Am I obligated to attend Mass?
Each parish will have a COVID-19 Safety Team, including a health professional. The team will train, clean, sanitize and the evaluate whether those efforts meet federal guidelines. It will determine all the items that must be cleaned and disinfected before and after each church service, such as pews, tables, doorknobs, light switches and bathrooms. Porous surfaces such as carpets must also be regularly cleaned.
Cleaning staff are to wash their hands before work, wear a face mask and gloves while cleaning, and disposing of the gloves after each use. They must clean all objects and surfaces on their list with a disinfectant federally-approved to kill COVID-19, and record every item they clean.
Many of us have strong beliefs about why we choose to receive in the hand or on the tongue. Our different choices should never divide us but unite us in our love for Jesus in the Eucharist. In light of how the COVID-19 virus is transmitted, however, we encourage each person to receive Communion in the hand until it is again safe receive on the tongue.
Communion on the tongue carries a much greater danger of spreading the COVID-19 virus through saliva, a primary carrier of the virus. Priests frequently get saliva on their fingers when they place the host on someone’s tongue. While our guidelines require priests to immediately sanitize their hands if they believe they have touched someone’s mouth or hand, the risk to the priest and to the next communicants in line remains far higher when Communion is given on the tongue.
The Church declared in 2004 that Catholics have a right to receive on the tongue. However, given the threat from COVID-19 in saliva, it would be a sacrificial act of Christian love for those who normally receive on the tongue to temporarily receive in the hand. This is an opportunity to give up something we treasure, for a limited time, in order to preserve the life and health of our sisters and brothers. Offer it up as a sacrifice to end the pandemic or for any holy desire of your heart.
Though Masses have resumed, Bishop Zubik will continue to live stream Mass at 10:00 am every Sunday from the chapel at St. Paul Seminary. Click below to pray virtually with him.
We urge everyone to follow the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Protection and the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
These include:
The health, safety and well-being of our students, staff and families is a top priority at our schools. As the pandemic continues, students are wearing masks and following safe social distancing protocals in schools. Parents, students, and staff will be notified if a school temporarily moves to virtual learning due to a positive COVID-19 case.
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