The national director of Priests for life, Father Frank Pavone, in a discussion with Fox News, noted that his concerned is not that the church Sunday attendance will reduce after the social distancing has been lifted but it will rather be a pent-up-desire to gather for corporate worship as people will also return back to their daily activities.
The Catholic priest is convinced that this pandemic season will result into a “deepening of faith.”
“People are going to return to restaurants,” he said. “Why? Because we have a need. We have a need not only for food. We have a need for the social experience of having a meal at a restaurant.”
“Well, similarly, going to church is not a luxury,” he continued. “It is also a need. There’s a deep human need to worship together. They will flock back to church, once it’s safe again to do so. And I’m not at all concerned that worshiping from home virtually will become normalized.”
As it has been noted that there is surge in search for some religious words like “prayer” and increase in online church attendance, Pavone does not see this usurping as threat to physical coming together of the church and the “desire” to gather for corporate worship.
He noted that this season will help to deepens and appreciates the faith more.
“It’s an interesting question to consider whether the virus will lead to a spiritual awakening and a deepening of faith in America or a turning away from faith,” he said. “I believe we already see the signs that it is leading to a deepening of faith.”
“The fact that this crisis has occurred during what is the holiest time of year for Christians and Jews alike — our high holy days — were spent in a very different way this year,” the priest added. “That really makes us appreciate the faith even more.”
Aphorism CITY 