Would the Catholics in the City of Toronto and the Region of Peel please stand up?

We republish this with permission. Links to other posts made over the past few days are included at the bottom of this post.

"I do not want ever to shut down the Church again." 

So said, Toronto Archbishop Thomas Cardinal Collins on November 13, 2020 only to go against his own words by doing exactly that on November, 23. Ah, wait, he is correct, he did not "shut down the Church again," he only banned the public worship of God in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The good Cardinal left the churches open for private prayer to a maximum of ten established by the Ontario politburo diktat of General-secretary Douglas Ford after being advised by the same "virtuous" medical professionals spoken of by our good Cardinal. The same ones that recently murdered a woman by lethal injection, an elderly woman now before God and one who could not bear another shutdown. The Cardinal said he "did not want collateral damage." Well, he got it bigtime.

So, the Cardinal can make a distinction. He did not "shutdown the Church again." He only shutdown the Holy Sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

How does this make sense and why has he done this?

If the church can have ten people, why can it not have eight faithful, a priest and one server to make up those ten. I am not trying to justify General-secretary Ford's diktat, but let's just try for a moment to work within the decree.

If ten can gather and distance and mask and sanitize at St. Clare of Assisi Woodbridge which holds over 1,000 to recite the rosary, why can they not gather for Mass? It hurts the brain to try to unravel this riddle.

It is simple. 

As I have been told by more than one who would know, "It is just not worth it." That is the view of the Cardinal, his Auxiliaries, the chancerycrats and the close circle of priests around him. It's just not worth it. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is just not worth it. 

Christ, is not worth it.

You, are not worth it.

You, my friend, you are not worth the trouble of figuring out which ten. But hey, the priest has his Mass. Talk about clericalism. 

Is part of the riddle, the distribution of Holy Communion? We know he has violated the rights of the faithful to receive on the tongue and has approved the dropping of the Host in one's hands, where it may fall on the floor and particles, each of which contains Christ, scatter. We know that without authority, Toronto Public Health and presumably others, have threatened the Church over this matter. It is not acceptable.

So, let us work for a moment again within the politburo diktat. After all, what would St. Thomas More, who Cardinal Collins so often quotes praises, do? 

"I'd give the Devil the benefit of law, for my own safety's sake." 

The Cardinal has the authority to say that there will be no distribution of Holy Communion at Mass. The faithful do not need to receive the Eucharist at Mass. The priest must, as the Levitical priests old, consume the Holy Sacrifice. It was later, distributed the Hebrew people. Holy Communion can be received by appointment (contact tracing) on the hand or tongue alone as an individual or family circle with proper sanitizing measures before and after. 

If this little layman can figure this out, why can't the Cardinal.

My friends, as Ontario politburo General-secretary Ford is wont to say, my friends, I can only do so much. I am one person, what are you doing? What has happened to us. Do we need to use Adam Skelley as our role model? 

I wrote yesterday that we will back the Cardinal, we will defend his priests, our priests. 

Cardinal Collins, you wear red for a reason. You have forgotten. You will be judged by Jesus Christ for this. Imagine if Our Lord Jesus Christ said in the Garden, "Father, its just not worth it!"

Restore the public Mass in Toronto and Peel now. Do it, now  and do not do what you have done again.

Advise the Premier today that as of next Sunday, we will return to 30% and in order to increase the number of Masses, limit homilies to five minutes and eliminate the distribution of Holy Communion in the Mass and do it by appointment.

Advise the Premier and the Medical Officers of Health that they can issue whatever citation, or fine, or penalty they wish. They can even arrest you and your priests as they did Mr. Skelley, who as of this writing has in his war chest $229,229.00.

Let them drag you in handcuffs from the Cathedral. 

Yesterday, I visited Adamson's BBQ. It was barricaded with concrete barriers and there were over fifty police, none of whom wanted to be there. They were borrowed from across the city. I asked an Officer, "what would happen if 100 or more did this as a protest." He told me, "absolutely nothing, we could not handle it."

Bullies back down.

Unless the coward lets them continue.

Cardinal Collins, you speak much of More and Fisher as you did at the Oratory last Saturday and your Sunday homily from the same Ambo disgraced a few weeks ago by Justin Trudeau, whilst you the servant of us and an Apostle of Jesus Christ, sat behind a pillar, muted  and struck dumb with a face mask. You, were silent whilst Justin Trudeau seized the place of the Word of God and received the Holy Sacrament whilst the cameras panned to the ceiling and for which I have witnesses.

Enough!

As St. Catherine of Sienna said, "We've had enough exhortations to be silent."

