Archbishop Cordileone issued this memo to priests of the Archdiocese of San Francisco on July 30, 2020.
For over four months now we have been deprived of the usual way in which we Catholics keep holy the Sabbath. As a sacramental Church, it is in our nature, indeed it is our very identity, to physically gather together to worship and share in the Eucharist. I’m sure that you, just as I, are very concerned about the long-term effects this will have on our people’s spiritual health.
As you might imagine, many people are giving me advice (sometimes more like orders!) about what I should do, and it is often contradictory. I detect no unified sense of how the Church should proceed in these unprecedented times. Please know, though, that I have been working very hard over these past several months to try to convince our local authorities in the City and County of San Francisco (which still allows only outdoor gatherings with a limit of 12) that we can resume in-person worship services in a safe and responsible way. I have spent countless hours in crafting communications and in telephone conversations and Zoom meetings with city officials, leading health specialists, legal experts, religious leaders and others, culminating in a Zoom meeting July 8 with (among others) Mayor London Breed, San Francisco Health Officer Dr. Tomás Aragón, and His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco (as the various Eastern Orthodox congregations in San Francisco are also eager to resume their Divine Liturgy services).
By means of this memo, then, I would like to give you a brief overview my efforts in this regard, as well as some words of encouragement and guidance along with an invitation to join me in being more personally spiritually engaged.
Review of the Situation
All throughout these conversations, I have spoken of how we want to be partners with the City in caring for our people – not just for their physical and financial health, but mental and spiritual health as well – emphasizing, too, the many different ways in which we have been supporting our local government in the effort to stem the spread of the virus and come to the aid of those in need.
With regard to local health orders in San Francisco for reopening for public activities, I have pointed out the two separate considerations of indoor and outdoor services, comparing us to similar (or even identical) secular activities.
- The City had been allowing indoor retail at 50% capacity, but not allowed any indoor religious services at all. The concern here from the perspective of health experts is that in a retail store, people enter to make a purchase and then leave, without spending much time indoors; it is much riskier for a group of people to spend an extended period of time inside the same space. However, at larger retail outlets it is quite possible for people to spend an hour or more in the store, while we can keep our services to under an hour; moreover, the employees in the store are indoors continuously for many hours at a time. In addition, a church can be a much safer place than a retail store, because it is a more controlled environment: the people are stationary; we can insure social distancing; we can insure that people are wearing face coverings; we can keep the doors open to allow air flow; we can sanitize high touch areas between services.
- With regard to outdoor services, you are all well aware that pre-planned and scheduled street protests have been allowed to continue unhindered, while the limit of no more than 12 people still applies to everyone else, including us. Yet here again, an outdoor worship service is a much safer event than a protest, since the people are stationary, social distance is respected, and the participants are wearing masks.
Unfortunately, despite all of these efforts and explanations, and despite hearing words of approval for our Archdiocesan safety plan that was submitted to the City’s Recovery Task Force, there has been no change in the health order in San Francisco. Indeed, with counties now going on the state’s watch list and health orders changing rapidly, it is sometimes difficult to keep track of it all. This is what resulted in the confusion that led to the City Attorney sending inspectors to conduct surveillance in our churches.
Pastoral Care for Our People
Thank you for the continued pastoral care you give to your people. Please continue to do so, always in keeping with the local health orders of your county.
1. I would especially ask you to do everything possible to make Mass available to your people. Given the limits on numbers that have been imposed on us, I am asking each priest (except for the elderly and those with underlying health conditions) to be willing to celebrate up to three Masses on a Sunday, as necessary to respond to the demand. People who want to attend Mass will seek it out; making more Masses available will minimize the risk that some Masses may become overcrowded with people having to be sent away. Also, continue to celebrate daily Mass, and for those parishes that have the capability, continue to livestream all Masses.
2. Please do your best to provide the other sacraments to your people as well, especially Reconciliation and Penance. The safety protocols of the Archdiocese provide for a safe way that Confessions can be kept to a regular schedule.
3. Please bear in mind that, while we are preparing for a full return to public Masses in the safest way possible, some parishes, especially in the City of San Francisco, may be under added scrutiny at this time.
4. Last but not least, please regularly remind people to follow the safety practices necessary to curb the spread of the virus. This is real, it is dangerous, and it has to be taken seriously. The resurgence is due in no small part to people becoming lax once the shelter-in-place rules began to be lifted. Please urge these practices upon them; absolutely do not give them the impression that the coronavirus is not a serious threat to the physical health of our community. In particular, please regularly remind your people to observe the “three W’s”:
- Wear a face covering (it’s the simplest and most effective thing one can do);
- Watch your distance (when in a group, keep six feet apart);
- Wash your hands.
