A week ago Bishop Crosby sent a letter addressing the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic. You can read the entire letter on our website: under COVID-19 updates. In his letter Bishop Crosby reiterated the importance of following the protocol we’ve had in place since our churches reopened. I know that there are some who question the effectiveness of these measures, and refuse to participate. Only history will tell us if these were effective or not, but in the meantime our Catholic approach to these protocols should be that of obedience to our Bishop. St. Thomas Aquinas explains in his Summa Theologica that Catholics must obey their legitimate superiors in all things except for sin. For this reason I would like to remind one and all that it is our duty to obey our Bishop with regards to the COVID-19 guidelines. These include:
Wearing a mask. The Bishop has moved from suggesting the wearing of the mask to requiring the wearing of a mask in church. Anyone who is not wearing a mask cannot enter the church.
Sanitizing hands. The Bishop is asking that we sanitize our hands upon entering the church and exiting the church. Hand sanitizers are placed at the doors of the church and are not to be moved.
Social distancing. Families who live together can sit together. Everyone else must maintain a distance of 6 feet from each other.
Communion on the hand. The Bishop has forbidden reception of communion on the tongue for the duration of the pandemic. For those uneasy with the practice of receiving communion on the hand I remind that the church permits this practice as a legitimate way of receiving Holy Communion.
Latin Mass cancelled - I have decided to cancel the monthly celebration of the Latin Mass for the remainder of the pandemic. My decision was forced by the lack of observance of the Bishop’s COVID-19 procedures by those participating at the Latin Mass.
Fr. Wojtek Kuzma