Government officials cannot close churches as “non-essential” establishments during the pandemic — particularly when they are contradicting science in doing so, the Archbishop of San Francisco wrote on Thursday, Feb. 11.
Catholics “have scientific evidence that positively demonstrates we can celebrate Mass safely indoors,” Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone wrote in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal.
He penned the article after the Supreme Court on Feb. 5 ruled that the state of California’s ban on indoor worship was unconstitutional.
“Political elites issuing health orders that they themselves don’t obey — and destroying countless livelihoods without any scientific basis for such action — is infuriating,” Archbishop Cordileone noted, in reference to government officials not abiding by public health orders.
Cordileone added that such episodes were especially infuriating for Catholics, who had scientific proof that indoor Masses could be celebrated safely.
“Only religious authorities have the right to determine which religious services are essential for their people,” he wrote.
The Archdiocese of San Francisco has battled public authorities for months on worship restrictions. After churches were ordered closed for months due to the pandemic, Archbishop Cordileone marched in outdoor Eucharistic processions in protest, and said that the restrictions were mocking God.
In mid-September, the city allowed for outdoor worship services to accommodate 50 people at once, but still allowed only one person at a time inside a church building. After the Justice Department told the city its rules might be unconstitutional, San Francisco then allowed for indoor worship at 25% capacity.
Then in November, the state determined that San Francisco and San Mateo counties were among the areas at highest risk of Covid-19 spread. Under the state rules, the counties could not allow indoor worship services — although other businesses such as hair and nail salons, massage parlors, and tattoo parlors could remain open.
Critics of the order noted that religious worship was being treated more harshly than were secular activities.
A week before Christmas, the archbishop said he instructed priests to offer Mass indoors “if weather or safety required it,” in contravention of the state order against indoor worship.
“I knew my people had to have access to the Eucharist, rain or shine,” he said in his op-ed. Archbishop Cordileone noted that he instituted safety measures for indoor Masses, including an attendance cap at 20% capacity and requirements to wear masks and socially distance.
On Feb. 5, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that California’s ban on indoor worship was unconstitutional. The court ruled that the state could limit indoor capacity at worship services to 25% capacity at most, while allowing the state to ban singing at liturgies.
At the time of the ruling, the state had put nearly all counties in its top tier of restrictions reserved for areas with the worst spread of the virus. Thus, the state had a near-total ban on indoor worship.
Cordileone called the decision a “very significant step forward for basic rights.”
Chief Justice John Roberts, writing in his own opinion, said that the total ban on worship in “the most cavernous cathedral” reveals “not expertise or discretion, but instead insufficient appreciation or consideration of the interests at stake.”
After Cordileone allowed priests to celebrate Mass indoors with restrictions, local officials sent warnings to parishes and the city’s health department issued two citations for violations, he said.
Following the victory at the Supreme Court, he said that outdoor Masses would continue “as weather permits. “But the decision allows us to exercise our constitutionally protected natural right to worship God without fear of harassment from government officials,” he wrote.
As Catholic News Agency reported in September, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) described attending an indoor Mass in San Francisco — in apparent violation of restrictions on indoor worship at the time. Her office later told CNA that Pelosi “misspoke,” and had been “participating regularly in church services virtually.”
The above comes from a Feb. 12 story on the site of the Catholic News Agency.
“Follow the science,” we’re told. Except when the science doesn’t fit the atheistic left’s agenda.
Some “scientific facts” are presented as indisputable: gender is fluid (pick from an unlimited number and change whenever), preborn babies are not human, pregnant women do not have unborn children unless they’re wanted by the woman, children do not need a father and mother (a couple guys or women can do just as good a job and the children will grow up just as well off), COVID vaccines work but you still need to wear a mask after, males should participate in girls sports and restrooms, inside worship is unacceptably dangerous but WalMart and Costco shopping is OK, “critical race theory” shouldn’t be called a theory because it’s fact, censorship is necessary to prevent violence, climate change is man-caused since it’s primarily perpetrated by males, overpopulation will kill most of us before 1980, civil debate about issues is dangerous and the list could go on and on.
We should return to reasonable discussion about scientific, as well as public policy, matters. And, let’s follow the natural laws.
Good that Abp Cordileone is taking an assertive stance on the right of people to celebrate the Liturgy indoors.