Prayer and Fasting
Allow me to end on a more positive note. First of all, a truly happy one: as you know, this Saturday Deacons Ben Rosado and Ian El-Quito will be ordained priests, and so welcomed to the Presbyterate of our Archdiocese. While only a small representative group of the clergy can be present, it is a time of rejoicing for our Archdiocese, so I ask you to hold them in prayer on that day and to follow the Ordination Mass via livestream if you can. Since we cannot all be together on that day and welcome them in the usual way, please make an effort to reach out to them whenever that opportunity presents itself. Please join in prayer as well for the deacons who will be ordained on the successive Saturdays (transitional deacons on August 8, and permanent deacons on August 15).
Finally, it is my conviction that, with all that is going on in our society at this time, we need to redouble our efforts on the spiritual level. In particular, in addition to adoration, we have to reclaim an authentic and serious spirit of fasting. Fasting has traditionally been understood to mean no more than one meal in the course of a day. I am asking you to join me in observing Friday as a day of fast (unless your health condition cannot allow for it): please abstain from at least one meal on Fridays, and more than one if possible. Let us storm heaven with prayer and fasting for a restoration of public worship unhindered, for a swift end to this pandemic, for health care workers and researchers, and for government officials who must make very complicated decisions for the overall well-being of our communities.
The above comes from a July 30 story in Catholic San Francisco.
But they are keeping gay bars and bath houses open…
I thank Abp Cordileone for his efforts to increase availability of Masses for the faithful.
Gay bars and bath houses are not open in San Francisco bohemond. Stop telling lies. And by the way, not everything is about the gay. You literally have a one track mind.
And tell the Archbishop that if he wants Church buildings reopened that the quicker we get people to stay home, the quicker he can do that. But having his Churches conduct secret indoor weddings in violation of the cease and desist order is not good leadership and is definitely not helping reopen Churches. Will you tell him for me?
Do not encourage unnecessary traveling.
On July 21, by unanimous vote, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance to amend the city’s existing health code to do away with two rules for sex clubs. These rules were put in place in 1984, at the height of the AIDS crisis. One was a requirement that the clubs could no longer have private rooms or locked doors in areas reserved for sex. The other was that management had to monitor sexual activity. The ostensible reason, believe it or not, was to help San Francisco’s economy.
Ronnie, they are not open.
Even if this passes, they will still be closed as long as COVID is around. No gay bars are open in San Francisco . No gay bathhouses are openin San Francisco. Stop telling lies.
Church services are closed while other venues are open is because churches around the world have been known to be places where the virus spreads. Anywhere indoors where people gather, chant, sing, shout are places where the virus spreads. May Herman Cain who went to such an indoor gathering in Tulsa just a few weeks before he passed away, RIP. May eternal light shine upon him.
Msgr Pope, who is now dealing with COVID as we speak, talked even before he got sick about opening up the Churches for private prayer and adoration. I support that notion. He spoke of outdoor masses, I support that notion. Even he supported Communion in the hand if need be. I support that notion.
Nobody supports opening up gay bars and bathhouses. Nobody, and certainly not me!
Let us continue to pray for Holy Church against
the efforts of our Diocletian like governor. +JMJ+
But you can go out and tear down statues… uh I mean, peacefully protest.
A true prince of the Church, living in the midst of some of her most intractable enemies. Thank you, Abp. Cordileone!
I am not from San Francisco, but God bless Archbishop Cordileone for trying and keeping his people informed. The contradictions between what is allowed and what is not allowed are obvious. The so called “explanations” by the city officials are a complete fabrication. It is like the John Lewis funeral last week. People coming to Washington from Georgia did not have to quarantine, they did not have to sit “socially distanced.” These rules work only one way.
Thank you, Archbishop Cordileone. You are being a true pastoral leader in the bastion of Marxism. My bishop has prohibited priests from distributing Holy Communion on the tongue — not for ideological reasons, but for the health and protection of the priests against COVID (uh-huh…).
Does anyone have statistics on priests who have contracted the coronavirus from distributing Communion on the tongue?
Peggy I think doing that kind of contact tracing is nary impossible. You would somehow have to find people who were not in an enclosed Church yet received communion on the tongue. I don’t think that is an easy study to do, and it would be a very expensive one to commission.
We DO know that Monignor Charles Pope contracted the virus and from the sounds of it had a pretty serious case of it, probably spread it to someone in his household. He may well have gotten it at Safeway. He doesn’t know, none of us know and may never know.
But what if Msgr. Pope had given communion on the tongue to 99 parishoners the day before he had started to show symptoms.
So the priests have to be ordered to offer 3 Sunday Masses and daily Masses? Good grief, how lazy can some priests get? On this feast day of St. John Vianney, one would hope that priests are offering plenty of Masses as allowed by canon law.
