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Well, I had a little bit of a concern this week. Wednesday morning, I woke up with chills, aches, and a fever. I’m grateful that Jennifer Wagner, NP, is on the front-line of the coronavirus testing. She was able to walk me through the testing late on Wednesday morning. I am grateful to Dr. Scott Pottratz for driving me to the test. I am grateful for all the kindness shown to me by so many during these two days and I am so very grateful for a negative result to the testing.
Obviously, something was going on. Surprisingly, during this time of social distancing, I’ve been busier than ever. I’m still feeling tired. Whatever sickness ran through me this week, my body is asking me to slow down. So, I am grateful that one of my Nigerian ‘sons’, Fr. Peter Lanshima who is stationed at St. James Parish is filling in for me this weekend.
The following article may be a little premature because as things stand now, there will be no public celebration of Mass in the entire state of Georgia until June at the earliest. I am not thrilled about that but after facing the possibility this week that I could have been spreading the virus and putting others at a serious health risk, I am trying to keep my distance. And of course, even though the shelter at home order has been lifted, Governor Kemp has told me and all the elderly to stay at home until June 12
th. The most distressing thing for me is the Governor calling me elderly. Who knew I was an old man? I still feel young at heart. This article prepares us for the idea that things won’t be “normal” for a very long time.
What to expect when public Mass resumes Closing the doors was simple – opening them back up will take thought and understanding
As painful as the decision was to suspend all public Masses, the process was straight-forward and necessary for the common good.
When health restrictions are eased and we are able to start gathering together again, it is important for everyone to understand that things won’t immediately go back to normal.
Health experts and elected officials are currently determining new guidelines and restrictions for the next weeks and months, and at the same time the Archdiocese of Denver is planning for how public Masses will be celebrated with respect to any new regulations.
We know the desire to return to your parishes, participate in the liturgy, and receive the Eucharist is incredibly strong, but we ask that everyone approach this next phase with a patient, loving and charitable mindset.
The specific details of when public Mass will resume and how it will look are still being determined, but here are five things for everyone to be prepared for.
1. Attendance will be limited. We know restrictions will remain on holding large gatherings, so we are working with parishes to determine a fair way to cap attendance for Masses. It is important for people to register to receive communications from their parish so they will know how their parish is going to handle how many people can attend any given Mass and who those people may be, e.g., sign-up systems, assigned days, etc. No one should expect to be able to attend Mass with regularity.
2. Social Distancing will be practiced. Expect that your parish will have pews/rows that are taped off, and that families will be asked to keep six feet of separation from other families. Be prepared to wear a mask to Mass to guard against germ spread. If you are showing any symptoms of sickness, please stay home.
3. Liturgical changes will be in place. Similar to protocols established in early March, extra precautions will be taken, like suspending the distribution of the Precious Blood and receiving Holy Communion only on the hand.
4. A general dispensation from the Sunday obligation will remain. For at-risk groups, those who have symptoms, and anyone who feels safer staying at home, no one will be required to attend. Because your family might only be able to attend Mass on an irregular basis, and not necessarily on Sunday, plan to continue to keep the Sabbath holy by participating in livestream and pre-recorded Masses.
5. There still will be a risk for anyone who attends a public Mass. Even with best health practices and strict social distancing, anyone who enters a public space should recognize there is a risk of contracting the coronavirus. Improved cleaning will occur at our churches, but no one should expect that they will be any safer from germs than other public spaces.
Finally, let’s strive for progress and not perfection. There will no doubt be challenges and frustrations. Your family might not be able to attend Mass the first few weeks it resumes. A parish might have a sign-up blunder and things won’t go according to plan. But we believe following these guidelines is a reasonable sacrifice. As we see numbers flatten and decrease, we are beginning to sense the situation improving. For the interest of the common good, and ultimately to best serve our own community, we do not want to contribute to a rebound effect that would actually push normalized Mass attendance even further into the future.
So, if we all work together, we can ease back into this and continue to incrementally add more people and options. However, if we look for ways to get around the regulations, we will likely create situations that force us to take steps back.
--- Denver Catholic Staff April 21, 2020
What can the church say about the COVID-19 pandemic? We can offer a lot of courage and the perspective of experience.
Courage, this disease is not a punishment from God. It is not the end of the world. It is not a curse. Pandemics have happened before. They will happen again. Pope Francis has been warning us that our abuse of the natural world, our common home, would have disastrous consequences. He has been pleading with capitalism and commercial interests to put people above profit. Now we see his warnings had merit.