To my fellow Catholics, she commanded us, "Cry out with a thousand tongues - I see the world is rotten because of silence!"

neilm@archtoronto.org

archbishop@archtoronto.org

icamilleri@archtoronto.org

bishop.boissonneau@rogers.com

central.region@archtoronto.org

eastern.region@archtoronto.org

northern.region@archtoronto.org

See also:

https://rumble.com/vbg8lv-archdiocese-of-toronto-webinar-friday-november-13-2020.html

 

Vox Cantoris: REPORT: ONTARIO GOVERNMENT WAS PREPARED TO LIFT CHURCH RESTRICTIONS AS EARLY AS LATE APRIL INTO MAY - WHY DID CARDINAL COLLINS DELAY UNTIL THE MIDDLE OF JUNE?

 

Vox Cantoris: AN OPEN LETTER TO THOMAS CARD. COLLINS ON THE CESSATION OF PUBLIC DIVINE WORSHIP IN PARTS OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF TORONTO.

Take the time to read Vox Cantoris over the coming weeks

 Long-time readers of this blog will be aware that we like to refer to Vox Cantoris from time to time. Thus, it comes at no surprise that we are encouraging all of our readers to pay special attention to our sister blog over the next few weeks in this time of crisis for the Archdiocese of Toronto.

To the uninitiated (and even those who used to be familiar with him), Vox is described as mean, disgusting, rigid, aggressive, and toxic - all words I have personally heard used to describe either his blog and his person - and all other sorts of cruel epithets. The aptest word I can use to describe Vox's writing style is blunt. This is a positive trait to have. As someone said to me recently regarding Vox, he says what they would say if they were of any position and importance as a Catholic. High praise, indeed.

So, go on over to the link below to the homepage of Vox Cantoris. I strongly encourage all to take in what he says with an attitude of meditation. Reflect on what he writes. Ponder it. Chew on it if need be. Take something away from with you when you click away from the post you are on. I may be biased, but I think Vox has a lot of important things to say, and people (at least in the Archdiocese of Toronto and surrounding environs) have a bad tendency to dismiss him as a "touchy and self-righteous" person, or some such term, when that is far from the case at all. Break that cycle.

https://voxcantor.blogspot.com/

Oh, and Vox? Thank you for your witness and ardent love of Christ and His Church.

Cardinal Collins fears Catholics will be accused of "...standing in the way of protecting the community..." by City of Toronto apparatchiks

 Back in June, Cardinal Collins lamented that if he did not obey the Toronto public health authorities they would forbid the Sacraments, and outright ban the Mass.

A week ago, these same authorities who demanded our churches be closed in March, illegally banned singing, and, far worse, banned Holy Communion on the tongue. These same authorities who now declared that - irrespective of the size of the house of worship - no more than 50 could attend; to then within 24 hours, reduce the number to a mere 10. They were backed up by Gauleiter Doug Ford, who with the stroke of a pen, can overrule them.

So it sadly is, that Cardinal Collins continues to take the knee to these authorities; "leaders" (in reality mis-leaders), as he calls them, and worries that he might have to take "proactive" action to show to these people that the Catholic Church cares for the common good! Imagine trying to discuss the common good with people who openly and aggressively promote abortion as "essential", yet claim to be imposing lock downs to protect the sanctity of life. They certainly don't lie very well, do they? 

Let us now examine two examples of how these people really care about human life, promote the "common good": 

 

Or this: 

 

 

Now that we have reviewed the type of warped minds the Cardinal is dealing with, let us watch the following video of a Webinar dated November 13.

Note how the Cardinal is torn and paralyzed with seeming fear of these people; how he agonizes, knowing the Catholic Church is being threatened and intimidated to such a degree that he has had to "argue" with these apparatchiks that the Church does indeed protect the community. The hypocritical audacity of such caluminators! How dare they threaten the Catholic Church! It is time this outrage ends! 

Once again we appeal to His Eminence: 

Dear Cardinal Collins, we WILL support you! We will stand with you! Do NOT fear these evil people. You know they hold to an atheistic conception of man, denying the Divine. 

You have in the past undertaken charitable work in the ecumenical field: pick up the phone, call the local Orthodox Prelates, telephone separated brethren, Jews, Moslems, and others of good will. Get together and go to Court to demand our rights. Be like your brother, Cardinal Dolan of New York, who together with a group of Jews went to Court and defeated the thuggish Gauleiter Andrew Cuomo.

