improvement across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reading !
” One student wrote , “ Margaret helped me with a lot of things .
She taught me how to picture so that I could understand what I was reading .
She also taught me different mind games , which was my favorite thing .
AND , she was a lot of fun !
” May 23 , 2020 correction : An earlier version of this report mistakenly referred to Walsh as a mother .

A teacher has been successfully running an online education institution to provide a learning environment especially for Catholic children with special needs in the safety of their homes.
PALMDALE, California, May 22, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — A Catholic teacher has been successfully running an online education institution to provide a learning environment especially for Catholic children with special needs in the safety of their homes.
Margaret Walsh, a graduate of Thomas Aquinas College with a Master's in special education, founded Secret Garden Educational Pathways to help special needs students to learn in a Catholic environment and to make up for the ways that curricula provided by schools were failing to meet the students’ real needs. The website was launched in 2017; however, it had existed under the name Living Pictures since 2015.
Garden in disrepair
The online service, run from Walsh’s location in California, is named after the story The Secret Garden, where a young girl, Mary, finds a secret garden in ruins hidden on the grounds of a mansion. With the help of her friends and a gardener, Mary transforms the garden into its former beauty. In the process, she and her friends are also transformed.
Walsh maintains that students with learning disabilities are similar to a garden in disrepair.
By strengthening mental “pathways,” students can discover their strengths and overcome their weaknesses to blossom into successful and joyful students, she said.
The ‘heart of learning’
The Secret Garden Education Pathways seeks to help Catholic children with special needs “go to the heart of learning” — namely, the Catholic Faith — to further the student’s learning ability.
In an email to LifeSiteNews, Walsh said the first reason she decided to start this organization was the realization that students who have difficulties learning academically will also have trouble learning about the Faith.
When she worked in a secular school, Walsh taught two Catholic high-schoolers. She asked them a question about Purgatory and learned that they knew nothing about their faith. She realized that Catholic students with disabilities who have little knowledge of regular subjects would also likely have little knowledge of their faith.
Walsh also desired to offer students a learning environment where parents could be confident about the content and the teachers to which their children would be exposed.
In light of the LGBT agenda’s infiltration of schools, drag queens, sex education, and the fact that students with special needs are often more at risk than other students, Walsh sees it as important to provide a learning environment for these children in the safety of their homes. Statistics report that children with learning disabilities are significantly more likely to be molested than non-disabled children.
“In a time when the public schools have turned into a political battlefield rife with immoral content, and Catholic private and homeschools often don't have the means or expertise to help students with special needs, I am excited to be sharing my venture,” Walsh said.
Special needs students are susceptible and seek to please others, meaning that exposure to people and ideas “is even more sensitive than students without learning disabilities,” Walsh explained.
“It is highly important,” Walsh continued, “to provide a very safe and healthy environment where students can improve academically, boost their confidence, learn their Faith and have no worries about the environment or interactions.
PETITION: No to mandatory vaccination for the coronavirus! Sign the petition here.
What Secret Garden offers
The education center uses Catholic materials to offer “professional remediation and therapy services” for special needs students.
“What I am doing is different than many other people, and is often a missing piece of the puzzle that is needed for outcome success,” Walsh told LifeSiteNews.
“Most of the time schools are helping students by modifying the curriculum and accommodating the learning style of the student, i.e. if Johnny is a visual learner, the teacher will write things on a whiteboard or if Johnny can't complete a whole math lesson, he would be allowed to do just 5 problems. Oftentimes this means getting a diagnosis and then learning to live with the diagnosis with accommodations,” she said.
“However, we are offering the other missing piece of the puzzle through remediation and education therapy. We are looking at the diagnosis, or the expressed weaknesses a student has, and then helping the student strengthen processing and thinking skills so that they can improve their abilities and potential and reach higher levels of success. Instead of taking the approach, ‘let’s learn how to live with this’, we are taking the approach, ‘let's see if we can move beyond this and strengthen the mental pathways needed to learn more easily’. I call it a growth mindset and we have seen so many improvements in students we work with,” Walsh continued.
“An analogy would be someone who injured their leg and the medical doctor says that they will always have that injury and crutches are the best way to live with it vs. a physical therapist who will help that person strengthen the injured leg so that the chances of walking without crutches are better,” she added.
Walsh outlined a number of reasons why parents would choose her program.
1. They can easily access it from home and their students often feel more comfortable working from their own home. This also means they don't have to drive anywhere and have the rest of the family sit in the car for hours.
2. We are happy to bring the parents into the learning process and give them as many tools as they can to work better with their students.
3. For Catholic families, we use Catholic materials that offer room for discussion and exploration of the truths of the Church and stories of saints, that they may not have been able to understand before. This is one of the things I love most about this is that we can help students explore their faith while strengthening their processing, which can be applied to any subject. One of the reasons I founded this company is because I discovered that if students are struggling with “common” subjects like history and math, they are often not understanding their Faith to the fullness they can.
4. We are aware of the financial constraints of many families and strive to keep the cost much lower than other therapy groups, charging less than half the rate most places charge.
5. When we work with students, we use our own materials initially and then often help students transition to learn how to work better within their own curriculum.
While the company is Catholic, Walsh told LifeSiteNews she is happy to work with Catholics and Protestants alike. The company has worked with Protestants in the past and modifies materials “so that there is not a specifically Catholic emphasis.”
The program also uses many materials that would appeal to a wide range of beliefs, such as Aesop's Fables, the Book of Virtues, and historical articles.
The education center helps children who struggle with reading, memory, focus, comprehension, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and general learning difficulties.
It offers “Student Booster Programs,” helping students work one on one with specially trained teachers to overcome the students’ weaknesses.
The center offers a Comprehension and Literacy Program and a Decoding (reading and spelling) Program plus consultation with therapists.
Making progress
The classes are one-on-one with teachers via online classrooms on the video conference platform Zoom. Classes are frequent to strengthen the concepts learned, starting with daily classes for several weeks. After an assessment, students continue with about 1–3 classes each week.
“The kids are in the comfort and safety of their home,” Walsh said. “And it is actually conducive to making more progress.”
The methods used enable students to succeed in any subject. The program “is cumulative,” each step building upon the previous to allow students to reach their level by working through their developmental stages.
Walsh outlined how she has helped students with disabilities learn.
“For example, we've worked with students who could barely read when they started with us, and now they are reading the Chronicles of Narnia (some of them can't put a book down now). We’ve worked with students who had great difficulties with memory and comprehension, who couldn’t remember what they had learned just hours previous, and now they are enjoying school, have confidence and even studying encyclicals,” she said.
“Though there is a wide range of how much each student can improve, we have seen very promising improvements with most of our students. I believe this is because we are helping them strengthen their processing pathways so that the information is less corrupted due to weakness and they can truly understand.” she added.
‘Thank you’
Parents testify that these methods help their children to learn.
One parent wrote in a comment posted on Secret Garden’s website: “Margaret was a great addition to our homeschool this past year. She worked with my fourteen-year-old son on a variety of things including strengthening his use of imagery, improving his retelling skills and increasing his reading comprehension. My son really looked forward to his classes with Margaret, whose calm and patient ways seemed to decrease his anxiety. Not only did I see improvement academically, but I also saw his confidence increase. Thank you, Margaret!”
“Our son was struggling with reading quite a lot and had never really read at grade level,” another parent wrote. “He always tested very low in reading as well. After working with Ms. Walsh intensely during a 6-week summer program, his reading ability was noticeably improved, and kept improving as the school year went on. What has been most remarkable is seeing his most recent test results. Marked improvement across ALL areas of testing, including the reading!”
One student wrote, “Margaret helped me with a lot of things. She taught me how to picture so that I could understand what I was reading. She also taught me different mind games, which was my favorite thing. AND, she was a lot of fun!”
May 23, 2020 correction: An earlier version of this report mistakenly referred to Walsh as a mother.
Share


