Petition to Keep Churches Open
A reader reached out to share a plea to the bishops of Indiana, asking that they ensure churches are kept accessible to the Faithful and the sacraments made available in the event of any future lockdown scenarios:
Your Excellencies,
We, your spiritual children, are writing to urge you to resist any attempts to lock down our parishes again, either in the case of a government mandate or through your own decision. In these dark and unsettling times, the faithful of Indiana need the grace of the sacraments and the comfort of our parish communities more than ever. The distress of losing the Mass and the Eucharist for so many weeks (including Holy Week and Easter) still weighs heavy on our hearts. Many of those who left the pews in March have not and will not come back. We are concerned that another diocesan lockdown will result in an even greater exodus of the faithful from our churches. Please lead your people into the breach, to worship our God as He desires and deserves, and to protect the souls of your flock in these strange and difficult times.
Your children in Christ Jesus,
“The distress of losing the Mass and the Eucharist for so many weeks (including Holy Week and Easter) still weighs heavy on our hearts.” We concur with this sentiment, and this worthy plea.
Those wishing to support this initiative by signing the letter may do so here.
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31 Replies to “Petition to Keep Churches Open”
Word is Holy Saturday masses are being significantly truncated—presumably out of continued fear of COVID. Let’s hope we’re not offending God in the process of appeasing man’s fears.
Welcome to the COVID-Rite of the Catholic Church: Where the faithful are humiliated, the things of God are mistreated, and God Himself is openly mocked.
The profaning of the Holy Eucharist by reception in the hand then touching the masks only adds to an already less than ideal practice.
The onus is apparently on us, not the Bishop, with respect to whether or not our churches remain open. In his own words…
https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=419982229358889&ref=watch_permalink&t=1475
Ridiculous. Of course he’ll close churches as soon as either the government or the USCCB “advise” him to for “safety”. How do I know this? BECAUSE HE DID IT LAST MARCH FOR MONTHS ON END! He stripped the laity from the sacraments and jeopardized souls and we still haven’t received an apology for that. And until we get one, we’ll never forget! So his threat to close churches (and yes saying “I won’t close churches….unless…” is a threat) means about as much to the laity as the McCarrick Report. When you’re already being held hostage, having your captor remind you that you’re still his captive doesn’t particularly motivate you to consider that your situation might change for the better any time soon.
All the laity can do is hope and pray that a Savior will come and rescue us.
Thank God we have one.
Come, Lord Jesus.
It is time for a savvy person to start investigating each of the lay persons who are close to the bishop and advising him. They are dishonest at best and deceptive. They are how our diocese came to dump so much money into Tipton. And investigate the vicar general and the bishop himself. Something wicked this way comes!
Good idea, but to what end? Exposing criminal activity that could meet justice in civil courts is one thing, but what is likely going on here are moral crimes that offend the church’s teachings. Exposing that won’t incur the wrath of the USCCB or the Vatican (in fact they would both likely ignore the evidence and privately laugh at our local leadership for getting caught as well as being rank amateurs at trying to get away with something). So deep is the episcopal swamp now…
So, pending divine intervention, only turning off the money will drain our local church swamp.
A poor church will become a holier church. And holiness is all that matters in the end.
It believe it has been reported that it was Fr. Theodore Dudzinski who lead the Saint Joseph project and pushed it through over the objections of staff and councils. Didn’t the CFO at the time resign during the project due to the unchecked overspending? One question to start the investigation is did this overspending and use of restricted money to fund it ever go to Rome for approval or for alienation of assets?
It was also Fr. Theodore Dudzinski who sent out the $10,000 tax to parishes for United in Heart and who stood up at the United in Heart launch meeting to announce that many had to accept they would lose their jobs in the Church. Great way to start off doing the “Uniting.”
Indeed! I’m one of those whose job was eliminated — but am so grateful not to be part of the diocesan offices now. I have no respect for most of those who remain.
I’m really sorry this happened to you. It’s very upsetting to me to see diocesan funds being poured into consultant groups or to give big salaries to hire liberal Catholics from somewhere else to go around firing faithful lay Catholics that have served the Church in this diocese with their heart and soul. Thank You for giving of yourself to the Church if no one has told you that. I respect those who do so even if our Bishop does not.
I’m sorry that you were terminated. I know of a few others that were also and at least one other that was demoted. With the upcoming reorganization of the West Lafayette and Lafayette parishes, more people will be let go. Sad day.
I work in one of these places. we are not even being told this at work that consulting firms are downsizing us and if it is true it could take months to get work again. I am reading about it here. The Church is becoming unrecognizable with the disrespectful way it treats people.
The terminations continue. This week Guerin High School lost its CEO at the hands of this same Dudzinski.
What? What was the reason given? I’m not sure this is correct.
Wait why would Dudzinski have anything to do with the hirings or firings at Guerin?
Agreed. While a diocesan HS, my understanding is they are independently funded as per the agreement at its founding. I guess someone could send him a Tweet and ask as he’s still posting under the @GCHS_President account?
The bishop’s office controls all in the diocese. And the bishop loves to let the VG do the heavy lifting
I also was saddened to see so few people at Midnight Mass. It occurred to me that one reason might have been the e-mail that was sent out by the church telling people that those who could not find a seat in the church within the prevailing restrictions could hear Midnight Mass in the gym via live stream. The idea of watching Midnight Mass in the gym via live stream would turn many people off. I know the staff sent out the e-mail in good faith, but it could still have had this effect. This whole Covid business is so tiresome. People die of various diseases, and old people die disproportionately. I am an old person and I resent being used as an excuse for all this nonsense.
Anyone notice how few people there were at the Christmas masses? Still think everyone’s rushing back to church once everyone’s vaccinated and the bishops get the permission they want from the government to fully reopen? If so, I’ve got a real bargain retreat-center property in Tipton I can sell you.
Yes, we had enough room left for anyone that wanted to come to Mass. It was sad to say the least. Have been times I wonder why I go myself. I know Jesus is there but maybe I can find him elsewhere? Have slowly watched the church die this year and a lot of it because of nonsense and abandonment.
The Church is here until the end of time–Jesus said so. Of course, many branches of the Vine may wither and fall away sadly, but new ones will sprout and/or be grafted.
Yes. It’s a lethal combination of nonsense on the part of the malformed church leadership and abandonment on the part of the malformed laity.
Hmm….I’m seeing a common thread here….
Anyone who is going to “get vaccinated” with any of the current COVID vaccines obviously doesn’t have a problem being injected with a substance tied to aborted fetal tissue/organs. So, I doubt returning to mass would be any sort of priority on their list.
Yes. All churches. OPEN
May God’s be done.
May God’s will be done.
Up the fasting and prayers, friends, for our bishop and priests. We can do more….
Winter Ember Days started yesterday… just sayin’.
Don’t forget the daily Auxilium Christianorum prayers as well.
Who would have thought that, after everything the church has been through in its two-thousand year history, what’s left of the laity are actually reduced to begging the successors of the apostles to keep churches open and sacraments available during a flu with a 99% survival rate.
Let that sink in for a minute…
Yes. It’s that bad.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Remember what Archbishop Sheen said about the lay faithful having to clean up the mess from the episcopate and pick up the slack.
Let’s roll! Virgo Potens, ora pro nobis!