Tag Archives: COVID

On March 11, 2020, Archbishop Etienne suspended the public celebration of Mass in our Archdiocese due to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic. He was the first bishop in the country to take this step, but he was quickly followed by every other bishop in the country. It was a shocking, though necessary, move that rocked usContinue reading “March 12, 2021 – Pastor’s Note”

As some dioceses in the United States are beginning to restore the Sunday Mass obligation, I think it might be time to publicly wrestle with the disconnect between lifetimes of catechism classes telling us that missing Sunday Mass is a mortal sin, and the fact that every diocese in the United States, starting with ourContinue reading “February 19, 2021 – Pastor’s Note”

After I wrote last week about the difficult question of trying to balance church capacity with the desire to have parishioners attend weekend Mass as often as possible, a few things happened:  First, our Saturday night Mass the next day was so full we had to seat people in the choir loft, while our SundayContinue reading “February 05, 2021 – Pastor’s Note”

When I run up against problems which I am unable to solve, that is a good indication that I need to widen my circle of consultation. With parish problems, I will often go first to the staff, then to my consultative bodies, then to other involved parties. But this particular problem is sticky enough thatContinue reading “January 29, 2021 – Pastor’s Note”