66 Comments - Ron Burgundy - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 9:36 am: “Today when we started the day we couldn’t even drive on a church parking lot,” False. - Hippo - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 9:37 am: Can’t discriminate against churches. Content based disparate treatment can not stand. If Walmart can take 200 customers with social distancing protocols so can a church. - Give us Barabbas - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 9:38 am: Would really like Cardinal Cupich to weigh in on this folderol by his flock-members. I didn’t think he was in favor of this approach, and he calls the shots for the Catholic Church in Illinois. That I haven’t seen him quoted yet makes me think this is just more of the same right-wing conservative minority of Church members trying to make a lot of noise and get attention. - Dance Band on the Titanic - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 9:39 am: Under the previous EO, my parish has been opening the Sanctuary to allow people to come in and pray as long as they maintain social distancing. A weekly Mass has been conducted via Facebook live. The previous EO in no way impeded anyone in my parish’s religious freedom. Curious as to why The Beloved Church couldn’t manage to figure out how to do the same. - Scamp640 - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 9:42 am: @ Hippo: You can worship god from home. You can worship god via Zoom. Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” In other words, you don’t need an entire building filled with people to worship god. It is much harder to eat food via Zoom. Religous zealots are gonna zealot… - Kayak - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 9:45 am: Could we also open CCL classes. I cannot find a single one available in the Springfield area. - very old soil - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 9:46 am: Give us Barabbas.. This is not a Catholic church and even if it was the Cardinal would have no authority over it. The authority would be the Bishop of the Rockford Diocese. And before you say it the cardinal has no authority over the bishop. That would be the Pope. - Hippo - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 9:47 am: Scamp. “Can” does not mean “must”. I’m a liberty zealot indeed. - Not a Superstar - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 9:47 am: “The Thomas More Society’s lawsuit will continue” Scratch pro-life from Breen’s bio. He’s now fighting for the right of people to infect more than 10 people at a time in the guise of “religious freedom.” - Precinct Captain - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 9:48 am: Peter Breen has been gleefully supporting health care restrictions around the country during the pandemic, but but not these health restrictions. Apparently the only thing God wants is for his/her followers to have the sweet release of death. Pro-Death Peter - Oswego Willy - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 9:49 am: To the post. This is very confusing to the governing, the science, even the politics to both, with an 11th hour, almost literally to the clock, revision for religious services. Let’s look at that revision; Says you *can* gather, the “10 person” ask, and of course social distancing, mask is in the original language, etc. The administration makes a concession… for TEN people… to allow religious services? With all due respect, and I’ll be the first to readily admit the administration is a lil busy with other pressing and life saving issues, did no one think about this language through all of April when question after question was… “what’s next”? Sure, it can be seen as a reversal of the full “lockdown”, it can be seen too as a “clean up revision” as the order itself was not implemented, and this ain’t “Monday morning quarterbacking”, but this is me seeing a thoughtful process and caution being now framed, and it will be, an administration… how did Mr. Breen put it… “ Today, people of faith in Illinois stood up and secured a win…” … and that’s the reason I’m so… well, confused. The science and thoughts, no state has reached the first phase of 14 days of decline, so governors, including our own, are wavering from the Trump plan, to ease the asks by those like Dr. Fauci… and then in the fly, revising again, in a light of wins and loses, when the want is slowing a virus and stopping the loss of life. It’s, in my mind, like golf, boating, whatever is eased here in May, if the governor decides that they can fly, doesn’t mean I’m participating, and I hope the asymptomatic folks aren’t spreading during these things, but you can’t tell me religious services weren’t discussed, weren’t factored in, and now the science and planning will face others looking for “wins” not ways to safely move forward for the good of the state, commerce, and society. “ Today, people of faith in Illinois stood up and secured a win…” What’s the old saying? Ah, yes… “Measure twice… and cut… once.