First Sunday of Advent - LIVE (Mater Ecclesiae Parish)

A lesson from the Prophecy of Abdias

In my spare time, I have been going through some of the more neglected books in the Bible: The Minor Prophets. The other week, I was given to reflect on the following verse from the Prophecy of Abdias:

Be sure of this, a time is soon coming when the Lord will summon all of the nations to their account; then, as thou didst, it shall be done to thee, in thy own coin thou shalt be paid. (v. 15)

I found this verse to be striking because of its universality. It speaks of holding "all nations to their account," and sort of reiterates the Golden Rule. If a nation - be it in the past, present, or future - does bad things, it will reap bad things. The same applies when it does good things. One cannot help but harken back to Canada is reaping in bad things because it encouraged bad things for so long. Not only do we have a horrible leader in J. Trudeau (2015 to present), we also have weak bishops, weak people, and weak faith. I count myself in that number. We (as a nation) have encouraged all sorts of vices in all sorts of people in all sorts of walks of life. Abortion, pornography, euthanasia, materialistic lifestyles. The list goes on. Thus, is it really any sort of surprise we have what we have now? A country struck dumb by a little virus, and Canadians the whole country over encouraging lockdowns so as - denying all sorts of logic as they do so - to delay their own, inevitable deaths.

However, God through Abdias doesn't leave us with any hope. That is something I have found throughout my reading of the Minor Prophets. Through His prophets, God tempers His promises of harsh physical judgements with those of hopeful relief so long as people make amendments to their lives. In Abdias, this counter-promise takes the following form:

But here, on mount Sion, all shall be deliverance, all shall be holiness, and their spoilers the men of Jacob shall despoil. A fire Jacob shall be, a living flames the sons of Joseph, and Esau's race stubble before their onset; the spark once kindled, all shall be consumed, and of Esau's race no memory shall be left; the Lord decrees it. (v. 17-18)

The names Jacob and Esau are a reference to the events in Genesis 25 whereby Esau sold his unwanted birthright as firstborn to his trickster brother Jacob for a bowl of stew. The Bible implies that Jacob was in the right for tricking Esau, as both Rebekah and Isaac tacitly condone this act. Upon learning of this trickery, Esau forces Jacob to flee for his life. While they later reconcile, it is temporary and neither of their descendants ("races") forgets this acrimonity. 

We can make some parallels between Jacob and Esau and the spirit of our times. Esau sells his birthright for food - in like manner, many citizens of all nations have sold their birthrights as children of God in exchange for vices. In like manner, their anger is enkindled when any of their brothers or sisters calls them out on it or even remind them of what a life based in God is like in the spirit of Jacob - in many cases, the anger is extreme enough that people are subjected to threats of physical violence much like Jacob was. (However, Esau's anger is justified - but his reaction was extreme.) Finally, when either "race"  reconciles or comes together for any common purpose, it is only temporary and the acrimonity soon resumes, such as what we currently seeing with the COVID-19 "pandemic." We agreed in the early months of the "crisis," but as it has gone on, the agendas of those who have sold their birthright have become apparent enough for the spiritual descendants of Esau and Jacob have broken their truce. 

Thus, if we look at it this way, we have little reason to lose hope. Not all is lost, not all hope is gone from the world. We have the promises of the Lord and the examples of Scripture to guide us. God offers Canada - and nations all over - a firm chance at redemption and salvation if only we turn back to Him both as a collective entity and as individuals. Jacob was not wholly innocent, and neither are we, his spiritual descendants. We have visited various calamities on ourselves over the centuries from our own actions - the China Virus is only the latest one. As with the spiritual children of Esau, we are also invited to make amendments to our lives, and take that seriously. 

Only then we will become a "fire," consuming all around us, to the point that even the memory of Esau's race will be burned away.

An Open Letter to Thomas Cardinal Collins on the Cessation of Public Masses for Advent and Christmas

This was originally written by Vox Cantoris, and we re-publish it with his permission. I have already been told it is a "disgusting" letter - all the more reason to read it!

Dear Cardinal Collins, 

Laudetur Jesus Christus. 

I write this letter to you and make it public under these provisions of the Code of Canon Law. 212 §1 to Canon 215*. In all good conscience, well-formed and Christian, I cannot remain silent to the abomination before me and my society. 

This letter has been forwarded, by blind copy, to a good number of our priests in the Archdiocese of Toronto and bishops elsewhere, so that they will be aware of the facts which are not being discussed by you or your staff or disseminated to the Catholic faithful. It will also be posted on Vox Cantoris, shared with other bloggers and social media as a public record to advise Catholics in Toronto of the facts and the abandoning of your duty before God and His faithful people. 

Earlier in the wretched year of 2020, more of Satan than Our Blessed Lord, I wrote publicly on my blog how to manage church function during the upcoming lockdown. https://voxcantor.blogspot.com/2020/03/dear-bishops-there-is-better-way-than.html. I suggested an attendance cap and ticket system based upon building occupancy. I suggested forty percent. Someone read my post and three months later, took some of my advice. That advice should have been taken immediately. There was no reason or no science to support the complete withholding of our Lent and Holy Week and the Triduum and Eastertide and Pentecost and Corpus Christi. Yet, I acquiesced and urged my fellow Catholics to do the same in the interests of Christian charity, legitimate authority and public health. That was then. Now, we know much more about the virus and we have ways to manage it ourselves. This writer even condemned foolish Catholics in the Diocese of Hamilton that lost the use of two churches for the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite because of their obstinate refusal to wear a mask in accord with the Bishop’s request and various municipal by-laws. All reasonable legitimate authority. 

