While the pastors of Marin County’s 18 Catholic churches are cautiously welcoming parishioners back to communal Mass in outdoor settings, one among them says it’s too early.
“I’m very much opposed to opening the churches,” Father Ken Weare, St. Rita’s longtime pastor told Catholic San Francisco July 9. “Also restaurants and bars and vineyards and everything else, but in terms of churches, yes I’m very much opposed because it cannot be done safely.”
Father Weare said news headlines in local papers over the past eight to 10 days have all said a different version of the same thing: The virus is here in Marin, it’s not going away, and it’s spiking.
Just because churches are allowed to open doesn’t mean it’s safe to, said Father Weare, a moral theologian and adjunct professor of social ethics at the University of San Francisco.
“You can put on a mask, you can bring your chair, you can sit two meters from everyone else but that is not a guarantee it is safe,” he said. “You’re giving people false hope, a false sense of security.”
Not long after the county eased restrictions on public gatherings on June 5 to allow for outdoor liturgies, Father Weare sounded an alarm in an email to his fellow priests.
He quoted Dr. Matthew Willis, Marin County’s public health officer, as saying the county’s new COVID-19 cases are four times the level recommended by the state for reopening of churches.
Father Weare said St. Rita’s significant population of people over the age of 60 is of particular concern to him. His oldest parishioner is 102 and was still serving as a lector when the pandemic hit. .
He said he has had no complaints from parishioners about his decision.
The parish remains active despite the suspension of public Masses.
On the last weekend in June, the St. Vincent de Paul conference of the parish hosted a drive-through food drive. Parish families handed 170 bags of groceries and household goods out their car windows to be distributed to local families in need of help.
Cash donations totaling more than $5,000 were collected.
“Closing churches has forced us to find God in places that are more difficult and complicated than the quiet of a church,” Father Weare said.
The above comes from a July 13 story in Catholic San Francisco.
Is that Fr. Weare in the purple shirt?! I think Father is too focused on the body and not enough on the soul. The risk of a COVID death among the general populace is very small, but from a spiritual perspective, access to the Mass and sacraments is crucial.
You have access to the Mass on Youtube. You can make a spiritual communion. Consider this: The greatest suffering of the souls in Purgatory is separation from God. Instead of criticizing, grumbling and fault-finding, why don’t you be pleasing to the Lord and accept this with resignation and offer it up for the souls in Purgatory or the conversion of sinners. it is callous of you to minimize the importance of the death of any human being.
Probably a lavender shirt, Carol:
https://cal-catholic.com/san-francisco-parish-hosts-same-sex-marriage-advocates-tonight/
A Democrat, Obama, Hillary, Biden, Newsom and Pelosi supporter? Maybe he just likes sleeping in on Sunday mornings now.
Father Weare needs to wear his mask correctly.
If he is so concerned and so smart (he makes a point of letting everyone know that he has a Ph.D.), why isn’t he wearing the face mask properly?
Is he still a member of Call to Action and maybe video chatting with his heterodox pals Gumbleton and Lisa Fullam?
(See a previous California Catholic Daily story.)
Is that where he finds God in complicated places, rather than in church?
Simply one more idiot posing as a Catholic priest, and one not wearing a Roman collar. No thank you. Just glad I do not live in the St. Rita parish. Otherwise, I would be in search of a real Catholic parish.
Here is an idea. Since all hourly workers and many salaried workers are not being paid because they are on furlough, how about all of the Catholic priests who effectively are not working by celebrating Mass, hearing Confessions, burying the dead, visiting the sick, etc. have their salaries cut off. That may get them to prod their Bishop/Archbishop to get a backbone and open our church doors now. If they allow Newsom to get away with his re-opening guidelines, it will be months before Catholics will be able to attend Mass again.
Xavier, without commenting on some of your suggestions, only a comment on your last sentence. If you are an optimist, it will be six months or more before churches are open for all to attend. If you are a lpessimist, it will be 18 months or more. I’m in the middle. I think things will start to really ease up by next April or May. The reason for the woe-is-us attitude is that too many people are unwilling to do what the scientist tell us to do: wear a mask all the time outside, stay a good distance from others, sanitize everything that comes into your home, stay at home as much as possible, etc. If 95% of us did that we could lick this thin in six months or less. Try as I might, I can’t figure out why people won’t do what we know is right.
This is complete nonsense. I live in NY and my area had a large concentration of infected people. After about 8 weeks it leveled off significantly. I attended outdoor SSPX Masses without receiving the Eucharist for a month, which actually began on Easter Sunday. My local Church finally opened for indoor Mass with a 25% occupancy rule. Everyone sits safely in the Church and there has been ZERO issues so far over the last 5 weeks.
It is ridiculous to suggest everyone MUST wear a mask when outdoors. Indoors Yes, Outdoors, No, unless you cannot maintain a safe distance from others. Enough of these scare tactics. Keep the elderly and compromised home, but others need to start living their lives. Going to Church and receiving the Holy Eucharist is no more dangerous than going to your local grocery store.