Experience, these pandemics are not a surprise. They happen regularly throughout history like hurricanes and floods. But they are more deadly today because there are more people and we live in a globalized world that allows people to fly from Beijing to Washington in 19 hours.
Pandemics happen with regularity. In my lifetime (since 1950), there have been at least eight global pandemics which have killed millions of people. These include Asian Flu, 1957-58; Hong Kong Flu, 1968-70; AIDS, 1981 to present; SARS, 2003; Swine Flu, 2009; MERS, 2015; Ebola, 2014-16, and now COVID-19. The outbreak of the Spanish Flu in 1918 took the lives of about 50 million people, including about 675,000 Americans, in a few short months.
In 1922, the International Health Office created the League of Nations Health Committee and Health Section. In 1948, that committee was renamed the World Health Organization. Its goal is to promote good health and to combat the spread of disease. It works mostly through the "soft power" of information and persuasion. It also coordinates eradication efforts for diseases like smallpox and polio. The WHO does research to develop vaccines, as it did for Ebola and is doing now for COVID-19. It is the only worldwide health planning body and needs our support…. Pandemics change societies. They also affect the church.
The Catholic Church was profoundly affected by the Black Death (1347-1353), which killed about 75 million people. Priests, monks and nuns were especially hard hit because they ministered to the dying. Afterward there was a shortage of clergy. It might happen again.
Already more than 100 priests have died in Italy from COVID-19. The Diocese of Bergamo, Italy, has lost 24 priests. Theologically we became focused on the four last things: death, judgment, heaven and hell. The theory of "limbo" gained new currency. Like the Black Plague, COVID-19 will probably have some long-term impact on the Catholic Church. I suspect that it will accelerate two seemingly contradictory trends.
First, when the virus passes, many people will make
an enthusiastic return to the church. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Isolation will show how important the living community of the church is to our spiritual life. Empty churches and a deserted St. Peter's Square on Easter morning made us realize that the church is not just clerics, she needs the laity.
Second, another group
will fall away from the church permanently. Having been on their own for weeks at a time, they may now feel that they did not miss the church. This may be
true especially for young people who were already only tangentially connected to religion prior to the pandemic.
After COVID-19, some parishes will probably close their doors permanently. Dioceses also will struggle financially. There will be huge demands on Catholic charities, hospitals and social ministries.
Unfortunately, the ideological divisions in the church will probably be exacerbated. Conservative clerics may use the experience of the pandemic as an excuse to do away with things they have never liked, such as Communion in both forms, holding hands at the Our Father and the handshake at the sign of peace. Liberals may realize that lay-led prayer groups and women preaching to small groups during the pandemic were enriching. Why not continue? It could open the door to a less clerical church.
A possible effect will be the rise of the "virtual" church. People will now be accustomed to livestreamed Masses on YouTube and prayer services on Zoom. Evangelicals have been doing this for years. Just ask Joel Osteen. This might mean that the Eucharist will become less central to our lives. The church has lived through pandemics before. It will survive. But we will be changed.
[Fr. Peter Daly is a retired priest of the Washington Archdiocese and a lawyer. After 31 years of parish service, he now works with Catholic Charities.]
Pros and cons of virtual Church Since my family moved to Berkeley in 2018, Sunday mornings have been a struggle. We've visited at least 10 parishes in the Bay area, but we have yet to find one that feels like home. Last Sunday, attractive options for praying in community online were almost overwhelming.
A Jesuit in Los Angeles was offering Mass from his room. A former student was gathering women from around the country to reflect on the readings. Students at my school were gathering for the first night of what was to be a regular prayer time. Relief washed over me. All of the sudden I didn't have to struggle anymore.
I could gather with people who share my particular take on Catholicism — deep incarnational faith, progressive theology and a strong commitment to social justice. I could count on insightful preaching that would challenge me in a setting that felt like the home Masses I grew up with. I had the small faith-sharing group I had been searching for. I had access to a rich variety of Catholic prayer forms led by lay people. Zoom was, as one of my friends said, like "Facebook come alive." I could have the church I believed in without ever leaving my home.
Yet I also strongly believe in the idea of a local parish, where you show up to worship with people who aren't like you, but to whom you are connected as members of the Body of Christ.
I'm grateful for Sunday mornings that feel like opportunity instead of struggle. But I'm worried about what will be lost when we choose the church, we prefer over the one down the street.
[Julie Hanlon Rubio, professor of Christian social ethics at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in California.]