Diocese of Colorado Springs lifts excusal for missing Sunday Mass

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — An exemption allowing local Catholics to miss mass during the COVID-19 pandemic will expire on May 23, Pentecost Sunday, according to Bishop Michael Sheridan.

"We didn’t want staying away from church on Sunday to just become the new normal," said Sheridan.

Sheridan granted what’s called a dispensation in March 2020. It allowed Catholics living within the Diocese of Colorado Springs to forgo Sunday Mass and worship from home.

"Now, since the worst of the crisis appears to be behind us, the faithful in the diocese will once again be morally obligated to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation," Sheridan wrote in a letter to parishioners. "As has always been the case, individuals who are unable to attend Mass due to serious illness or advanced age are dispensed from the Sunday obligation."

Bishop Sheridan says he is meeting with local Catholic leaders in the coming weeks to finalize COVID-19 safety measures as in-person Mass makes a comeback.