Since this time, all of us have learnt much about what Father John Zuhlsdorf calls the “Wuhan Devil.” Catholics certainly are following all requests in our churches, priests certainly are, yet notwithstanding this, you have shuttered our churches to the public worship of God, again, even though the Premier of Ontario has, without any science limited worship to ten. Ten, even at St. Clare of Assisi, St. Paul’s Basilica and St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica. You have outdone Premier Ford in a race to the bottom by banning the public worship of God. This is a crime against God and man. The virus spread is not and was not coming from churches. You had a duty to ensure that these latest restrictions, which are crippling our small business sector, did not affect worship. If you intervened or your staff attempted to intervene, then you should advise us that you did and failed and the government rebuffed you. Then we can blame Mr. Ford. Clearly, nothing has been learnt since the false promises by the former Premier on a certain Bill which you and your staff, well know. You should have gone public and to court. You should have defended the faith in the manner of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More, to whom you so often refer, including last week. 

Now, the facts. 

As of this writing, there are 523 people in hospital in Ontario due SARS-CoV-2. https://covid-19.ontario.ca/. That is 523 out of more than the 2019 population of 14,416,515 people for which there are nearly 500 hospitals and 20,000 hospital beds. Those hospitalized represent 0.003% of the population. For this, the Premier, who does not attend church and probably has not darkened one since the funeral of his poor brother, does not see Holy Mass as “essential service.” He has interfered with our God-given and Charter Rights and you have acquiesced in this abomination. He is bankrupting our Province and our small businesses whilst allowing globalist conglomerates to operate with impunity. Mr. Ford has interfered with our spiritual lives and those of our Protestant brethren and our Jewish and sincere Moslem brothers and sisters. Rather than leading and rallying the leaders of these faiths in a true Francis style “brotherhood” to confront the secularist, globalist minions, you have done nothing. 

More? 

On November 15, 2020, CTV News reported that 10,947 people across Canada had died of SARS-CoV-2 and 10,781 of those who died were in long-term care. What happened to Mr. Ford’s “iron ring?” Where were you and your brother bishops when this literal murder was and still is, being perpetuated? The CBC reported in May that 80% of deaths of the first wave were in long-term care. https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/coronavirus-canada-long-term-care-deaths-study-1.5626751. Are we imitating here in Ontario, Andrew Cuomo’s actions in the Empire State? The same people who happily stick a needle in some poor soul in a murder/suicide or kill babies in the womb, are clutching their pearls over a bad flu while letting it run rampant in nursing homes. It is an indictment of incompetence on the part of Mr. Ford and the Government of Ontario and our experts in public health especially the Chief Medical Officer none of whom are the sharpest scalpels on the tray who as with Catholic Mr. Biden, were generally in the bottom 1% of their class. It is an indictment of you and your brother bishops who have sat by in your protected palaces and blasphemed the Holy Sacrifice by wearing a mask in the sanctuary whilst the rest of us try to get on with life and pay our bills and hope buy a little bread and grog. This has happened and you have said and done nothing to stop it. 

The difference between those who have died in Canada outside of long-term care is (CTV numbers) 166. 

One hundred and sixty-six. 

You have shut down the public worship of God which is His right and our duty because 166 people have died in Canada over the last eight months. You have done this at a time when a globalist cabal is using every opportunity world-wide to stymy our rights and liberty and free practice of true religion. Rather, you should “open wide the doors to Christ” rather than bolting them. 

Late last evening, the United States Supreme Court https://www.marketwatch.com/story/supreme-court-rules-that-cuomo-cant-limit-attendance-at-new-york-religious-services-due-to-covid-19-2020-11-26 thanks to Justice Amy Coney Barrett, overturned the “Catholic” Andrew Cuomo’s restrictions on church and synagogue attendance. Interesting that Mr. Ford has copied identically, the Cuomo model of colour and levels. Cuomo, the same man responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of seniors in long-term care. This will not stop at New York and will shortly spread across America. Supreme courts in one western country often use precedent established in another – so called same-sex marriage being an example. You have a duty now to defy Mr. Ford and undertake and initiate immediate legal action. 

We now sit on the cusp of Advent and there will be no public Mass. Not even for the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. No doubt, you will cancel Christ's Mass. All for 166 deaths across Canada. 

As a priest wrote to me yesterday, “Cardinal Collins should meditate on St. Luke’s gospel, IX, 59-60:   “But he said to another: Follow me. And he said: Lord, suffer me first to go, and to bury my father.  And Jesus said to him: Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou, and preach the kingdom of God.” 

