I argued with my priest/pastor also, not just about the mask but about the forcibly shut churches and, after they reopened, the roped off pews and placement markers on the floors to keep people 6 feet away from each other. I kept saying over and over, "Christians aren't supposed to be terrified of illness or even death, and we're certainly not supposed to be terrified of each other. Christians are supposed to run toward each other in time of crisis, not away from each other." I even added that our greatest saints had risked their lives to attend personally on the sick and dying. Finally my pastor said, "We've had this conversation before," which I knew meant "Shut up" and that he was never going to listen.

But no, unlike some here, I didn't leave the Church because our bishops were a bunch of sniveling cowards and/or toadies to the power brokers. I believe in my Catholic faith because it's proved itself to be true even if those in charge of keeping the Faith have lost their faith. And I do believe that Christ Himself is still there in the tabernacle in church and comes to us every day in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass -- despite the failures of His servants. It's an old saying that one proof of the Divine origin of the Church is that she's survived her clergy.