You mean, “kettle” them where they can’t escape, yell at them with impossible instructions to leave, and then forcibly remove their masks to spray pepper gas directly into their faces?
I think that would be a bit harsh to do to people peacefully gathering outdoors to pray.
I’ve seen outdoor church services recently, by the way. They’ve been in fields and parking lots close to the church, with light folding chairs. The chairs were spaced out and participants wore masks. I’m pretty certain those are legal everywhere.
It seems that one’s religious beliefs allows one to deliberately hurt or injure others.
So if my religious sect tells me that in order to get into heaven, I am required to randomly shoot bullets into a crowded street, that’s OK, right? The Supreme court has said that my religious beliefsare more important that that stupid concept of public safety.
How are you managing to miss where I said “I think he ought to lock the doors of every church in his diocese,” and “I think the Diocese of Brooklyn (and the Archdiocese of New York, and every other diocese in the country) ought to lock the doors of their churches, or at least massively restrict the size (and spacing, and mask wearing, etc.) of all gatherings, including gatherings for Mass,” and “I wish he hadn’t brought this lawsuit. Bishop DiMarzio knows there’s a pandemic going on, and back in March, suspended the Sunday obligation. I wish he’d left it at that.”
Why, thank you!
If the law mandates that other social institutions be shut down, it shouldn’t be up to bishops and other church leaders to decide whether or not to do the same.
That clear enough for you?
Well, if as part of the religious ceremony destruction of public and private property, mass burnings of buildings, random assaults, throwing incendiary and explosive devices, using damaging lasers to blind, and looting takes place instead of hymns and an offering then sure.
The case at hand was about whether the State of New York imposed a greater restriction on the Catholic Church in Brooklyn than on other, secular, institutions. You may or may not agree with the Court’s ruling, but that’s what it was about.