lifesitenews--2020-05-23--Join our daily worldwide rosary HERE

Join our daily worldwide rosary HERE

May 23 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – In response to the coronavirus crisis , LifeSite is offering Catholics throughout the world a chance to be united in praying the rosary together , at the same time , every day at 12:00 noon EST .
The rosary is led by Father Anthony Pillari , an American priest currently in Italy .
To date , Catholics from Israel , Uganda , Italy , France , Germany , Ireland , the United Kingdom , the U.S. , Canada , Mexico , Chile , Brazil , Australia , New Zealand , the Philippines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as well as other countries , have been joining in .
The whole world – including the Church – has been thrown into chaos because of the coronavirus ( COVID-19 ) .
Thousands of people have passed away as a result of the viral outbreak , while thousands more have been sickened .
And , across the world , business has come to a grinding halt , resulting in sudden job loss and threatening economic recession .
If there ever was a time for prayer , this is it .
Catholics around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Sacraments , but in many places are unable to access them because of bishops ’ orders or government restrictions .
We know that community with other believers is vital all the time , but especially during this time of global calls for “ sheltering-in-place ” and quarantine .
“ The rosary is the weapon for these times , ” St. Padre Pio said .
Through prayer , we can shape history , change the world , and bring this painful crisis to an end .
Join us today !
Send photos or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the rosary with Father Pillari to [ email protected ]

(LifeSiteNews) — In response to the crisis unfolding in our world and in the Church, LifeSite is happy to promote Regina Angelorum Press’s Daily Rosary, which is offering Catholics throughout the world the chance to be united daily in prayer, in the Our Lady of Fatima Rosary Crusade.
Catholics from all over the world — from Israel, Uganda, Italy, France, Germany, Ireland, Pakistan, Singapore, the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the U.S., Canada, Brazil, and other countries — are gathering daily to pray the Rosary, led by Father Pillari, JCL, MCL, STL, an American priest currently studying in Italy.
The Daily Rosary is being offered each day at 12noon EST through Regina Angelorum Press’ YouTube Channel to which you can subscribe HERE.
The goal is, by means of this Daily Rosary and by embracing and living out the message given by the Virgin Mary at Fatima, the triumph of Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart.
To help obtain that goal, Bishop Athanasius Schneider graciously composed the following prayer for this worldwide Rosary crusade:
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, you are the holy Mother of God and our tender Mother. Look upon the distress in which the Church and the whole of humanity are living because of the spread of materialism and the persecution of the Church. In Fatima you warned against these errors, as you spoke about the errors of Russia. You are the Mediatrix of all graces. Implore your Divine Son to grant this special grace for the Pope: that he might consecrate Russia to your Immaculate Heart, so that Russia will be converted, a period of peace will be granted to the world, and your Immaculate Heart will triumph, through an authentic renewal of the Church in the splendor of the purity of the Catholic Faith, of the sacredness of Divine worship and of the holiness of the Christian life. O Queen of the holy Rosary and our sweet Mother, turn your merciful eyes to us and graciously hear this our trusting prayer. Amen. + Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of the archdiocese of Saint Mary in Astana
To learn more about the urgency of responding to Our Lady’s message at Fatima, and about what you can do, please read Cardinal Burke’s 2017 address at the Rome Life Forum.
As St. Padre Pio once said, “The Rosary is the weapon for these times.” Through prayer, God can shape history, change the world, and bring about a great time of renewal and peace for the Church and for the world, through the triumph of Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart. Join us today!
If you would like to follow along with the prayers said during this Rosary, you can access them HERE. The document also includes a brief F.A.Q. pertaining to the daily Rosary.
You can send your prayer requests to https://reginangelorumpress.com/prayer-intentions/
Share


