Pennsylvania Catholic Bishops Restore Requirement to Attend Mass

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Catholics in Pennsylvania will soon be required to attend Mass again.

Bishop David Zubik of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh announced Thursday with bishops statewide that a special dispensation issued during the covid-19 pandemic would be lifted on August 15.

Under normal circumstances, Catholics are obliged to attend Mass on Sundays and “holy days of obligation”, unless illness, disability, inclement weather or any other urgent circumstance prevents them from attending.

Now that public health restrictions have eased, Zubik has said it is time for Catholics to return to church.

The exemption began in March 2020.

“More and more people are returning to our churches to celebrate the sacraments and for other events that reflect who we are as the Body of Christ,” Zubik said. “I thank God for their faith and for this opportunity to worship him together and to receive his healing grace in the Eucharist.”

Bishops across Pennsylvania posted an announcement, saying, “It is time for everyone to return to the Eucharist with renewed faith and joy.

Reverend Ken Zaccagnini was happy. He is pastor of St. Margaret Mary Parish in Lower Burrell, as well as Mt. St. Peter, St. Joseph and St. Mary of Czestochowa in New Kensington.

“No doubt about it. I am delighted to hear this, ”he said. “But I must congratulate the people in the parishes that I serve because they have done a very good job in coming back to Mass slowly, carefully, and safely. Our numbers have really grown steadily since we opened in June. I know we’re going to go back to the size of the congregation we had before the pandemic because people have shown that desire to come back. “

In the Diocese of Greensburg, Bishop Larry J. Kulick also shared his enthusiasm for coming together for Mass after the pandemic disrupted religious gatherings around the world.

“It is a blessing to be able to come together with our faithful, to rejoice in the message of the Gospel and to share together the grace of God through the Eucharist”, he declared.

Online mass encouraged for the sick

Zubik encourages parishes to continue broadcasting Masses online. He urged those who are sick or may be carriers of a contagious disease to stay home.

“Many, many locked up people have come to appreciate such wonderful opportunities for them to be connected to the Church,” he said. “Those who are legitimately excused are also encouraged to view a broadcast of the Mass, which is intended for those who cannot attend in person. “

The bishops of Pennsylvania said the obligation did not apply to “those who have serious concerns about being in large groups at this time.”

The Diocese of Greensburg was unable to provide exact figures on Mass attendance during the time the special dispensation was in effect, but pastors reported that Mass attendance was “steadily increasing” even before. that the obligation is reinstated, said the spokesman of the diocese Paul Paterra.

Reverend Tom Burke, pastor of St. Mary Magdalene Parish, a group of three churches in the East End of Pittsburgh, is happy to see more people returning.

“We’re not totally back to normal, obviously, but it’s a step in the right direction,” he said. “I hope that by reinstating the obligation, people will come back to Mass and resume some sort of normal routine.”

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