Coming together in Crisis
All politics aside -which these days seems to be impossible to do- I am deeply grateful to the leadership of President Trump and his task force for providing realistic, honest and clear information on all that we are facing with the coronavirus epidemic. I do not watch the news daily. I find it troublesome and divisive. But one thing I do watch each day is the President's Task Force update. Dr. Byrx and Dr. Fauci provide significant and important information on what is taking place. Vice President Mike Pence is a calm and steady hand in guiding the efforts of the government in addressing the epidemic. I don't really know how the President stands in front of the reporters day after day in an effort to speak to the people about the pandemic. What is most troubling is the disrespect, antagonism and outright hatred that so many of the reporters have for the President. They care little for the information; for what is being done to address the pandemic. Their interest is in attacking the President no matter what he does and to advance an agenda that has little to do with the pandemic. This is a sad commentary on the state of news reporting which used to pride itself on impartial and honest reporting. That is no longer the case.
In the past, a crisis in our country of any kind brought people together. Regardless of political party or point of view, all Americans pulled together for the good of our country and its citizens. We continue to mourn the loss of lives from the coronavirus; we pray for those struggling with the illness; we worry about the economic impact on our communities and country; we question the restriction of our freedoms; we debate honestly the way forward with reopening our businesses; we struggle with the decision to close our churches and to restrict sacraments. These are not easy decisions for anyone to make. But it is not acceptable to politicize what is taking place. What matters now is the making sure that we take the steps necessary to protect the welfare of our citizens, that we do what we need to do for the good of our health care system and our nation, and to forge a positive, helpful way forward for all in our country. We must be grateful to the President and his task force for making this the priority and focus of all that is being done.
The Church has not abandoned the faithful as some have said; we have made decisions that need to be made for the wellbeing and safety of the faithful. Those who are servants and ministers of the sacraments cannot bring harm; we cannot be harbingers of disease and death to those whom we seek to serve. As Bishop Zubik said, these decisions are difficult and excruciating. But these decisions are made for a time; soon we will return what we normally do. What we each must do in the interim is to work to grow more deeply in faith, in spiritual communion, in charity and hope.
Let us pray for the President and those working to address this pandemic. They are working tirelessly for our good and the good of our country. We owe them our allegiance, support and prayers. Let each of us do our best in protecting the safety of others, in deepening our faith, and in doing all we can to build up our Church and our nation in this time of crisis so that we might work together with everyone to build up the unity of our country in love.
In the past, a crisis in our country of any kind brought people together. Regardless of political party or point of view, all Americans pulled together for the good of our country and its citizens. We continue to mourn the loss of lives from the coronavirus; we pray for those struggling with the illness; we worry about the economic impact on our communities and country; we question the restriction of our freedoms; we debate honestly the way forward with reopening our businesses; we struggle with the decision to close our churches and to restrict sacraments. These are not easy decisions for anyone to make. But it is not acceptable to politicize what is taking place. What matters now is the making sure that we take the steps necessary to protect the welfare of our citizens, that we do what we need to do for the good of our health care system and our nation, and to forge a positive, helpful way forward for all in our country. We must be grateful to the President and his task force for making this the priority and focus of all that is being done.
The Church has not abandoned the faithful as some have said; we have made decisions that need to be made for the wellbeing and safety of the faithful. Those who are servants and ministers of the sacraments cannot bring harm; we cannot be harbingers of disease and death to those whom we seek to serve. As Bishop Zubik said, these decisions are difficult and excruciating. But these decisions are made for a time; soon we will return what we normally do. What we each must do in the interim is to work to grow more deeply in faith, in spiritual communion, in charity and hope.
Let us pray for the President and those working to address this pandemic. They are working tirelessly for our good and the good of our country. We owe them our allegiance, support and prayers. Let each of us do our best in protecting the safety of others, in deepening our faith, and in doing all we can to build up our Church and our nation in this time of crisis so that we might work together with everyone to build up the unity of our country in love.
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