lifesitenews--2020-05-24--Join our daily worldwide rosary HERE

Join our daily worldwide rosary HERE

May 24 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – In response to the coronavirus crisis , LifeSite is offering Catholics throughout the world a chance to be united in praying the rosary together , at the same time , every day at 12:00 noon EST .
The rosary is led by Father Anthony Pillari , an American priest currently in Italy .
To date , Catholics from Israel , Uganda , Italy , France , Germany , Ireland , the United Kingdom , the U.S. , Canada , Mexico , Chile , Brazil , Australia , New Zealand , the Philippines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as well as other countries , have been joining in .
The whole world – including the Church – has been thrown into chaos because of the coronavirus ( COVID-19 ) .
Thousands of people have passed away as a result of the viral outbreak , while thousands more have been sickened .
And , across the world , business has come to a grinding halt , resulting in sudden job loss and threatening economic recession .
If there ever was a time for prayer , this is it .
Catholics around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Sacraments , but in many places are unable to access them because of bishops ’ orders or government restrictions .
We know that community with other believers is vital all the time , but especially during this time of global calls for “ sheltering-in-place ” and quarantine .
“ The rosary is the weapon for these times , ” St. Padre Pio said .
Through prayer , we can shape history , change the world , and bring this painful crisis to an end .
Join us today !
Send photos or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the rosary with Father Pillari to [ email protected ]


lifesitenews--2020-05-25--French faithful joyfully return to worship as churches reopen after more than two months in lockdown

