Category: Archived

New Regulations for Gathering

 

Philadelphia County issued new regulations — restrictions — on the number of people who may gather at each Mass. For our purposes, the new regulations (5 people per 1000 square feet, or 5% of total legal occupancy) limit attendance in our church building to about 30 people per Mass.

Keep one another safe in Church! We can accommodate the needs of all worshippers if we are willing to distribute ourselves evenly at each Mass — 5pm Saturday; 9am and 11am Sunday morning; and 6pm Sunday evening. If you find yourself at an overcrowded Mass, please reconsider your choice to celebrate Mass at that time.

Don’t be afraid. But be smart, and be safe.

 

A Resource brought to you by the Social Justice Committee of Holy Cross Parish
10.16.2020  [printable version]

All of God’s Creation

October is Respect Life Month, a time for Catholics to reflect more deeply on the sacred dignity of human life.

IMMIGRANTS AND MIGRANTS

 Every human being is a child of God! He or she bears the image of Christ! We ourselves need to see, and then to enable others to see, that migrants and refugees do not only represent a problem to be solved, but are brothers and sisters to be welcomed, respected, and loved.

~ Pope Francis, message for The World Day of Migrants and Refugees, 2014

In his new encyclical, Fratelli Tutti (Brothers All), Pope Francis describes steps he says countries should take to integrate migrants more adeptly. He says businesses should direct themselves to eliminate poverty, “especially through the creation of diversified work opportunities.” He says people born into privilege must remember that others — the poor, the disabled — need a “proactive state” more than they do. “Other cultures are not ‘enemies’ from which we need to protect ourselves, but differing reflections of the inexhaustible richness of human life.”

IMMIGRATION ACTIONS

Detention Centers

“On April 6, 2018, the administration announced a “zero tolerance” immigration policy that requires every undocumented adult immigrant and asylum seeker in the U.S. to be criminally prosecuted under federal law. As a result, over 2,000 children were forcibly separated from their families, labeled ‘unaccompanied,’ and transported to remote shelters around the country. After intense political backlash, on June 20, 2018, an executive order ended family separation by requiring that children be detained with their parents in family detention centers instead. The reunification plan for families already separated remains unclear.” (Worth Rises, a non-profit advocacy organization)

More than 100 ICE detention centers are operated by for-profit corporations. Nationwide, an estimated 72% of people held in ICE custody are in some kind of privatized detention facility. (Southern Policy Law Center)

Proposed Regulation Violates Immigrants’ Privacy

“In September 2020, the Department of Homeland Security published a proposed ruling that would vastly expand collection of biometric data, including iris scans, palm- and voice-prints, facial recognition images, and DNA, from immigrants. Currently, most immigrants are only required to submit fingerprints, signatures, and photos. The new ruling would also extend these biometric data requirements to U.S. citizens who sponsor immigrants.

The Department of Homeland Security claims that it needs this information to ascertain identity, avoid fraud and confirm family relationships. However, this move raises serious privacy issues including the use and long-term retention of this very personal data. The American Civil Liberties Union notes that Department of Homeland Security has not indicated if and how these changes are related to any specific security need. The new ruling would also apply to persons under fourteen years of age.” (Sisters of Mercy Justice Team)

Join the movement of thousands of people of faith pledging to: “Vote with love in action in mind so as to protect life, respect human dignity, and promote the common good, including God’s gift of creation.”

Pledge to “Vote with Love in Action”

“As people of faith, we do not seek to elect only those who believe as we do. We believe that our faith calls us to advocate for the common good for all. For that reason, we will elect leaders who commit to an ethic of love in their public and political lives.” (2020 Vote Common Good)

For more information on Social Justice Committee of Holy Cross Parish, contact Mary Nolan: mlnolan752@yahoo.com

Instructions provided by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

I know that you have heard by now that this is the last weekend of our exile. We’re moving forward with plans to re-open on the weekend of June 6 & 7. We anticipate that our part of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania will enter the “Yellow” stage at midnight on June 5, and we will be back — with restrictions described here (you’ll need to scroll about halfway down the page).

In this in-between moment, we’re trying to discern all the practical needs we’ll experience at that point. Meanwhile, have a look at pew restrictions that we’ll need for the time being. (This is also the last look you’ll have at missalettes for some time.)
   

Clearly, everyone coming to church will need to be wearing a face covering of some sort. We will have disposable masks on hand, but I must recommend that, if you haven’t done so already, please secure a face covering for yourself quickly.

We have a strategy in hand for disinfecting the church, with special attention to most-commonly-touched surfaces, after each gathering.

Still trying to construe the most effective and least hurtful way to limit the congregation size to 25 people. Conversations are ongoing; and I know that we’ll arrive at a solution we can all live with.

You’ll need to keep watching this space for the next couple of days as more specific plans develop around as many of the concerns we can anticipate; and you’ll need to tell us when we’re missing pieces that are important to you.

We’re caught, aren’t we, between the longing to return to church (among other things that we sorely miss), and the fear that the risk to personal health and safety is still too great. I share with you the longing as well as the fear; and I have been convinced, as you are, that now is the time more than ever to act as if we really are “our brothers’ keepers” — which of course means that all the concerns for our own safety must be concerns for the safety of each other. No one stands alone.

FlockNote: Sent by Rev. William E. Grogan