Let me know when the Archbishop gets his PhD in virology and immunology. Then I will listen to his opinions on the matters of virology and immunology. Until then he should acknowledge that he has no competency in these secular fields.
YFC, when and where did you and Gavin Newsom get your PhDs in virology and immunology?
And, when and where did you get yours in religious liberty?
Experts don’t always agree.
Dr. Josef Mengele, the Nazi “Angel of Death,” earned a PhD in anthropology from the respected University of Munich.
Many of the wisest persons who ever lived did not have PhDs.
The archbishop does have competency in Catholic worship. (Since you’re anonymous and he is not, I don’t know with certainty, but I suspect he has more competence in that field than you.)
By the way, please let me know what your PhD is in and then, according to you, I guess I should ignore everything else you post.
I’m curious. When you are diagnosed with cancer, don’t you want to know the credentials of the person treating you? Or do you just take any old medicine that any old person gives you? Is it sufficient that they are an intelligent and well traveled man? And when asking the qualifications of your physician, if they come back at you with, “well, when and where, dear cancer patient, did you do your residency in oncology?”, wouldn’t you fire them immediately?
YFC, you aimed your gun at the wrong target: Chief Justice John Roberts, writing in his own opinion, said that the total ban on worship in “the most cavernous cathedral” reveals “not expertise or discretion….” One can only presume that Roberts and the rest of the Court heard from a sufficient number with PhDs in virology and immunology.
Dan, it is understandable that you may have missed a comment I made on another CCD article about the Supreme Court decision you seem to be quoting from. Roberts gave a well reasoned decision, and I agree with it.
He cites others who do. Stay home as long as you want. I went to Mass Sunday and I will not be a prisoner of your or anyone else’s fears.
YFC you and your crowd fail to understand basic human anatomy and its proper functions.. I would suggest you be silent. Open every Church close every bath house.
And, yet the good Bishop is an intelligent well travelled man with a deep Faith. I’d like to think that alot of folks witihout those emminent degrees you quote can judge for themselves rather than rely on self proclamed experts. Fauci, Newsome… Ye shall know them by their fruits. Right?
YFC – Serious question here. Are you afraid to live?
RE YFC—
No reason for me to address YFC’s charge that Archbishop C feigns expertise in immunology or epidemiology. Others have debunked that phony charge very nicely.
Faithful readers of this blog understand where YFC is coming from. He is agin’ ANY decision, rule, etc which favors the institutional Catholic Church. And in many past posts, he’s hinted at why. He is a self-professed homosexual who denies the Church’s teaching that homosexual genital acts [in fact any sexual acts outside of a valid marriage between one man and one woman] are gravely sinful. He sees the world through his own “gravely disordered” lens.
I think everyone needs to keep in mind that we live in a democratic republic: not a medicracy of doctors. If the latter, we would all be required by law to eat healthy, get proper exercise every day, and avoid anything that is dangerous.
The Coronavirus pandemic requires government to render political decisions. Regretfully, we have 3 justices who have forgotten this.
You missed the constitutional point of the decision, which was that Newsom had singled out churches for unfair treatment. People can mingle lots of places in CA, in shopping malls, costco, and Hollywood can have audiences and singing contests, etc., but churches were not given equal footing; therefor unconstitutional. Some justices cited that Newsom failed to understand what is essential and what is not. So for all the “PhDs” in the world, its still unconstitutional to do what CA was doing.
Those who voted for Biden suffer from mental illness / brainwashing of “progressivism” which is rooted in irrationality, learned hatred and denial of reality. But what caused all this mass mental illness? It’s not difficult to identify the vectors of the poisoning:
5G exposure
Toxic vaccines that attack human neurology
Brain-damaging pharmaceuticals such as antidepressants
Heavy metals in the food supply
Glyphosate herbicide exposure, which is now known to cause mental illness
COVID bioweapons exposure, now documented to cause mental illness in survivors
Fire retardant exposure, which is known to cause antisocial behavior
Journo-terrorism (psychology terrorism by the media)
Fluoride in the public water supply
Mass media brainwashing and subliminal messaging as in every Super Bowl half-time event
Widespread nutritional deficiencies caused by the processed food industry
When you put all this together, you realize many Americans are now cognitively poisoned beyond the point of rationality. Example, the woman who sprayed Gorilla glue on her hair.
I am a different “Anon.” I think a lot of mentally-sick, liberal leftist terrorists have all been going around and making evil threats to those who do not agree with their sick views, since the late 1960s/early 1970s. Too many people cowardly bow to their threats.
