Parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles have been told to “discontinue indoor Masses and other liturgical services” after new statewide restrictions on indoor activities aimed at slowing the summer spike in coronavirus (COVID-19) cases were announced Monday by California Governor Gavin Newsom.
An email with new guidelines sent to parishes around the archdiocese July 13, however, noted that the re-closure allows for services outdoors.
Parishes may continue to celebrate Confessions, First Communions, Confirmations, Funerals, and Weddings outdoors on the parish grounds,” read the memo.
Guidelines issued to the parishes stated that “face coverings and social distancing are required for any services held outdoors.”
The email sent Monday night to parish pastors in Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties — all of which are among the 30 California counties included in Newsom’s order — called the restrictions “discouraging and disappointing” but also mentioned the importance of public safety.
“This is a good time to remind all of our parishioners that the risk of coronavirus is real, and it is dangerous,” read the message. “While these Orders are discouraging and disappointing, this is the time to pray for one another, trust in Jesus, and focus on the care and love he has for each one of us.”
Parishes in the archdiocese had just begun to reopen to the public following a phased reopening plan last month after being closed for more than two months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Those guidelines required that parishes take several safety and sanitary precautions, including capacity limits of 100 people per service.
In addition to houses of worship, the July 13 restrictions also ordered closure of bars, gyms, hair salons, malls, zoos and museums, as well as indoor dining. State officials have not said when the restrictions may be lifted again.
The above comes from a Jan. 14 story in Angelus News
Orange diocese falls in line
Statement from the Diocese of Orange Response to Gov. Newsom’s July 13 mandate regarding statewide closure of indoor activities in houses of worship. We believe that it is our responsibility to protect the health of our parishioners while preserving their religious and essential right to attend Mass. Given the increase in Covid-19 cases in the state of California and the county of Orange, and for the sake of the common good, the diocese of Orange will be advising our parishes to suspend indoor services until further notice. However, we encourage our parishes to offer outdoor Masses with proper Covid-19 safety protocols and to continue their livestreaming of services to the faithful.
The above comes from a July 14 statement released by the Orange Diocese.
In 1969 I attended a celebration of the Holy Mass held on a beach in Southern California. It was wonderful! Also, I attended many outdoor Masses while serving in Nam.
Frank: That’s the spirit! Outdoor masses are terrific and refreshing.
While not the norm, remember, the Church at its beginning did not have church buildings. Let’s take our worship outside. Let’s take it to the streets. How about Eucharistic processions down major streets? Catholics used to preach openly in Hyde Park in London. Saint Peter, the first Pope, took the gospel message to the public square on the first Pentecost!
Which is fine until more random regulations put an end to that too. Closing churches is just the latest shot across the bow. Our religious liberties are being taken away with nary a whisper of complaint. It is intolerable! Where’s the outrage, and the leadership, Catholic hierarchy?
What do they do in Chicago in Janury?
Mike, this is California in the summer! I’m sure those practical, study Midwesterners could come up with something. And, although the Illinois governor said he was prohibiting worship services indefinitely, who knows, by January maybe he’ll allow some small percentage to return to church.
Have I not been saying all along that outdoor masses are the way to go?
Defy the orders as an unconstitutional infringement of the First Amendment guarantee of freedom to worship. And threaten to make a constitutional case out of it if the state or county or city sends agents to attempt to shut down any church that is holding indoor worship services.
The case was already heard Corey. The Church lost.
Corey, the second shut down in California is because of people who won’t follow simple guidelines for reducing the spread of the virus. Wear your damn mask and save lives. Don’t meet inside in large groups, and save lives. Enough with the “I have my rights” stuff. Other people have the right to know that everyone is trying their level best to stop the growth of the pandemic. We are way beyond the time when conspiracy theories are cute aberrations. This is a public health crisis, not a freedom of speech issue. There is nothing wrong with a Mass outdoors. The people are the church, not the building. Get on your computer, pull your parish website and make a reservation to attend one of the weekend Masses.
The death rate is miniscule. Life goes on. I don’t buy the hype. Support or opposition to wearing masks and distancing falls squarely along political lines. This is a political pandemic, not a health crisis at all. Just an effort by Dems to hurt Trump’s reelection chances because senile Biden can’t win if the economy is roaring.
Corev, now I know you are trying to pull my leg. Get up every morning and read the numbers: 3.53 cases of the virus, 138,000 dead, 924 more than yesterday. About 6% of deaths can be attributed to covid 19 on a daily basis. The real cause for concern is how much this virus puts people in the hospital. The hospital ICU beds are basically at capacity and the staffs are tired. The only people that I know about that push the election conspiracy are the Fox News folks, and we know they have a credibility issue.
Bob One…Please stop listening to the lying, unhinged left wing media!
Now we hear that people who tested positive not once but some fifteen times are counted as 15 cases! What else is happening that we don’t know. Is it a real rise in cases or a fudging of the numbers by the radical Left to try and make Trump look bad? And what about the democrat cities that allowed hundreds or thousands of people protesting in their streets. Were they concerned about that? Please this is nothing more than conspiracy from the Left. Fox is exposing this left wing conspiracy like Russia, taxes, etc. and people choose to ignore the real facts. And what about Texas and Arizona and the illegal border crossings. Could that be contributing? Lots of issues to consider….The sky is not falling…
We might want to rethink these statistics after this:
In a move that may signal an attempt to ensure greater accuracy of COVID-19 statistics, the Trump administration issued a new guidance this week asking hospitals to report data on the virus to the federal Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) rather than the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).
I know it is hot but we have this invention called umbrellas which, used properly, shield from the sun and enable parishioners to enjoy the outdoors without undue discomfort. It is also possible, given modern technology, to set up a microphone so Father et al. can be heard. Further, we have the not-so-modern advantage of chairs which can be set up at appropriate distances from each other. Let’s see some Yankee ingenuity at work.
There’s also a dispensation, so nobody has to go to Mass, so nobody should complain.