May 25 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) -- Many cathedrals and parish churches in France opened for public Masses and other religious services over the weekend , attracting thousands of faithful deprived of public worship for more than two months because of lockdown measures related to COVID-19 .
Scenes of quiet and intense joy could be witnessed as believers returned to the long-deserted churches under stringent conditions , however , as public authorities have threatened to withdraw permission for non-compliance .
On Saturday morning , the official decree allowing public religious services was published by the Prime Minister Edouard Philippe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who famously said earlier that Catholics can pray just as well at home as in church .
The announcement came five days after the Council of State gave the government eight days to modify its deconfinement rules so as to respect the “ essential ” liberty of worship .
According to the French bishops ’ conference , civil authorities have made clear that they still prefer public worship not to resume before June 2 , but their hand was forced at a time when the French government has made clear that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to reopen while clients at supermarkets have been able to go unmasked since the beginning of confinement .
Many dioceses and parishes responded immediately , preparing churches and chapels to comply with “ safety ” rules .
Those include : not less than 4 square meters per churchgoer , marks on benches or chairs indicating which would be accessible to the public , disinfection points for hand-washing before entering the building , and organizing one-way traffic .
Websites were quickly updated in order to inform the faithful .
Often , two or three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ evening and on Sunday , one Mass being added at the last minute at 8:30 p.m. in one traditional ex- “ Ecclesia Dei ” parish in Brittany , for example , in order to let allow the faithful who were unable to come to an open air Mass in the morning , or to the regular evening Mass at 6:30 p.m. , to fulfill their Sunday obligation .
In the busier parishes that are usually full to overflowing on Sundays , the faithful had to register for Mass in order to avoid having @ @ @ @ @ @ @ local occupancy limit .
All faithful were expected to wear masks except for specific moments – such as Communion – when these can not be required .
The May 22 decree added rules for disinfecting sacred vessels before each celebration , and the celebrants ’ hands with hydroalcoholic gel , before and “ if necessary ” during celebrations .
The decree also noted that celebrations can be prone to allowing the coronavirus to circulate more easily because of prayers said out loud , as well as chants and contact between participants , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mass .
Parishes are expected to regulate all these aspects , and local government representatives in the “ departments ” have been given the right to suspend authorizations or even to close churches and other places of worship should non-compliance be observed by the authorities .
While new daily contaminations in the COVID-19 epidemic have decreased steadily and dramatically – now at about 300 new confirmed cases of the illness associated with the Chinese coronavirus in a country with 67 million inhabitants , a risk of 1 in 223.000 – parishioners were careful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ losing the right to return to church of which they had been so long deprived .
Some bishops , however , have chosen to wait .
In the Diocese of Versailles , near Paris , for instance , Bishop Eric Aumonier decided public worship would not resume before May 26 .
This meant one more Sunday his flock would not be able to assist at Mass .
He later agreed with some priests , including the rector of the cathedral , to allow a few Masses to take place yesterday .
Bishop Yves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in eastern France , published a communiqué saying that with all of the orders and counter-orders , his parishes were not ready , and he decided to wait until next Sunday , Pentecost , in order to resume public worship .
A few other dioceses chose similar , more restrictive attitudes than those allowed by the government ’ s decree .
In Vannes , several pages of instructions were sent to every parish by Bishop Raymond Centène .
He ordered that Holy Communion would be distributed exclusively in the hand , at “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Those faithful who want to mark their respect by not touching the Host may present themselves with a cloth as a corporal in their hand , ” wrote the bishop .
It appears that he gave no directions as to the purification of this “ corporal.
” At the local extraordinary form Mass , during which Communion can only be received kneeling and on the tongue , Communion was not distributed to the faithful .
Priests are having talks with the diocese in order to recover the right to distribute Communion properly .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ those of the French government , which has reduced its interference with religious ceremonies proper , recognizing the right of priests and other religious ministers to see to a number of security measures themselves .
However , the communiqué of the French Bishops ’ conference announcing the possibility that Masses would resume last Sunday made local bishops “ responsible ” for any situation that may arise .
While it said the CEF is “ happy ” that Masses with the faithful are now possible , it prudently added : “ — that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bishops and priests ) to determine the date of the resumption of Masses with assembly , and that this liberty entails their responsibility .
The CEF notes that the government ’ s recommendation remains that liturgical assemblies should not begin until June 2 .
It is only next week , in fact , that the possible first effects of the deconfinement in terms of contagion will be seen.
” A number of local bishops and priests had gone to many lengths in order to distribute the sacraments and allow faithful prudently to join @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confinement and the first weeks of partial deconfinement since May 11 .
Masses were read in private chapels with limited assistance , and in parishioners ’ homes , or , after May 11 , outdoors , confessions took place .
Since then , drive-in masses were also organized in the diocese of Tulle by the bishop .
Other verified cases of priests allowing faithful to join Mass as of May 11 have come to LifeSite ’ s attention .
If the French government had its way , public worship would not have resumed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the earliest , according to informal remarks by Philippe when he announced a partial end of lockdown on April 28 .
The French Bishops ’ conference , with its president , Eric de Moulins-Beaufort , was particularly docile in accepting restrictions to public worship , moving ahead of public requirements in stopping public Masses or prohibiting the reception of Holy Communion on the tongue .
Nor did the Bishops of France protest more than half-heartedly when the exclusion from deconfinement measures was confirmed by official government decrees on May 11-12 .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ traditional Latin mass institutes in France , as well as the Society of Saint Pius X , the AGRIF – an association defending the rights of Christians and French citizens against discrimination – and several individuals that obtained the recognition that prohibition of public worship was an undue and disproportionate restriction to the “ fundamental right ” to freedom of worship .
Conservative media have commented on the fact that the bishops of France were visibly absent from a fight that was won for all Catholics by those attached to the traditional liturgy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Le Figaro , commented that the decision of the Council of State allowing public Masses to resume “ could be interpreted as a slap in the face ” for the CEF “ that did not dare file a request ” in order to obtain it , even though “ many bishops were in favor.
” “ We can always disagree on whether or not to go before a judge .
But when the very legal basis of the freedom to practice worship in France is in question , the Church as an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It is a question of law , and therefore of the future for believers .
The highest court of the State has , moreover , recalled that they have the constitutional right to believe , to have access to places of worship and to celebrate there , ” Guenois wrote .
The CEF , Guenois wrote , thought that seeking recourse would be “ counterproductive ” and believed “ negotiation ” with the public authorities would be enough .
“ It did not see that the head of government or the president , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would not , in the name of secularism , grant anything , to ‘ Catholics ’ as such .
This is a mistake .
Getting involved in a request to the Council of State , far from betraying negotiation between well-behaved people – which is obviously necessary – would , on the contrary , have established the seriousness and credibility of its approach .
Without offending anyone , this objective legal recourse made evident the gravity of what was at stake .
It gave the Church an institutional weight to the Church , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Individual French bishops dared not disobey the CEF .
But now that Masses are once again public , a number of them have shown their satisfaction .
Bishop Bernard Ginoux of Montauban went so far as to thank not only the Council of State in a tweet on Sunday but said “ merci ” to the organizations that had seized it .
In another tweet , he added : “ Catholic # Masses .
Dear Catholic faithful , you have been missing the Mass ; don ’ t ever you miss Mass again @ @ @ @ @ @ @

