Rockford Diocese to continue Masses, cancel or suspend other activities

ROCKFORD--Bishop David Malloy of the Diocese of Rockford just issued a statement outlining changes in the diocesan response to the COVID-19 coronavirus.
The diocese earlier had been following its flu virus practices, but in his letter, the bishop wrote, "With further guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and, more recently, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, and in reviewing the guidance of the health departments of the counties comprising the diocese, taking into account our pastoral mission and service to all members of the faithful and the public, I am hereby issuing the following statement."

Highlights of his message are:

• Masses will continue as scheduled at all parishes.To reduce overcrowding, priests are being asked to schedule additional Masses where possible and to make their parishioners aware of nearby Masses that may be less crowded.

For the weekends of of March 14-15 through March 28-29:

• People with other illnesses, who are over 60 or "are in any way uncomfortable in gatherings involving a large number of people" are dispensed from attending Sunday Mass.
• Distribution of the Precious Blood in the chalice, as well as physical contact at the sign of peace and the Our Father are suspended. Parishes are to sanitize and refresh holy water regularly or to empty the fonts.

Additionally:

• Confirmations will continue, but without Masses. Only immediate family members will be allowed to attend.
• The Diocesan Administration Center in Rockford will be open for employees only. No visitors will be allowed until further notice.
• The Bishop Lane Retreat Center west of Rockford will be closed.
• Parish non-sacramental events are cancelled until further notice.
• Sacramental retreats are cancelled, but those preparing for sacraments will be allowed to continue.
• Diocesan elementary and high schools will close on March 16. All will use e-learning systems already in place while the buildings are closed. (See below)

The full message is available at https://www.rockforddiocese.org/pdfs/announcements/COVID-19%20Statement.13March2020.pdf.

Additional resources

On the diocesan website at https://www.rockforddiocese.org/covid-19/ there are also links to other resources about the COVID-19 coronavirus and to all 11 county health departments in the Rockford Diocese.

There are also several options for watching Sunday Masses on TV and online, including the diocesan TV Mass, which airs at 6 a.m. on WREX Channel 13 from Rockford and is available at http://www.rockforddiocese.org/tv-mass/.
Bishop Malloy encouraged people who choose not to attend Mass to devote time to prayer or reviewing the Sunday readings at home.

Watch for additional updates as they become available at https://www.rockforddiocese.org at on other diocesan and communications social media.

School changes

The staff of the diocesan Education Office also issued changes to coordinate with the bishop's suspension of school attendance.

• All athletic, extra-curricular, and co-curricular activities both on and off-site are cancelled immediately.
• Administrators are encouraged to have school or parish maintenance staff to do a deep cleaning of their buildings and limit access to them until further notice.
• Families and staff with travel plans outside the continental United States during spring break are to inform their school administrator and place themselves on a 14-day self-quarantine from the day they return from the trip.

The full statement will be posted at https://www.ceorockford.org/