FrMichael: I don’t think it is a question of laziness or of being ordered to do so. I think it is an act of encouragement on the part of Arhbishop Cordileone.
As we all know, our presbyterate is rapidly aging – and in SF we have seen the deaths of several beloved priests in the last month. I think and hope that priests in rectories and in retirement will rise to this challenge and I really think that more masses, outdoors, distanced…is the way to go. Let’s be as encouraging as Archbishop Cordileone is being here. I have a lot of criticisms of the man, but in this instance, I think he deserves our praise.
The AB is doing good work here. We all need to get to church again. His narrative gives the impression that there could be some bias against religious groups having worship services. Could may be an understatement for all I know. But, If the churches are to be closed down, then everything else should close too. And that is the real answer. Perhaps no place in the country has closed down as well as the Bay Area, but the rest of us haven’t and need to. The pandemic is getting worse than back in March. At this point, the only real effective solution is to have a national lockdown, and that ain’t going to happen, so we must all stay away from each other, wear a mask when we leave the house and wash, wash, wash and disinfect.
Archbishop Cordileone gets my vote of support. Also, why is there no mention of the wrath of God being put on us, after all this has been a threat from the Blessed Mother fora long time.
It’s called Anarcho-Tyranny. Coming to a diocese near you.
I HIGHLY recommend that everyone view the infographic that Goverer DeWine of Ohio shared today in his briefing and his twitter feed. It shows just how much spread happens in a Church from just one infected parishoner.
https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/OHOOD/2020/08/04/file_attachments/1511121/Covid-19%20spread_case%20study_8.4.2020_.pdf
YFC,,no lock down.. burn the masks….
Burn the masks? Maybe you want to burn your bra instead?
Churches are rapidly becoming the new hotspots for COVID infection. You seem to be OK with that and the death trail it will leave behind.
Sad.
YFC good come back I would expect nothing less from someone who wants all of us to fear a virus while ignoring skyrocketing crime rates… I will not comply.
Additionally people, doesn’t this fellow know that in the state of Ohio, most if not all houses of worship have been open for public services since late May, early June? So, in spite of this graph being foisted upon us by Your Fellow Catholic, the Governor of Ohio however is not showing the graph as proof that churches limit their attendance to merely 12 indoors and outdoors! Your Fellow Catholic’s insinuation here with this graph is irresponsible.
Haahaaa. I am foisting upon you a graphic tweeted out by the Republican Governor of Ohio. Me, the supposed Marxist homosexualist YFC foisting a Republican talking point. Must be a pity to be you, jon, with Republicans foisting irresponsible graphs upon you.
Yes, jon, Churches have been open a while in many states including Ohio. That is why many outbreaks occurring since late may early June have been traced to Churches! There are now dozens of similar outbreaks traced to Churches in that time. Fully a third of all cases in South Korea have been linked to a “church” (actually a cult) that holds indoor services.
One of the latest outbreaks related to Churches is one in which at least 10 people contracted the disease because of a secret illegal (partially) indoor wedding in Archbishop Cordileone’s own diocese of San Francisco.
It’s not that being in a Church is inherently bad It is that the virus spreads indoors among crowds. It is spread through mostly invisible aerosols that accumulate in any enclosed space, whether they be Churches, office bathrooms, meat packing wearhouses, or prisons. The fact has been proven over and over again that speaking, chanting, singing all produce the kinds of aerosols that tend to congregate….well with congregations.
I am all for outdoor masses. Like Monsignor Pope who is now living with this virus himself said before he was infected said, maybe we should unlock the churches for private prayer and adoration. Sure, keep the doors and windows open, sanitize regularly, and have personnel on hand to make sure that rogues don’t pillage the place. Let’s have parking lot masses as Msgr Pope advises, and Let’s, as AB Cordileone says, have each priest celebrate 3 such masses every Sunday.
Republican Governor Mike Dewine foisted this graphic. I am just sharing it with you because I, like him, care about lives, and the sooner we all distance, stay home mask, and sanitize, the sooner we can fully reopen the Churches and schools. Anything less than that, and we see the kind of spread that Dewine “foists” upon us.
Sorry, but Your Fellow Catholic’s point is still wrong. The Governor’s point in tweeting the graph is NOT the same point that YFC is making by foisting this same graph to us, which is to continue the draconian measures of the SF public health office. YFC has been caught in a falsehood. Houses have been open in Ohio since June–and continue to be so–and so the graph that YFC foisted upon us without proper context betrays YFC’s falsehood.
