Msgr. Charles Pope: The Blind Leading the Blind

Msgr. Charles Pope, along with his fellow trads/conservatives, has railed against the COVID-19 restrictions, and has even condemned those who have not immediately returned to Mass of being "lukewarm Catholics."

Msgr. Pope now has the opportunity to put his money where his mouth has been because he has just tested positive for COVID-19.

Interestingly, although the secular news media has reported extensively on Msgr. Pope ("A pastor who told congregants not to be afraid of the coronavirus was hospitalized with COVID-19"), the only Catholic blogs I have seen report it are John Zuhlsdorf and Deacon Greg Kandra.  Per usual, if the news does not fit into the radical right's version of reality - which, more often than not, does not correspond to actual reality - they just pretend it doesn't exist.

I have found it fascinating that the same conservative/trad "Catholics" who denounce the post-conciliar Church and most especially denounce the Holy Father, have almost all fought with one voice against the reality of COVID-19.  However, Msgr. Pope took a little different tactic than most.

He admitted the seriousness of the disease, but tells us that we must not "cower in fear".  He wrote that we are all going to die - absolutely true - so if this is the way we go, so be it.  He wrote this on May 6, 2020:

[W]e have to accept the hard truth that people die. They die of many things, COVID-19 among them. The vast majority of people who get the coronavirus will survive. Some will be only mildly symptomatic, some will be severely ill, and yes, some will die. People will also keep dying every day of heart disease, cancer, from strokes, and in automobile accidents. Each of us is going to die one day, at a time and in a manner that is not of our own choosing.

Msgr. Pope felt the Church went too far when public Masses were canceled.  He believed it would be far better to put people at physical risk of death, as he wrote about one week before he was diagnosed:

In the Church, collectively speaking, we too have cowered and capitulated. We have not summoned people to trust and faith. We have hidden our teachings on the role of suffering in bringing forth holiness and future glory. We have not presented the theology of death and dying at a time when it is so needed.

We have limited and even denied the sacraments to the faithful, conveying the silent message that physical health is more important than spiritual health. In some dioceses, churches were locked, confessions forbidden, and Holy Communion inaccessible.

Msgr. Pope is absolutely correct when he states that, as followers of Jesus Christ, we should not fear death.  But the problem is, Charles Pope is equating going up against the virus with fighting spiritual evil.  I would applaud his sentiments if it was a matter of fighting for our faith.  But COVID-19 is not King Henry VIII trying to stamp out the Catholic Church.  To rail and shake our fist at a deadly virus is truly an act of supreme arrogance and downright stupidity.  It is right up there with jumping off the Empire State Building while shaking your fist at the law of gravity.  Guess who the winners and losers are in that scenario.

The problem with ignoring the seriousness of this virus is that it doesn't just put our personal lives in danger.  It endangers everyone around us.  We might be fine, but we could easily pass it on to others who might get seriously ill and/or die.  That is about as anti-Christian as any message could be.

Msgr. Pope ended his last column written before his diagnosis with the following:

No doubt some readers will think me imprudent, irresponsible, and insensitive. I accept that. But my take is that fear is a far more serious ailment than COVID-19. Life is risky, but there is greater ruin for us if we do not accept it and live anyway. At some point we have to break out of the huddle and run the play. God will be with us.

Ironically, prior to his diagnosis, Msgr. Pope's Church had been completely open, offering Mass and the Sacraments.  It is now completely shut, and all those who came anywhere near Msgr. Pope are quarantined, prisoners at home unable to go anywhere, and certainly not to Church.

On Pope's Church website, the following picture is posted:

But this is now the reality:

Closed Sign at The Holy Comforter Saint Cyprian Catholic Church,
after Pastor, Msgr. Charles Pope, was infected with COVID-19

From an official D.C. Health Directive:

D.C. health officials are urging anyone who attended a Catholic Church on Capitol Hill to quarantine for two weeks after the church's priest tested positive for coronavirus. 

. . . 

Those who participated in communion at these services should take the following precautions: 

• Separate yourself from other people (self-quarantine) as much as possible at your home for 14 days from the last time you took communion at one of these events.
• Avoid leaving the house except for essential medical care.
• Do not leave home to go to work or school.
• Do not take public transportation (e.g., Metro buses or trains) and do not use taxis or rideshare services.
• Prohibit visitors who do not have an essential need to be in the home.
• The church will be professionally deep cleaned and sanitized, according to the church website.

Why do Msgr. Charles Pope and the rest of the radical right view COVID-19 not as a killer disease but instead as a political challenge to their personal freedom?  Why are they completely unable to see that COVID-19 is an equal opportunity killer and that your personal beliefs don't make one tiny bit of difference in how it attacks you?  Why can't these people see that it is not just all about them, but that they are endangering other lives as well with their self-righteous indignation?

I do wish the best for Msgr. Pope.  I pray that he completely defeats this disease and that this experience will teach him to stop leading others off the cliff.