RC archbishop explains church's covid19 stance

THE RC community is experiencing a church tabanka, especially in the current season of Lent, says RC Archbishop Jason Gordon.

Speaking on a television programme on Wednesday morning, Gordon talked about how local adherents are dealing without weekly mass.

He also gave insight into his reasoning for immediately following advice given to him by health officials.

"This covid19 has put us in the deserts of deserts, during this Lenten period, where we're fasting from everything, including contact, including Eucharist, coming together to pray, and that has heightened people's sense of what is really important.

"I've met plenty people who've said to open back. I say, 'Hold on, (have) patience.'"

Gordon said when he first told RC churches to stop the shaking of hands during the sign of peace, and halted distribution of the Eucharist, there was pushback.

"Lots of young people (said) the bishop don't have no faith. He let us down. On and on and on.

He explained his position: "The chalice is an instrument that contains the blood and you pass the chalice from hand to hand, and the science we had at that moment was that this thing (covid19) is passed by hand-to-hand contact on surface.

"It's not the blood that we're worried about. It's the hand-to-hand contact with the chalice."

He cited scripture, which he said deals with the "temptation that we're flirting with."

"Faith is always within a paradox. Always.

"So if you push faith too far on one side, it's real dotishness. And if you push it too far on the other side, it's real presumption. You are pushing faith to presumption, that because we are doing the things of God, that God should save us from the human effects of our own stupidity.

He said one's faith cannot alter the laws of gravity.

"The laws of covid are the laws of covid.

"We can't break the laws of nature and expect God to save us from the consequences of breaking the laws of nature."