FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 8, 2020

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Adriana Rodriguez
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arodriguez@desalesmedia.org

John Quaglione 
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DIOCESE OF BROOKLYN FILES FEDERAL LAWSUIT AGAINST NEW YORK GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO FOR VIOLATION OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn today has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the State of New York, on the basis of the violation of their fundamental First Amendment right, the free exercise of religion. The Diocese has retained esteemed litigation attorney Randy M. Mastro, a partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, to represent them in this case.

The lawsuit is in response to the New York State executive order issued this week that arbitrarily reduces capacity at Catholic Churches throughout Brooklyn and Queens, locations of which have played an inconsequential role in the hot spot zone COVID-19 spikes. Prior to the churches reopening on July 5 for weekend Masses, after being closed for Mass for 16 weeks, the Diocese worked with former New York City Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph Esposito to develop a safe reopening plan for all churches to keep the faithful safe from the effects of the virus.

“The executive orders this week have left us with no other option than to go to court. Our churches have the capacity to accommodate many worshippers and to reset our attendance capacity to 10 people maximum in the red zone, and 25 people in the orange zone, when we have had no significant cases, impedes our right to worship and cannot stand,” said Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn. “The State has completely disregarded the fact that our safety protocols have worked and it is an insult to once again penalize all those who have made the safe return to Church work.”

“Public officials have a sacred duty to do right by those they serve, but this is simply wrong and wrong-headed,” said Randy Mastro, the attorney representing the Diocese. “If this latest executive order stands, parishioners won’t be able to go to Mass this Sunday, even though the Diocese has done everything right to ensure safe conditions in its churches. Thus, this religious community will be denied its most fundamental right — the free exercise of religion –for no legitimate reason whatsoever. That’s why we’ve gone to court — to prevent this injustice from occurring — so we’re asking the court to block this executive order from going into effect as applied to the Diocese’s churches.”

Since returning to Mass, the faithful of the Diocese of Brooklyn have fully abided by the rules, including wearing masks during Mass and sitting six feet part, with a row roped off in between and standing six feet apart on the Communion line. The pastors have installed hand sanitizers at the entrances and have ensured Churches are cleaned and sanitized after Masses. A tremendous amount of time has been devoted, as well as resources and expense, to enforce these strict requirements to help ensure the safety of all.

“We vehemently disagree with the capacity limits being placed on us. They are disrespectful to Catholics who have only been abiding by the rules. We do not agree with such limitations because they completely disregard the fact that our safety protocols have worked,” said DiMarzio.

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MEDIA CONTACTS:

Adriana Rodriguez
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arodriguez@desalesmedia.org

John Quaglione 
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STATEMENT BY BISHOP DIMARZIO ON GOVERNOR CUOMO’S ANNOUNCEMENT IMPACTING CATHOLIC CHURCHES IN HOT SPOT ZONES

Brooklyn – The Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn, has issued the following statement in response to Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s announcement this afternoon that will unfairly impact Mass attendance at churches in Brooklyn and Queens neighborhoods, which have adhered to all COVID-19 precautions and have proven successful in preventing the spread of the Coronavirus:

“Catholic Churches in Brooklyn and Queens have not had any COVID outbreaks or significant cases since re-opening on July 5th to 25% capacity. We fervently object to being told to further reduce capacity, because we have strictly adhered to COVID-19 protocols, and the safety measures have been working.  The safety of parishioners is paramount for the Diocese of Brooklyn, but the religious freedom of our parishioners is being unjustly attacked. The facts show that Catholic Churches in Brooklyn and Queens are safe and have followed all safety guidelines.

Our congregants have fully cooperated with the mask requirement and have been sitting six feet apart with a row in between. Catholic Churches in the Diocese of Brooklyn are regularly sanitized, and hand sanitizers are set up at all entrances. Former New York City Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph Esposito guided us on our Reopening Plans and the subsequent safe re-opening of our churches.

It is outrageous that after incurring great expense to implement all the safety protocols, our parishes are being forced to reduce capacity to a maximum of 10 people in the red zone and 25 people in the orange zone. To think that some of our churches have the capacity to hold a thousand people for Mass, a capacity range of 10 to 25 people is disrespectful to Catholics and to the clergy who all have followed the rules and, as such, have prevented a spike in COVID cases within the confines of the hot zones.”

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MEDIA CONTACTS:

Adriana Rodriguez
718-517-3143
arodriguez@desalesmedia.org

John Quaglione 
718-517-3112
jquaglione@desalesmedia.org

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN AND QUEENS CALL ON GOVERNOR CUOMO TO KEEP OPEN FOUR SCHOOLS IN HOT SPOT ZIP-CODES

Catholic Academies and Parish Schools in Brooklyn and Queens are imploring Governor Andrew Cuomo to immediately reverse his decision and allow four schools that have been operating safely for weeks, within the COVID hot spot zip-codes, to continue in-person learning.

In the three Catholic Academies and one Parish School located in the affected areas, enrollment totals 1,070 students, and there has only been one confirmed COVID case. These statistics prove that the Diocesan COVID-19 safety policies are effectively protecting our students and teachers.

“This decision by the Governor clearly fails to take into account the positive progress our Diocesan school system has made so far this school year,” said Dr. Tom Chadzutko, Superintendent. “It is unconscionable to think that after the many sacrifices our staff, students, and parents have made, and in spite of our almost non-existent infection rate, the Governor has decided to force our four schools to close. The Governor should delay the order related to our schools and visit each one before holding firm to his decision.”

The Catholic Academies/Parish Schools in the affected zip codes are St. Athanasius Catholic Academy (11204), Our Lady of Grace (11223), St. Edmund Elementary School (11229), and Good Shepherd Catholic Academy (11229).

All of our Catholic Academies and Parish Schools in Brooklyn and Queens require students to wear masks all day, not just in class, but throughout the school building. Desks are set up six feet apart. Hand and respiratory hygiene are promoted and enforced by teachers. Signage has been installed throughout school buildings promoting hygiene, illness, mask, and distance requirements. Schools conduct daily health screenings of all who enter the building per New York State guidelines. Procedures are in place if a positive COVID case is detected or suspected. We follow all mandates by city and state health officials on reporting, testing, and tracing.

Catholic Academies and Parish Schools are cleaned on a daily basis using CDC approved sanitizers and disinfectants and high touch areas are cleaned several times a day.

Additionally, we have passed all inspections of our Catholic Academies/Parish Schools conducted by New York City health officials.

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