Santa Rosa bishop aims to reopen cathedral in defiance ofhealth officer’s order

Santa Rosa’s Catholic bishop is considering leading a Pentecost Sunday Mass at his diocese’s most important church in defiance of a county health order aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Bishop Robert Vasa said Thursday he would officiate at the 10:30 a.m. Mass, one of five Sunday Masses, at the Cathedral of St. Eugene in Santa Rosa, known as the bishop’s church.

The in-person services were advertised earlier in the week as a “blessed and glorious gift” for celebrating the birth of the church.

The bishop, who oversees a six-county diocese with about 196,000 Catholics, said the services at the cathedral off Montgomery Drive would be done in accordance with guidelines set by Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this week, including social distancing and a limit of 100 people inside the building.

Vasa said he was leaving the matter up to parish priests and that “a couple” of churches would reopen for services on Pentecost Sunday, a major Christian celebration.

But Vasa left open on Friday the question of whether he would reopen the cathedral with parishioners in the pews.

“I’m going to discern on this until Sunday morning and then I will make a decision,” Vasa said.

The bishop indicated his thinking might be influenced in part by Sheriff Mark Essick’s decision on whether Sonoma County deputies would continue to enforce the local health order - something that they would not do starting Monday, Essick confirmed Friday evening.

Law enforcement in the area of the cathedral is led by Santa Rosa police, not the Sheriff’s Office.

Vasa said he will officiate the Sunday Mass even if it continues to be streamed online with no parishioners in the cathedral.

The public health order does not include churches and other houses of worship reopening, Dr. Sundari Mase, the county health officer said Friday.

Allowing people into the cathedral would “definitely be a violation” of her standing order, she said Thursday.

Mase paused reopening earlier this week to see what direction the county’s COVID-19 infection rate took after a recent spike in cases, person-to-person spread of the contagion and hospitalizations.

Vasa said Thursday he had been trying to parse the distinction between the governor’s reopening guidelines and those set by Mase. He acknowledged that county officials have the authority to set stricter standards than the state and said he was awaiting a specific declaration by Mase that reopening the cathedral is not allowed.

County Attorney Bruce Goldstein said the governor “has allowed and encouraged local public health officers to put in place orders that best fit local community needs to protect public safety.”

Local orders “can only be more restrictive and not less than what the state provides,” he said in an email.

“Indoor services and gatherings are not allowed at this time due to the significant relative risk and other Sonoma County virus transmission indicators,” Goldstein said. “The health officer is reviewing the restrictions on a regular basis and understands the desire and need to expand access at the earliest possible date consistent with public safety.”

Santa Rosa Police Chief Rainer Navarro said in a statement his department is responsible for enforcing the order and “we don’t pick and choose which types of organizations we hold accountable.”

In cases of ongoing violations, police will give verbal and written warnings, and “as a last resort, when necessary, enforce the law,” the chief said.

“I understand how hard this is - faith is a big part of my own life - but we all have to follow the orders and get through this challenging time by doing our part,” Navarro said.

Essick waded into the debate with a different view on Friday.

“Going to church is lawful behavior and I’m not going to be the sheriff who criminalizes going to church,” Essick said in an interview. “I think if people want to go worship, whatever they choose to worship, if they can do so safely with social distancing and masks, they should be able to do that.”

The Santa Rosa Police Department’s compliance team is aware of the prospect for open services at the cathedral this weekend and intends to contact the church before they happen, said Adriane Mertens, a city spokeswoman.

She did not have information on who the police would contact.

Vasa said the situation put him in a “position of saying I am acting in good faith ... to recognize that people of faith need a sign of hope.”

Leaders of seven local Christian congregations and a Jewish rabbi said earlier this week they were not opening their doors this weekend, with several saying they did not see how it could be done safely.

Three Catholic parishes said they were canceling plans for Pentecost services.

St. James Church in Petaluma said on its website it is “abiding by the Sonoma County directives and will not be holding in-person services until the county permits them.”

St. Elizabeth Church in Guerneville posted a statement that Pentecost Masses had been canceled with emails sent to all who had registered.

“We are not opening until we get an OK from Dr. Mase,” Rev. Michaelraj Philominsamy at St. Rose Church in Santa Rosa said in an interview. The church had posted plans for weekend Masses on its website, but then canceled them.

Priests were “all excited to hear” they could reopen in a Zoom meeting Tuesday with the bishop, but had another meeting the next day and “most of us (except for the Cathedral) have decided not to reopen” without the health officer’s permission, Philominsamy said on the church website.

In a letter posted on the cathedral’s website, Rev. Frank Epperson, the pastor at St. Eugene, said reopening for Pentecost Sunday would be “a blessed and glorious gift” for celebrating the birth of the church.

Safety guidelines include wearing face masks during Mass, 6 feet of separation between people except for family groups, no singing and having volunteers sanitize the pews after each Mass. Confessions will resume Friday evening with special lighting in each stall to purify the air “between penitents,” Epperson said.

The bishop said Epperson proposed the reopening. “I didn’t pressure anyone,” he said.

Admission will be limited to 100 by counting people as they enter the cathedral and all others may remain outside, he said.

A simpler note was on the St. Eugene website Friday, including the advice that people who are anxious about it, not feeling well or in a high-risk group for coronavirus infection should consider not attending Mass.

About 30,000 Catholics regularly attend Mass throughout the diocese, which covers Sonoma, Lake, Napa, Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte counties.

Staff Writer Julie Johnson contributed to this report. Contact Staff Writer Guy Kovner at 707-521-5457.