Catholic Diocese will lift capacity restrictions, but masks still required
Capacity restrictions on all churches within the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh will be lifted as of Memorial Day, the diocese announced late Wednesday, though parishioners will have to continue to wear masks.
This means that on May 31, which is Memorial Day, all churches within the diocese may be open at 100% capacity, something that has not happened since the start of the pandemic 14 months ago. However, the diocese is also encouraging churches to designate pews for those who prefer to remain socially distanced.
The decision comes after Gov. Tom Wolf announced last week that all COVID-19 mitigation orders, with the exception of the mask mandate, will be lifted statewide on the last day of the month. Wolf said the mask mandate will also be lifted once 70% of Pennsylvania adults are fully vaccinated. As of this week, about 45% of the commonwealth’s adults were fully vaccinated.
Along with masks remaining a requirement during services, they will have to be worn in all parish buildings, though priests, deacons, cantors and readers will be allowed to remove their masks when singing or speaking.
Bishop David Zubik explained, “We are eager to welcome more people back to Holy Mass and to the reception of Holy Communion. We are excited to be moving in this direction.”
Many of the summer festivals that are mainstays of church calendars will also be returning this year, according to the diocese.
The Diocese of Greensburg, which includes 78 parishes in Fayette, Westmoreland, Indiana and Armstrong counties, has also opted to allow full attendance at Mass starting on Memorial Day, according to spokesman Paul Paterra. However, the dispensation of the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days remains in place.
“I am overjoyed to see our parishioners already returning to Mass in person, and I am optimistic that more of our faithful congregation will return to our pews each week in order to experience the special fellowship that happens when we celebrate Mass together,” said the Rev. Daniel L. Blout, pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish in Greensburg.
Late last year, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down capacity limits on places of worship, and that has given religious organizations latitude that businesses and other institutions have not had amid the pandemic. Outside of the Catholic Church, the governing bodies of Christian denominations in this region have left decisions about whether to have services and how to conduct them with the pastor and councils of individual churches.
“Local congregations have the ability to determine those things,” said the Rev. Kurt Kusserow, bishop of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. The synod did, however, suggest that congregations follow guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), he added.
No specific guidance was issued for churches within the Washington Presbytery, the network of Presbyterian churches in Washington and Greene counties, said Craig Kephart, the executive presbyter.
“Our system is much more bottom-up than top-down,” Kephart said, adding that churches within the network had been “prudent and wise” amid the pandemic.
The Western Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church updated its guidelines earlier this month, as the pace of vaccinations picked up. Church leaders should encourage members to get vaccinated, according to the guidelines, but avoid large indoor gatherings, use masks and frequently wash hands.
“We’re still recommending masks and maintaining the proper distance,” said Jackie Campbell, a spokeswoman for the conference.