THROUGHOUT the pandemic, the Catholic Church has led by example in making sure that our parishioners can safely worship and express their faith.
At the height of the pandemic, we closed our churches. Later on, we found creative ways to worship safely — we had outdoor masses and hybrid masses where people could stay in their cars or sit outdoors. We also took a lot of precautions with the other sacraments, like baptism and confession, to keep our ministers, volunteers and church community safe. We strictly followed precautionary measures such as wearing masks, physical distancing inside a church or outdoors, washing hands and disinfecting.
In regards to me personally, vaccination was very easy. I was fully vaccinated in February. I consider myself not just a frontliner, but also a “faith liner.”
In conversations with many of our parishioners, there are some concerns about the vaccination, of course. The first questions often are, “Is it safe?” and “Are there side effects?.” Others say, “Well, I won’t take it until later when I see that this is really a good vaccine, and that there won’t be any serious side effects.” So they’re waiting for further confirmation on the effectiveness and the safety of the vaccine, which for them, is still new.
I want to assure those people that leading scientists and medical experts have confirmed that the vaccine is safe, effective and protective — especially from the risks of severe illness and hospitalization. Millions of people in California have been vaccinated following the most intense safety monitoring in U.S. history — including clinical trials, FDA and CDC review. Getting vaccinated is especially important as COVID-19 and its variants continue to threaten the progress we’ve made combatting the virus.
Others are also affected by misinformation, conspiracy theories and pseudoscience that is often shared on social media. By sharing those types of posts, these people are making it easy for those in their network to be affected by the misinformation as well.
Among the challenges that we face as church pastors are the political barriers. There are those who have some political alignment and they choose not to be vaccinated because they may see it as taking a political stand.
Those are just some examples of hesitations regarding vaccination. But I want to assure you that the Catholic Church, led by Archbishop Gomez, is encouraging people to get vaccinated.
One of the things that gives us solace is that our Catholic Church communities have not experienced severe outbreaks of COVID-19. I think one of the reasons is that we have been very considerate about the effects of the coronavirus. We work collaboratively with the State and the city in making sure that our churches don’t become super spreaders.
The good news is that we are now back to indoor services — with updated guidelines, particularly for parishioners who are fully vaccinated — as the state of California has reopened. However, for those who are unvaccinated, they must wear masks when indoors.
In a letter, Archbishop of Los Angeles José H. Gomez has invited people back to church, “especially those who are in good health.”
“Those who have serious and legitimate reasons, illness, underlying health conditions that render them susceptible to illness, significant fears of becoming ill, etc., are dispensed from obligation to attend Sunday Mass and holy days of obligation,” he continued.
As mentioned in the letter, all liturgical celebrations — whether they’re weekday Masses, Sunday Masses, First Communion, confirmation, weddings, baptisms or funerals — and other religious services, such as private prayer, adoration, devotions, and prayer services are allowed to take place indoors without capacity limits, physical distancing or prearranged reservation systems.
Parishes can open for prayer group meetings, ministerial gatherings, and social gatherings, provided that sensible public health precautions are observed. Masks are not required for fully vaccinated individuals, outdoors or indoors, for religious services.
However, masks are required for unvaccinated individuals outdoors when social distancing is not possible and at all times indoors. Parishes must provide information or post a sign at the entrances indicating that parishioners must wear a face mask if they are unvaccinated.
Hand sanitation lotions are available. Liturgical singing can take place, choirs are allowed to help or lead the congregants in singing hymnals, and worship aids may be placed in the pews and distributed for use. Holy water fonts will also be refreshed frequently.
While the safety measures are in place to invite people back to Church, we must continue to do our part as trusted leaders in the community to share our experiences and credible information.
Let’s remind others that we cannot let our guard down and risk another surge and the health of our parishioners and communities. This includes getting our loved ones aged 12 and over vaccinated and wearing masks when they can protect themselves and others. Let’s end this pandemic together.
For more information, visit MyTurn.ca.gov or call 1-833-422-4255.
Fr. Rodel “Odey” Balagtas is the pastor of Incarnation Church in Glendale, California.
