Robbed of the Right to Worship

A Catholic historian says the panicked response to the Wuhan virus is "diabolical disorientation."

History professor John Rao is head of the Roman Forum, a group that defends and promotes Catholic doctrine and Catholic culture.

In a recent message to members of the Roman Forum, he slammed bishops for shutting down public sacraments, saying, "The believing population has been deprived of its right to worship openly and to gain access to the sacraments — not through the guns and whips of the oppressors, but with the full agreement of the successors of the Apostles."

Rao argued, "These sad and lamentable prelates have made it crystal clear to the entire globe that laundromats and abortion mills are more 'essential' to the life of man than the grace of Christ."

In the United States, every single diocese shut down public Masses in March for fear of spreading the Wuhan virus. Some dioceses went so far as to put restrictions on the sacraments of matrimony, baptism, confession and even anointing of the sick.

A handful of dioceses — mainly in sparsely-populated rural areas — have begun the process of reopening churches. But the vast majority of U.S. Catholics remain unable to attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the highest prayer of the Church.