“Believe the Science. Except for the Chromosome Thing, Don’t believe that.” – Neal Boortz
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/6236658a-cd0d-42ce-b990-743e5600b255
We are so glad that AB Cordileone speaks up firmly and strongly for the Catholic Church in our area, while other Catholic leaders remain rather timid and more concerned not to oppose the left agenda.
Thank you, Archbishop Cordileone. We need many more like you, but we are happy to have at least you.
To Curious and YFC – Can we agree that the ad hominum counters that tend to be thrown here are non-sequitor to the question at hand? Additionally, one of the functions of the state (in this case, California) is continued assured safety of its citizenry (let’s not go down the fetus rabbit hole). I am going to give both the governor and the Archbishop the benefit of doubt, that they consulted with unbiased experts (let’s admit it, the church could easily find doctors who will say that in -church services are safe, and the state could find expertise otherwise). For those experts, did they cite quality, peer reviewed research, or only sources that supported the view desired? As a scientist and educator, these tenets I insist on before a student can make an assertion.
Anon – be careful of spouting stereotypical phrases that are not germaine to the discussion. Blaming an leftist agenda or questioning one’s mental capacity all because of their political leanings smacks of fear-driven QAnon conspiracy laden that somehow helps you believe that your view is THE view, and that anyone “on the left” is therefore wrong and unworthy of even being listened to. The discussion point is about opening church services, the state’s protocols on the matter, etc., not about justifying one’s view by name-calling. When you react as you have, as a supposedly devout Catholic you in a sense represent the entire group, and speaking as you have reflects on us all, and may cause others to believe that ALL Catholics think like you. Try a little compassion, a little listening, not the seemingly knee jerk reaction you presented. You and everyone here is certainly better than that, and I’ll bet dollars to donuts that the good Archbishop would agree.
Michael Joseph— I agree with the statements in your first paragraph unreservedly. Necessary points, and well made. Likewise I’m 100% with you when you observe, in your 2nd paragraph, that “justifying one’s view by name-calling” is counter-productive to any argument.
I wasn’t mentioned in your post, so perhaps I should be silent here. Still, one who has shown himself as biased against the Church, as evidenced by years of posts, needs to be identified so others can assess his objectivity. For years YFC has argued that he engages in homo-genital acts and that this is perfectly appropriate, despite the Church’s absolute rejection of that view. He is biased toward the Church and its hierarchy. Shouldn’t readers know that?
Please point to one single place where I discuss my supposed engagement in homo-genital acts. And tell me, what has any of that got to do with whether the Archbishop has any training in medicine or science?
YFC, that’s relevant to your tireless objection to every decision which favors the Church. It explains your bias. What IS irrelevant is your suggestion that Archbishop C needs degrees in virology, etc. to justify his agreement with a decision of the U.S. Supreme Court upholding an express Constitutional right.
Speaking of biased accusations, “tireless objection to every decision that favors the Church”. Again, please justify your defamation with facts. Otherwise, it is just another example of defamation.
I have said here, as I have said in other posts, that Chief Justice Roberts’ decision was well reasoned and correct, in my view. He weighed the professional advice which was offerred to him in public, in a format known as briefs, and all of these are freely available to the public to read and critique for their probative value. He came to a reasonable conclusion: Complete prohibitions of indoor masses are not supported by the scientific evidence, but there is evidence to support restrictions on the occupancy of those indoor masses. I agree.
Objecting to an Archbishop speaking as though he is a medical professional is hardly tireless. It is speaking truth, as we are called to do as laity, according to our own professional resumes, and in accordance with the Catechism of the Catholic Church. In contrast to the Chief Justice, whatever advice the Archbishop received is not available for public viewing. It is secretly held, close to the vest, and he holds himself up as the judge of what is valid science and therefore what he declares is mockery to the faith is simply a misunderstanding of the underlying science and judgement of the lay professionals in whose care we rely, and actually publicly accuses them of things they are likely not guilty of.
No, Biased A.– “readers shouldn’t know that.” Who do you think you are, anyway– the Grand Jesuit Inquisitor in the 16th century, on a big Witch Hunt? This is no place to attack others– who never said they actually believe in, support, and actually commit a particular sin! Be fair!
YFC you are anti-Catholic for all intents and purposes, you want the Church’s closed and gay bars and bath houses open.