We, “ask for bread and you give us stones.” Matthew 7:9. 

Cardinal Collins, do your duty to God and man and do it now! 

Vox Cantoris

* Can. 212 §1. Conscious of their own responsibility, the Christian faithful are bound to follow with Christian obedience those things which the sacred pastors, inasmuch as they represent Christ, declare as teachers of the faith or establish as rulers of the Church. 

§2. The Christian faithful are free to make known to the pastors of the Church their needs, especially spiritual ones, and their desires. 

§3. According to the knowledge, competence, and prestige which they possess, they have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful, without prejudice to the integrity of faith and morals, with reverence toward their pastors, and attentive to common advantage and the dignity of persons. 

Can. 213 The Christian faithful have the right to receive assistance from the sacred pastors out of the spiritual goods of the Church, especially the word of God and the sacraments. 

Can. 214 The Christian faithful have the right to worship God according to the prescripts of their own rite approved by the legitimate pastors of the Church and to follow their own form of spiritual life so long as it is consonant with the doctrine of the Church. 

Can. 215 The Christian faithful are at liberty freely to found and direct associations for purposes of charity or piety or for the promotion of the Christian vocation in the world and to hold meetings for the common pursuit of these purposes.

Cardinal Thomas Collins can't hold a candle to Bishop Michael Power

Cardinal Collins could learn a thing or two from the first bishop of the newly minted Diocese of Toronto, as Terry McDermott at Catholic Insight points out.

https://catholicinsight.com/the-courage-of-bishop-michael-power-crucial-for-our-times/?fbclid=IwAR03n8BBxprD1_NMjveKtuHLKg85mbL2GYxOr5CQ_n27zYCa5WUWKTbJZ1k

The Province of Ontario's naked aggression towards Religion MUST be opposed!

 

 

If we can hold Cardinal Collins' feet to the fire, we must do likewise with Premier Doug Ford's.

He, as Premier enacted this outrage. The proverbial "buck" stops on his desk. He could have told his so-called public health advisors a strong "NO"! But he did not. He cannot escape his responsibility as Premier to allow this intolerable intrusion which is not based on science, but on scientism. No doubt, like Cardinal Collins he is besieged by the downtown elite and secular media. However, this is still no excuse. If we can hold the Cardinal to account, we must likewise hold the Premier.

To relegate religious services to "social gatherings" is outrageous. This IS the State intervening, violating Charter Rights (2a,c, & d), whereby the State sets itself up as the judge and jury as to what constitutes a "religious service". I find this absolutely disgusting.

I am horrified by the silence, the pandering, the excusing of the State by so-called Catholics. In France Catholics are standing up; but Catholics in Canada? Lemmings, sheep. Yesterday, I noticed a local liquor store had a sign of "30" for capacity; a large grocery store "190".  

Watch the following to learn that we are being seriously misled by either fools, cowards, or charlatans. 

 

 

This very video was removed immediately by the Youtube. Hence, I have uploaded directly to this post.   

 

In churches (the last time I checked) the congregants sit, stand, and kneel, and if they do move, it is in an orderly fashion. As such, we know what the shutting down of religion is a MASSIVE POWER GRAB and OUTRAGEOUS violation of our rights. It IS the delegation of religion to second class citizenship. It is the manifestation of the utter contempt for the Divine from people who are corrupt apparatchniks; busy pushing "glory holes", whilst boarding up your local church, synagogue, mosque or temple. Friends, we are in this together. We had better start getting serious. 

 

Doug Ford: do NOT place your trust in princes

What should have Cardinal Collins done? Simple: "See you in Court Monday morning, Doug Ford".

In fact, we all knew this was coming. We all knew a second lock down was in the cards (and we all knew it would arrive just before Christmas). If we knew it, they knew it. Cardinal Collins should have approached - MONTHS AGO - other religious bodies: Eastern Orthodox, protestants, Jews, and Moslems to form an alliance and prepare for litigation. In this manner he also would have circumvented the hate and rage from the elites and media denouncing the Catholic Church as "killing people; as being "nasty". They would have known this line of attack would have been impossible lest they be accused of what is popularly known as "antisemitism" and "Islamophobia".

These churchmen have got to begin thinking tactically and inventively. Alas, they are trapped in their LIBERAL DREAM that all men are nice, all men love the Catholic Church, and love Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately Our Lord Jesus Christ has real enemies who hate Him and His Church. They are on the offensive, and we had better wake up to this bitter fact. 

To put this hysteria into perspective, if we believe the official numbers (remember that those who die WITH Covid and NOT from Covid, are in many jurisdictions deceptively still deemed a Covid death), 1.3 million have presently died from Covid. The death toll from the Spanish flu is estimated at 50 million. If we adjust for the change in the world's population, that would mean that Covid deaths need to exceed 200 million deaths to equal the Spanish flu.

