In a California fight over reopening churches, federal Department of Justice officials intervened this week, to argue that unless states can prove that churches pose some specific risk for spreading the virus, they can't be held to more stringent measures than other places of public assembly.
In Minnesota, retail businesses will be permitted to open at 50% capacity on June 1, salons and tattoo parlors will reopen, and restaurants will gradually reopen.
On Thursday, Hebda said equality in law is important.
"Obviously, part of our faith is that we want to respect always legitimate civil authority, so that's one of the reasons why we have really been trying to reach out to the govern and his administration to explain the needs of our Church, which are kind of particular," Hebda told reporters,
"And really as we've seen other openings and plans for other openings, it makes us feel much more comfortable with what we're doing, because we see a parallel that's there and we see that we need to be treated equally."
There has not yet been any official response from the apostolic nuncio in the United States or from the Holy See to the Minnesota announcement. Officials at the Minnesota Catholic Conference and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis have not yet answered questions from CNA about whether Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the pope's representative in the U.S., had been consulted before the bishops announced their decision.
When Italian bishops raised objections in late April to continued strictures on public Masses in the country, Pope Francis did not address the matter directly, but did praise the virtue of obedience at a Mass a few days later.
For his part, Hebda acknowledged that no sanitary precautions are enough to completely stem the spread of the virus, and acknowledged that a parish outside Minneapolis had announced May 20 that at least one priest in the community had tested positive for the coronavirus.
But the archbishop said he appreciated the speed and clarity with which the parish had made the announcement. And he emphasized the risk inherent to life in a global pandemic.
"We're living in a dangerous time and we can expect that we're going to have priests and faithful who are infected with COVID, that's going to be part of life, what's important is how we handle that," Hebda said.
"I think we can expect in all dimensions of life, right now, that there are those risks that are there." Even in the supermarket, he said, "there's always that risk."
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More than 800 people have died of the coronavirus in Minnesota, and more than 18,000 have been diagnosed with it. Nearly 100,000 people have been recorded dead from the virus across the U.S., with more than 1.6 million positive coronavirus tests.
To Hebda, the difficulty of the pandemic emphasizes the need for pastoral ministry.
"Please remember, we bishops have a solemn duty, really a responsibility, to provide spiritual care and religious services to our faithful, and that responsibility includes doing it in a way that is safe and responsible," the archbishop said.
Hebda told reporters about a man who had managed a years-long recovery from addictions.
"What makes that possible is that he goes to Mass every morning and receives communion," the archbishop said.