“ - Grandson of Man - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 9:50 am: “The Thomas More Society’s lawsuit will continue, as the new Executive Order provides only a partial victory for The Beloved Church and Cassell.” These people don’t want to accept compromise. Just because they may not care about meeting Jesus very soon doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t care. - A Guy - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 9:51 am: ==and he calls the shots for the Catholic Church in Illinois.== Untrue. He calls the shots for the Archdiocese of Chicago. The people of that congregation were prevented by the local sheriff from an Easter drive in service. A Sheriff…intervened. That’s a problem. - Oswego Willy - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 9:55 am: - very old soil - You must not “know” Peter Breen. Using it as I have, one main reason is the trolling of the Catholic, Peter Breen, the pro-life crusader, the Notre Dame law school grad, the person who makes his own faith very much part and parcel of his politics and his political standing. As I’ve mentioned many times, I too am a Catholic, so the “why are you bashing Catholics” isn’t gonna fly, as I see my own faith, by Mr. Breen, used by him in his career as a litigatior and former legislator as a political platform. - NIU Grad - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 9:55 am: “Today when we started the day we couldn’t even drive on a church parking lot,” said Breen. “In fact you couldn’t even leave your house to go to a church service.” This is so ridiculously and infuriatingly untrue. - efudd - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 9:56 am: So, he’s not some unreasonable dictator trying to keep those God-fearin’ Christians from their First Amen blah, blah, blah. Go to church. Most in Union county couldn’t abide by social distancing guidelines if 50 parishioners showed up. - Demoralized - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 9:56 am: ==In fact you couldn’t even leave your house== Why in the world do people continue to believe that you cannot leave your house? That is just a completely bogus claim. You can come and go as you please. Yes, there are only certain places that are open for you to go but nobody has locked you inside of your house. When anyone makes that argument it should immediately be called out as wrong. - Scamp640 - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 9:57 am: @ Hippo: You have a skewed sense of liberty. I am not sure if you know how viruses spread. It involves being in close contact with others. Your zeal for “liberty” could cause somebody else to get sick or even die. With freedom comes responsibility. That is how a society works. You need to think at least a tiny bit about your neighbor. Apparently, your own wishes are more important than the fate of others. - Demoralized - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 9:58 am: ==That’s a problem.== Why is it a problem to enforce the law, which is what an Executive Order is. The problem for me are the countless people who are not taking this seriously. - Demoralized - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:00 am: ==I’m a liberty zealot indeed== If you were truly a student of the Constitution you would know that there isn’t a single right in that document that is absolute. There are exceptions made in numerous cases. The Court balances the need for the government to do something and the rights of the people under the Constitution. Sometimes the needs of the government win. And I believe that in a pandemic that government most certainly has a legitimate state interest in taking actions to protect the health and welfar of its people. - Put the fun in unfunded - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:00 am: Demoralized - the very first line of the executive order. If it’s not an essential activity (”exceptions as outlined below”), then “all individuals currently living within the State of Illinois are ordered to stay at home or at their place of residence except as allowed in this Executive Order.” - Amalia - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:00 am: Breen, exagere much? Parking lot lies. - Demoralized - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:01 am: Put the fun in unfunded: Is someone standing outside your house preventing you from leaving? No, they are not. Don’t be daft. - Hippo - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:05 am: Scamp. You seemed to have a skewed sense of “responsibility”. Responsibility comes from within the individual. Compelling obedience is not responsibility. - RNUG - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:06 am: == The new executive order encourages churches to reopen for “drive-in services” == Hmm … since the local health department nixed using an actual drive-in theater, how are the church’s going to do this? - RNUG - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:10 am: == In other words, you don’t need an entire building filled with people to worship god. == Our pastor has been using Facebook Live for over 2+ years now, broadcasting the service every Sunday morning. - Downstate - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:11 am: As Pritzker wades into the nuances of his executive orders, I’m reminded of a story about President Ford. When