TCW thanks Cardinal Collins too soon; public Masses have been suspended once again in the Archdiocese of Toronto

Well, Toronto Catholic Witness thanked Cardinal Collins much too soon.

We have learned through Vox Cantoris that the "good Cardinal" has decided to suspended public Masses for the foreseeable future. He has done this under his own intitative. Premier Doug Ford did not tell him to do this. Instead, in response to the government's stipulation that worship services be limited to 10 people, the Cardinal decided to suspend/cancel public Masses altogether.

A complete and utter disgrace. And here I was, suspecting that my doubts about his cowardice were misplaced. 

Shame on him.

From: MacCarthy, Neil <neilm@archtoronto.org> on behalf of Office of Public Relations & Communications <communications@archtoronto.org>
Sent: Friday, November 20, 2020 6:30:40 PM
To: Office of Public Relations & Communications <communications@archtoronto.org>
Subject: Communication from Cardinal Collins re November 20 Province of Ontario Announcement on Covid-19 Restrictions

 

November 20, 2020 

To all clergy, staff and the faithful of the Archdiocese of Toronto,

Before providing an update on the latest measures implemented by the province of Ontario regarding churches in the Archdiocese of Toronto, I wish to express my gratitude and admiration for the heroic work that has taken place following our June re-opening. 

Since that time, more than 1.3 million Catholics have attended Mass in our archdiocese. Following our robust WorshipSafe protocols, clergy, staff and volunteers have created a safe and welcoming environment, ensured proper distancing, the use of masks, as well as sanitizing churches after every service. You have also reached out with creativity and love to care not only for the sick and bereaved, but also for the needs of those suffering in other ways, who are isolated, who are facing psychological and spiritual trauma. You have been there for them. I thank you for fostering a culture of compassion that is needed more than ever, in the midst of this pandemic. 

Participation in the Mass and especially the opportunity to receive the Eucharist and other sacraments gives all of us the spiritual strength to not only endure the crisis, but also to reach out to serve, day after day, all of those who are suffering. 

We also must recognize the gravity of the situation before us. The number of positive cases of Covid-19 continues to rise at an alarming rate in many areas of our own archdiocese and in other regions of the province and country. We are still in the midst of a pandemic, which has already taken the lives of more than 11,000 Canadians. 

We are grateful to those who have been dedicated to fighting the virus – first responders and front line workers along with those working selflessly in our long-term care homes among others. In my conversations with political leaders and medical officers of health, I continue to assure them of our ongoing prayers as they make difficult decisions to protect all of us. 

In view of all of the above, I am deeply disappointed that, in some regions of the archdiocese, we must restrict participation in the sacraments (details enclosed). This will inflict a great spiritual pain upon those who safely and with great dedication have been drawing spiritual strength to sustain them, and to help them to serve those suffering in this pandemic. As we have demonstrated our ability to safely worship together, I trust that we will soon be able fully to resume public worship. 

Meanwhile, now is the time to go ever deeper in prayer, and with continued love and creative zeal, build up our community of faith and reach out even more to those who are suffering in these difficult days. 

Sincerely in Christ,  

Thomas Cardinal Collins

Archbishop of Toronto 

Recognizing the health and safety measures announced by the Province of Ontario on November 20, 2020, I am directing parishes to implement the following in their respective regions: 

Toronto & Peel Region (Lockdown – Emergency Restrictions) 

• By Monday, November 23, 2020, parishes must restrict attendance inside the church to 10 people, including priests hearing confessions or a staff member/volunteer required to monitor capacity restrictions. Due to these measures, public Masses must be temporarily cancelled. Priests are asked to celebrate private Mass daily for the intentions of parishioners and for those suffering from Covid-19. 

• Churches, wherever possible and according to the judgement of the pastor, are encouraged to remain open for private prayer and for the faithful to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Weddings, funerals and baptisms (without Mass) are restricted to 10 persons, including those who are involved in ministry (priest, cantor, etc.). First Holy Communions and Confirmations should be postponed at this time. 

• Parishioners are encouraged to view online/livestream/televised Masses. A full list is available at www.archtoronto.org and I will continue to celebrate the livestreamed Mass each day from St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica at 7:30 a.m. 

• No meetings should take place in parish halls or other church spaces at this time. The only exception would be those deemed as essential services eg. Alcoholics Anonymous/Narcotics Anonymous Meetings. These meetings should be restricted to 10 people and ensure that all appropriate health and safety measures are in place (use of masks, hand sanitizer, physical distancing, etc.). Virtual meetings should replace in-person meetings wherever possible.

·       Parish offices should move to Phase 1 – Parish Offices Closed/Significant Operating Restrictions. Only essential staff in the office. Employees should work remotely wherever possible. Parish offices closed to the public - limited essential appointments only. Staff should take direction from the pastor regarding the local situation on the most prudent approach. In larger parishes, it may be possible to rotate staff.

York & Durham Regions (Red Zone – Control Restrictions) 

• By Monday, November 23, 2020, parishes must restrict attendance at all liturgical celebrations (Mass, Weddings, Funerals, Baptisms, First Holy Communions, Confirmation, etc.) to 30% capacity. Please continue to ensure strict adherence to sanitization, distancing and other measures as outlined in our protocols.
• No meetings should take place in parish halls or other church spaces at this time. The only exception would be those deemed as essential services eg. Alcoholics Anonymous/Narcotics Anonymous Meetings. These meetings should be restricted to 10 people and ensure that all appropriate health and safety measures are in place (use of masks, hand sanitizer, physical distancing, etc.). Virtual meetings should replace in-person meetings wherever possible.
• Parish offices should move to Phase 2 – Limited Operations.

Simcoe Muskoka & Orangeville (Orange Zone – Restrict Measures) 

• No change to current operations. Parishes must restrict attendance at all liturgical celebrations to 30% capacity. 

• Indoor meetings restricted to 50 people maximum.

 

Cardinal Collins breaks his silence on the recent Catechism incident with the TCDSB

In a rare move, Cardinal Thomas Collins has broken his usual silence and issued a statement regarding the recent incident involving the Catechism and the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB).

Despite his many faults with respect to this matter over the past year (as TCW has written), Cardinal Collins' actions here are to be commended. He has finally pulled up the Trustees of the TCDSB up to task. Whether or not they take him up on his suggestions and spiritual observations remains to be seen.

Thank you, Cardinal Collins!

More will be said on this matter in coming posts. In the meantime, be sure to support the Cardinal. He has been called a non-Catholic for issuing this letter on that cesspool known as Twitter. If you have an account, go on there and tweet against the dissenters.

Do you #StandWithMike?

On Wednesday night, the Toronto Catholic District School Board voted 8-4 to sanction Trustee Michael Del Grande for his "horrible" remarks against LGBTQ+ members of the TCDSB community. You can read about it here. 

It is an unjust, evil, and depraved action, and only indicates the extensive hatred the TCDSB institution has for Christ and His Church. Naturally, those who had opposed Del Grande are celebrating in their "victory." But Del Grande has not stopped fighting. He has now been forced to hire a lawyer to assist him in resisting this prolonged, targeted effort to have him resign from the Board of Trustees.

However, lawyers don't come cheap. In light of this reality, the folks at Campaign Life Coalition have organized a fundraiser to assist Del Grande in paying his legal fees, which comes in at $50,000. The link is at the bottom of this post. 

As of this writing, just over $13,000 has been raised. That leaves just under $37,000 left to raise. Even if it is $20.00, every little bit counts. 

Do you #StandWithMike?

https://www.wonderwe.com/StandWithMike?fbclid=IwAR2sb2k3i0G5HsJ30cejUE66m3xTt46dttF6dNYPJ1m2VOEhxlJ9lo4xo8U

When Catholic institutions ignore Catholic teaching

Last night, Barona was texting this writer as the Toronto Catholic District School Board's Board of Trustees held a meeting. The meeting was primarily about the "question" of Trustee Michael Del Grande's "horrible" remarks against LGBTQ+ students and whether he should resign.

Barona and this writer both observed that the meeting was disorganized. For instance, 1 hour and 35 minutes was spent arguing over the agenda alone. To say it violates Robert's Rules to Order is an understatement. While this writer was not watching the livestream - having observed the same disorganization a year ago - Barona could only bear it until a man named Kyle started going on about drag queens and people disrespecting homosexuals. He promptly switched it off and did something else. 

Thus, it came at no surprise when Everyday for Life, Canada revealed this morning that the Catechism of the Catholic Church was forcibly ignored and suppressed last night via the same unprofessionalism Barona witnessed firsthand. You can read about it here.

It is no secret that the TCDSB as an institution has largely ignored Catholic teaching for many years now. The institution has developed such a hatred for Christ and His Church that when just one person reminds them of what the Church actually teaches - as Michael Del Grande has and is continuing to do - they harrass that individual. Since Del Grande spoke up against the misleading transgender ideology a year ago, several members of the TCDSB community - staff, fellow Trustees, students, and parents - have loudly denounced him. They have been denouncing Del Grande so loudly that The Toronto Star has written several articles against him and even former Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne (no lover of Catholic teaching herself) has gone on record denouncing the man.

To put it simply, this is wrong. More to the point, what these people are doing to Mr. Del Grande is unjust and evil. One can apply no other labels to the ongoing harassment, calumny, and character assassination of one man over the past 12 months. One can see little - if any - of the supposed Catholicity in these people who have risen against Michael Del Grande.

What Our Lord says about the Pharisees having their reward for praying publicly in order to be praised can be applied here. Indeed, one would not want to be on the other end of Christ's angry gaze when these evil-doers are tried at their particular judgements.

May God's justice and mercy be swift for all involved, and may He continue to grant Michael Del Grande the graces necessary to withstand this horrible trial.

When Catholic school teachers fail to uphold Catholic teaching

Barona was kind enough to send this writer the following image the other day:

For those who cannot make it out, it features one Catholic teacher's branding of their virtual classroom as "The Rainbow Room." In this "Rainbow Room" last month, students read a book on the shared custom of head-coverings over several religions (Hats of Faith), a book which depicts a lesbian couple's wedding day from a child's point of view (Donovan's Big Day), and a book which holds pro-abortionist Ruth Bader Ginsburg as a role model. 

It is a sad image to behold, because it appears to be less about teaching Catholicism as it about promoting and encouraging lines of thinking which run contrary to Catholic teaching. Same-sex "marriage" and access to abortion, to name just two, are the focus here instead of Christ and His Church. Even Hats of Faith appears to make Catholicism out as a religion among equals rather than the One True Religion.

In other words, the rejection of Catholic teaching is the name of the game here.

The teacher in the image above is not alone in his endeavour, though. This writer has personally seen teachers - Catholics, mostly - use their personal social media accounts to rally against white supremacy, President Trump, and homophobia. While it is clear that they are speaking as private citizens - as it is within their right to do so - one does wonder how much of it bleeds into their day-to-day teaching. Little of it is contextualized within Catholic teaching. What are they actually teaching their students? Is authentic Catholicism even being taught in their classrooms? The above example is all the more troubling if one stops to consider if it is the norm rather than the exception.

Paulo De Buono, and others like him, are to be pitied. It is a sad day when a Catholic teacher fails to uphold Catholic teaching in their own classroom.

May the good Lord have mercy on them.

A Prayer for the United States of America

The following prayer was written by Archbishop John Carroll in 1791. Archbishop Carroll was named the first bishop of the United States of America by Pope Paul IV in 1789, and was later elevated to the archbishopric when the diocese of Baltimore, Maryland was elevated to the nation's first archdiocese. His brother, Charles Carroll, was the sole Catholic who signed the Declaration of Independence - and so Archbishop Carroll was well-placed to write this moving prayer for the Godly guidance of the United States' government.

May God bless America, and lead President Donald J. Trump to a second term as President tonight as our American neighbours head to the polls.

We pray, O almighty and eternal God, who through Jesus Christ has revealed thy glory to all nations, to preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church, being spread through the whole world, may continue with unchanging faith in the confession of your name.

We pray Thee, who alone are good and holy, to endow with heavenly knowledge, sincere zeal and sanctity of life, our chief bishop, the pope, the vicar of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the government of his Church; our own bishop, all other bishops, prelates and pastors of the Church; and especially those who are appointed to exercise among us the functions of the holy ministry, and conduct your people into the ways of salvation.

We pray O God of might, wisdom and justice, through whom authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgment decreed, assist with your Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude the president of these United States, that his administration may be conducted in righteousness and be eminently useful to your people over whom he presides; by encouraging due respect for virtue and religion; by a faithful execution of the laws in justice and mercy; and by restraining vice and immorality.

Let the light of your divine wisdom direct the deliberations of Congress, and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government, so that they may tend to the preservation of peace, the promotion of national happiness, the increase of industry, sobriety and useful knowledge; and may perpetuate to us the blessing of equal liberty.

We pray for his excellency, the governor of this state, for the members of the assembly, for all judges, magistrates, and other officers who are appointed to guard our political welfare, that they may be enabled, by your powerful protection, to discharge the duties of their respective stations with honesty and ability.

We recommend likewise, to your unbounded mercy, all our brethren and fellow citizens throughout the United States, that they may be blessed in the knowledge and sanctified in the observance of your most holy law; that they may be preserved in union, and in that peace which the world cannot give; and after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those which are eternal.

Finally, we pray to you, O Lord of mercy, to remember the souls of your servants departed, who are gone before us with the sign of faith and repose in the sleep of peace; the souls of our parents, relatives and friends; of those who, when living, were members of this congregation, and particularly of such as are lately deceased; of all benefactors who, by their donations or legacies to this Church, witnessed their zeal for the decency of divine worship and proved their claim to our grateful and charitable remembrance. To these, O Lord, and to all that rest in Christ, grant, we beseech you, a place of refreshment, light and everlasting peace, through the same Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior.

Amen.