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Following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning the pandemic ban on indoor religious services in California, some Bay Area religious leaders took advantage of the renewed opportunity for indoor worship , but others said they would continue to organize remote services.
Salvatore Cordileone, the Archbishop of San Francisco and a declared enemy of the shutdown of internal services, called the move “a very important step forward for fundamental rights” and “a breath of fresh air in dark times”. Worshipers, he said, are now free from “harassment by government officials.”
Health officials, however, called for caution.
Santa Clara County said it will continue to ban indoor worship despite the Supreme Court ruling, explaining that with transmission rates still high, “it remains essential to avoid potential mass-market events. , including indoor gatherings. The county said its ordinances were structured differently from California’s purple level rules and therefore complied with the Supreme Court order. “All indoor gatherings remain banned at this time due to their risk,” the county said. The county did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday night explaining how its orders differed sufficiently from those of the state.
Dr Susan Philip, acting health officer in San Francisco, also said the risk remained high, not least due to the spread of new, potentially more infectious variants.
“I especially urge older people and others with chronic illnesses or weakened immune systems – and those who live with older people and people with such conditions – to postpone attendance at indoor religious services until this date. moment and find safer alternatives to practice their faith, such as participating in outdoor services or remote broadcasting of services, ”Philip said in a statement.
The conservative-majority high court voted 6 to 3 to overturn lower court rulings that upheld the ban on religious gatherings indoors as cases of the virus increased. The decision on Friday night said rallies could resume at 25% of a building’s capacity. The court upheld the state’s ban on singing or singing indoors during services.
All but four counties in California are subject to purple-level restrictions, which previously meant indoor church services were banned. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said on Saturday that it plans to issue revised guidelines for worship services after the Supreme Court ruling.
Health experts have said gatherings inside multiple households are at high risk and outbreaks have been linked to places of worship in Sacramento, San Diego, New York, Massachusetts and elsewhere.
Few places of worship seemed likely to reopen on Sunday. The weather is fine and many religious leaders had just learned of the decision on Saturday. A call to the presbytery of Sts. The Peter and Paul Church in San Francisco produced an audio recording reporting a “COVID outbreak here at the rectory” and asking for prayers. The church is closed until February 13, according to registration.
The head of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco said the giant stone building at Nob Hill will remain closed for indoor worship. The cathedral reopened for service in November, but closed when infection rates rose in the fall.
“We try to follow the science and we try to be patient,” said Dean Malcolm Clemens Young. The Supreme Court was “doing no one a favor” by lifting the ban, he said.
“We are grateful that no one has been exposed to COVID because of everything we’ve done,” Young said.
Cordileone saw the question differently.
“As Catholics, we know that our worship cannot be broadcast live,” he said in a statement.
“There is no way to give Communion, or any of the other sacraments, on the Internet,” he said, adding that churches would protect public health by using masks and social distancing. .
The Chapel of Calvary, a church in San Jose that has defied county orders and held services for months, is expected to hold services at 9 and 11 a.m. on Sunday, according to a recorded message. A Santa Clara Superior Court judge found the church in contempt of court orders and imposed fines in December, which did not dissuade the church from holding Christmas Eve services. The church did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
At Temple Beth Shalom in San Leandro, Cantor Linda Hirschhorn said she welcomed the court’s decision because, she said, “if it is acceptable to allow indoor gatherings at a capacity of 25%, this should be generalized.
Her congregation of about 300 members had not decided when or if they would resume domestic services.
As a cantor, or Jewish singer and songwriter, Hirschhorn said she didn’t care much about the continued ban on song and song.
The temple does not plan to make any changes to its online services.
“We’re getting a lot more participation right now on Zoom,” she says.
Editors of the Chronicle Michael Cabanatuan and Lauren Hernandez and Associated Press contributed to this report.
Steve Rubenstein is a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected]
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