Michael, I am glad that everyone in your church is safe, so far as you know. I basically agree with you that outside a reasonable distance from each other, outside is pretty safe. But I also appreciate those who out of an abundance of caustion don’t want to go there.
The problem is that although everyone in your parish appears healthy, they may be silent carriers. Maybe they took it home to their elderly Mom or Aunt? We can’t know unless we test everyone, and even that has its pitfalls.
I’m in favor of outdoor masses, especially during the summer. I hope you continue to be well.
Michael, you state the obvious. Thanks. When the virus hit your area people did what they were supposed to do, the sheltered, they stayed inside, businesses were closed, etc. As a result your current case growth is small, and you can return to church, to the market, to visits with friends. That is the way it is supposed to work. Too many states refused to do the right thing and they are now paying the price. Your area did a good job. So fare only 32,000 people have died in New York and the numbes are now flat, only a few a day.
Bob One, what is now obvious is the fact that most States shut down before they had any significant spread of the virus in their communities. They shut down the same time and for the same period as NY, WA and CA. This was a huge mistake and solved absolutely nothing. All it did was delay the infection from occurring. Once they reopened the virus obviously spread, no different than how the Flu virus spreads. The citizens did exactly as they were asked, so I disagree with your statement. The government was wrong, not the public. In my opinion the exact same thing will happen in all States as that in NY, however I suspect the death rate will hopefully be much lower. The infection rate will be flat in FL, TX, CA and the other high rate areas in eight to ten weeks. I suspect the large increase was related to the protests one month ago and young people going to indoor bars, not people going to the beach.
Because everyone with intelligence knows that this is all designed to hurt Trump’s reelection. The Deep State is using anarchic protests, pandemic, and government plants mandating closures to sow enough chaos and economic downturn that they hope it will make the electorate turn on Trump. It’s no coincidence that people’s attitudes about mask wearing can be predicted based on their political affiliation. I know yours with 100% certainty.
God does not see as a mortal, who sees the appearance. The LORD looks into the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7
Why would a virus want to hurt Trump’s reelection? That comment doesn’t even make any sense to me.
Kevin, I counted eight false conspiracy theories in your one paragraph. There is good data to indicate that your second to last sentence is accurate.
Bow to the State eh Bob One….bow to the State
Here in Washington State, 90% of covid 19 deaths are those 60 years of age and above. It does not seem to make sense for the majority to be restricted unnecessarily for the sake of the minority. We now know how to protect the older population.
And the other 10%?
This is a really bad disease. Even young people and children die from it. Why wouldn’t you want to prevent that? Those who have survived say it is a terrible sickness. Some have complications like lung scarring that have completely changed their quality of life.
Older generations were asked to go fight wars in foreign lands to keep Americans safe. You are just being asked to stay home for a while and wear a mask if you have to go out.
I tried and tried to think of something positive to say about Fr (?) Weare and couldn’t come up with anything, so I’ll say nothing, other than I will pray for his conversion.
Kevin T. — you are right on. After the election we won’t hear much about COVID-1984 (as Fr. Z calls it).
Sadly, pretty much everyone knows that the current restrictions will not stop COVID-19 (they just won’t say that) and that the virus will again spike at the end of September and early October. This is dictated by political reality. It has to spike before late October due to early voting, mail-in voting and voting fraud. An “October surprise” by the media that comes too late in October won’t have the desired effect.
Voting only causes the virus to spike when we make people wait in long crowded lines for hours in order to vote,
I just have to say that I find the discussion about the willingness of the majority to sacrifice the lives of the elderly to be atrocious. Since when do Catholics treat lives with such callousness?
Beyond that, while it may be true that 96-99% of people will not die of the immediate viral infection, many many will have scarred lungs, diabetes, strokes, and other after-effects of the infection. How many? How long? How serious? We don’t know that yet. Wouldn’t it be better to err on the side of caution and compassion?
Why would anone want to subject their parents and grandparents to an early grave, or their children and their sisters and brothers to a lifetime of serious health issues?
I cannot for the life of me figure out what people are thinking, especially people who call themselves pro-life Catholics. This is anything but pro-life. It’s pro economy and let lives and deaths be damned.
Your Fellow Catholic’s words here are mostly an example of the fallacy called “red-herring.” Nobody here has suggested that the lives of the elderly must be sacrificed, that their parents and grandparents be subjected to an early grave,” that siblings be subjected to a “lifetime of serious health issues.” Nobody. His words are an example of unreasonable and irresponsible panic-mongering based on inconclusive evidence about the effects of the virus. What this fellow has cynically and wrongfully done is ascribe malintent and even “callousness” on the part of many people who have looked at the known basics/solid evidence about this disease and do not find any justification for the “abundance of caution” inflicted upon those who will most likely not have any adverse effects from contracting this virus. Folks, be under no illusion (not that any of you are at this point): it is not “compassion” that is motivating folks like this fellow. What is moving them is hatred for Trump, and I daresay contempt for earnest people of faith.
