Let us try, not just this writer but all of us, let us try to consider what has finally caused the Archbishop of Toronto, Thomas Cardinal Collins to finally, no matter how weak and ineffectual it may be, finally decide to confront the Premier over the unjust treatment of religious services. However, before doing so, we must remember that it was not Doug Ford that closed our churches and cancelled religious services, all he did was limit the occupancy to ten persons, it was Collins who stopped the public celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
It is clear to this writer that the Cardinal knows he has made a grievous error. Unfortunately, for whatever reason and I won't speculate, he has refused to acknowledge it, apologize for it and rectify it. Rather, he has done a minor adjustment with his conjured up service of Holy Communion and reluctantly allowed Mass for funerals and weddings at the ridiculous provincial limit. In the two posts below, the recent letter issued and links to the petition letters can be found. https://www.archtoronto.org/en/outreach/news/archdiocesan/a-call-to-action-from-cardinal-collins-end-covid-19-restriction-inequities/
As of midnight last night, Toronto and Peel were put into the "grey" category which still limits Mass attendance to ten persons. It is only in red that it returns to the niggardly thirty-percent. We are in this grey category for two weeks and in the days leading up to March 22, it will be reassessed. Grey could be extended for two weeks or we move to red and return to thirty-percent. Now, what is coming up in this period. If we move to red on the 22nd of March then we have Palm Sunday and if not then it is not until April 5 which is right after Easter.
Collins sees what is coming. He also believes what I believe. That the Mayor of Toronto, John Tory and the Chief Medical Officer of Health will advise the Premier not to return Toronto to red until after Easter. This is why he is now in full panic mode. They will keep us out to reduce family contact and religious ritual and he knows it, I know it and you know it.
In March of 2020, I and many went along with the restrictions because we did not know what we were dealing with and reports from the World Health Organization indicated a death rate approaching three-percent - hundreds of thousands in Toronto alone. "Three weeks to stop the spread," they said, "bend the curve" we were told. We accepted it but it is now about much more than that and it is unacceptable that Thomas Cardinal Collins did nothing for these four months, even if we accept the situation one year ago. He has allowed himself to be overrun by incompetent bureaucrats. accountants, lawyers and public health officials whom he calls "virtuous" but are from it.
If, on the other hand, I am wrong, Cardinal Collins will take all the credit for finally getting Doug Ford to listen and allow religious services. At that point, it will be obvious to all that it is not his success but evidence of his complete failure. Had Collins rallied the faithful in November, we would acted, we would have had an effect. Now, Ford will laugh. It is my view that few Catholics will respond.
I predict now that this blog headline on April 4, 2021 will be, "Happy Easter and there is still, for the second year in a row, No Mass For You. I will be pleased to be wrong.
Here is the suggested letter on the diocesan web page.
Dear MPP is named,
I want to thank you for your service to the province. I know the past year has involved long days and time away from loved ones. Thank you.
The pandemic has been tough on all of us and we understand the need for restrictions to protect ourselves and others. Yet I can’t help but feel that faith communities are not being treated equitably when I look at the latest restrictions implemented by the province.
In the “lockdown” (grey) regions, retailers can now open at 25% capacity yet places of worship are limited to 10 people maximum. It doesn’t matter whether the church, temple, mosque or synagogue can normally accommodate 150 or 1,500, they can only have 10 people present.
I know what my own faith community has done to protect me and others during the pandemic. It’s been incredible – hundreds of volunteers, cleaning between services, masks, distancing, all done responsibly. So why are they being penalized?
I urge you to immediately address this unfair approach. I believe our places of worship provide essential services. At minimum, they should be given an opportunity to open with a percentage of capacity, whether it is in grey zones now or when considering any restrictions in the future.
Please amplify my concerns in conversation with your colleagues and Premier Ford.
I very much look forward to hearing from you on this important matter!
Your name.
3 comments:
The proposed letter by Neil’s, err, I mean Cardinal Collins’ “Arch”, is even more pathetic than I could have expected. A nauseating mixture of fawning, groveling, and flimflammery. Even our halfwitted politicians will immediately detect how fake these letters are. I thought this letter was supposed to address the discriminatory nature of Ford’s regime, so why the lamentations of his hard life and lock downs have been for politicians who were not laid off, list their job, their business? No, these parasites continued to draw on their tax payer funded sakerues.
I have a suggestion to Cardinal Collins: how about a public apology from the pulpit to the thousands of Catholics who have truly suffered under lockdowns. How about an apology for his active collusion in lock downs. How about using the millions from the “family of faith” to help unemployed Catholics, to provide interest free loans to small businesses destroyed by Ford, Tory and Co. along with help from Tom, Neil, from the “Arch”.
Better late than never. But even this doesn't go far enough. There must be a demand to return to unrestricted access to churches, even if that is unrealistic in this political climate.
The archdiocese must have hired a sleek PR firm to come up with that petition. It was very convenient to submit.
I am not a resident of that area but the homo club in this area is not much different. What about this simple proposal: "Get out of here before we get you out."
Post a Comment