Many dioceses in the United States used the occasion of Pentecost to fully reopen their churches after a year of closures, or significant capacity restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Others continued to urge caution.
In Massachusetts, the Archdiocese of Boston announced that following instructions from the Commonwealth’s government and the relaxation of restrictions effective on 29 May, those who have been vaccinated will no longer be required to wear masks at church services. Cardinal Sean O’Malley met with the Presbyteral Council to formulate policies.
In published guidelines, the archdiocese said: “The pastor has a high degree of discretion in the implementation of all of these changes.” The archdiocese also said that clergy would not “police” the behaviour of parishioners.
In Atlanta, Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer announced the end of the dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass effective Pentecost Sunday. “Pentecost is the birthday of the church and a time when we should let the Holy Spirit guide our path,” he wrote in a message to pastors. “It is an appropriate time to take our next step forward to full reopening of our churches.”
The nation’s oldest archdiocese, Baltimore, is taking an incremental approach. Social distancing was lowered from 6 feet to 3 feet for worshippers from different households, and mask wearing was encouraged for those who have not been vaccinated. Only if local, civil jurisdictions required mask wearing would parishes demand it. City parishes were permitted to increase their capacity to 50 per cent of total seating.
The University of Notre Dame came under criticism for its decision to require students, faculty and staff to be vaccinated with limited exemptions for medical or religious reasons. Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois co-wrote a Letter to the editor of the campus newspaper The Observer with law professor Gerard Bradley. “Notre Dame should expand its understanding of ‘religious’ objectors to include those whose refusal to be vaccinated are rooted in moral considerations or other objections of conscience,” they wrote. Bishop Paprocki’s diocese does not include the campus.
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