With fears growing daily about the coronavirus pandemic, people need their faith and the church more than ever, and it was a "very difficult," but "wise" decision for the Archdiocese of New York to shut down public Masses in New York City, and Cardinal Timothy Dolan said Tuesday he could "never" have imagined a scenario where that would happen.
"This is when people need their faith," Dolan said on CNN's "New Day." "They need the Lord. They need the church most of all."
But the archdiocese has a moral responsibility to protect people in the wider community, Dolan said and one of the ways to do that is to avoid big crowds.
"As painful as the decision was, I think it was a very prudent one," said Dolan.
According to an announcement Dolan posted on Saturday, the churches in the 10 counties that make up the diocese will cancel public Masses until further notice, but the buildings will remain open for private prayers.
A private Mass was celebrated at Saint Patrick's Cathedral on Sunday and shown on the Catholic Faith Network, live-streamed on the cathedral's website, and broadcast on Sirius XM.
The closings come during the holy season, and Dolan said Tuesday he hopes to be able to celebrate Easter Sunday Mass publicly on April 12. But even if the closures are still in place, the church will celebrate a private Mass and "do our best to get that out to the folks. It is just that we can't do it in a large setting."
Dolan said the ratings for this past Sunday's show "skyrocketed" on satellite radio, and that makes him happy.
"Apparently hundreds of thousands of people are plugging in literally to get the benefits of their faith and worship," said Dolan. "We're encouraging our people still to pray at home, to join in through whatever way we can."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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