Return Letter To Faithful

Catholic Diocese of Columbus
May 13, 2020
Dear Friends,
With the anticipation of reestablishing public worship, we must do so in a way that does not
irresponsibly place the health of our people in grave danger. We are still learning a lot about the
COVID-19 Coronavirus, we have seen its tragic force in the death of so many people. We pray
for all those who have died these months as well as for those who mourn. We have also seen
heroic efforts by those particularly in the health care field but so many others who in invisible
ways have provided for our needs. We are all united in sincere gratitude for the work and the
sacrifices of these people.
We also pray for and give thanks for those who have prudently guided us through these difficult
times at the national, state, and local levels. In particular, we are grateful for the respect, which
the state of Ohio has shown, for our religious rights and liberties. At no point have they
disparaged our essential right and duty to worship Almighty God at the sacrifice of the Mass on
Sunday and encounter the Risen Lord in the Eucharist. Rather, partnering with our brothers and
sisters in the civil order, we prudently decided that though divine worship is an essential activity
so also is the protection of the common good and the dignity of human life. The medical and
public safety officials have been warning us urgently that gathered assemblies of persons was
gravely dangerous to the individuals present and to the common good. Faced with these dangers,
we have exercised together our moral responsibility to safeguard human life and to allow the
local healthcare systems to manage the care of the sick. This prudential judgment on our part
required great sacrifice for all in the Church. You have also sacrificed in various ways these
days. For us, as Catholics, the loss of our Sunday gathering for worship is a great sacrifice. You
have made these sacrifices in a spirit of extreme charity and I am deeply grateful. These
measures we have undertaken together, we are advised, have made a difference. Our plans for
reopening need therefore, to respect all those sacrifices in a way that is responsible with care for
the well-being of individuals and of the wider community.
As one public official told me, the COVID-19 Coronavirus will be with us for a long time and
we need to learn how to live with it. Many of the dangers of gathered assemblies remain. The
measures proposed in our guidelines and the work that is being done at the parish level will help
to mitigate those dangers to some degree. Cognizant of your many sacrifices, I need to ask
patience and flexibility as we begin this process of the return to public worship.
This week some churches are beginning to open for individual prayer. The hours will be limited
and subject to the necessities of social distancing. Meanwhile Confessions continue to be
available by appointment. During the week of May 25, 2020, some churches will begin to
celebrate Weekday Mass publicly under limited circumstances as the Churches are ready.
Page 2
On the weekend of the great Solemnity of Pentecost, May 30/31, 2020, most of our churches will
begin the public celebration of Sunday Mass. Please note, many things to which we are
accustomed will be different. Schedules will need to be modified for a variety of reasons. Not
every Church will be prepared, and some parishes may need to work together. As a matter of
fact, since the fall we have been looking at ways that we might need to adjust schedules so that
priests and parishes might work together and, in some cases, we may need to do so right away.
We also need to leave time to disinfect the churches and we may need to change locations to
accommodate some of the larger populations. Parishes are not in competition but rather meeting
the individual needs using the guidelines we are implanting. I thank you in advance for your
understanding.
All Catholics in the Diocese of Columbus are dispensed from the obligation to attend
Sunday Mass at least through September 13, 2020. Please, if you have any concerns, do not
come at this point. In fact, I encourage all to follow the public guidelines here in Ohio as much
as possible. If you are in one or more of the “high risk” categories, it is still too early to come
out. And, of course, if you are experiencing any signs of illness, you have a serious obligation to
stay at home. Given that the obligation is dispensed, individuals who wish to participate at Mass
and receive Holy Communion might consider coming at a less crowded time, perhaps during the
week. The Cathedral will continue to broadcast Mass each day on St. Gabriel Radio and to
stream via our diocesan YouTube channel as will many of our parishes.
We will need to be flexible with last minute changes to schedules, and further changes may be
necessary even after we begin. Out of care for you, the priest is subject to the same obligation
not to offer Mass if he is showing even the slightest signs of not feeling well. No one is required
to receive Holy Communion and the reception of Holy Communion on the hand is strongly
encouraged. Please be respectful of the guidelines for social distancing and please understand
that when the Church has reached capacity allowed for health and safety reasons, we cannot
admit any more people under any circumstance.
Please take the time to read carefully the accompanying guidelines. And most of all, please pray.
Pray for me, for your parish priests and the teams with whom they are working to prepare for the
return to public worship. These days the Gospels take us spiritually to the table of Jesus with his
Apostles on the night of the Last Supper. Reading these chapters little by little (John chapters
13, 14, 15, 16 and 17) might be a good spiritual preparation. And know that I pray for you with
gratitude every day.
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.
Most Reverend Robert J. Brennan

Bishop of Columbus

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Catholic Diocese of Columbus

May 13, 2020

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.

Most Reverend Robert J. Brennan

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