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u close down. The resources needed by Italy to deal tain the religious component so that it is not seen as
with the emergency situation, which at other times an institution of civic society. This is why it is so im-
would have been its own, because of the devaluation portant what Pope Francis said when he prayed to the
of the currency, now depend on the decisions of the Holy Spirit to give “pastors the pastoral capacity and
Union, to which the country must now bow down. discernment necessary to take measures that do not
The virus has demonstrated the artificial nature leave the faithful people of God alone. May the people
of the European Union, which has revealed itself of God feel accompanied by pastors and the comfort
incapable of making the member states cooperate of the Word of God, the sacraments and prayer”.
with each other. The lack of a moral cement has not This coronavirus emergency can feel as “if God
been compensated for by an institutional and pol- did not exist”. When the emergency ends it is pos-
itical cement. We must take note of this unglamor- sible that such a vision will persist. It could be that
ous end of the European Union by coronavirus, and the linkages between physical health and the moral
realize that cooperation is also possible outside the and religious health will have been forgotten. If, on
supranational political institutions. the contrary, the recognition of God’s place in the
State and Church world is not forgotten, then the relationship between
politics and Catholicism and between the church
The word Salus means not only health but also and the state can also be restored on the right path.
salvation. The problem arises from the relationship
of political life and religion. Religion best guarantees The urgency of the current epidemic profoundly
the truth of political life. Political authority weakens challenges the Church’s Social Doctrine. The herit-
the fight against evil, as it does with the present epi- age of faith and reason can help in the fight against
demic in which the sacrifice of the Holy Mass is made the infection as it is a struggle concerning every level
equivalent with recreational pursuits. Churches have of social and political life. Above all, it can help with
closed, sometimes before the suspension of other the world post-coronavirus. We need an overarching
types of gatherings which are certainly less import- view that does not exclude any valuable perspective.
ant. Even the Church is complicit when she does not Social life requires coherence and synthesis, espe-
affirm, for the same authentic and complete common cially during difficult times. That is why, in difficulties,
good, the public necessity of Holy Mass and access people who know how to look in depth and upwards
to churches. can find solutions and even opportunities to make
things better than they were in the past. (Editor’s
The Church contributes to the fight against the note: Louis Even and Douglas Social Credit would
epidemic through the various forms of assistance, indeed “make things better!”) v
aid and solidarity which she contributes as in the past
during difficult times. However, it is important to re- † Giampaolo Crepaldi
Archbishop of Trieste

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