Bishop thankful for Supreme Court ruling. Modesto region Catholic churches reopen doors
The doors are open again for Catholic services in the greater Modesto region.
Bishop Myron Cotta released a statement on Saturday saying churches in the Diocese of Stockton could return to indoor Masses immediately. His statement came a day after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the state’s prohibition of indoor worship services.
“We give thanks for the recent Supreme Court ruling recognizing that the prohibition of indoor worship is a violation of our religious liberty,” Cotta’s emailed statement said. “At the same time, we do not in any way wish to downplay the seriousness of the pandemic.”
The Supreme Court ruling led California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration to release guidelines for indoor worship services late Saturday, based on how the state labels the status of the pandemic in a county.
Stanislaus County currently is in the purple tier, with the most restrictions under the state’s guidelines.
The Supreme Court ruling allows for places of worship to gather indoors at 25 percent of building capacity.
Some Catholic churches wasted no time, holding indoor Masses this past weekend, including St. Stanislaus and St. Joseph’s in Modesto and Sacred Heart in Turlock.
Deacon José Reyes at St. Stanislaus said in an email that his church held indoor Masses on Saturday and Sunday. “We are also now having our daily Masses indoors.”
At Sacred Heart in Turlock, Father Patrick Walker said they celebrated 7 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Masses inside rather than outdoors this past weekend “since they were most affected by the cold weather.”
Places of worship in the region have been ordered closed and then allowed to reopen often since the pandemic began. Several have held services outdoors when indoor gatherings have been banned.
At Sacred Heart in Patterson, they’ll begin indoor Masses this Sunday, Father Rex Hays said.
Hays said they’ll have a Saturday evening Mass indoors as well as three Masses on Sunday. They can accommodate 100 people at 25 percent capacity. The Patterson parish will not hold outdoor services.
“It takes a lot of set up and take down and the weather is kind of variable,” he said. “I don’t believe anybody would come, everybody prefers the church.”
About 200 people have attended outdoor services, Hays said, so he’s confident they’ll be able to accommodate parishioners indoors.
Cotta said parishes are returning to indoor services not only based on the ruling, but because they can do so safely.
“There have been thousands if not millions of safe celebrations of the Mass throughout the country over the past months since indoor Masses have resumed,” he said. “We are still not aware of a single outbreak occurring at a Catholic Mass where safety protocols were being strictly followed, even when an asymptomatic individual was present who later tested positive for COVID-19.”
He said churches and parishioners must follow safeguards, which include wearing masks, maintaining the capacity limit with physical distancing, disinfection between services, no singing, along with several other measures.
The Diocese of Stockton serves San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, Calaveras, Alpine and Mono counties.
Parishes should continue to provide outdoor Masses where practical, “in order to accommodate greater numbers, allow for singing, and provide for those who still may not feel comfortable worshiping inside,” Cotta said. He also encouraged the continuation of livestreamed Masses.
At Sacred Heart in Turlock, Walker said they can hold 225 people inside the church at 25 percent capacity and will have services this weekend, one on Saturday evening and two on Sunday. They’ll also hold four outdoor Masses.
Reyes said in the email that they’ll have seven indoor Masses at St. Stanislaus. “We can accommodate up to 100 in our downtown Modesto Church and up to 330 in our Maze (Boulevard) Church; however, at this time we are only open at the downtown Church.” They’ll also hold outdoor services.
St. Stanislaus will continue to livestream Masses, as will Sacred Heart in Turlock. Due to their WiFi connection, Sacred Heart in Patterson will record Mass, then put it online for people to view, Hays said.
Cotta acknowledged the often-changing status churches have faced because of the coronavirus outbreak.
“As Bishop, I commend the Faithful, Clergy, Parish staffs and Parish volunteers for their patience and understanding through the numerous transitions since the pandemic began and I ask of you again for that same cooperation,” Cotta said in the statement.