Masses resumed over the weekend in several dioceses, but some bishops have chosen to keep their churches closed.
May 25, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — Many cathedrals and parish churches in France opened for public Masses and other religious services over the weekend, attracting thousands of faithful deprived of public worship for more than two months because of lockdown measures related to COVID-19.
Scenes of quiet and intense joy could be witnessed as believers returned to the long-deserted churches under stringent conditions, however, as public authorities have threatened to withdraw permission for non-compliance.
On Saturday morning, the official decree allowing public religious services was published by the Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and Minister of the Interior Christophe Castaner, who famously said earlier that Catholics can pray just as well at home as in church. The announcement came five days after the Council of State gave the government eight days to modify its deconfinement rules so as to respect the “essential” liberty of worship.
According to the French bishops’ conference, civil authorities have made clear that they still prefer public worship not to resume before June 2, but their hand was forced at a time when the French government has made clear that it is prepared to allow schools and businesses to reopen while clients at supermarkets have been able to go unmasked since the beginning of confinement.
Many dioceses and parishes responded immediately, preparing churches and chapels to comply with “safety” rules. Those include: not less than 4 square meters per churchgoer, marks on benches or chairs indicating which would be accessible to the public, disinfection points for hand-washing before entering the building, and organizing one-way traffic.
Websites were quickly updated in order to inform the faithful. Often, two or three extra Masses were scheduled, on Saturday evening and on Sunday, one Mass being added at the last minute at 8:30 p.m. in one traditional ex-“Ecclesia Dei” parish in Brittany, for example, in order to let allow the faithful who were unable to come to an open air Mass in the morning, or to the regular evening Mass at 6:30 p.m., to fulfill their Sunday obligation.
In the busier parishes that are usually full to overflowing on Sundays, the faithful had to register for Mass in order to avoid having to send people away because of the local occupancy limit.
All faithful were expected to wear masks except for specific moments – such as Communion – when these cannot be required. The May 22 decree added rules for disinfecting sacred vessels before each celebration, and the celebrants’ hands with hydroalcoholic gel, before and “if necessary” during celebrations.
The decree also noted that celebrations can be prone to allowing the coronavirus to circulate more easily because of prayers said out loud, as well as chants and contact between participants, “even outside” before or after the Mass. Parishes are expected to regulate all these aspects, and local government representatives in the “departments” have been given the right to suspend authorizations or even to close churches and other places of worship should non-compliance be observed by the authorities.
While new daily contaminations in the COVID-19 epidemic have decreased steadily and dramatically – now at about 300 new confirmed cases of the illness associated with the Chinese coronavirus in a country with 67 million inhabitants, a risk of 1 in 223.000 – parishioners were careful to obey all conditions for fear of losing the right to return to church of which they had been so long deprived.
Some bishops, however, have chosen to wait. In the Diocese of Versailles, near Paris, for instance, Bishop Eric Aumonier decided public worship would not resume before May 26. This meant one more Sunday his flock would not be able to assist at Mass. He later agreed with some priests, including the rector of the cathedral, to allow a few Masses to take place yesterday.
Bishop Yves Boivineau of the Diocese of Annecy, in eastern France, published a communiqué saying that with all of the orders and counter-orders, his parishes were not ready, and he decided to wait until next Sunday, Pentecost, in order to resume public worship.
A few other dioceses chose similar, more restrictive attitudes than those allowed by the government’s decree.
In Vannes, several pages of instructions were sent to every parish by Bishop Raymond Centène. He ordered that Holy Communion would be distributed exclusively in the hand, at “sufficient distance from the minister.” “Those faithful who want to mark their respect by not touching the Host may present themselves with a cloth as a corporal in their hand,” wrote the bishop. It appears that he gave no directions as to the purification of this “corporal.”
At the local extraordinary form Mass, during which Communion can only be received kneeling and on the tongue, Communion was not distributed to the faithful. Priests are having talks with the diocese in order to recover the right to distribute Communion properly.
Bishop Centène’s exigencies go beyond those of the French government, which has reduced its interference with religious ceremonies proper, recognizing the right of priests and other religious ministers to see to a number of security measures themselves.
However, the communiqué of the French Bishops’ conference announcing the possibility that Masses would resume last Sunday made local bishops “responsible” for any situation that may arise. While it said the CEF is “happy” that Masses with the faithful are now possible, it prudently added:
“The CEF notes:
“ — that the liberty is left to each official (bishops and priests) to determine the date of the resumption of Masses with assembly, and that this liberty entails their responsibility. The CEF notes that the government’s recommendation remains that liturgical assemblies should not begin until June 2. It is only next week, in fact, that the possible first effects of the deconfinement in terms of contagion will be seen.”
A number of local bishops and priests had gone to many lengths in order to distribute the sacraments and allow faithful prudently to join ceremonies while observing security guidelines both during confinement and the first weeks of partial deconfinement since May 11. Masses were read in private chapels with limited assistance, and in parishioners’ homes, or, after May 11, outdoors, confessions took place. Since then, drive-in masses were also organized in the diocese of Tulle by the bishop. Other verified cases of priests allowing faithful to join Mass as of May 11 have come to LifeSite’s attention.
If the French government had its way, public worship would not have resumed before June 1 – after Pentecost – at the earliest, according to informal remarks by Philippe when he announced a partial end of lockdown on April 28.
The French Bishops’ conference, with its president, Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, was particularly docile in accepting restrictions to public worship, moving ahead of public requirements in stopping public Masses or prohibiting the reception of Holy Communion on the tongue.
Nor did the Bishops of France protest more than half-heartedly when the exclusion from deconfinement measures was confirmed by official government decrees on May 11-12.
It was through the work of four official traditional Latin mass institutes in France, as well as the Society of Saint Pius X, the AGRIF – an association defending the rights of Christians and French citizens against discrimination – and several individuals that obtained the recognition that prohibition of public worship was an undue and disproportionate restriction to the “fundamental right” to freedom of worship.
Conservative media have commented on the fact that the bishops of France were visibly absent from a fight that was won for all Catholics by those attached to the traditional liturgy.
Jean-Marie Guénois, the religious editor of Le Figaro, commented that the decision of the Council of State allowing public Masses to resume “could be interpreted as a slap in the face” for the CEF “that did not dare file a request” in order to obtain it, even though “many bishops were in favor.”
“We can always disagree on whether or not to go before a judge. But when the very legal basis of the freedom to practice worship in France is in question, the Church as an institution cannot stand idly by. It is a question of law, and therefore of the future for believers. The highest court of the State has, moreover, recalled that they have the constitutional right to believe, to have access to places of worship and to celebrate there,” Guenois wrote.
The CEF, Guenois wrote, thought that seeking recourse would be “counterproductive” and believed “negotiation” with the public authorities would be enough. “It did not see that the head of government or the president, speaking with the ‘religions,’ would not, in the name of secularism, grant anything, to ‘Catholics’ as such. This is a mistake. Getting involved in a request to the Council of State, far from betraying negotiation between well-behaved people – which is obviously necessary – would, on the contrary, have established the seriousness and credibility of its approach. Without offending anyone, this objective legal recourse made evident the gravity of what was at stake. It gave the Church an institutional weight to the Church, which many people today deny it.”
Individual French bishops dared not disobey the CEF. But now that Masses are once again public, a number of them have shown their satisfaction.
Bishop Bernard Ginoux of Montauban went so far as to thank not only the Council of State in a tweet on Sunday but said “merci” to the organizations that had seized it. In another tweet, he added:
“Catholic #Masses. Dear Catholic faithful, you have been missing the Mass; don’t ever you miss Mass again. Christ awaits you there.”
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lifesitenews--2020-05-25--Where’s the moral outrage from the Christian Left while being locked out of their churches?

