“Everything has been reopened: beaches, restaurants, brothels, shopping malls, concert halls… Are there only viruses in the churches, in the Consecrated Host?”, questions Msgr. Jacinto Brito Furtado Sobrinho.
Terezinha, Brazil (September 19, 2020, Gaudium Press) — Archbishop Jacinto Brito Furtado Sobrinho of Teresinha, Piauí, Brazil, has just made an incisive call to the Catholic faithful of his flock to return to the face-to-face celebrations in the Church.
On a recent homily posted on social networks, the Archbishop of the city with the highest percentage of Catholics in the country is noted for the exhilarating, forceful and objective content of his words: “We have a right [to return to face-to-face activities]. On the beaches, on the holiday weekend, I didn’t see any distance, I didn’t see a mask, I didn’t see any alcohol gel. I faced tremendous traffic to get to Parnaíba for the celebrations of that Diocese,” the bishop said.
Open the doors of the Church, multiply the masses, call the faithful to the Church, without fear. Five months of fasting, that’s enough!
“Why don’t the beaches have coronavirus but the churches do?”, inquired the Archbishop, continuing: “Our Catholic Church is the entity that has contributed most to the preservation of life. I have no doubt”.
“I urge the priests here present: open the doors of the Church”, he encouraged, recommending outdoor celebrations, multiplying the masses as well as the use of proper safety measures.
“Call the Catholic people to the Church. Enough! Five months of fasting is enough”, continued the Archbishop of Teresina, also affirming that we must take the necessary care, but not an “excessive fear that paralyzes us”.
Beaches, restaurants, brothels, shopping malls, concert halls … all full. Is it only in churches, in the consecrated host that there is a virus?
The Archbishop called for the Catholic Church to be treated fairly: “The beaches are full, the restaurants, the brothels, the shopping malls, the concert halls … Is it possible that only in the Consecrated Host, Body and Blood of our Savior, there is a virus? I do not believe so. Jesus is still a Savior. Let us all have the courage to return. Priests, Deacons, Community Coordinators, be spiritually strong to invite people to return to the Church.”
It’s time to return to the celebrations: don’t be complacent. Enough! Come back without fear … and with trust.
“It is time to return to the celebrations. I repeat: with due caution. Don’t settle, there are too many people settling. Enough! My word is this: Enough. No more complacency. It is time to return, without fear and with much confidence. God did not lay his left hand on the temples where he is worshipped”, concluded the Archbishop. (JSG)
