Mob threat in Italy imperils the Church and the Vatican too
- Jan 17, 2021
The Italian bishops have criticized a new bill under consideration which criminalizes discrimination against homosexual and transsexual individuals, arguing that the legislation is unnecessary and would limit free expression of opinion.
While Catholics in Italy are enthusiastic about finally being able to attend Mass after a two months hiatus due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, there are several other areas of ecclesial life that are still on hold.
One day after the Italian Prime Minister declined to offer a date for restarting public Masses in his “phase 2” plan for lifting of the country’s COVID-19 coronavirus restrictions, with some advisers saying it might not happen until the end of the month, one church official in Milan said faithful want Mass now.
On Monday the Italian bishops criticized the government’s omission of a date to restart public Masses in its new week-by-week plan for the return to normal life after the coronavirus, threatening to act autonomously.
Even in times of strict quarantine when prayer is not a legitimate enough reason to leave one’s house, in Italy expressions of popular piety and devotion are still driving the Catholic Church’s spiritual reaction to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, at times at the explicit request of the faithful.