May 25 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) -- There has been a fair amount of criticism of Catholic bishops over the period of the coronavirus epidemic , but if you want to put things in perspective , you only have to look at the bishops of the Church of England ( Episcopalians ) .
While Catholic priests up and down the land were optimising their churches ’ live-streaming technology , Anglican clergy were forbidden to enter their own places of worship , even if these actually adjoined their homes .
Their flocks have been treated to the sight of services @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
This utterly pointless ruling was roundly criticised , but the bishops stuck to it even over Easter , only finally succumbing to the pressure of common sense on May 5 .
What possible motivation could they have had for insisting that their clergy not go through the sacristy door into their empty and locked churches to celebrate the liturgy ?
Justin Welby , the Archbishop of Canterbury who thinks of himself as the successor of St. Augustine of Canterbury , who brought the Christian faith to England directly from Pope St. Gregory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was to set an example .
Referring to the government ’ s message about public health , he told the press that “ by closing the churches , we make a powerful symbol of the need to listen to that message.
” I ’ m not someone who has called for people to flout the government ’ s guidelines , but going beyond them in this extraordinary way seems to me a powerful symbol of the Church of England ’ s worship of the idol of “ health and safety.
” This isn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jumped on a bandwagon without engaging his brain .
He condemned the long-dead and much-revered Bishop George Bell of Chichester for child abuse , without bothering to find out if the accusation was credible , a condemnation now criticized by a succession of official reports .
Welby has found it difficult to apologize to Bell ’ s relations , who were understandably furious .
Perhaps he was hoping his zeal in criticizing the dead would counter-balance Anglican failures to deal with Peter Ball , a living Anglican bishop actually imprisoned for sexual abuse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would have done it anyway .
He and his colleagues seem incapable of resisting the temptation of the virtuous pile-on .
Over the weekend , we were treated to the spectacle of Twitter condemnations by a whole array of Anglican luminaries of Dominic Cummings , a government adviser who apparently broke restrictions on travel to arrange child care for his two children when his wife contracted the virus , making him think that he was likely to do the same .
If some of these Twitter statements seem a little deranged , one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a hate-figure for some on the liberal-left , so is fair game .
Is this what liberal Protestantism has come to now ?
It turns out that Cummings ’ son is autistic , and that the travel rules made special provision for parents in such cases .
Cummings didn ’ t break the rules , but I have no naïve expectation that his high-minded critics will apologize for their rush to judgment .
Somehow , their rage was justified anyway , because Cummings annoys them .
In many ways , liberal Protestantism , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ mainline Protestantism , ” shows us the future that the Catholic Church could realize if it moves in a certain direction .
Fifty or 100 years ago , their ecclesial structures represented respectable solidity , the conscience of the establishment , but the virus of liberal theology they had long harbored undermined the content of their beliefs to such an extent that today it is difficult to say what is left .
Whatever it is , it doesn ’ t seem to be the same for any two of them .
When @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that will give common purpose to his flock , it can ’ t be about moral or supernatural realities .
It has to be about something his flock has in common with the secular public .
If he wants to show “ leadership ” on such an issue , he has to jump the shark , and express his chosen fashionable opinion in an extreme way .
He can ’ t just be in favor of sensible rules about lockdown : he has to be a fanatic .
I can thank a merciful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do not engage in social media in this childish way .
Perhaps they miss some of the opportunities the medium offers , but I ’ d take that any day over this humiliating display from the Anglicans .
We can , however , see signs of the same problem in the Catholic Church .
Adherence to ecological ideology , expressed with more enthusiasm than knowledge , can be an example , as is the embrace of any other popular political cause .
It ’ s not that theology has nothing to say about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ problem when the message is something to which theology makes no real contribution .
If that is so , for all the sound and fury that may be expressed , the Church is not bringing the Gospel to the unconverted world , but bringing fashionable secular dogmas to the faithful .

