I would like to keep wearing masks in church

These new CDC guidelines are creating some confusion, and I have some thoughts about masks in church.

Thought #1: The CDC says we should continue to wear masks in crowded places, and church is pretty crowded. It is more crowded than Target, more crowded than an art museum, more crowded than the grocery store. And you keep breathing the same people's air the whole time you are there, which is not the norm in any of those other places. A chance encounter by the cherimoyas is unlikely to transmit COVID, but 45 minutes of sitting near a person with pre-symptomatic COVID certainly could.

Thought #2: We engage in higher-risk behavior at church -- we sing. If I could pick between Mass with masks and more singing and Mass without masks and without singing, I'd pick option A 100% of the time. Did you see the study describing the one Australian cantor who gave COVID to at least 12 people sitting nearby in church?

Thought #3: A segment of the population remains unable to take advantage of the vaccines' availability, and another segment may feel the need for additional caution. I would like our church's cancer patients to feel free to come to Mass without worrying about what might be lurking there. Immunosuppressed people remain vulnerable to COVID even after vaccination. Wearing masks is a small way to care for the vulnerable.

Thought #4: There is heavy overlap between people afflicted by scrupulosity, a spiritualized flavor of OCD, and people suffering from disproportionate COVID anxiety due to a more secular flavor of OCD. This is a small slice of the population (~1-2%), but the co-occurrence of these symptoms means that the people who are most likely to feel that they must go to Mass are often the same people who will be unreasonably distressed by COVID fears during and after Mass. Wearing masks is a small visible sign of compassion for this group of people.

Thought #5: All of the preceding thoughts are influenced by the discouraging fact that the traditionalist wing of the church has not, shall we say, covered itself in glory with its response to COVID. Austin Ruse boasted on Twitter about lying to a contact tracer at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception; Abby Johnson has decreed that the magisterium has it wrong on vaccines. I don't know how many people are actually cheering for Bishop Strickland when he defies the Pope on vaccines; I don't know how many folks in the pews in my town are agreeing with Abby Johnson that it's better to lie to an airline than to teach a kid to wear a mask, as she proposed in a now-deleted tweet. But I have to say, the pandemic has done a number on my ability to extend the benefit of the doubt. I can't tell you how many of the people who have grumbled on Facebook about wearing masks in church would see it as a form of justifiable resistance to eschew both masks and vaccination. I suspect the number would give me pause.

Thought #6: The whole conversation reminds of St. Paul talking to the Corinthians about eating meat sacrificed to idols. He said, "Be careful that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak." In other words, Christians should be willing to accept small inconveniences and forgo certain pleasures for the sake of the vulnerable in their midst. When I was nursing my little ones, it would have been easier and more comfortable for me to nurse at church in the same relaxed way that we nursed at home. But I would never have done that: out of consideration for the people around me, I always made sure that I wasn't showing any skin. While the drive to get the community vaccinated continues, I can cover my nose for the sake of my neighbor.

Comments

[Mary d]

Nailed it. I still don’t want to go to church. This pretty much covers it. I sum it up with “I don’t trust three other parishioners”

[KAREN EDMISTEN]

You are just the best.

[mandamum]

I tried to go to Mass yesterday for the first time since they went back indoors, and we were planning to receive communion for the first time since March 2020. The 3 of us over 16 were newly "fully vax" you see. But the church had just taken down their tape and their 6' guidance was over. Most were still wearing masks (CA) but of course of course not all. But they were also clearly preparing for singing. And I saw no attempt to provide more air exchange. We went home again instead - there was no room there for us to have 6' of space to ease us back, and I still have 4 over the age of reason but under the age of 16. Grieving....

My brother the parish priest has expressed a similar preference to yours about singing: he would rather be able to relax the #s than the masking. He sees it as more important to welcome back more than 25% to Mass.

I sort of want to request a special Mass, like the sensory ones or the autism-welcome ones, for those of us who take seriously the CDC guidance on being safely indoors with nonhousehold (and prob nonvax, unless they're all down the freeway at the FSSP parish that most of the vocal ones in the homeschooling email chain go to) people. Bare bones, no singing (we can all say that antiphon together) fully masked and social distanced. We're going to try for most of that at a daily Mass....

(Why should my daughter be more safe at ballet, and our family more safe at the zoo, just because the Church is free from govt intrusion? Shouldn't they be the standard-bearers for caring for the people?)

But at least we made it to Confession while people were still willing to stay 6' away and were all still wearing masks....

[Jeri Graham]

It is so sad that the lack of vigorous compliance with the CDC's recommendations causes some people to miss Mass. I was one of those people. Now that I am vaccinated I am trying to be brave and forgiving.

[bearing]

https://arlinghaus.typepad.com/blog/2021/05/im-adding-things-back-in-slowly-i-think-its-going-to-be-a-long-time-before-it-feels-completely-normal-to-be-inside-a-store.html”>related thoughts

[bearing]

sorry, Jamie, delete that hashed up link for me!