Gov. Gavin Newsom’s severe restrictions on gatherings at houses of worship remain in doubt after the U.S. Supreme Court last week ruled against lesser restrictions in the state of New York.
The nation’s top court ruled 5-4 in favor of the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Agudath Israel of America, an Orthodox Jewish organization. The two places of worship sued the state over New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s restrictions on their capacities for indoor services in regions facing the most severe coronavirus mitigation efforts.
Under Cuomo’s order, places of worship in red zones – where the most severe Covid-19 clusters have been found – are restricted to 25 percent capacity or 10 people maximum, while orange zones are allowed 33 percent capacity or no more than 25 people.
In the unsigned opinion, the majority of justices said the state had other options than limiting houses of worship to a fixed number of people because of varying capacities. Two of the Catholic churches in one of the red zones have a capacity for at least 1,000 people, while an affected synagogue has room for 400 under normal circumstances. The court noted that in orange zones, businesses deemed “nonessential” weren’t placed under such restrictions.
“It is hard to believe that admitting more than 10 people to a 1,000-seat church or 400-seat synagogue would create a more serious health risk than the many other activities that the State allows,” the opinion read.
Newsom has banned indoor church services in much of California, restrictions that are being challenged by a number of houses of worship in the state.
Leslie Jacobs, a constitutional law expert at the McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, told the Sacramento Bee that the high court’s ruling in New York doesn’t necessarily mean California’s restrictions are dismissed, but she said it could make it harder for California to defend future court challenges.
The state so far has been successful in defending in court its restrictions to slow the spread of Covid-19.
Last month, two California-based church groups with ministries across the state filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court requesting an injunction pending appeal in their federal lawsuit against Newsom’s restrictions on houses of worship. The ministries, which allege Newsom’s executive orders violate the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing freedom of religion rights, contend that the state is discriminating against them because similar restrictions are not placed on other groups.
“The recent ‘Blueprint’ issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom reveals a clear discrimination against religious gatherings,” says Liberty Counsel founder and chairman Mat Staver. Liberty Counsel is representing the two church groups. “California cannot give preferential treatment to nonreligious meetings over religious meetings. The virus does not discriminate between nonreligious and religious meetings, but Gov. Newsom does. This discrimination violates the First Amendment.”
The above comes from a Dec. 1 story in the Center Square.
Time to join RecallGavin2020.com
Jesus is not waiting in the tabernacle for Himself but for us. Mass is essential. Visiting Jesus is essential.
Will Catholics respond with compassion?
Will the Supreme Court uphold the Constitution if lesser authorities don’t?
Hey, YFC, an 11 year-old boy killed himself live during a Zoom class in Woodbridge, CA. The left’s “compassionate” lockdowns are causing psychological and economic maladies far worse than the coronavirus. Who’s compassionate now? As usual, the left doesn’t get how ruinous they are. Are you collecting a pension, and thus have the luxury of not having to earn a living? Think about the people who need to earn their livelihoods; those livelihoods are being stolen from them by leftist politicians who are shutting down regional economies. Think about young kids who need socialization at school and in sports leagues; their social development is being stolen from them by the same leftist politicians who have shut down schools and recreational programs. Yeah, don’t talk about responding with compassion when the left, whom you support, has enacted the least compassionate solutions to this entire pandemic.
Please find any post where I have advocated a lockdown.
Lefty lefty left is all you talk about yet you fail to talk about what I actually say.
YFC could care less about those who have lost their means to make a living; leftists like him continue to strip the citizens of their dignity and the ability to be self reliant, which is something they actually hate.
Bohenond im actually worried for you. You seem to have so much bitterness in your heart you can’t quite bring yourself to say a kind word for your neighbor. I wish you well.
YFC, the Left is not my neighbor and never will be. The Left is inherently evil; as someone who had family escape the old Eastern Bloc I know exactly what they are about.
