Is Coronavirus God's Punishment?

Spoiler Alert. (No. What used to be understood as punishment from God is, at most, the result of the choices we have made. It is difficult to see what choices have been made worldwide that might have made us susceptible to a pandemic. But even if there are things we as the global community have been doing that have enabled the spread of the virus, there is certainly no personal guilt which causes some people to become sick or die while others escape infection or only become mildly ill.)

The Old Testament is replete with stories of punishment of individuals and the whole people of Israel for their sins. The most common sin being punished was worshipping false gods. Other sins such as adultery were also punished. The prophets were forceful in denouncing sins of oppression of the poor, widows, orphans, and aliens; and they threatened the people with punishment for these sins.

At the time of Jesus it was commonly believed that when bad things happened to people, it was a punishment for sin. On the other hand, Jesus never explicitly said that something bad was a punishment for sin, and on occasion said that a particular misfortune was not a punishment.

It is still possible to believe that certain events are punishments for individual or collective sins. In various appearances in different times and places, the Virgin Mary is reported to have called people to prayer and repentance, with God's punishment as the consequence for failure to repent.* Far be it from me to say that the Mother of Jesus does not speak the truth. But, as with the biblical accounts, we may ask how we are to understand the reported words.

God speaks in ways that can be understood by the people receiving his Word. It makes sense to suppose that Mary would do the same. It seems to me that words telling of punishment may well be adapted to the mindset of those to whom they were originally addressed, and may not need to be taken literally/

Today, we understand that God loves all people, "bad and good, just and unjust," (see Matthew 5:46) and does not seek to harm even those who fail to love him. On the other hand, it is obvious that people's actions have consequences. Our faith tells us that when we do not act in ways that God, in his love, knows are best for us, the result is to make the world less the kind of place God wants it to be. For example, promiscuity enables the transmission of certain diseases , whereas chastity keeps one much safer. If one gets an STD, it is not a direct punishment from God, but it is a consequence of one's behavior.

The question, then, would be what are the sinful ways of life which lead to the pandemic. One can point to the sexual revolution, the consumer culture and the greed which drives it, the widespread acceptance of abortion and other forms of disrespect for the sacredness of life the forgetting of God seen in the de-Christianization of Europe and North America. What I don't see, however, is how the spread of the coronavirus pandemic is the consequence of these evils of contemporary society.†

I always welcome comments, and I'd especially welcome comments showing a connection between widespread evil and the pandemic. Until I hear some, I'm of the opinion that the pandemic is just a particularly serious example of the difficulties that occur in nature.

Edited to add:
* I should make it clear, for readers who are not Catholic, that Catholics are not required to believe that any of the reported apparitions were genuine, or that Mary actually said any of the things attributed to her by those who said they saw her. These are matters of "private revelation," not part of the faith delivered to the apostles or even church tradition. The Church examines the reported sayings, and if there is no heresy in them, it says it's okay to believe them.

I included the reference to the apparitions so Catholic readers could see how it is possible to believe them and still not think God is punishing the world.

† While I'm at it, I should also mention that, if God is not punishing the world, even less is he punishing the individual victims. I don't thnk anybody can point to some common factor in the lives of the victims which makes them more guilty and therefore more deserving of punishment than everybody else.