Ford became President, airlines were still regulated by the federal government. Heavily regulated. So much so that one of Ford’s early decisions involved the merger of two airlines. The airline merger had already been approved. And it was decided that they could maintain the two separate names. The question that came to Gerald Ford’s desk was “should the cabin crew for the two airlines be required to wear the same uniforms, or can they maintain their current uniforms?” In his autobiography, Ford recounted that while his deceased mother might have imagined him as President, one day, he doubts that she would have ever thought her son, as President, would be making decisions about flight crew attire. I’m wondering if Governor Pritzker doesn’t have the same thoughts as he goes through this process. - RNUG - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:16 am: == Why in the world do people continue to believe that you cannot leave your house? == == “all individuals currently living within the State of Illinois are ordered to stay at home or at their place of residence except as allowed in this Executive Order.” == I agree with - Demoralized - Nobody is being forced to stay home. This isn’t like South Africa where you have to get a permit to travel any distance and actually encounter roadblocks / checkpoints where you have to show your travel permit. You can walk out your door, get in your car, and go for a drive. We don’t get out of our car but we take a “mental health” drive every few days. - efudd - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:19 am: Just speaking for southern Illinois, no one believes that you cannot leave your house. I’ve seen more people out walking since the weather turned nice than I’ve seen in years. - Grandson of Man - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:22 am: “Compelling obedience is not responsibility.“ Unless they’re POC protesting police brutality or undocumented people. The law and order coronavirus freedom rebels have quite the opposite view of that. Of course compelling obedience is responsibility. It’s why we have laws to begin with. Let’s not argue like children. The law and order screamers at certain others are being hypocrites. - Howard - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:24 am: The Governor is listening and making changes. That is rare in this state. - Perrid - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:24 am: Every single person clutching their pearls over not being allowed to be in the same room with dozens or hundreds of other people need a reality check. Why do you want your friends and neighbors to die? Is your faith so fragile that it can’t bear the “strain” of a few weeks of missed service? And that’s assuming you don’t hold services over the internet. Is your God so petty that he will hold it against you that you stayed home to help save lives in a global pandemic? Jesus wept. - Demoralized - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:25 am: ==Compelling obedience is not responsibility== So, why even have any laws if you believe compelling someone to do (or not do) something is wrong? - Demoralized - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:28 am: ==I’m wondering if Governor Pritzker doesn’t have the same thoughts as he goes through this process.== I’m thinking he is having all kinds of thoughts going through this process and I’m betting none of them are easy thoughts. I’m amazed at the number of people who think the Governor is doing what he is doing willy nilly without any consideration of the consequences. Do you honestly believe he likes what he is doing? Or that he is somehow doing all of this utilizing some sort of political yardstick? The notion that he was being hostile to churces is absurd. He was doing what he thought was right and not out of some belief that he should stick it to the churches. None of this is easy. I think people should take a moment to consider the gravity of the decisions our elected officials are making and realize that none of them are having fun doing any of this. - Put the fun in unfunded - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:28 am: “Is someone standing outside your house preventing you from leaving?” No, but I hope you are not saying that is the standard we should use to decide whether or not we have to comply with any type of “law” or “order”, nor do I think that the Governor only wants people to comply if forced. There are specific things listed that “individuals may leave their residence” to do - until recently, attending religious services was not one of them. - Demoralized - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:29 am: My point is that it’s nonsense to assert that you are being held in your home. Again, don’t be daft. - Oswego Willy - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:31 am: The mindset that any of these orders is designed to usurp freedoms or liberties arbitrarily… won’t grasp the ideal that governing must also include saving people from others and themselves. That’s the balance any Governor, including our own must wrestle. The rest is bloviating to the political wants to those conflicting sides. - Nick