How dioceses are tackling 2019 Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19)

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Boston just cancelled masses however I’m going to the eastern rite parish
 
Everyone in my diocese has dispensation. All Catholic schools closed.
 
Diocese of Owensboro. No sign of peace, communion in hand and not from the chalice, stay home if you feel ill or have pre-existing health issues.
Our parish uses worship aids so no problem with missals.

No cases in the diocese yet and only 11 in Kentucky.
 
Archdiocese of Detroit has cancelled all public masses until April 6th and closed the parochial schools before our governor closed every school in MI. I am out of work for a MONTH!
 
I’ll be watching a televised Mass tomorrow here in South Korea. I’ve never been so excited.
 
Out of work, or working from home?
So sorry if it’s the former. I’m in the latter category. Mostly working from home.
 
Out of work 😦 I teach at a school in our archdiocese. I got word today that I’m still being paid, thank God, but I will be going crazy sitting in the house, haha.
 
All masses and church services are suspended in my diocese…

While I understand, I feel upset and wanted confession today. Frustrating in these times…
 
Archbishop Lori, Archdiocese of Baltimore, has cancelled all public Masses until further notice.
 
Whatever other impact Covid might have had, it has had no effect at all on the length of Father’s homilies 😃

He did talk about it in non-homily time. Our state (Alabama) and our diocese have not shut down (except for the schools, and that must also include the church school. However, he said that if there is a shutdown, he still has to say Mass, so as far as the scheduled Masses are concerned, “I’ll be here, and the doors will be open.”

D
 
You can try going to the Fort Worth diocese next week. In response to the Tarrant county ban on gatherings of more than 250 people, our bishop asked the priests to add more masses.
  • To celebrate Saturday Vigil and Sunday Masses with no more than 250 people present.
  • If necessary, pastors should add more Masses for Sunday to accommodate the larger need for Masses with smaller congregations.
  • If necessary, the Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest (SCAP), celebrated by a deacon, may be held in addition to the Sunday Masses. The celebration of SCAP will require that priests consecrate more hosts at their Masses to be used at SCAP.
  • If more Masses are scheduled on Sunday, the schedule of Masses should be altered so that Mass takes no more than 40 minutes. If a parish has more than one priest, the starting time for Masses might be staggered by 15 minutes with one Mass celebrated in a parish hall and the other one celebrated in the church sanctuary.
  • For purposes of hygiene remove all hymnals and other prayer aids from the pews before the Saturday night Vigil Mass.
  • Enlist assistance to sanitize the church (e.g. pews, door handles, etc.) with proper sanitizing products or soap and hot water between Masses.
  • Encourage the faithful who cannot or should not attend Mass to spend Sunday in prayer and to read the Sunday readings from the Liturgy. Encourage them also to continue to engage in stewardship through online giving or by mail.
  • The Sacrament of Reconciliation/Penance should be celebrated behind the screen only, not face-to-face, for purposes of preventing the spread of contagion.
  • All Communal Penance Services in Lent are hereby cancelled.
  • Pastors should review with their deacons and pastoral staff the visitation of the homebound and hospitalized in their parish.
  • Pastors should consider priority for access to sacraments and pastoral care for first responders involved in tending to this current crisis.
  • These contingent changes in the Mass schedule should be promulgated on parish websites by Saturday afternoon.
Obligations of charity supersede those of justice. I urge our faithful to use their judgment in consideration of their neighbor in determining whether to attend Mass. People who are sick, who exhibit contagious symptoms, or who are particularly vulnerable to the transmission of the virus are dispensed as always in charity from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass. If you’re sick, don’t come to Mass. Those who are caretakers of the sick and vulnerable are dispensed as always. To stay home from Sunday Mass in these circumstances is not a mortal sin. In fact, love for our neighbor should prompt each of us not to attend Mass if we are contagious and exhibiting symptoms. Those who are sick should notify their parish for prayers and for ministry.
 
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This list was in effect before covid-19 to prevent seasonal flu transmission.

• No holding hands during the Our Father and encouraging folded hands in reverence.
• Sign of the Peace: a slight bow or a smile in lieu of a handshake or omitted entirely in accord with the rubrics of the Mass.
• The faithful are strongly encouraged to receive the host in the ancient form of on the hand out of charity for their neighbor.
• Holy Communion is to be distributed only under one species. The distribution of Holy Communion by the chalice is not to be administered.
• If a non-communicant comes forward for a blessing from the priest, the blessing should be given without touching them.
• The faithful are reminded that in receiving the Eucharist under one species, they are still receiving Jesus Christ—Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity—as the Church has always taught and as Christ intended.
 
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