Supremes already ruled on fascist Cuomo’s restrictions so what gives. Your actual words YFC are all from fake news sources so try being less closed minded and scaring people and read this. Of course, we’ll have the usually talking points from the government who wants to take control of our lives:
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/johns-hopkins-university-censors-lecturer-responds-with-critique-ignoring-cdc-data
I can walk into Walmart (which is next door to our parish) with 50 or 60 other people. Our Church is the same size and we are allowed only 2 or 3 people if we are in there to video or even clean. That’s why I have placed the Blessed Sacrament behind a bullet proof glass window in the residence so that people can pray in front of Jesus. I can see that window from my room and people are constantly gathered in prayer there.
There is a huge Mega Church in Chino Hills California, Calvary Chapel, who have simply ignored the state and county and have about 5,000 people in their arena every Sunday. I pray that they can continue without affecting anyone’s health.
Newsom is incompetent. I can’t fault him for that. However, I do fault the voters who elected him. And guess what: if he ran again, he’d be re-elected.
I’m guessing, Father Higgins, that your parish is full to the brim with folks who sing at your masses. Which is great! Those who sing pray twice, or something like that. Except that singing is 40 times more likely to create the aeorosols that spread this virus. 40 times. So, those 50 people at walmart, simply going about their business buying the things they need to buy, are much much less likely to be shedding virus than those same 50 people in your pews. And they are only there for a few minutes, not for the hour, forgive me for saying so,- and I hope you appreciate the joke – you drone on during your homily. The Good News is that we are almost at the finish line. Within a matter of weeks, we will have a vaccine into the arms of your parishoners that make them invincible in the face of this horrible virus, and you can then continue to deliver the Holy Eucharist to its deserving adherents. But until then, we’ve got to be a bit more forgiving of each other and keep our guards and our masks up.
A study on Covid and singing: https://www.theladders.com/career-advice/does-singing-spread-covid-19-heres-what-the-experts-say
Summary: All in all, while it’s clear that singing is a risky viral situation under normal circumstances, the research team concludes that if proper safety measures are taken there’s no reason why people can’t sing along with their favorite song or even start a chant at a sporting event.
“Singing does not need to be silenced, but presently it should be done with appropriate measures to reduce the risk of spreading infection”, professor Löndahl concludes. “When the singers were wearing a simple face mask this caught most of the aerosols and droplets and the levels were comparable with ordinary speech.”
Ideally, the research team recommends social distancing, good hygiene, face masks, and if possible a high level of ventilation in the room where the singing will take place.
Yes jack we don’t know yet whether the current crop of vaccines stops the spread of the virus. We will know soon enough.
YFC, the ongoing superior super doooper expert on viruses and shutdowns…! Give it a rest, will you, YFC…
We can safely open now, and your know it all isn’t. Calm down the screeching pandemic alarmist screams.
Be cool for a while, and…..YFC, go get some chow and coffee at KFC, which is more in line with your expertise..
The virus hasn’t been sufficiently tested to know what it does and doesn’t do. An Israeli medical group cautioned that the vaccine might prevent you from getting seriously ill but not prevent you from being infected nor contagious.And when the virus mutates? Back to lockdowns? Best to just open everything up and let the chips fall.
Once again, YFC, the “expert” on covid – “Keep those Masks up, Catholics!” “And you must be forced to continue shelter indoors!”
Why? Because, ” I, YFC, are far more knowledgeable than you !! ” Oh Lord, we have had enough of these “experts”.
It’s time to cease and desist, YFC – covid pushing is far exaggerated. And you and the Media are not facing the truth, that cv is ending.
Business and Education and our Catholic religion have been damaged enough !!
If you are a Catholic out there, and/or a businessperson, it’s time to tell our elected leaders to return to normal life – now!
YFC,
Singing is not required for worship. If singing is the problem, the government can place that restriction in its dictate.
I agree Steve. But being indoors is also not a requirement for worship either, yet his petulancy would have you believe that it is.
The point is that the government doesn’t have the authority to tell people how to worship. If worshipers want to sing, the government cannot prevent them. That’s the point of the First Amendment.
