The virus that nullified five centuries of materialism
COVID-19 has been isolated and it has been discovered that it is so small that it is nearly invisible. And yet it has upended our existence. For five hundred years it has been claimed the only things that exist are those which our senses can perceive. Everything else is superstition. We now know we’ve been lied to and that empiricists, Enlightenment, materialists and romantics were wrong.
Temperance and Prudence: self-regulating people and the economy
Temperance and prudence serve not only to self-regulate our passions, but also to self-regulate economies for production, just distribution and fair pricing. Together the two cardinal virtues help us grow spiritually and seek higher goods, but they do not totally reject bodily pleasures. In fact they help avoid economic blacklisting of pleasurable goods.
Coronavirus and ecologism, Vatican News fools no-one
It was no mistake an article was published and subsequently removed from the Vatican News English web site. This article considered the beneficial effects that coronavirus has had on the planet. It was written by a young Nigerian Jesuit who merely summarized what he had been hearing all these years within the Society of Jesus and the Vatican.
It’s time to reconsider what the Magisterium has taught about globalization
Everything that is happening as a result of the coronavirus necessitates a reconsideration of globalisation, including what the Magisterium has said about this theme. John Paul II and Benedict XVI were prudent, but the present pontiff has thrown himself fully into globalism. The next pope will need to review the entire file. Here’s how.
Disabled and elderly, euthanasia by Covid is a global fact
Elderly and disabled people are increasingly at risk. In the USA, several states have announced that treatment for the coronavirus will not be accessible to everyone. Why is that? Lack of means. The same is said in Italy. And in Holland the health authorities are suggesting to those who are elderly to forgo treatment. A sign that the idea of a “social” euthanasia is spreading. This reeks of Nazism.
Messori: The Church “outward bound” has barricaded itself in
«There are also priests today who are capable of heroic gestures, but they are personal initiatives. There is no mobilisation of the clergy that defined the Church in past times of plague.” “We have instead the perception of a Church that is barricaded. The gates that close off St. Peter’s Square are a symbol of this.” The closing of Lourdes? “It really saddened me; it is the first time in history; I understand there is a real risk, but you cannot test God.” “Obeying civil authorities is a duty, if they are legitimate and do not go against the faith, but this does not mean that Mass could not be celebrated under certain conditions.” Vittorio Messori, the most well-known Catholic writer in the world, speaks about the Church in the time of the coronavirus.
Rethinking notions of freedom and democracy
Defending health cannot be bartered for our loss of freedom. Yet, by the same token, we mustn’t forget that, in recent years, a misunderstood sense of democracy has all but destroyed the family and devastated the moral principle of our right to life. The challenge is rejecting authoritarianism without returning to false sense of democracy and freedom.
Let’s go to church; Jesus is waiting for us
The government decrees and bishops decisions which have closed churches or limited access do not have any basis in reality. There is no risk that a large group of people will gather nor that infection will spread, and we demonstrate why. In fact the opposite is true: visiting the Lord, in his House, is an experience that is full of grace, especially in this time of trial. If you have not already done so during these days, go without any fear and you will find out why it is a source of grace!
God‘s chastisements are to save us, say Scriptures
Original sin establishes the first relationship between man's sin and punishment. But is suffering only the result of breaking an equilibrium or is there also a positive intervention from God? The Bible takes into account a varied reality, which involves different kinds of divine action. The Old Testament interprets some natural disasters and painful situations as God's punishing interventions. The New Testament also describes a chastening action of God, but reveals definitively that His purpose is always - in respect for human freedom - our salvation.
Service: love for our God and clients
Service, in the broad sense, has a supremely essential role within the economy, and not just in the so-called “service industries.” The virtue of service - relationally, intellectually and theologically - transforms economies for transactional to intelligently loving exchange economies.
Without liberty life is no-longer protected
In the comments of politicians and commentators just as in the reaction of the people, there is the perception that the war against the coronavirus justifies the suspension of civil liberty. It is an old debate that has engaged many philosophers, but the reality is that when power takes away liberty it does not guarantee either safety or life.
Consecration, Calling for all bishops: follow Portugal
The bishops of Portugal and Spain are carrying out an epochal salvific act with the Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We implore all bishops to imitate them today. The Lord is allowing, in His infinite mercy, that we experience first-hand the great fragility of man, of his health, of his economic systems, of his earthly certainties. And He is making it clear to the whole world. This is a great warning, and it would be wrong and a harbinger of disastrous consequences not to accept it.