May 25, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — There has been a fair amount of criticism of Catholic bishops over the period of the coronavirus epidemic, but if you want to put things in perspective, you only have to look at the bishops of the Church of England (Episcopalians). While Catholic priests up and down the land were optimising their churches’ live-streaming technology, Anglican clergy were forbidden to enter their own places of worship, even if these actually adjoined their homes. Their flocks have been treated to the sight of services celebrated in kitchens and living rooms instead. This utterly pointless ruling was roundly criticised, but the bishops stuck to it even over Easter, only finally succumbing to the pressure of common sense on May 5. What possible motivation could they have had for insisting that their clergy not go through the sacristy door into their empty and locked churches to celebrate the liturgy?
Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury who thinks of himself as the successor of St. Augustine of Canterbury, who brought the Christian faith to England directly from Pope St. Gregory the Great, told us that it was to set an example. Referring to the government’s message about public health, he told the press that “by closing the churches, we make a powerful symbol of the need to listen to that message.”
I’m not someone who has called for people to flout the government’s guidelines, but going beyond them in this extraordinary way seems to me a powerful symbol of the Church of England’s worship of the idol of “health and safety.”
This isn’t the first time Welby has jumped on a bandwagon without engaging his brain. He condemned the long-dead and much-revered Bishop George Bell of Chichester for child abuse, without bothering to find out if the accusation was credible, a condemnation now criticized by a succession of official reports. Welby has found it difficult to apologize to Bell’s relations, who were understandably furious. Perhaps he was hoping his zeal in criticizing the dead would counter-balance Anglican failures to deal with Peter Ball, a living Anglican bishop actually imprisoned for sexual abuse.
But then again, perhaps he would have done it anyway. He and his colleagues seem incapable of resisting the temptation of the virtuous pile-on. Over the weekend, we were treated to the spectacle of Twitter condemnations by a whole array of Anglican luminaries of Dominic Cummings, a government adviser who apparently broke restrictions on travel to arrange child care for his two children when his wife contracted the virus, making him think that he was likely to do the same. If some of these Twitter statements seem a little deranged, one must bear in mind that Cummings is a hate-figure for some on the liberal-left, so is fair game.
Is this what liberal Protestantism has come to now?
It turns out that Cummings’ son is autistic, and that the travel rules made special provision for parents in such cases. Cummings didn’t break the rules, but I have no naïve expectation that his high-minded critics will apologize for their rush to judgment. Somehow, their rage was justified anyway, because Cummings annoys them.
In many ways, liberal Protestantism, the phenomenon usually described in America as “mainline Protestantism,” shows us the future that the Catholic Church could realize if it moves in a certain direction. Fifty or 100 years ago, their ecclesial structures represented respectable solidity, the conscience of the establishment, but the virus of liberal theology they had long harbored undermined the content of their beliefs to such an extent that today it is difficult to say what is left. Whatever it is, it doesn’t seem to be the same for any two of them. When an Anglican bishop wants to say something that will give common purpose to his flock, it can’t be about moral or supernatural realities. It has to be about something his flock has in common with the secular public. If he wants to show “leadership” on such an issue, he has to jump the shark, and express his chosen fashionable opinion in an extreme way. He can’t just be in favor of sensible rules about lockdown: he has to be a fanatic.
I can thank a merciful providence that Britain’s Catholic bishops do not engage in social media in this childish way. Perhaps they miss some of the opportunities the medium offers, but I’d take that any day over this humiliating display from the Anglicans. We can, however, see signs of the same problem in the Catholic Church. Adherence to ecological ideology, expressed with more enthusiasm than knowledge, can be an example, as is the embrace of any other popular political cause. It’s not that theology has nothing to say about politics. Rather, we have a problem when the message is something to which theology makes no real contribution. If that is so, for all the sound and fury that may be expressed, the Church is not bringing the Gospel to the unconverted world, but bringing fashionable secular dogmas to the faithful.
Follow Joseph Dr Joseph Shaw has a Doctorate in Philosophy from Oxford University, where he also gained a first degree in Politics and Philosophy and a graduate Diploma in Theology. He has published on Ethics and Philosophy of Religion and is the editor of The Case for Liturgical Restoration: Una Voce Position Papers on the Extraordinary Form (Angelico Press). He is the Chairman of the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales and Secretary of Una Voce International. He teaches Philosophy in Oxford University and lives nearby with his wife and nine children.
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lifesitenews--2020-05-25--20 British MPs ask prime minister to reopen churches

LONDON , England , May 25 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) ― Twenty British Members of Parliament asked Prime Minister Boris Johnson to allow churches to open for private prayer , weddings , and funerals in June .
The Daily Telegraph reported yesterday that the MPs had just delivered the letter to Johnson .
Led by Conservative MP Sir Peter Bottomley , the lawmakers pointed out the absurdity of people being allowed to go to busy supermarkets for food and drink or to crematoria for funerals , but not to mostly-empty churches for private prayer .
`` Weddings ( whether @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , christenings and other services are wanted safely and soon , '' the MPs wrote .
`` Ten can gather in a crematorium , yet one can not be in a church.
” According to the British government ’ s current plans , churches in England are scheduled to open July 4 , at the same time as pubs and movie theaters .
However , as the Telegraph noted , even then there may be a delay in opening these meeting places as it is believed maintaining “ social distancing ” within them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the MPs voiced strong opposition to the possibility of extended church closings and stated that “ everyone understands the value of appropriate social distancing and the obligation to avoid contamination.
” The MPs referenced a Catholic priest who had asked them to exert their influence on behalf of the faithful .
“ I ask you to put pressure on the government for private prayer as soon as possible , ” the priest had requested .
“ Two-metre distancing is easy ( easier than in a supermarket ) and sensible hygiene precautions can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ added .
“ It seems odd that you can go for a walk , enter a busy supermarket , get on a bus , but can not go to a large virtually-empty-for-much-of-the-time building.
” According to the Telegraph , the MPs who signed the letter also added a request that their leaders in the “ government and church , especially the Church of England , together find reasonably safe ways to reopen our churches for prayer , for funerals even with limited congregations and for worship sooner than July . ''
On Monday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Conference of England and Wales ( CBCEW ) published a statement objecting to the British governments ’ plans to keep English and Welsh churches shut until July .
“ The timing and the manner of the opening of churches touches profound sensitivities and spiritual needs , ” they wrote .
The CBCEW stated that , in the course of talks with the government , it had “ already submitted a detailed plan , in full accordance with public health guidelines , for churches to be opened for private prayer.
” “ The Church @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the task force , understanding that this includes the possible earlier use of churches for private prayer , as a first safe step towards their use for public worship , ” they continued .
This was a reversal of the CBCEW ’ s original stance on the issue of private prayer in churches .
After their March 20 moratorium on public Masses , the Bishops in England and Wales took the additional step of locking church doors on laypeople seeking to pray privately before the Blessed Sacrament .
They did so despite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Communities & Local Government that “ places of worship should remain open for solitary prayer.
” On March 23 , the Westminster diocese revealed that Jim McManus , vice-chair of the CBCEW ’ s Health Reference Group , had spoken to a senior civil servant to convince the British government that it was mistaken to allow places of worship to remain open for solitary prayer .
“ It was quite clear they just had not thought through the issues of infection and security of churches and when he made these points clear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had made a mistake , ” the diocese ’ s statement said .
“ Keeping churches open sends an utterly inconsistent message and therefore they must be closed for the benefit of others and stopping infection.
” Since then , Catholics in the episcopate and laity have been divided on the subject of when and whether or not their churches should be opened .
In a letter to concerned laypeople , Cardinal Vincent Nichols said it would be a “ scandal ” to open the churches .
However , Bishop Philip Egan of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ necessity of church closings after seeing that supermarkets , other shops , some workplaces , and some synagogues and mosques remained open .
After a group of Catholic faithful from around Britain produced a video asking for the churches to be opened to private prayer , Bishop John Keenan of Paisley asked Scottish Catholics what they wanted .
Many of his respondents called for the churches to reopen , but many others indicated that they preferred the churches to remain closed until they could be certain of safety .

