Reply – Appeal Veritas Liberabit Vos

Reply to – Appeal – Veritas Liberabit Vos – The Truth Will Set You Free

The SITE ABOVE WAS TAKEN DOWN.

Here is the National Catholic Register reprint of it in an article.

https://www.ncregister.com/blog/cardinals-bishops-sign-appeal-against-coronavirus-restrictions

Observations

The appeal makes no attempt to document or prove any of its medical assertions.

1. The freedom of worship, expression and movement have been disproportionately and unjustly restricted in the name of good medicine.
2. Doubt of the COVID-19 contagiousness, danger and resistance to the virus.
3. To approve and spend money on ineffective vaccines and treatments.
4. To develop vaccines from aborted fetuses (he may have meant this as a generalized warning).

The appeal maintains that the true purpose of the epidemic response is:

1. The epidemic is a pretext to control the population.
2. To impose a permanent restrictions on freedom.
3. To isolate populations, i.e., ageism, ethnic or racial segregation.
4. To criminalize personal and social relationships, i.e., religious people.
5. To ignore shady business interests wanting to profit from the virus.
6. To allow experts to enjoy immunity of prosecution.
7. To reduce our lives to a virtual reality alone.
8. To establish an odious technological tyranny.
9. To eventually establish a world government beyond all control.

The appeal uses good and solid Catholic positions as well as the long standing governance worries into a certain synthesis of an argument of these multiple worries and concerns. It is an interesting blend of nationalism, Catholicism, and governance by way of political convention. Taken in context of the political language of the day, it is completely intertwined with American political drama.

It is better to describe the intention of the letter this way: Given the supernatural powers that attempt to subject humanity and the Church to oppression the Bishop sees the COVID-19 pandemic as a handy pretext to push forward this evil agenda.

The caution are as follows:

1. Medical assertions #1 to #4 above in the United States are matters of reasonable differences of opinion in support or against these statements (except #4 which seems a flip in for flavor).
2. Worldwide you would have to take a country by country review with a skeptical eye toward totalitarian nations.
3. As to the true purposes, I don’t buy most any of it. It’s a virus. It kills people and would by the millions if no intervention is attempted. We have hundreds of year experience with epidemics. No credible exaggeration.
4. The Church by the way once enjoyed ‘worldwide’ domination and simply had no problem with it. Just a reminder that those who dominate see no problem.
5. The disintegration of treaties and multi-State agreements makes the idea of a world government to be much less of a worry. Perhaps natural resource wars, trade wars and regional wars are a more immanent emerging problem.

Church Integrity – Free to

1. To govern itself.
2. To govern its members.
3. To perform its evangelization of the Good News.
4. To administer the Sacraments as the perpetual gifts of the Christ.
5. To opine and participate on governance of the population.
6. To offer prayer and supplication in the Name of God and His Son Jesus Christ for the salvation of and peaceful existence for humanity.

I don’t think any Catholic differs in this opinion. We must also agree that the Church, like the human family it is composed of, continues to learn the deeper meanings of the Gospel and adjust its social-cultural opinions accordingly. Faith and Science (including Sociology) play a part in informing the Church and the results in changes to the changeable doctrine. The steadfast and unchangeable remain. The wisdom to know the difference is a dynamic, constant progression in time just as the Divine revelation itself was and is a progression in time.

Real Common Good Worries

1. The virus need a cooperative and reliable response from all segments of the society. We are all at risk when any fail to do their part.
2. In the USA, some States suggested closing and some Sates ordered closings. In all cases, the Church decided on its own what to do. It wasn’t the State that restricted gatherings, the Church of its own good judgment decided so. Even still, the Mass continued with smaller gatherings according to the good judgment.
3. In other countries these worries are more palpable and such concerns should be addressed regionally.
4. Many people of good will and with no religion certainly agree about unregulated technology as tyrannical.
5. Many people of good will and with no religion agree that unregulated medical-industrial complex as oppression.

Irresponsible Arguments – Responsible Leadership

It is irresponsible to address the World Domination worry as the preeminent concern of this virus. We should not mirror the behaviors of others who commingle arguments in order to provide greater support for our core positions. It is beneath the Church to do so. The anti-religious have been around a very long time. Let’s not be their mirror.

Peace be with you,

Deacon Gerry