Mexican Bishop says that wearing facemasks is the result of “lack of faith”

“I know that it is necessary to wear the mask, I know it”, says Antonio González Sánchez, but then he questions “where is the trust in God”.

Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas.- The bishop of the Diocese of Ciudad Victoria, Antonio Gonzalez Sanchez, generated great controversy in social networks because on Sunday, Feb. 14th, whilst preaching in church he said, “for me, on a personal level, the famous “cubrebocas” is not trusting in God”.

On this topic, the bishop added, “I understand that I might be sick tomorrow, maybe, because I am not immune to anything, but generally, you see my face, is just the way I am”.

And he added: “It is not presumption, it is God’s grace, I walk this way because I trust God very much”. He clarified that he will not ask them to take it off, but to reflect on asking God with faith.

During the religious celebration, Gonzalez Sanchez read a passage from the Gospel according to St. Mark, which refers to leprosy, to which he reflected that, “in these times physical leprosy no longer exists, but we are living another kind of leprosy, the famous pandemic, and it seems to me, obviously I may be wrong, we are lacking faith, a faith that drives us to ask God for this to end”.

Hundreds of criticisms against the bishop appeared on social media, but there were also comments from those in favor.

The bishop said that he misses the presence of more people at mass.

“Many people are full of fear and it seems to me that the feeling of being panic-stricken is a lack of faith, a lack of faith in God,” the Bishop said.

In his sermon he said that he does not deny the situation, “I know that it is necessary (the masks), I know it”, but he questioned where is the trust in God.

He invited the parishioners to ask with faith, on their knees, to Jesus in the Sacrament, to ask God, “if you want to, you can free us from this, and above all, let us ask him to free us from fear”.

Finally, the Bishop wished all parishioners the following: “Very soon we will be able to see our full faces again and very soon these benches will be occupied again”.