On the Catholic Beat
The Diocese of Brooklyn filed a lawsuit in federal court Oct. 8 against the state of New York, charging that Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s new orders reducing church capacity violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of the free exercise of religion.
“The executive orders this week have left us with no other option than to go to court,” Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio said in a statement.
“We vehemently disagree with the capacity limits being placed on us. They are disrespectful to Catholics who have only been abiding by the rules,” he added. “We do not agree with such limitations because they completely disregard the fact that our safety protocols have worked.”
In a series of tweets, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn explained the decision to file a legal challenge.
The @BrooklynDiocese today has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the State of New York, on the basis of the violation of our fundamental First Amendment right, the free exercise of religion. We have retained litigation attorney Randy M. Mastro to represent us in this case.
— Bishop DiMarzio (@BpDiMarzio) October 8, 2020
The executive orders have left us with no other option than to go to court. Our churches can accommodate many worshippers and to reset our Mass capacity to 10 people maximum in the red zone and 25 people in the orange zone, with no significant cases, impedes our right to worship.
— Bishop DiMarzio (@BpDiMarzio) October 8, 2020
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. We vehemently disagree with the capacity limits being placed on us.
— Bishop DiMarzio (@BpDiMarzio) October 9, 2020
The Archdiocese of New York, which neighbors the Brooklyn Diocese, released a statement expressing support.
“Catholic parishes throughout the Archdiocese of New York – indeed, throughout the entire State – have been able to safely and successfully re-open for Mass and the sacraments, thanks to careful planning, strict adherence to safety guidelines, and the full cooperation of our clergy, parishioners, and parish staffs.
So it is unfair to arbitrarily close, even temporarily, churches which have been operating without a spike in coronavirus cases simply because other institutions have not yet been able to do so. The Diocese of Brooklyn’s lawsuit seeks to defend their First Amendment right to continue to safely worship and operate their parishes, and we support the Diocese of Brooklyn in their effort.”
On Oct. 6, Cuomo issued a New York State executive order that reduces capacity at Catholic parishes throughout Brooklyn and Queens, locations that have seen in uptick in COVID clusters. In a press release, the diocese said the governor’s new limits “arbitrarily” reduce capacity at locations “which have played an inconsequential role in the hot spot zone COVID-19 spikes.”
Catholic News Service also reports the Brooklyn Diocese has retained attorney Randy M. Mastro, a partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, to represent it in this case.
“Public officials have a sacred duty to do right by those they serve, but this is simply wrong and wrong-headed,” Mastro said in a statement. “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.”
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In