California Catholics Rise Up

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TRANSCRIPT

California is closing churches again, and faithful Catholics are speaking up.

On Sunday, dozens showed up outside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, anticipating Democratic governor Gavin Newsom's authoritarian lockdown orders — orders forcing Catholic churches to deny some of the faithful Holy Communion.

Gov. Newsom: "Now with counties on the monitoring list, we have this list: fitness centers, places of worship ... ."

The faithful are pleading with L.A. archbishop José Gomez to defy the governor and reopen public Masses, to fight for the liturgical worship rights of Catholics outlined in canon 912.

That canon explicitly states: "Any baptized person not prohibited by [Church] law can and must be admitted to Holy Communion."

The L.A. group represents Church Militant's Resistance, a grassroots operation dedicated to effecting change in their local areas.

Church Militant asked L.A.'s Resistance leadership why they held the rally: "We knew they [the archdiocese] planned to close everything down, and we reminded the archdiocese they are denying people the sacraments, after 50 days."

Also asking if they will press forward, Resistance said: "We are not going away. It is OUR CHURCH, not just the leadership's."

L.A.'s Resistance stresses its desire to follow Bp. Gomez's lead, while noting it can't unless he stands up and defends Catholics' canonical and constitutional rights.

"Our basis is, first of all, the U.S. Constitution — the First Amendment, which has two items pertinent to this: 1) the free exercise of religion and 2) the right to peaceably assemble," said a Resistance member.

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