Newspaper Page Text
Southern Cross, Page 10
Around the Diocese
Thursday, April 30, 2020
Questions and Answers with the Vicar General
about the current sacramenal practices
“ How are funerals and
weddings impacted by
this? <10 people and
distancing guidelines in
place?>”
received that
question in our
Facebook comments
section after posting the
Georgia bishops’ response
to governor Kemp’s April
20 update - (see page 11.)
Father Daniel Firmin, Vicar
General and Pastor of Saint
James the Lesser Church,
Savannah spoke with us
about those concerns and
other sacramental directives
during the Quarantine Our
conversation is below.
Southern Cross: The reason
I called is with the posting
yesterday about holding off on
holding public Mass until the
end of May. We got a response
from an individual. And I know
other people that have asked
about weddings. I don’t know
how many dozens of couples
there are that have scheduled
weddings that have been
interrupted. But what’s the
position on weddings? Can we
accommodate them or are they
just all on hold?
Fr. Firmin: Well, what
we’ve been doing and what
I’ve been telling priests to do
is to give the couple a choice.
First of all, we can postpone
it and find another date and
we will accommodate them on
another date that’s good and
we will do it at different times
than we normally would do
it, perhaps. So that’s number
one. And then if they want to
keep the date, we would say
there can only be 10 people
present. There has to be the
priest or the deacon, the
couple and two witnesses. So
if they want to do that, that’s
perfectly fine. We can do
that. Most of them choose the
latter route because they want
family there. And they want
music and want to make it
beautiful. So that’s what we’re
we’re recommending to all the
pastors, and the same thing is
true with baptisms. I’ve given
the same kind of directives,
but then I tell them, make sure
you tell the parents to please
go ahead and baptize the child.
You know that the child does
get sick, baptize them and we
will supply the the ceremony
later. Just let us know that
you did it and that that will be
fine. So with those two, those
are the directives that we’ve
been operating under.
Southern Cross: And then,
Father, just only because of
what’s going on in Georgia. I
know we’re limited to 10, but
with the governor eliminating
that restriction , are we still
saying to 10 or will we say, as
long as you’re six feet apart,
we can have 50 people?
Fr. Firmin: We’re going to
stick with the 10 right now
and just hold what we’re doing
for the next month.
Southern Cross: So how
about drive-thru confessions,
is that something we’re still
going to do?
Fr. Firmin: We’ve asked
priests not to do that, even
though we’re not going to
penalize them if they do. Some
priests have done that. I was
talking with Father Tim
McKeown in Brunswick the
other day and he said that he
did it one weekend and he had
10 people, and then the next
weekend he did it and only one
came through. So I’m not sure
if we want to do that. But to
continue what we’re doing now
and maybe, maybe that’s part
of our our fazing as we opened
back up.
Southern Cross: And then
what about directives for the
sacrament of the sick and
Masses of Christian burial.
Fr. Firmin: So for the
sacrament of the sick priest
can go anoint and and bring
last rites and leave. We’ve
had parishes do that. Father
Patrick May, Saint James the
Lesser Church Savannah, went
out a couple days ago to the
Marshes, out in the Landings
and to give someone last rites.
So that those sacraments are
still operative and we’ll still
go. We did issue some special
directives about anointing
people who possibly have
COVID-19 or have symptoms,
and so we’ve asked in those
cases, we’ve issued some
directives about only priests
under 60 years old and those
who don’t have any underlying
conditions. And when you
administer the sacrament
to follow all the hospital
guidelines, use a Q-Tip to
anoint and to touch any part
of the body, and you only have
to touch it once. With funerals
what we are doing is giving the
family the option of a burial
service at the graveside and
then setting up a memorial
mass for when we can all come
back.
Fr. Firmin: And that has
worked out. I’ve had one
funeral like that.
Fr. Firmin: Went to the
cemetery, the whole family was
there but spaced out and we
had to set up one tent above
the coffin and the plot and no
tent for the family, no chairs,
so they just kind of spread out.
Fr. Firmin: We did a service
that way and kind of a more
involved graveside service
than we would normally do. A
stronger liturgy of the word.
The homily asked of the family
if they wanted to say anything,
and then we rescheduled her
memorial mass, June 27. So
we’re doing that with funerals.
Southern Cross: Are there
any opportunities at all to
receive the Eucharist?
Fr. Firmin: We have asked
that not happen for a number
of reasons.
Any time someone does
that people come from all
over the place. We asked
that distribution not happen
because of the crowd would
be bigger than even normal
when word gets out because it
would be more difficult to the
practice social distancing. Also
because we don’t, if there’s no
service with reception of Holy
Communion, we don’t want to
do that. We don’t want to just
distribute Holy Communion.
Southern Cross: You don’t
want to separate it from the
mass?
Fr. Firmin: Correct, a
priest shouldn’t be doing
a communion service. It’s
precisely because we believe it
is the Body and Blood of Christ
and that we want to treat the
sacrament with a little more
reverence than a drive through.
And that is difficult to do
outside of that context of the
Mass and so we’ve discouraged
and asked our priest not to do
that.
Southern Cross: Well, I
think you’ve touched on and
given a lot of good answers
and rationale and behaviors
regarding these things,
because people have these
questions? I really want to
thank you for speaking with
me about this.
Southern Cross: On another
note. The synod about the
Amazon and the reality that
there are so many people in
so many places, but definitely
highlighted there, that go for
long periods of time without
the sacraments or a priest. So
we now have solidarity or we
should have an appreciation
for what our brothers and
sisters in remote areas are
dealing with. Any thoughts?
Fr. Firmin: The experience
of not being able to receive
Holy Communion, being
separated from the sacraments
like these in solidarity with
the folks in the Amazon and
other places. Father Peter
Lanshima did a nice little
video on his experience in
Nigeria. When he went back
for his ordination, he went to
his father’s home village and
that was the first time they
had seen a priest in three
months. And then when he
was back home for vacation in
January, he went back again,
and that was the first time
they’d seen a priest since he
had been there in July.
And so here he was telling
the story and just giving a
reflection on that experience.
It should be our Facebook page
or on the videos.