Leftists are using this seasonal flu virus to gain power over society and to make the populace compliant. There is literally nothing to be afraid of about the coronavirus if you are healthy and under 60, statistically speaking. Whenever you get in a car or plane there’s a chance you could die. Covid is no different a risk than that. The shutdowns are crazy. The restrictions an worship are crazy. Nobody did this for any other flu.
You don’t really understand the notion of police powers. And you don’t either understand the notion of Christianity. It’s not about what government can and cannot do, it’s about how we extend love to one another.
How is it loving to take away people’s livelihoods by shutting down businesses and to make kids stay away from school and friendships by forcing them to attend “class” (as it were) on inferior Zoom learning sessions? How is it loving to tell families that they can’t or shouldn’t get together to celebrate holidays? I think it’s clear from your posts that it is you who don’t understand Christianity. At the very least, you don’t think sufficiently about how unloving government policies that you fully support have been. It’s also clear that you are strongly in favor of totalitarian police powers, in opposition to freedom. Leftists are showing their true colors.
Gee YFC how much “love” have government overlords shown the small businesses that are gone forever due to this scamdemic, and with the great reset coming they intend to finish them all off.
Feel free to violate commonsense rules and cram into spaces for an extended period of time. The life you kill can be your own.
As for me and mine, we will stay smart and hopefully live long.
An equivalent action is to avoid crossing the street, because you might be run over. Only too true, and we often hear of tragic accidents involving children and families. Sorry, but that is one of the facts of ordinary life – that the Good Lord can take us any day, any time. We have to face these common ordinary dangers every single day, and we haven’t shut down our society because of accidents or cancer. Yes, it is very sad and tragic, seeing children with cancer, but we still have to go to work. With respect to the coronavirus, deaths have declined and it is no longer a pandemic. Why this hysteria is being allowed to continue, is not clear. And a last thought, testing positive for cv does not mean death usually – and the fact that so many are now testing positive for cv, means that they probably got it in the past, have developed antibodies, and so yes!! have also developed immunity. This means cv will continue on its decline to baseline levels.
The Lord can call us anytime. There is a risk associated with crossing a street. If you jaywalk or cross when the light says not to or without looking both ways, you are increasing your risk unnecessarily. Prudence is a virtue.
Deaths have not declined. Deaths did decline for a while after the New York epidemic subsided but deaths have now been increasing
since October. We are now, sadly, witnessing 2,000 deaths per day. It is very very important that we know the facts.
Isn’t it remarkable that the number of Covid deaths almost exactly matches the reduction in deaths from flu and heart disease that would be expected to occur this year? Amazingly, people aren’t dying from heart disease nor the flu anymore; they’re just dying from Covid. Wow. How unfortunate that in the same year that medicine cured heart disease and the flu this Covid virus popped up.
Where do people get this bad data?
No Kevin that is not true. COVID deaths are over a quarter million. Flu is about one tenth that.
Why do we find it so hard to love one another? Answer: Because the Left is manipulative and evil and seeks to destroy everything it touches .. I will never love that.
Anon, the equivalent action is to drive while drunk. Do you promote drunk driving? I’m guessing you don’t which is why I find your positions so unbelievable.
The equivalent action is getting behind a wheel while drunk.
There are a lot of people that think that hospitals don’t get overwhelmed with people that are sick with covid 19. When there are so many getting sick, many think that is ok. They will recover and the death rate is decreased. We need to work. We need to worship.
In a week or so, there will not be enough ICU beds or enough health workers to help you or your family.
When you meet for exercise, contact sports, mass, confirmations, communions etc when we are having a high number of positive covid 19 cases, you are also impacting the whole community!!! If you have an out break at your church or school, others are infected by you!!!
I do not appreciate you limiting my ability to get excellent health care. I do not respect you for your need to gather, when I am trying to reduce the number of covid 19 cases, not ignore health orders.
Do you think you know more than the scientist? If everyone acted as there is no pandemic, there would have been over one million deaths by now. The hospitals would have been overwhelmed and people would be left in the isles without care.