A Covid era picture showed a large empty parking lot. In the middle is a priest and , in an obvious representation of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, a penitent is kneeling beside his chair.

Why was there not one of the priest standing on the chair with his parishioners around him,properly masked and distanced ,of course, giving General Absolution ?

You may well ask. And not just in Glasgow. Why should this be the case ?

The 108 year old rusting wreckage of Canon Law still stands, although compelled even a few weeks ago to spit out defective parts in yet another clerical pedophile trial-historic- in Glasgow. As priest numbers continue to shrink, neither Archbishop Nolan of Glasgow nor Archbishop Cushley of Edinburgh will allow General Absolution ,of course with the mysterious insistence on confessing the sins again later .I say “mysterious “ because this appeared in Canon Law 1917 and not in AD 17 .You see, Canon Law1917 says there must be “grave reason “before the Flock can be given the Eucharist without confessing to a priest. This apparently does not include the deaths of 7 million people through Covid

You may remember the apocalyptic atmosphere of Covid ,with not even TV journalists knowing what would happen next ,the queuing in twos – and occasional fist fights -at supermarkets. Nobody really knew what would happen next.And the regular news of deaths, local,international.Was it to be a slow motion death of society. Nobody knew . One day in Covid I stood in Great Western Road at Byres Road, one of Glasgow’s busiest junctions ,on a week day at noon.As in a sci fi film, not another human being or vehicle could be seen. There seemed to me to be a “ grave reason “ but I didn’t study in Rome.

Perhaps the many other secular bishops like Nolan and Cushley felt that it might diminish the faith of the Flock were they to challenge Canon Law. Or not, of course. With the secular priesthood ,and there’s not many of them, and the Roman Rite not far above the level as the Druids , why is nothing happening about General Absolution ? Or did not enough die ? A lot of people body swerve secular priests for various reasons, and the secular priesthood does not have much going for it nor will it ever again. Does it simply fear losing the grip of confession and absolution ?

That’s a terrible thing to say, you may feel.

It is indeed.