In the wake of a United States Supreme Court decision to lift the pandemic ban on closed religious services in California, some Bay Area religious leaders embraced the renewed opportunity to worship indoors, but others said they would continue to hold remote services.
Salvatore Cordileone, the archbishop of San Francisco and a declared enemy of closing closed services, called the decision a “very significant step towards basic rights” and a “breath of fresh air in dark times”. Worshipers, he said, were now free from “harassment by government officials”.
Health officials, however, called for caution.
Santa Clara County said it would continue to ban indoor worship, despite the Supreme Court decision, explaining that, with transmission rates still high, “it remains critical to avoid potential over-spreading events, including indoor meetings.” The county said its orders were structured differently from California’s purple belt rules and therefore according to the Supreme Court order. “All internal meetings remain banned at this time because of the risk,” said the county. The county did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday night, explaining how its orders differed enough from those of the state.
San Francisco’s acting health worker, Dr. Susan Philip, also said the risk remains high, not just because of the spread of potentially more infectious new variants.
“I … especially urge the elderly and others with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems – and those who live with the elderly and people with such conditions – to postpone participation in closed religious services at this time and to find safer alternatives to practice their faith, such as participation in external services or remote streaming services, ”said Philip in a statement.
The conservative majority high court voted 6-3 to reverse the decisions of the lower courts that upheld the ban on internal religious meetings as virus cases increased. The decision on Friday said meetings could resume at 25% of a building’s capacity. The court maintained the statewide ban on internal songs or chants during religious services.
All but four of California’s counties are under purple-level restrictions, which previously meant that domestic religious services were banned. Governor Gavin Newsom’s office said on Saturday it plans to issue revised guidelines for religious services following the Supreme Court decision.
Health experts say that indoor meetings of several families are at high risk and that outbreaks have been linked to religious temples in Sacramento, San Diego, New York, Massachusetts and elsewhere.
Few houses of worship appeared to reopen on Sunday. The weather is good and many religious leaders have just learned of the decision on Saturday. A call to the rectory in Sts. The Church of Peter and Paul in San Francisco produced an audio recording reporting a “COVID outbreak here in the rectory” and asking for prayers. The church is closed until February 13, the recording said.
The head of the Grace Cathedral in San Francisco said the giant stone building on Nob Hill would remain closed for internal services. The cathedral reopened for service in November, but closed when infection rates increased during the fall.
“We are trying to follow science and trying to be patient,” said Dean Malcolm Clemens Young. The Supreme Court “was not doing anyone a favor” by lifting the ban, he said.
“We are grateful that no one has been exposed to COVID because of anything we have done,” said Young.
Cordileone saw the matter differently.
“As Catholics, we know that our worship cannot be broadcast live,” he said in a statement.
“There is no way to give Communion, or any of the other sacraments, over the internet,” he said, adding that churches would protect public health by wearing masks and social distance.
Calvary Chapel, a San Jose church that has defied county orders and has been holding services for months, is scheduled to hold services at 9 am and 11 am on Sunday, according to a recorded message. A judge at the Santa Clara Superior Court found the church disobedient to court orders and issued fines in December, which did not prevent the church from carrying out Christmas Eve religious services. The church did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
At Temple Beth Shalom in San Leandro, singer Linda Hirschhorn said she welcomed the court’s decision because, she said, “if it is okay to allow internal meetings at 25% capacity, it should be generalized.”
Its congregation of about 300 members had not decided when or whether to resume internal services.
As a singer, or singer and singer of Jewish prayers, Hirschhorn said he didn’t care much about the continued ban on singing and singing.
The temple does not plan to make any changes to its online services.
“We are getting a lot more audience now at Zoom,” she said.
Chronicle team writers, Michael Cabanatuan and Lauren Hernandez and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Steve Rubenstein is a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected]