Month: September 2020

Denver Newsroom, Sep 2, 2020 / 05:03 pm (CNA).- In normal times – when there is not a global pandemic – Linda Dyson assists Catholics at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta, Georgia with pastoral care ministries, which are for people who are experiencing some kind of spiritual, emotional, or physical need.

“Which means everything’s sad,” Dyson said. “All of the sad ministries fall under me.”

This includes everything surrounding death – pre-funeral planning, day-of funeral coordination, and post-funeral services such as grief classes.

Now, when there is a global pandemic, Dyson is still in charge of pastoral care ministries – but many things have changed. In Atlanta, as in most places throughout the country, the coronavirus pandemic has impacted everything surrounding grief, from families not being able to say goodbye to their dying loved ones due to isolation and quarantine, to small funeral sizes due to limits on crowds, to few supports available after the funeral because of fears of spreading the virus.

“After the March announcement about the virus…the tragic thing is that we were in the middle of two relatively large funeral plans for two people who had just died,” Dyson said.

One person was a prominent artist from the area. Another one was a young man from a university.

“So obviously, two different types of funerals, but at the same time, a lot of people that loved both of those individuals,” she said.

Within a matter of days, due to coronavirus precautions, the families at those funerals went from anticipating “400, maybe even 800 people” to not being allowed to gather more than 10 people in a space.

“The family of the young man went ahead and had a funeral, and there were probably about 10 people there,” Dyson said.

The artist’s family decided to postpone, to see if they could wait to hold the funeral until more people were allowed to gather.

“So, that’s really been the flavor of the whole (pandemic) period is either getting along without your closest friends and family, and having to limit the funeral to a much smaller size,” she said, or postponing in hopes that restrictions lift to a point where a larger funeral is allowed.

Neither situation – a limited funeral, or a delayed funeral – is ideal, Dyson said. For families who press on, the funeral experience is very stripped down – no sympathizing with anyone other than immediate family, no luncheon after the funeral to swap stories with friends, no lines of hugs and condolences.

“It’s really the family, the remains of the person that they love, and the Eucharist, which in some ways is very lovely, and in some ways it’s heart wrenching, all at the same time,” she said.

She added that “2020 probably has to be the worst year for grief.”

“When you think about grief, there is that aspect of wanting to be alone and just to process that grief,” she said, “but a big part of that processing is community. And so when we don’t have that community, you don’t have the people that you would normally expect to come by and even bring a fresh baked loaf of bread, and they’re not coming over to hug you, and there’s no touching, and there’s no warmth – there’s an extra layer of loss.”

Even as some coronavirus restrictions have eased, many still remain in place. Nursing homes and hospitals still maintain strict rules on visitors, meaning that some families may miss the opportunity to say goodbye to a sick and dying loved one. Gatherings in Georgia are now limited to 50 people – still a far cry from the hundreds that used to show up at bigger funerals.

Dr. Julie Masters, a professor of gerontology at the University of Nebraska Omaha, said that pandemic-induced limits on the normal death and grieving processes can make it even harder for people to cope with loss, “especially those who have either a close relationship with the deceased or those who may have had a strained relationship.”

Those with strained relationships with the deceased may have lost opportunities to make amends, Masters said, while those in a close relationship with the deceased “might [have] a feeling of letting the person down by not being present, especially at the end.”

“Grief is itself disorienting,” Masters added. Normally, if someone misses the moment of death of a loved one, they might look to ceremonies such as wakes, rosaries and funerals as a way to process those emotions, as those services “all give some amount of structure to saying goodbye.”

Canceled or restricted ceremonies take away those structures.

“As things are now, even the usual sources of support are lacking,” she said.

Kevin Prendergast is a Catholic clinical counselor who has been practicing for 32 years. He has counseled people who have experienced loss directly from coronavirus as well as other kinds of losses. He has also spoken to clergy who have ministered to those experiencing loss at this time.

Pandemic restrictions can disrupt grief in certain ways, Prendergast said. Being unable to attend the funeral of a loved one may mean that the loss takes even longer to process. There might be feelings of “I can’t believe they’re really gone,” he said.

Prendergast said that loss and grief are already very difficult, and that customs in the United States surrounding death typically do not allow people adequate time and space to process their emotions, when compared to other countries.

“We don’t have the same way of approaching death or the same foundation or rituals that other people have,” he said.

For example, he said, he has numerous friends from Africa, including a priest from Ghana whose mother died in early spring.

Due to the pandemic, the priest has not yet been able to travel back to Ghana to mourn his mother, but once he does get back, “there’s a whole set of rituals that people go through the month after the person dies, and then at different intervals, and then there’s the big one at the first anniversary of the death,” Prendergast said.

People will walk for days and come for miles around to be with the bereaved and offer their support, and feelings of grief are expected to last a long time.

But in the United States, the approach to grief seems to be “all about getting closure. And I think people mean by that, ‘Well, why aren’t you, or are you over your mother’s death now? It’s been a month, you’re probably getting back to normal,’” Prendergast said.

“And I think what people just don’t realize…is grief just takes time,” he said.

“Grief…comes in waves. At the beginning it’s really intense, but then it does subside and get back to some normal. But then all of a sudden, out of the blue, because there’s the special date on the calendar, or we see a location or we hear a song, we look at a picture, and it all comes back. And so I think we have to ride through those waves,” he said.

But even in the face of pandemic precautions and limitations, there is much that can still be done by friends, family and the community that can support the bereaved, Masters said.

“It becomes necessary for people to find a way to sort things out in their minds. This is where having good friends who are willing to listen to our stories over and over become key,” she said, or pastoral ministers, deacons and priests who can step in and fill the gaps when friends or family are scarce.

Offering condolences or support “in person may not be possible, but perhaps with a phone call,” she said, adding that older people may prefer simple calls to more complicated technology if they are not well-versed in it. Regular check-ins and sending notes or cards are also important, she said.

“This is key for them – and also for us. We are called to be there for each other,” she said.

“Showing up” for the bereaved continues to be important even months after the loss, Prendergast said. If there is a delayed funeral or memorial service that is safer to attend as restrictions are lifted, show up. When the deceased person’s birthday or anniversary comes, send a note or make a call.

Telling stories about the deceased are also a great comfort to the bereaved, he added.

“Any story: ‘I remember this about your dad’, or ‘Did your dad ever tell you this?’ or ‘Maybe I’ve never mentioned to you how much your loved one helped me, what they meant to me.’ People treasure those stories. A lot of times that’ll happen at the funeral service or afterwards, people will say those kinds of things. And we can’t replace that,” he said, but phone calls or letters with those stories go a long way.

Masters added that she has been heartened by the many good people and accommodations being made for those experiencing loss during the pandemic.

“There are so many people who are doing great things that we fail to see. Funeral directors who are conducting services with few people or no one present. Priests whose role in life is to provide us the sacraments but are limited in what they can do. Nursing assistants, nurses, doctors, housekeepers, dietary staff, who are serving in a surrogate role as the last people to be present while someone is dying is also impactful. They need our prayers to sustain them,” she said. “They exemplify Bishop Robert Barron’s quote: ‘Your life is not about you.’”

Dyson said at the cathedral, they’ve tried to make as many accommodations as possible. They live-stream funeral services for families and offer DVD copies, in case anyone missed the live version. They’ve arranged phone-calls and visitations – even if limited, outdoor, distanced ones – when possible. They’ve sent out prayer shawls and cards to grieving families, “just to let people know that we care and we haven’t forgotten.”

The parish grief classes were transferred online to Zoom, and then partially in-person and partially online as restrictions lifted. Dyson said that the grief class, which started in April and just wrapped up, went “very, very well.”

“I think the pain and the struggle and the challenges that they went through had an unexpected benefit, in the sense that they all have a deep sense of what grief is, and also a sense of purpose,” she said.

Several people from the class that just wrapped up have offered to minister to other people experiencing grief, Dyson said. Usually it takes people much longer to get to a place where they want to minister to other grieving people, she noted, but this class “really feels committed to paying it forward.”

Masters said for those who have lost someone during the pandemic, establishing reminders of their “continuing bond” with that person is important.

“There is never really closure,” she said. “What it is  – is learning to live without the person in a physical way but realizing they are still part of our lives. Grief researchers talk about continuing bonds. Whether it is memories, stories, photographs or other things that serve as reminders of how the people we have lost are still part of us,” she said.

Prendergast said this is where Christians – and particularly Catholics – are at an advantage.

“We believe in the communion of saints. We believe in the resurrection, we believe in eternal life. And so we can talk to our loved one and we can ask their intercession, we can pray for them if they’re in purgatory, or wherever they are. That really matters,” he said.

This can be especially powerful for people who weren’t able to be with their loved one at their death or at their funeral, and who need to ask for forgiveness or make amends in some way, he added.

“I think through the communion of saints and our spiritual belief, there’s a way that we can make amends and ask for forgiveness, even after someone’s gone,” he said.

Prendergast said he has had some clients write down letters of amends or reconciliation, and take them to the cemetery to read out loud at their loved one’s grave.

“As Catholics, we know that that’s a powerful reality, that forgiveness, reconciliation can continue even after death,” he said.

The pandemic and the many ways it has impacted death and grief could be a good wake-up call for people to cherish the time that they have with their loved ones, and to seek reconciliation where it is needed, Prendergast added.

“I don’t want to waste time, so let me redouble my efforts with the people that are still living, so as not to have those regrets when they’re gone,” he said.

Masters also said that this time of pandemic could be the impetus people need to do some serious thinking and planning when it comes to the end of their life – from advanced care planning (making decisions about healthcare in advance), to getting their relational and spiritual lives in order.

“The focus on physical health is key but what about spiritual health – especially for the person whose life has not always gone as planned?” she said.

“We seem to be viewing things in the short-term rather than the implications of isolation (and similar restrictions), in the long-term. This is also important,” she said.

Ultimately, “God is showing us something important with COVID-19,” Masters noted.

“We are not in control, only he is. The more we can prepare ourselves for the end, the better.”

[…]

Denver, Colo., Sep 2, 2020 / 03:50 pm (CNA).-  

Both the Archdiocese of Denver and the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter are reviewing the situation of a priest who told Catholics to disobey the orders of Church and civic officials regarding masks at Mass and other religious services.

In a video posted on YouTube Tuesday, Fr. Daniel Nolan told Catholics “do not obey the bishop, do not obey the governor. They cannot tell you to wear a mask. This is a lie. They are lying to all of us.”

“If your bishop tells you, don’t do it. And I encourage everybody not to wear a mask. And I am telling you: disobey your bishop, disobey your governor. That’s what I’m telling you,” Nolan added.

His remarks came at the conclusion of a catechetical session offered at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Littleton, Colorado, which posted the video on YouTube Tuesday, and took it down on Wednesday. 

Asked about the importance of obedience, Nolan told parishioners that “we ought to obey God rather than man. And if the bishop tells you to do something that is contrary to your health, contrary to reason, and contrary to common good, disobey it. And it’s contrary to the common good to continue to go along with an attempted communist takeover of the United States, which is what’s happening.”

Asked in the video about obedience to local Church authorities, Nolan added: “Disobey them all. At this point they have zero authority. These are cooperating in evil. Which is the suppression of the American people. Suppression of your rights, suppression of your liberties, suppression of common sense. The emperor has no clothes. If you are healthy you have a .006% chance of dying from COVID. The flu has a greater chance of killing you, if you’re healthy. So big time lies. This is not politics anymore, this is morality.” 

Archdiocesan spokesman Mark Haas told CNA Sept. 2 the archdiocese is looking into the matter.

Noting that the YouTube video “was taken down before it could be fully reviewed,” Haas said the archdiocese would “begin the process of determining any appropriate next steps.”

The spokesman added that the archdiocese would begin its review of the situation in conversation with the parish pastor.

Canon law establishes that a person who “provokes subjects to disobey” their ordinary “is to be punished by an interdict or other just penalties.”

Guidelines published by the Archdiocese of Denver June 2 say that Catholics who attend public Masses should wear a mask.

The guidelines do not specify whether they are normative mandates, and they instruct pastors to make “prudent decisions for their parishes after reading through the Archdiocesan guidance and understanding state and local regulations.”

But Haas told CNA that “the Archdiocese of Denver’s guidelines for public Masses instruct all parishioners to wear a mask. All parishes are also expected to follow the varying local and state public health orders.”

The state of Colorado requires until Sept. 14 that masks be worn in “public indoor spaces” by most persons over 10 years old. The state executive order includes exceptions for persons with medical conditions, and for religious officials, including priests, officiating at religious services.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel is a parish administered by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP).

The FSSP is a society of apostolic life which celebrates the extraordinary form of the Roman rite. It was founded in 1988 by 12 priests of the Society of St. Pius X. The founders left the SSPX to establish the FSSP after the society’s leader, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, consecrated four bishops without the permission of St. John Paul II.

Philip Condron, a spokesperson for the FSSP, told CNA that the fraternity “will review this matter according to the Code of Canon Law and its own internal policies.”

“The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter does not endorse comments or support actions to disobey their bishops or governmental authorities. The opinion of Fr. Daniel Nolan was his personal opinion and it does not reflect that of the Fraternity of St. Peter,” Condron clarified by email.

“The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter superiors have instructed their priests to adhere to public health guidelines as issued by local, state and federal authorities, including the requirements of their local ordinaries (bishops),” he added.

Nolan, 44, was ordained a priest of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter in 2014. Before entering the FSSP, he attended the United States Naval Academy and served in the Marine Corps, retiring as a captain in 2006.

There are nearly 300 priests and 150 seminarians in the fraternity. It has parishes and chapels in North America, Europe, Oceania, Nigeria, and Colombia, including the personal parish of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, at which Nolan has been a parochial vicar since 2018.

Parishioners have told CNA that Nolan has been well regarded at the parish, hosting men’s nights for the Knights of Columbus and being attentive to spiritual formation.

Nolan has not yet responded to questions from CNA.

During the video, in which the priest referred to the coronavirus outbreak as a “scamdemic,” Nolan told parishioners to “brace yourselves for a new third priest,” adding that “my next sermon is gonna get me like transferred so enjoy me while you can.”

 

 

[…]

CNA Staff, Sep 2, 2020 / 12:30 pm (CNA).- The Catholic former head of Florida State University’s student senate is suing the school, saying his religious freedom was violated when he was removed from his position.

Jack Denton, a member of Florid… […]

New Orleans, La., Sep 2, 2020 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- This report was first published by the Clarion Herald, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. It is reprinted with permission. The archdiocese offers a list of ways to help with recovery after Hurricane Laura.

 

Support groups for priests provide ongoing camaraderie and spiritual nourishment, and now that list of benefits can be expanded to include hurricane relief.

Just days after Hurricane Laura devastated the Diocese of Lake Charles in southwest Louisiana and damaged dozens of churches, eight members of a priests’ support group bolted into action to aid their ninth member – Father Jeffrey Starkovich of St. Pius X Church in Ragley, Louisiana.

On Aug. 31, priests from the Archdiocese of New Orleans and the Dioceses of Houma-Thibodaux, Lafayette and Baton Rouge arrived in Ragley, just north of Lake Charles, driving U-hauls packed with donated water, food, soft drinks, paper goods, diapers, canned goods, ice and gasoline.

The relief help also included hundreds of hot meals – mostly jambalaya and red beans and rice – cooked by the parishioners of Annunciation Parish in Bogalusa, where support group member Father Daniel Brouilette is pastor. Those staples of Cajun cuisine were passed out to more than a thousand cars with drive-thru service.

“It’s simply the gift of the priesthood – people being generous to one another,” said Father Starkovich, the spokesman for the Lake Charles Diocese who was ordained in 2011.

“In a very real way, I was moved by the gift of the priesthood, because the priests brought the message to the people, and the people responded. It’s just the beauty of the priesthood.”

Father Jonathan Hemelt, pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in New Orleans, and Father Bryan Howard, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Violet, drove their U-Haul trucks 200 miles to Lake Charles, and Father Colin Braud, pastor of Visitation of Our Lady Parish in Marrero, drove his car in the caravan so they could make their way back to New Orleans.

“I’ve never driven any truck like that before,” Father Howard said, laughing. “It got a little hairy at times.”

Father Hemelt said what touched him were his memories of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when he was one of thousands of New Orleanians who needed help.

“I thought about it when I saw that line of people waiting to see all the volunteers,” Father Hemelt said. “Fifteen years ago, I was in one of those lines waiting for supplies. The amazing thing is the people volunteering are the same people who also lost their own stuff. They are unloading trucks, and they are probably in the same position as those coming for help.”

After Laura hit on Aug. 26, the support group members reached out to Father Starkovich and contacted their own parishioners about trying to mount a quick collection campaign. In addition to dropping off supplies, Our Lady of the Rosary parishioners donated about $10,000 in direct financial assistance.
 
The other support group members are Father Daniel Green, pastor of St. Maria Goretti Church in New Orleans; Father Garrett McIntyre of the Lafayette Diocese; Father Todd Lloyd of the Baton Rouge Diocese and Father Andre Melancon of the Houma-Thibodaux Diocese.

Father Hemelt said he hoped Our Lady of the Rosary and St. Maria Goretti parishes could work together on a plan for long-term support of St. Pius X in Ragley.

Despite being stationed hundreds of miles apart over five dioceses, the support group members meet monthly for a meal and fellowship – the venue rotates – and they also try to vacation together annually, Father Hemelt said.

Hurricane Laura destroyed the St. Pius X office building and religion education classrooms, badly damaged the church roof and damaged the roof of the parish hall. But Father Starkovich celebrated the 8:30 a.m. Mass in the church on Sunday, and 65 people showed up.

“What really touched me is the people are so filled with hope and happiness,” Father Starkovich said. “Today everyone was joyful. We were short on volunteers, and we sent out a text message, and 50 volunteers came to the church in 10 minutes. They all left their own homes, which they were working on, to give food and water and supplies to everyone else. We had planned for 12 to 2. Well, it’s 9:30 to 5.”

Because there is no water or power at the parish plant, Father Starkovich is living temporarily with nearly two dozen family members at his parents’ home.

In addition to donations from the respective parishes of each support group members, Our Lady of Prompt Succor Parish in Chalmette and St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Slidell also donated supplies.

“Most of our parishes are talking up collections to help with financial assistance,” Father Hemelt said.

“As one my parishioners told me,” said Father Howard, “after Katrina, we were hit so hard, and help was coming from all over the country. Now it’s our turn to return some of that help and support them.”

Father Starkovich said that message is not lost on Lake Charles Catholics.

“Our diocese helped New Orleans during Katrina, and now receiving that gift in return is a beautiful reality,” he said.

[…]

CNA Staff, Sep 2, 2020 / 11:05 am (CNA).- Nearly two dozen senators are urging the Trump administration to remove the abortion pill from the market as advocates for the drug push for its wider availability.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) led a grou… […]