Name - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:31 am: ===Illinois Governor “JB” Pritzker=== What, exactly, is the purpose of the scare quotes? ===“Today when we started the day we couldn’t even drive on a church parking lot,”=== What a bunch of crybaby horse hockey. - Anyone Remember - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:32 am: Hippo - All churches have WalMart’s floor space? The one across the street is so small they had to stop using it for voting (everyplace within the building, including places with children, was within 150 feet of the voting room). - Mary - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:36 am: Nothing new here. People could already meet for religious gatherings ten or under. This isn’t going to do it, Pritzker. You’re trampling on our constitutional rights. The CDC guidelines are just that, guidelines. They are not ORDERS. Therein is the difference betwixt you and them. Nice try, though. - pek3234 - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:36 am: ==Curious as to why The Beloved Church couldn’t manage to figure out how to do the same.== Because doing so would have interfered with their attempt to politicize the issue. - Hippo - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:37 am: Anyone. I didn’t see anywhere the limit of ten worshippers was tied to sq ft space. I have no problem correlating limits on people to space available. But you can’t treat churches and Walmart differently - efudd - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:42 am: Most churches in Union county couldn’t follow social distancing guidelines if 50 parishioners showed up. - Dance Band on the Titanic - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 10:46 am: ===pek3234 Because doing so would have interfered with their attempt to politicize the issue.=== Amen. - Perrid - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 11:08 am: “Can’t treat Walmart and churches differently” Uh, why? Last I checked, Walmart isn’t a religion, so giving “preferential” treatment to the grocery store isn’t a government sponsored religion. Either limiting the number of church goers is unconstitutional on its own, or it isn’t, comparing a church to a business doesn’t make any sense. And that’s just the legal aspect, the logical aspect says that OF COURSE you treat getting food differently than standing next to your friends for an hour or two. Not that you seem to care about logic or empathy. - Demoralized - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 11:14 am: ==I didn’t see anywhere the limit of ten worshippers was tied to sq ft space== You are’t sitting down in Walmart not moving for an hour or an hour and a half. You are in Church. Obviously you can’t use the same criteria in a building where you are just going to sit there. - Donnie Elgin - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 11:17 am: JB was facing the heat, and blinked just a little bit. Concession to the overreach, and the strength of a growing a position to His EO - Contrarian - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 11:17 am: Pritzker knew he’d lose and didn’t want a statewide court case ruling from the feds…as I said yesterday, no way his earlier EO was narrowly tailored and he knew it. - Bothanspy - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 11:22 am: === - Howard - The Governor is listening and making changes. That is rare in this state.=== Ordinarily, I would agree this is a good thing but I think JB made a mistake by caving to this demand. I Thi k its going to open the floodgates of demonstration for every “niche” group demanding muh freedom. - Rich Miller - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 11:23 am: ===just going to sit there. === That’s a problem. Singing in groups appears to be the bigger problem, however https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-03-29/coronavirus-choir-outbreak - Fixer - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 11:47 am: Wonder how they’re going to pass the plate for the collection of donations for medical costs for their little stunt. Hope the parishioners are feeling generous this Sunday for their own sake. - Scott Cross for President - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 11:59 am: Cardinal Cupich speaks for the Archdiocese of Chicago, but what about downstate Catholics ? Chicago and up north are different. Bishop Thomas John Paprocki stated the Diocese of Springfield has replaced public Masses with private Masses: “I ask our local Church to embrace this spiritual sacrifice together, with the intention of an end to the spread of the Coronavirus, for the healing of those afflicted by it, and for strength for those who are providing care for the afflicted. I also pray that this Eucharistic fast will draw us closer to our Lord and cultivate a hunger and new appreciation for the Blessed Sacrament.” The Bishop is leading a prayer liturgy online today at 2P to pray for the “continued protection of the vulnerable, healing of the sick, and wisdom for those who work to cure COVID-19.” Amen. - Wylie Coyote - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 12:00 pm: I think I’ll watch on the computer for another week….. - hisgirlfriday - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 12:01 pm: At least one of our local churches was already doing the drive-in church service thing. If it wasn’t already explicitly allowed, glad that has been clarified. - Wylie Coyote - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 12:01 pm: For once I think I agree with Paprocki…. - RNUG - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 12:10 pm: == I think I’ll watch on the computer for another week…..