St. James Catholic Church is open for public Masses! We are dedicated to preventing the transmission of COVID-19 so that our staff, parishioners, and visitors may celebrate their faith safely.
It absolutely is safe to return to Mass! St. James has faithfully followed guidance from the Archdiocese in COVID-prevention protocols, and are still dedicated to sanitizing the church after each Mass.
However, there are times when we ask that you use prudence when considering returning to Mass:
Listen to Archbishop Gustavo’s explanation of the USCCB’s statement concerning COVID-19 vaccines. Read the USCCB’s statement here.
“While Pfizer and Moderna vaccines should be chosen over Johnson and Johnson’s where possible, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said in a statement March 2 that it is ‘morally acceptable’ to receive vaccines when ‘ethically irreproachable’ options are not available.
“Given the world-wide suffering that this pandemic is causing, we affirm again that being vaccinated can be an act of charity that serves the common good,” the statement said.
The statement was an update to one released in December that echoed the Vatican’s statement, saying that Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were morally acceptable despite their “remote connection to morally compromised cell lines” due to the gravity of the pandemic.”
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