Donald DeGrood, South Dakota bishop, orders church faithful back to the pews

A Mass-free Sunday no more, says the Roman Catholic bishop of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, who last week became one of the first prelates in the U.S. to order his flock back to weekly church attendance in the middle of a global pandemic.

Bishop Donald DeGrood asked parishioners in an Aug. 10 letter whether their fear of going to church because of the virus was “morally justifiable.” In the same letter, he removed the general dispensation — or exemption — from mandatory Mass attendance for all parishioners save for the elderly, those with health complications and their caretakers.

“After receiving clarity through prayer, in light of this data, I have come to realize it is now time to change the general dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass,” the bishop wrote.

The change is believed to be one of the first in the nation among Roman Catholic dioceses, reports Catholic News Agency. Earlier this month, Bishop Chad W. Zielinski, who oversee the diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska, also wrote to parishioners alerting them to the imminent removal of a “general dispensation” from mass attendance.

Practicing Catholics in normal times are expected to attend Mass on Sundays and designated “holy days of obligation” throughout the year.

Like other faiths, Catholics have been largely prevented from communal services since the COVID-19 outbreak in the spring.

A representative from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops told The Washington Times no guidance “or suggestions” has been provided to dioceses.

“Since the USCCB has no governance authority over the dioceses, that is a decision left to the local bishop,” a spokesperson said.

Many religious leaders have chafed at the virus restrictions — and the months of empty pews that have resulted.

Some say houses of worship in some states have faced tougher guidelines than other public spaces, including casinos and bars.

In recent weeks, megachurches in Georgia and North Carolina have announced online worship will continue through year’s end.

In March, Roman Catholic bishops nationwide implemented “general dispensations” on Mass attendance for the country’s 51 million believers.

Yet, even as parts of the country see low or sharply declining infection and hospitalization rates, the guidance on Mass attendance has been kept in place. The fear, say epidemiologists, is that indoor worship — including singing, confined quarters and mass praying — heightens the chance for contagion.

In the diocese of Augustine, Florida, where confirmed cases of COVID-19 have declined from a mid-July high point but are still higher than May, Bishop Felipe J. Estevez has kept the dispensation in place.

“There has been no timeline established as to when the dispensation will be lifted in our diocese,” a diocesan spokeswoman shared by email on Tuesday. “Too early to say. We are monitoring the CDC and state health agencies.”

Archdioceses from Indiana to New Orleans also have extended general dispensations to later in the year.

Many will be watching what happens in South Dakota closely.

The Sioux Falls diocese serves 44 counties between the Minnesota border and the Missouri River. Bishop DeGrood noted in his letter that while the effects of COVID-19 are “real,” the latest data “indicates that infection rates have not been as widespread and the number experiencing severe illness has not been as significant in our dioceses as it had been projected when the general dispensation was granted.”

He noted nearly half the counties in the mostly rural diocese have fewer than 10 cases as of last week, and seven counties have no confirmed cases at all.

Still, in Minnehaha County, the diocesan seat of eastern South Dakota, the South Dakota Department of Health reports “substantial” community spread, with nearly 400 active cases as of Tuesday.

While lawsuits challenged governor’s orders in many states have come from Evangelical denominations, some Catholics have gone rogue in defying state — and in some instances — diocesan strictures.

Over the weekend, The San Francisco Chronicle reported, city officials reprimanded the archdiocese after reports of churches violating mandates on holding only small, outdoor religious services. And in the nation’s capital, Monsignor Charles Pope — pastor of Holy Comforter — St. Cyprian Catholic Church on the Hill — tested positive for COVID-19 late last month after decrying widespread orders to stem the virus.

In a blog entry on Monday, Rev. Pope announced he’d just returned from a week-plus stay in the ICU, offering “thanks be to God, to your prayers, and to the wonderful medical staff.”