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PEOPLE of GOD
April 2020
Editorial: A response to ‘We are an Easter people’
By Our Sunday Visitor Editorial Board: Gretchen R. Crowe, Scott P. Rickert, Scott Warden, York Young A recent open letter from a group of concerned Catholics calls on the U.S. bishops to take steps to ensure Catholics have access to all of the sacraments during the coronavirus pandemic. Titled “We are an Easter People,” the message calls the sacraments the spiritual “personal protective equipment” of Catholics that “enable us to be in the field hospital of the sick and the dying.” It asks the bishops to provide “safe access to the anointing of the sick” and “some form of public celebration of Mass during this time of strife and pandemic,” and for them to “keep our churches open for prayer and adora-
tion.” While this clearly is a cri de coeur from those who, like we, desperately miss the sacraments during this time of global crisis, we strongly believe that much of what the message advocates is ill advised and, worse, could cause great harm. We should note that we do not disagree with the entire message, and we certainly understand the sentiment behind it. We strongly agree that the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick should be widely available, particularly at a time when reception of other sacraments isn’t possible. By nature of their celibacy, priests are “free” to serve in just such a capacity, while at the same time taking stringent precautions. With no spouses or dependents, priests are available
— and even called — to reach out to those most in need and bring them God’s grace. That being said, these heroic acts of love and service should be restricted to those priests outside the most vulnerable population (as deemed by age or condition), and only if their bishop has deemed it to be prudent. Some dioceses are asking priests to volunteer or have devised plans that ask a limited number of young, healthy priests to dedicate themselves to providing the anointing of the sick to the gravely ill. During this time, that should be their only task, and they should remain isolated from others — including other priests. Though the Sacrament of Reconciliation was not discussed explicitly with-