== We’ll do it for another month or two at least. At least 3 of our church members have had the virus (positive test) and recovered, one after a long hospital stay. - Me, Me, Me - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 12:12 pm: –Demoralized @ 9:56, 10:28 and 11:14 Amen, Amen, Amen — no irony intended. –Barabbas @ 9:38 Perhaps this article might shed some light on Cardinal Cupich’s stance on the flocks gathering. And in particular “The Archdiocese of Chicago issued a statement saying it was following the guidance of “competent civil authorities and agencies to ensure the safety of the faithful, clergy, staff and volunteers.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/catholic-group-holds-prayer-vigil-to-reopen-churches/ar-BB13sOqV?ocid=hplocalnews News of further COVIDiot-ness: “The important thing is to get in there and get the sacraments,” Scheidler said. Maybe it is the Last Rites/Anointing of the Sick that she is looking for? - Nick Name - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 12:27 pm: ===For once I think I agree with Paprocki….=== Me too. Feels weird. LOL - LakeCo - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 12:38 pm: =You’re trampling on our constitutional rights.= Help me understand, Mary, because I can’t for the life of me figure this out: Knowing that going to church could result in you catching a virus and dying and Knowing that going to church could result in you passing a virus to someone and killing them Why in God’s name are you so eager to go to church? - Oswego Willy - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 12:46 pm: === You’re trampling on our constitutional rights. The CDC guidelines are just that, guidelines.=== - Mary - Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Your beef seems to be, not *only* with Gov. Pritzker, but… - Levois J - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 1:00 pm: These are the adjustments I hope to see. Not that I have a dog in the fight as far as religious services. - the Patriot - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 1:11 pm: The Governor is about to get creamed in court, and not by as some have asserted hick judges, Federal Judges. https://chicago.suntimes.com/coronavirus/2020/4/30/21243024/northern-illinois-church-sues-pritzker-stay-at-home-order-federal-court I believe he has authority to make that first order, but as time goes on and specific issues come up adjust. The reality is you can’t tell 9 people they can’t pray together in a church, but can go stand in the Pot dispensary a half mile away and bow their heads which is where we were. - Elliott Ness - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 1:13 pm: The governor is starting to figure out that there is a little thing called the Constitution to adhere to….wonder if that was the discussion M.K. had with him before bolting to Florida to the horse farm? “All in (except M.K.) Illinois” - Chatham Resident - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 1:35 pm: ==I think I’ll watch on the computer for another week…..== The church I attend, which is one of the largest in the Springfield area, has been online-only since Mar. 15. With 3 online services each Sunday morning (plus an extra one the Saturday afternoon of Easter weekend). It’s like a regular service but online only. Including Communion (which is weekly at my church), just use your own grape juice and bread at home. And you can continue to give your tithes and offerings online, including direct debit. Interestingly, my church has been getting at least 2-3 times the number of online worshippers compared to usual Sundays (since you can fill out a Communication Card online to let them know you’re watching). - Oswego Willy - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 1:54 pm: === I believe he has authority to make that first order, but as time goes on and specific issues come up adjust.=== That’s a lot of constitutional interpretation, professor. Since the power is found in the state constitution, it just as easily be bounced out for that too. See, I can say ridiculous things to a constitutional interpretation too. - Last Bull Moose - Friday, May 1, 20 @ 2:03 pm: Under Jewish law ten men were required for public prayers. Matthew cuts that to two. Possibly because in the early days there were so few Christians. Private prayer was always allowed. I think large religious gatherings are dangerous and unwise. Except for the ban on human sacrifice, I don’t want to tell others how to worship. They may think their eternal souls are more important than their, or my, temporal life. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.