Hey, Michael Joseph– get off your soapbox. You do not even know these posters. Anyone who promotes crazy radicalists rioting in the streets, destroying our cities, destroying our churches and sacred statues, thousands of dope addicts living homeless in the streets– worse than animals– and dangerous, pervert sex acts of “LGBTs,” (including sado-masochism and sex slavery, with leather outfits and whips), destruction of God-created Male and Female genders, destruction of traditional Christian marriage, family and Home, and gender dysphoria and medical destructions to little children’s bodies, “hippie free sex” (fornication), human trafficking, prostitution, and filthy, dangerous, sickening online and on social media obscenities, pedophilia, and child and adult pornography, as well as abortion– baby murders– is mentally sick– to say the least.
anon. No posters here on any side support any of the things you state. “Rioting in the streets. Destroying cities and Churches. Slavery. Filthy and dangerous online and social media obscenities, pedophilia and child and adult pornography – baby murders -.”
Nobody on this site advocates any of these things. What are you even talking about?
YFC– You know who and what I am talking about! Who are the sick, radical liberal leftists that either promote these evils, or else think they’re just fine, and ignorantly “tolerate” them?? Here are a few examples: Gavin Newsom, Nancy Pelosi, Big Tech, Planned Parenthood, NARAL, Feminist leaders, LGBT leaders, BLM, Joe Biden, Xavier Becerra, Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party Platform, etc.– you fill in the rest! Did you know that some want an impeachment trial for VP Kamala Harris, because she supported the violent radical leftist liberals and BLM rioters in our cities last year?? Satan is very stupid and very evil, trying to destroy our country– but he won’t win! Evil never wins, in the end! Instead– God will win!
YFC, you never miss an opportunity to find that, through some tortured logic, any decision favoring the Catholic Church is erroneous. Any who have read CFD already for some time can affirm this. Since you’ve done this so consistently in the past; it’s contra-intuitive to believe you will reverse course. Barring, of course, a conversion from your embrace of morally condemned views concerning homo-genital acts and same-sex marriage.
All your “fellow Catholics” pray that you will undergo such conversion.
In the meantime, spare us your word games in support of specious arguments. Such as those set out in the last paragraph of your 17 Feb post, which are particularly distortive of the facts. The Supreme Court’s decision is not correct because the Archbishop agreed with it. Vice-versa. Even further afield from reality is your claim that his agreement is based on feigned and occult knowledge of medical science—and is therefore “a mockery of the faith”. Doesn’t that claim against an Archbishop in good standing strike even you as hubris? But all this has already been pointed out to you most ably by the posts of many readers. To no effect.
At any rate, and sincerely—-In all things, peace be with you.
The Governor of Arkansas just signed a bill, “Religion is Essential,” into law. California state lawmaker, Brian Jones, just introduced a similar bill– hope it is passed and signed into law, soon.
I think that the scientists are making their best “guess” to responsibly shield the public from the dangers of this terrible, strange, often-fatal disease– and I think the Archbishop is trying to care for the spiritual needs of his people, asking for reasonable COVID-19 pandemic accomodations. Churches should be treated with the same respect, consideration, and fairness, for indoor worship gatherings, at this time, as all other public indoor gatherings that are being currently allowed. Public officials are scared. They feel responsible for all the horrible and mysterious, unpredictable COVID-19 illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths, and the sufferings of all whom they serve. Contrary to what some may believe, science is not exact. You have to take your knowledge that you currently have, and make good assessments of the situation, and good judgements– and do the best you can. Science is not perfect, not exact. Some scientists and public officials are “unchurched,” and fail to understand the needs of churches. Fortunately, SCOTUS recently handed down a good decision, in favor of the needs of churches, at this time, during the pandemic.
Covid is not often fatel, as you say. Everyone I know who has gotten infected has had only a mild cold or flu, and a week later they were back to normal.
Shirley, Coronavirus is a very dangerous and unpredictable illness, that has killed thousands of people, all ages, worldwide, in a major pandemic! Currently, there are many priests and staff members at our church, sick with Coronavirus, some wuth milder cases, like your friends– but others are hospitalized, with deadly cases! One of our hospitalized priests died early this morning– very sad!
Praise to the Lord, most people recover. Please pray for the salvation of all those who have not. Please ask God to end this pandemic and to heal all those who have it.
AMEN!