Plus, doesn’t this fellow know that in the state of Ohio, each of those 91 people has over 96.25% rate of surviving COVID? Doesn’t he know that the graph is a great example of “herd immunity”? People, there are FAR MORE deadlier things out there than COVID. By all means wear face-covering, social-distance, and wash your hands. THAT is the Governor’s point. But this mindless foisting of graphs by YFC, without even putting them in context, such as what YFC has done, is irresponsible.
In spite of YFC’s apparent scare-mongering, the fact remains that the death rate from COVID is going down. The survivability rate is going up. He cannot get over that hurdle, which is why he conceals it.
First off, it is not a graph, it is an infographic of a case study. An example, like a city set on a hill, for people to learn from.
Secondly, nobody said that the Governor’s purpose in tweeting this infographic was for San Francisco do take any kind of measures at all. That is not his job and was never his purpose. However, that doesn’t mean that we can’t mean learn from his state’s experience, and frankly, we are all fools if we don’t.
Third, its not that EVERY house of worship will have spread like this, unless every house of worship has an infected person. We are trying to get to a place where NO houses of worship have infected parishoners and that we won’t have to have inforgraphics like this in the first place.
Fourth, this is not an example of herd immunity. Who among these people can claim any immunity at all? Ninety one people got sick because of a single person at a single Church service, over a span of about 2 weeks. NONE were immune from this virus. In fact, as you can see, going to a Church service endangered everyone ELSE’s family members, friends, and co-workers who didn’t attend the service.
Fifthly, just because only 3.75% of these people will die (his stats, not mine), doesnt mean that 20% of them won’t be seriously ill, hospitalized, incur incalculable economic damage to their family, and possibly a lifetime of chronic illness as a result.
Sixthly, educating people, as the Republican Governor’s inforgraphic does, is not mindless and irresponsible. Unless you think education itself is mindless and irresponsible.
The main flaw in this fellow’s argument is his DISPROPORTIONATE response/remedy in light of the reality of this disease. Continuing these draconian measures from the local officials in the Bay Area is disproportionate to the reality and to what we know about COVID: we know who is the most vulnerable, we know the dropping death rates and the rising survivability rates (both of which are inconvenient truths which YFC continues to conveniently ignore), we know how to prevent it. The draconian measures are disproportionate to the basic facts.
YFC professes that he showed the graph because he “cares” about lives, and later on mentioned the “incalculable economic damage” to patients’ families. I challenge the sincerity of his words, for we all know that the incalculable economic damage and psychological/mental harm is being visited on FAR MORE PEOPLE, businesses, workers, who are being adversely affected by these continuing draconian and disproportionate shut-downs.
Lastly, I advise him that if he hopes to continue to debate here on COVID that he familiarizes himself with the concept of “herd immunity” which is well-established in medical science. But science and the facts don’t seem to have anything to do with YFC’s position; his position comes from mindless scare-mongering and hatred for Trump. Let us be reminded that this is the same fellow who last month advanced the preposterous assertion that the deaths we have from COVID “could become 2,000,000 in a month, 8,000,000 in two months, 32,000,000 in three months.”
YFC writes: “We are trying to get to a place where NO houses of worship have infected parishoners and that we won’t have to have inforgraphics like this in the first place”. Right. That right there, folks, is at the root of this disproportionate response to COVID from YFC and from many others. Among other things, it ignores “herd immunity.” It’s like saying, “we want to get into a place where you don’t get the cold virus.” Right.
No one has herd immunity to this virus. I know exactly what herd immunity is, and this inforgraphic doesn’t demonstrate it one bit.
The virus is still spreading in San Francisco. We saw an uptick through June and into July, and it has calmed a little.
I have repeatedly mentioned in several places that treatments have kept hospitalizations and fatalities at a lower percentage of positive cases. Maybe you missed that. Even still, 1,253 Americans died of the disease yesterday. That amounts to about three 9|11s every week.
Clearly this fellow doesn’t know what herd immunity is. Folks, there are two paths to herd immunity— vaccines and infection. The 91 infected people shown from the graph that YFC foisted upon us will have acquired immunity upon recovery. And people, there’s a 96.75% rate that they will indeed recover.
YFC writes: “1,253 Americans died of the disease yesterday. That amounts to about three 9|11s every week”. That is a classic example of YFC’s mindless and irresponsible scare-mongering. Newsflash to YFC: by the end of this year, more people will have died from heart disease, cancer, diabetes, or from a stroke than from COVID. And YFC, guess what: since this all began, as of yesterday, more than 4.71 MILLION Americans have recovered from COVID.
Note the day and time , jon your posts on this are spot on !, argued with passion and intelligence , you hit it out of the park for a triple play , the crowd is cheering you with a standing O !. Please make more of your posts like this , passion balanced with facts well presented , true food for thought .I hope you read and believe this , God bless.