It's going to be INCREDIBLY interesting this week - The Big One for us Catholics (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil, Easter). My cradle-to-grave mother died 3 weeks almost exactly after my dad in late 2020 (complications of the CHINESE PLAGUE both of them, we think) and, for exactly a year now (flattening the curve you know), my local parish has been HOLLOWED OUT because of this crap. I've attended faithfully throughout, WITHOUT a mask- mom was scared at first (when NONE of us knew what was going on) so stayed away which I didn't begrudge her. I'll be curious to see the Christmas-Easter crowd (for those who don't know, the Catholics In Name ONLY who go ONLY those two days and blow off the WEEKLY and holy day obligations).
Our parish DID have the enforced blue-tape distancing idiotic crap but the diocese (one of 3 in my state of Nebraska) no longer enforces that. I speak from experience as a caregiver and just one who attends - the church (all faiths) is a literal social LIFELINE for the elderly demographic and this is one of the cruelest "make it up as we go along" protocols (liquor stores? abortion clinics? Hell yeah, COME ON IN! Church service? Somebody call 9-1-1! We got us an anti-masker jesus freak!).
It's going to be INCREDIBLY interesting this week - The Big One for us Catholics (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil, Easter). My cradle-to-grave mother died 3 weeks almost exactly after my dad in late 2020 (complications of the CHINESE PLAGUE both of them, we think) and, for exactly a year now (flattening the curve you know), my local parish has been HOLLOWED OUT because of this crap. I've attended faithfully throughout, WITHOUT a mask- mom was scared at first (when NONE of us knew what was going on) so stayed away which I didn't begrudge her. I'll be curious to see the Christmas-Easter crowd (for those who don't know, the Catholics In Name ONLY who go ONLY those two days and blow off the WEEKLY and holy day obligations).
Our parish DID have the enforced blue-tape distancing idiotic crap but the diocese (one of 3 in my state of Nebraska) no longer enforces that. I speak from experience as a caregiver and just one who attends - the church (all faiths) is a literal social LIFELINE for the elderly demographic and this is one of the cruelest "make it up as we go along" protocols (liquor stores? abortion clinics? Hell yeah, COME ON IN! Church service? Somebody call 9-1-1! We got us an anti-masker jesus freak!).