Diocese of Owensboro Bishop William Medley announced Friday that all in-person Mass services can resume beginning Wednesday, though there will be a number of restrictions.
The obligation to attend Mass on Sundays will remain suspended, however, and Medley encouraged those who are anxious or medically fragile to reconsider attending in-person Mass for their personal health and safety.
Medley said that some churches may not be ready to resume in-person services that soon, but that most parishes were ready to get back to it.
“I’ve received a constant string of letters, emails and calls from people who are excited to go back to church,” he said.
Catholic churches will only be allowed to hold Mass services at 33% capacity, Medley said. Each parish will enforce social distancing, and every parishioner who attends will have to wear a face covering until further notice. To enforce physical distancing, churches may have people sit in every other pew.
“With the restrictions, people may be frustrated,” Medley said. “I’ve asked people to be patient, and to be kind. No one enjoys being the dictator, but we are enforcing these restrictions out of Christian charity.”
The decision on how to regulate capacity will fall on each individual church. Some options include the issuance of tickets, choosing parishioners by alphabetical order, or operating on a first-come, first-served basis.
If there’s an issue with people not being able to attend their church, Medley said the Diocese may recommend church-goers attend Mass at a different location, or attend Mass during the week instead of the weekend.
“This is so unprecedented — everyone is looking for there to be a lessening of the restrictions on us,” he said. “I’m very thankful for technology during this time, but let me say, I’m tired of Zoom meetings. It’s never going to replace the need for human contact.”
Holy Communion ceremonies will have new stipulations as well. Whomever offers communion will wear a face mask at all times. The Diocese will not permit anyone to place the host on their tongue — instead, the host will be placed in one’s hand.
Face coverings can be removed to consume the host, but parishioners must step to the side and continue to stay 6 feet apart as they remove their mask and take communion. They must replace their mask afterward.
There will be no communal wine served during communion for the foreseeable future.
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