Last week on the Crisis Point podcast Kevin Wells and I were discussing the response of the bishops to Covid back in 2020. Both of us felt that the fact that every single American bishops shut down the public celebration of the Mass for over a month is something the Church has yet to recover from.

Apart from the countless souls who didn’t return to Mass after the shutdown was lifted, there was the clear message sent by our spiritual fathers: Mass is “non-essential.” The most important activity on earth—literally!—was deemed not as important as shopping at Home Depot or getting an abortion at Planned Parenthood. At a time when spiritual assistance was most needed, most of our spiritual fathers checked out (listen to the episode to hear the story of a heroic and saintly priest who did not check out).

There’s simply no way to measure how that decision impacted the spiritual lives of Catholics throughout the country. Even before Covid Mass attendance was pitiful among self-identified Catholics; as low as 10% according to some estimates. But when the leaders of the Church say by their actions the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass isn’t that important, the consequences are dire.

Both Kevin and I suspect that many bishops now realize this. It’s likely one of the driving forces behind the 3-year Eucharistic Revival they planned. The bishops knew that belief in the Real Presence was low before Covid, and the Mass shutdown didn’t help.

But will the Eucharistic Revival be enough to turn things around? Perhaps, but I would argue that there’s one major thing missing from this multi-year event: an apology.

Imagine the power of the bishops saying: “We were wrong. We should not have locked you out of our churches. We should not have denied you access to the Sacraments. We realize now what a bad decision that was, and we promise not to do it again. Mass is essential.”

With that simple apology, the bishops would make abundantly clear that they truly believe the Eucharist is the “source and summit” of our faith; that it is necessary for salvation; and that the Sacraments must always be available to the faithful, even when—especially when—we are living through a crisis like the Covid pandemic.

When we recorded the podcast last week, not a single bishop was on record with an apology. On Saturday, I posted on 𝕏: “I wish our bishops knew the spiritual blessings that would be unleashed on the Church by a simple and sincere public apology for shutting down public Masses during Covid.”

I didn’t expect any type of episcopal response, and after posting I left to go pick up my daughter at a parish event.

Then I started getting text messages from friends directing me to an 𝕏 post by Bishop Joseph Strickland. He had responded to my post with a heartfelt apology: “Eric, I offer my apology as you have requested. I was duped by the media hype and should have been stronger. Let us pray for all shepherds to have stronger supernatural faith as we face more challenges in the future. May Christ be our Light in whatever darkness we face.”

I was beyond grateful. Here was a successor to the apostles, who himself had shut down access to Mass during the Covid lockdowns, admitting he made a mistake. What a man of humility! I of course accepted his apology and thanked him.

Some might say, “Too little, too late.” But such people don’t understand Catholicism. It’s not about our falls, it’s about getting back up. We all are sinners, and it’s likely most of us, if we were in the position of the bishops in 2020, would have done the exact same thing. So it’s not about blaming bishops and pointing fingers at them. It’s about moving forward, which can only be done when we acknowledge our past mistakes. Repentance is the key to unlock revival, but repentance only happens after an acknowledgement of fault.

If we truly want a Eucharistic Revival in this land, we need apologies from the bishops for their actions during the Covid lockdowns. I call on all our bishops to join Bishop Strickland in apologizing. If you do, you will find Catholics ready to forgive, and spiritual blessings unleashed in your local churches.