New York: Believers have relied on the live broadcast of the Holy Mass online, following the worldwide cancellation of the Holy Mass following the corona pandemic. While believers and clergy alike struggle to cope with this change, leading liturgical scholars are in for a heated debate about how effective online sacrifice is than the actual sacrifice offered in the presence of believers. Timothy O’Malley, Academic Director at the Center for Liturgy at the University of Notre Dame, says that participating in Holy Communion on TV is not the same as participating in it live.
But if you approach the online liturgy as the most important form of worship, it is okay, ”he added. Thomas E. Klein, professor of Catholic theology at Yale Divinity School; Golden Jr. shared a similar opinion. They also point out that there is no active participation in the online church. Massimo Faggioli, a theologian at the University of Villanova, says participation in the online liturgy is not the right partnership. These warnings are especially important since believers are likely to rely on online sacrifices even after the lockdown.
