Having just read Archbishop Etienne’s letter to parishioners throughout the archdiocese lifting the dispensation to attend weekly mass effective December 8, I feel the need to chime in and publicly say “You’re wrong.”
During the pandemic, we have missed going to mass, but have participated as best we could from home. Streaming the weekly mass has bee a poor substitute for actually being there, in person, in communion with with our parish. I understand, I agree, there is no substitute for actually attending mass in person.
I appreciate all of the steps our parish and the archdiocese have taken to mitigate and even prevent the spread of COVID-19, the best , most effective method, getting vaccinated, has not yet been available to everybody. Heck, it still isn’t. While it is exciting that five to eleven year olds are now able to receive their vaccination not every family that wants to do so has been able to. We got lucky, obtaining one of the first appointments that became available. Our final 3 children have gotten their first dose, and we are so very much looking forward to being able to return to some sort of normalcy of activity – which does include attending mass.
Here is the thing, Our kids are not going to be able to get their second dose until December 5. This means they won’t be “fully vaccinated” until December 19. And we are one of the lucky families able to get one of the first round of appointments. There are many families that have yet to be able to get their first vaccine appointment for their younger children, meaning they will be even further out on the calendar before it could be considered safe (that being a relative term these days).
It has been a very long pandemic, and we are eager to get back to mass. I know many families are eager as well. Think about it. All these families coming back to mass, filling the pews, making mass more crowded, bringing their unvaccinated kids.
That is what bothers me about your lifting of the dispensation. Many families are going to be bringing their younger unvaccinated children into a more crowded indoor space. Your Grace, how did you determine December 8 as the time everybody needs to return to mass in person? I know it’s a wonderful and symbolic time, but it doesn’t actually work. If, as you say in your letter, the archdiocese has been “tracking the latest science” then this reckless lifting of the dispensation would not be happening. Instead, what should be happening is a letter from you encouraging families to get vaccinated and then return to mass once they are able.
As for my family? We will not be attending mass in person on December 8, regardless of the status of the dispensation, and regardless of it being a holy day of obligation. It is not a responsible course of action to encourage unvaccinated people into what will be a more crowded indoor setting. Yes, there will be distancing, yes people will be wearing their masks, but inviting, no, requiring, families to return and bring their unvaccinated children is not only wrong, but seems to be short sighted.
Our family does not have “significant fear or anxiety about contracting COVID in a large group” so I am not asking for dispensation. I am asking you to reconsider your course of action. Instead, please, take this opportunity to be more vocal about people getting vaccinated. Be your brother’s keeper.