The first day of school at Immaculate Heart of Mary School in High Point. (Photo via Facebook).CHARLOTTE — Parishes and schools are responding with changes in health protocols as public health officials report increasing spread of COVID-19.
As of Aug. 25, 14,212 North Carolinians have died from COVID-19. State metrics for 98 out of 100 counties show high or substantial levels of virus transmission, and 3,503 people are hospitalized – a number that has quadrupled since July 21.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that people wear a mask in all indoor public spaces, regardless of their vaccination status, in communities with high or substantial transmission levels.
In response to these worsening conditions, communities including Buncombe, Haywood, Mecklenburg and Guilford counties have instituted indoor face covering mandates under various circumstances – from public spaces, to schools, to businesses and government offices. The flurry of local health measures with no unified statewide directive has created confusion and questions among the faithful, prompting Monsignor Patrick Winslow, the Diocese of Charlotte’s vicar general and chancellor, to issue guidance to pastors Aug. 20.
Calling for prayers for “unity and charity within our diocesan family,” Monsignor Winslow advised pastors to “remain attentive to any local face covering rules and other health measures put in place by your local officials and health departments.”
He acknowledged that “state executive orders have recognized that constitutionally protected activity, such as religious services, are exempt from such mandates.”
However, he also noted, “Manage and adjust your particular safety precautions based on your prudential judgment and pastoral needs, and continue offering accompaniment and care to those who are vulnerable or fearful.”
“Above all,” he added, “we must continue encouraging the faithful to remain close to Jesus who sustains us especially during difficult times such as this.”
PARISHES
Some parishes have reinstated mask requirements at indoor worship services and other gatherings, while others are encouraging face coverings or leaving it to parishioners to decide what’s best for them. Most continue to offer livestreamed Masses for those who are ill, vulnerable or homebound. Other measures include frequent sanitation and increased ventilation. Diocese-wide, the options of receiving Communion from the chalice and shaking hands at the Sign of Peace remain omitted.
St. Paul the Apostle Church in Greensboro is among those requiring face coverings indoors due to local public health rules and concern for its elderly and vulnerable parishioners. Father Joseph Mack, pastor, acknowledged some parishioners have objected to wearing face coverings at church, but, he notes in a message on the parish website, “As St. Paul’s has a large number of elderly parishioners and those with other health issues I find it necessary for the time being to ask your forbearance and wear a mask within parish facilities – and hopefully for a very short time.”
Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in High Point has also reinstated face coverings at Mass and set up socially-distanced seating areas for vulnerable and unvaccinated parishioners.
“In a spirit of care and concern for our neighbors and in light of the Guilford County mask mandate, we are asking everyone to wear a mask to prevent the spread of the Delta variant, which has been shown to infect even vaccinated people,” the parish notes on its website.
Other churches have left the decision about whether to wear masks to their parishioners, in some cases recommending them and typically monitoring the incidence of COVID-19 cases to determine if changes are necessary.
St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte is among parishes recommending face coverings for Mass-goers and requiring them for Eucharistic ministers during the distribution of Communion.
Father Richard Sutter, pastor, told parishioners in an email that he hoped the health measures would give people peace of mind about attending Mass safely in person at St. Gabriel Church, the second-largest parish in the diocese.
“I am called, as pastor and shepherd of this large community, to help as many people as possible encounter Jesus. He is the Bread of Life, in whom we place our hope and trust. Especially in these times of difficulty and concern, we need spiritual food – to receive Jesus at Mass,” he wrote.
He said he hoped the measures would be temporary, and asked people “to exercise Christian charity and respect with those whose choices in responding to the pandemic differ from your own.”
“We must be vigilant in not allowing these choices to be an instrument of division in our parish,” he said.
SCHOOLS
Before the school year began, diocesan school leaders issued guidance that face coverings would be optional, determining that parents are in a better position to decide what’s most appropriate for their children. But since then, as the Delta variant brings more unknowns and has infected some younger populations, local public health guidance and mandates have prompted or required most schools to require masks for all students, faculty, staff and visitors while indoors.
Face coverings are required indoors under most circumstances at Our Lady of Mercy and St. Leo schools in Winston-Salem, Immaculate Heart of Mary School in High Point, Our Lady of Grace and St. Pius X schools in Greensboro, Asheville Catholic School, Immaculata School in Hendersonville, and Bishop McGuinness High School in Kernersville.
Sacred Heart School in Salisbury decided late Aug. 25 (after the Catholic News Herald print edition went to press) to also require face coverings indoors.
Face coverings remain optional at St. Michael School in Gastonia.
The nine Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools adopted a universal face covering requirement Aug. 25 after city and county leaders expanded a joint public health rule requiring face coverings indoors. The revised mandate now applies to everyone aged 5 and older in all indoor public spaces, businesses and schools – including private and parochial schools.
In an Aug. 23 letter to MACS parents, superintendent Dr. Gregory Monroe wrote that staff and students may request an exemption in line with the public health rule, and he emphasized, “We continue to believe parents are in the best position to understand their children’s needs.”
“Our schools remain committed to safely providing in-person instruction and as normal a learning environment as possible, as we have done since the beginning of the pandemic,” Monroe wrote. “I appreciate your continued understanding and support as we encourage and promote the holistic, healthy development of the whole child in communion with you, our parents and families.”
—Patricia L. Guilfoyle and Kimberly Bender, Catholic News Herald