Washington D.C., Apr 7, 2021 / 14:22 pm
In a column for the archdiocesan newspaper on Wednesday, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York implored Catholics to return to Sunday Mass during the Easter Season.
“Yes, for the last year, we have prudently been able to decide that the emergency health crisis can allow us to excuse ourselves from that God-given obligation,” Cardinal Dolan wrote in a column for Catholic New York. Those vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the elderly, “can still excuse themselves, as has always been the case,” he wrote.
However, many other Catholics are already returning to public activities without attending Mass, and they should return to church, he said.
“But for the majority of us—are we going to restaurants? To the kids’ soccer and little league games? To the store? To the beauty parlor? To gatherings with family and friends?” Cardinal Dolan asked. “Well, then, it’s time to get back to Mass.”
In March 2020, all Catholic dioceses in the U.S. suspended public Masses due to the spread of COVID-19. While all dioceses have reopened churches since then, only a few have reinstated a modified Sunday obligation where Catholics who are not symptomatic and who are not at high risk from COVID-19 or caring for the sick must return to Sunday Mass.