In a letter to Boris Johnson, the lawmakers wondered why it's OK to shop in a store but not pray in a church.
LONDON, England, May 25, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) ― Twenty British Members of Parliament asked Prime Minister Boris Johnson to allow churches to open for private prayer, weddings, and funerals in June.
The Daily Telegraph reported yesterday that the MPs had just delivered the letter to Johnson. Led by Conservative MP Sir Peter Bottomley, the lawmakers pointed out the absurdity of people being allowed to go to busy supermarkets for food and drink or to crematoria for funerals, but not to mostly-empty churches for private prayer.
“Weddings (whether in the church porch or inside), christenings and other services are wanted safely and soon,” the MPs wrote.
“Ten can gather in a crematorium, yet one cannot be in a church.”
According to the British government’s current plans, churches in England are scheduled to open July 4, at the same time as pubs and movie theaters. However, as the Telegraph noted, even then there may be a delay in opening these meeting places as it is believed maintaining “social distancing” within them may prove difficult.
In their letter, the MPs voiced strong opposition to the possibility of extended church closings and stated that “everyone understands the value of appropriate social distancing and the obligation to avoid contamination.”
The MPs referenced a Catholic priest who had asked them to exert their influence on behalf of the faithful.
“I ask you to put pressure on the government for private prayer as soon as possible,” the priest had requested.
“Two-metre distancing is easy (easier than in a supermarket) and sensible hygiene precautions can quickly put in place,” he added.
“It seems odd that you can go for a walk, enter a busy supermarket, get on a bus, but cannot go to a large virtually-empty-for-much-of-the-time building.”
According to the Telegraph, the MPs who signed the letter also added a request that their leaders in the “government and church, especially the Church of England, together find reasonably safe ways to reopen our churches for prayer, for funerals even with limited congregations and for worship sooner than July.”
On Monday, May 11, the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) published a statement objecting to the British governments’ plans to keep English and Welsh churches shut until July.
“The timing and the manner of the opening of churches touches profound sensitivities and spiritual needs,” they wrote.
“The government’s document and statements fail to recognise this.”
The CBCEW stated that, in the course of talks with the government, it had “already submitted a detailed plan, in full accordance with public health guidelines, for churches to be opened for private prayer.”
“The Church is ready to play its full part in the task force, understanding that this includes the possible earlier use of churches for private prayer, as a first safe step towards their use for public worship,” they continued.
This was a reversal of the CBCEW’s original stance on the issue of private prayer in churches. After their March 20 moratorium on public Masses, the Bishops in England and Wales took the additional step of locking church doors on laypeople seeking to pray privately before the Blessed Sacrament.
They did so despite the directive of the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government that “places of worship should remain open for solitary prayer.”
On March 23, the Westminster diocese revealed that Jim McManus, vice-chair of the CBCEW’s Health Reference Group, had spoken to a senior civil servant to convince the British government that it was mistaken to allow places of worship to remain open for solitary prayer.
“It was quite clear they just had not thought through the issues of infection and security of churches and when he made these points clear, they were appalled and agreed they had made a mistake,” the diocese’s statement said.
“Keeping churches open sends an utterly inconsistent message and therefore they must be closed for the benefit of others and stopping infection.”
Since then, Catholics in the episcopate and laity have been divided on the subject of when and whether or not their churches should be opened. In a letter to concerned laypeople, Cardinal Vincent Nichols said it would be a “scandal” to open the churches. However, Bishop Philip Egan of the Diocese of Portsmouth publicly questioned the necessity of church closings after seeing that supermarkets, other shops, some workplaces, and some synagogues and mosques remained open.
After a group of Catholic faithful from around Britain produced a video asking for the churches to be opened to private prayer, Bishop John Keenan of Paisley asked Scottish Catholics what they wanted. Many of his respondents called for the churches to reopen, but many others indicated that they preferred the churches to remain closed until they could be certain of safety.
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