With the state to open at 100 percent capacity on Wednesday and its mask mandate to be lifted, Bishop Daniel E. Flores, of the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville, is trying to decide how and if to allow more parishioners in churches to attend Masses.
Flores said he’s talking to parish priests, laity, parishioners and civil authorities to see how he can open the churches to more people, in terms of church capacity.
“One of the markers I am looking at is how many people, especially in the vulnerable population, have been vaccinated (against the coronavirus.) There’s still an awful lot … there’s a lot of elderly especially who haven’t been able to get the vaccine and others who have compromised health conditions,” Flores said during a Zoom interview over the weekend.
Gov. Greg Abbott last week announced he planned to reopen businesses in the state at 100 percent and lift the state’s mask mandate.
Following Abbott’s announcement, the Brownsville diocese stated the faithful will need to continue to wear face masks, disinfect their hands and practice social distancing while attending Mass. Parishioners attending Sunday Mass were reminded that the churches will continue to follow these safety guidelines.
These are the protocols Catholic churches in the Brownsville diocese have been following since Flores announced last May he would be reopening them but at a limited capacity, after temporarily ordering them closed last March because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Flores is encouraging all Catholics in the Rio Grande Valley to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and to get whatever vaccination is available to them.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is the latest one to receive federal approval to fight the coronavirus, but many Catholics are concerned about receiving this particular vaccine because it is produced with abortion-derived cell lines. The Catholic Church opposes all forms of abortion.
Flores said there is nothing in the Church’s teaching that should keep Catholics from receiving this particular vaccine, especially since the Valley has been fighting the pandemic for a long time.
As of Monday and according to the Texas Health and Human Services Department, 98,933 confirmed cases of the coronavirus have been reported in the Rio Grande Valley, with 4,088 COVID-19 related deaths.
“I understand what the state government is concerned about but the church’s responsibility is to protect the vulnerable and to do everything we can of that because that is part of the gospel itself,” Flores said.
The current protocols in the churches have the faithful seated in every other pew and there be 6 feet between family groups. “We are under 50 percent and we really can’t expand that until circumstances get a little better,” the bishop said.
Flores believes the time will come where he can start making adjustments to some of the protocols but before he plans to make any changes he wants to have discussions with individuals both inside and outside of the church including health officials.
“I am hoping things will get better, and they will get better, but we are going to have to take it very carefully because our responsibility is to protect the community, especially the vulnerable,” Flores said.
