‘Open our church’

STIRLING  Parishioners of St. Vincent de Paul here along with Catholics from other Morris County towns lined the sidewalk outside the church on Sunday, June 7 in a vigil to protest Gov. Phil Murphy’s continued restrictions on houses of worship and voice support for the full reopening of the church.

The vigil began with a prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians and was followed by a group meditation on the glorious mysteries of the rosary. The vigil was not officially sanctioned by the parish.

“We have endured this lockdown along with everyone else in our state with patience and quiet hope,” said Thomas Howard of Stir­ling, organizer of the vigil and founder of the website, OpenOurChurch.com. “But it is clear that unless we start asserting our rights now, we will not have any rights left to defend.”

Howard was motivated to organize the vigil after the governor’s refusal to acknowledge places of worship as essential while enacting public health policies that discriminate against religious gatherings but favor large, secular businesses.

Jill DeFabio of Millington said that Catholics today should honor the early Christians who were forced to hide in the catacombs from Roman persecution and defend the right to attend Mass.

“We want to go back to our sacramental life,” DeFabio said. “We want to be able to give glory and praise to our God, and we want to be able to assemble to worship as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States.”

Mass at St. Vincent de Paul on June 7 was held outdoors only. Due to the limit on 25 people per Mass, parishioners had to reserve seats online in advance. Multiple Masses were held throughout the day to accommodate as many people as possible.

With the help of Father Richard Carton, St. Vincent’s pastor, two separate groups of 25 worshippers were able to attend Mass simultaneously. The seats on the church lawn were set up 6 feet apart.

Leon Michalowicz of Basking Ridge praised Father Carton’s innovative approach to abiding by the state’s current orders and expressed his confidence in the pastor’s ability to limit health risks to parishioners. Michalowicz observed that, inside the church, every other pew was roped off to facilitate social distancing.

“We’re bending over backwards but [the state] is still restricting us,” Michalowicz said. “We as Catholics are sitting out here in the hot sun. We can believe in Christ, believe in Mary with rosary and we can defeat this evil force that is around us.”

Dennis Howard of Mendham said that Catholics need to understand their role as laypeople and speak out about public issues.

“We cannot accept this limitation on our right to worship and our freedom of religion,” he said. “If we allow this to happen, we will lose everything.”