Atlanta, Ga., Apr 30, 2021 / 10:00 am
This week the archdiocese of Atlanta announced an end date to the general dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass.
In a letter to parishioners in the archdiocese, Archbishop Hartmayer said that he “believes it is time to begin to bring more people physically back to church.”
Citing the wide availability of vaccines and the previous year’s “extraordinary” steps to combat Covid-19, the Archbishop said he finds it “an appropriate time to take our next step forward to full reopening of our churches.”
In his April 29 letter to the public, Hartmayer said that the dispensation will expire on May 22. “While the general dispensation will lift,” he said, “I am putting into place some exceptions for certain circumstances.