Dane County revises reopening order due to concerns from churches

Dane County revised its reopening order on Friday to remove a 50-person limit on religious services, after receiving a letter from law firms representing the Catholic Diocese of Madison.

Churches and other houses of worship will be able to have services up to 25 percent of their capacity. That’s in line with limits on businesses in the county, rather than its ban on mass gatherings of more than 50 people.

Dane County Executive Joe Parisi said that they made the modification to avoid spending tens of thousands of dollars on legal fees.

“Basic life needs – food, shelter, and clothing – are in such high demand in our community given the current pandemic, so it’s hard to imagine the best use of parishioner or taxpayer dollars right now is in a courtroom,” he said in a statement. “While the request of the Catholic Bishop of Madison raises a legal gray area, the public health science here is anything but unclear: COVID-19 is here, infecting more people every day and minimizing contact in large group settings is an incredibly effective approach to staying healthy.”

County and public health officials encouraged churches to continue providing virtual services.

The diocese and law firms, Sidley Austin and Troutman Sanders, along with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, sent a letter to Dane County officials last week saying their previous order treated “religious interests unequally and unfairly” by capping church services at 50 people while allowing shopping malls and theaters to be open at 25 percent of capacity.

That meant in some cases that Catholic churches in Madison were held to less than 5 percent of capacity.

Bishop Donald Hying of the diocese said they were pleased with the decision and look forward to working with the county and city to continue reopening safely.

“As bishop, it is my duty to ensure that our sacraments are available to the Catholic faithful, while following best practices when it comes to public health,” he said in a statement. “Indeed, in a time of deep division, it is more important than ever for the church to provide solace and comfort to all.”

According to the Department of Health Services, there were 843 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 29 deaths from the illness in the county as of Sunday.

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