My fellow Catholic, No one is suggesting we sacrifice the health of anyone. As I stated earlier the elderly and compromised must be protected. I have not suggested they attend Mass or go grocery shopping. They need to remain quarantined if they desire to be as safe as ;possible. I assist my 82 yo mother. I am obviously concerned with possibly getting the virus and infecting her. She has decided, by herself that she will go to Mass daily. That is HER choice. Her faith is the most important part of her life. It is SAFE to go to daily Mass here in Syracuse NY, since the Church is almost empty. All I am saying is we all should have the same choice to decide if and when we go to Mass. If you don’t feel safe going to Mass, THEN DON’T GO. Sadly I suspect some priests are more afraid of their personal health than the spiritual health of their flock. Priests, no different than medical workers, police, firemen, postal workers, and grocery workers, are essential workers. They need to do their job. By the way desiring to receive the sacraments has ZERO to due with the economy.
Michael Ebert: You miss the point entirely. If someone wants to ride a motorcycle without a helmet, there is a part of me that says “OK that is there choice, they harm no one but themselves.” That is just not the case with this virus. The virus is very easily transmitted to others. Very easily. It is mostly transmitted during the part of the infection before the person even knows that they are sick. A person has no right to put another inoocient person in harms way. It would be like forcing someone ELSE to ride your motorcycle without a helmet at gunpoint. Maybe even worse, since the person doesnt even know that they are being forced at gunpoint. There is actually a phrase for that in moral theology: Remote cooperation with evil.
It is no excuse to say that people should just quarantine themselves if they don’t want the risk. People MUST leave their homes for exercise, to obtain food, to earn a wage, to go to Doctor appointments. Few people have the luxury to do as you suggest and simply remain quarantined.
In the United States alone: We had 62,000 new cases of the virus confirmed today. We had 773 COVID deaths confirmed today. That brings our totals to more than 3.7 million confirmed cases and 140,332 deaths due to COVID. In the united States alone.
No, I did not miss your point. This shaming nonsense has got to stop. To accuse me or others that we don’t care for the safety of others, because we choose to go to Mass on Sunday is totally unjust. How is this any different than going to the grocery store once a week? I suspect you do that weekly, do you consider that endangering the lives of others at the market? How exactly do you propose this virus should be handled? How would you protect the elderly and compromised? A partial lockdown of all non essential businesses until a vaccine? This could go on for years before a vaccine. I take it you do not own a business. Those poor owners are losing their life savings every day this continues. The truth of the matter is unless everyone is wearing a medical grade N95 mask, those cloth masks, homemade masks and bandanas are practically useless. Is exercise more essential than attending Sunday Mass? You have NO right to tell me I should not attend Mass. That is my choice.
Did you know over a million children below the age of five die every year due to malnutrition in Africa alone? So far I believe 600,000 have died across the entire world of this Corona virus. 7000 people die every DAY in the US from natural causes, accidents, homicides and suicides. Yes, it is a deadly virus, but so is simply living each day safely in this world. Living in fear is not actually living in my opinion.
You don’t have to go out to attend Sunday Mass. You can attend at home on YouTube or other places. You can make a spiritual communion. There are risks to attending Mass. When you take that risk you are not just risking your own health but the health of everyone you come in contact with. Everywhere you go increases your risk, grocery stores, exercise outside the home. Even in your home, you need to disinfect surfaces and wash your hands frequently. You can die from this. No one is safe. No where is safe. Being masked is safer than not being masked. Being around others who are not masked in very unsafe.
In absence of receiving the body and blood of Christ, the Church teaches that one may receive the
real presence of Christ through what it calls “spiritual communion.” On this topic Pope Emeritus
Benedict XVI writes, “Even in cases where it is not possible to receive sacramental communion,
participation at Mass remains necessary, important, meaningful and fruitful. In such circumstances it
is beneficial to cultivate a desire for full union with Christ through the practice of spiritual
communion” (Sacramentum Caritatis, No. 55). Consequently, one receives the grace of communion
through a genuine and ardent desire to receive Christ in the body and the blood. Thus, St. Thomas
Aquinas writes that “the effect of the sacrament can be secured by everyone if they receive it in desire,
though not in reality” (Summa theologiae III, q. 80, a. 1). In this way, spiritual communion can be
“extremely profitable … for this impresses upon us a deep love of the Lord” (Saint Teresa of Ávila,
The Way of Perfection, Chapter 35). In so doing, it is an opportunity for the faithful to remind themselves
of “the eucharistic form which their lives are meant to have” so as to continue living “in the awareness
of the liberation brought by Christ and making our lives a constant self-offering to God” (Sacramentum
Caritatis, No. 72).
YFC you and the rest of the Left want the economy shut down because it will be used as a tool to get rid of Trump.
Ah, the courage one must have to slay the straw man under the cloak of anonymity.
Tens of thousands die needlessly on highways which would be saved if the speed limit was reduced to 30 mph. How dare you not demand cutting the speed limit knowing tens of thousands will die otherwise.
Sarcasm I now see to be, in general, the language of the devil; for which reason I have long since as good as renounced it. Thomas Carlyle
“Spike Cumming”
i wish i had said that