Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 27, 2020 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- An executive order issued Tuesday in Maryland’s Howard County outlines public health rules under which churches may reopen. The order prohibits the distribution and consumption of any food or drink as part of any religious service, effectively outlawing the distribution of Communion and the celebration of the Mass.
Howard County Executive Order #2020-09 outlines the conditions and regulations that must be met for non-essential businesses–which in Maryland includes churches and other houses of worship–to resume operations. The order was released by Howard County Executive Calvin Ball.
“There shall be no consumption of food or beverage of any kind before, during, or after religious services, including food or beverage that would typically be consumed as part of a religious service,” the order says in a section delineating norms and restrictions on religious services.
The consumption of the consecrated species at Mass, at least by the celebrant, is an integral part of the Eucharistic rite. Rules prohibiting even the celebrating priest from receiving the Eucharist would ban the licit celebration of Mass by any priest.
The Howard County public affairs office has not yet responded to questions from CNA regarding how the rule aligns with First Amendment religious freedom and free exercise rights.
The executive order also limits attendance at indoor worship spaces to 10 people or fewer, limits outdoor services to 250 socially-distanced people wearing masks, forbids the passing of collection plates, and bans handshakes and physical contact between worshippers.
In contrast to the 10-person limit for churches, establishments listed in the order that do not host religious services are permitted to operate at 50% capacity.
The order also states that “singing is permitted, but not recommended,” and that only the person leading the service or a choir may sing. Those who are singing without masks should, per the order, “maintain a 12-foot distance from other persons, including religious leaders, other singers, or the congregation.”
The sixth chapter of St. John’s Gospel contains the well-known “Bread of Life” discourse, in which Jesus teaches at a Capernum synagogue that “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”
Catholics believe that teaching constitutes part of Christ’s revelation of the Eucharist.
The Archdiocese of Baltimore, whose territory includes Howard County, did not respond to requests for comment on the Howard County executive order by the time of posting.
The archdiocese announced its own phased reopening plans on Tuesday. While some of the policies outlined in the archdiocese’s plans are in line with Executive Order 2020-09, there is no prohibition on the distribution of food or beverages before, after, or during Mass.
The Archdiocese of Baltimore’s reopening plans require that communicants observe social distancing while in line for communion, and is discouraging reception on the tongue–but the archdiocese has not instructed parishes to place any other restrictions on the reception of communion, apart from ordinary canonical norms.
In Phase I of the archdiocese’s reopening plan, churches will be open for private prayer, but Mass will still be celebrated without a congregation. In Phase II, which is expected to begin in some areas the weekend of May 30-31, churches may open to socially-distanced congregations up to one-third of the seating capacity, if local public restrictions permit the attendance of more than 10 people at Mass.
The Department of Justice has recently issued a number of letters concerning cases of state and local public health orders which affect churches and houses of worship. In the last week, the department sent letters to the governors of California and Nevada, emphasizing the need to respect religious freedoms while working to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
“Simply put, there is no pandemic exception to the U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights,” Eric S. Dreiband, head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, said in a May 19 letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom.
The DOJ has also filed statements of interest in cases involving conflicts between churches and local authorities, including a lawsuit against the Mayor of Greenville, Mississippi, after members of the Temple Baptist Church were fined $500 for attending a service in their cars in the church’s parking lot. The mayor later rescinded the fines and amended the city’s stay at home order.
[…]
One day showing that didn’t get much advertising… Just like the movie about the baths in Lourdes… It’s seen all over Europe but here in ‘merica… Nope
I went to see the Movie Father Stu this past week. I knew it was playing in a particular theater because I had been to that theater days before and seen the listing over the cashier. HOWEVER, when I went to “Moviefone” online, Father Stu was not listed as showing AT ALL. Then I put Father Stu into the Moviefone search function and it came up as “not listed”. I dont know if there was simply no budget to advertise a listing for this film, of if someone made a decision not to list a “religious” film at Moviefone. However, I finally found the listing by going to the general AMC website. I found the whole experience odd. Had I not already been aware the film was playing at a particular location, I would have assumed it was not showing there at all. I guess only garbage gets an advertising budget. But why would a theater provide the listings for only SOME of the movies they were showing??
The movie will enhance your belief and faith, no matter where on the spectrum it lies. Definitely worth your time and effort to find and view. The film, in Spanish with English subtitles here in the U.S., played for only one day at select theatres, without much (any?) mainstream advertising outside Catholic media. I simply stumbled upon it and took the chance. The theater held a scant few of us, together in awe at the film unfolding. The projectionist forgot to start the film at the posted time; we had to go remind him that showtime was 10+ minutes late in starting.
The film is as described: Intermingling of 5-6 stories of individual lives transformed after discovery of the Eucharist, specifically Adoration. Powerful full-front facial images of all individuals, together with friends or acquaintances who confirmed changes in people’s lives. Particularly compelling were the atheist and non-believing skeptic who went along with a Catholic friend to adoration or to Mass, not expecting anything, not pressured in any way to attend, but who went due to lack of anything better or out of pure curiosity, puzzled by the friend’s or acquaintance’s commitment to adoration or to Mass. Then WHAM. Either at once or after some time still spent puzzling about the something, someONE happened to the skeptic, the atheist, the juvenile delinquent, the anomistic young none, the couple facing a difficult pregnancy, etc.
Artistically, the film powerfully wows. The initial interviews appear a bit of a confused whirlwind. Who are these people and how do their stories fit together? is the question asked at the start then answered by story end. Beautiful ending depicting a Baptism (only the beginning). One will leave the theater, bearing prayers for the seminarian’s parents, about whom I won’t spoiler alert the reader.
Go see it if you have the chance.