ST. CHARLES COUNTY (KMOX) - A church in St. Charles County was hit some harsh criticism over its initial plan to have sections designated for vaccinated and unvaccinated persons and families at masses.
Msgr. James Callahan of St. Joseph in Cottleville shared the new seating chart on Wednesday, saying everyone is "encouraged and most welcome" to come to mass whether they've been vaccinated or not. It also asked for people who haven't been vaccinated to sit in two specific sections. That plan has since been changed.
A number of people commented on the message expressing their disinterest with the plan. One woman said, "This segregation of V and unV is not right! If you have been vaccinated, you have nothing to fear from those that choose not to vaccinate!"
Another comment called it "evil" and compared it to Jewish people being forced to wear yellow stars throughout Nazi-occupied countries.
Related
On Thursday, a new message was sent to churchgoers informing them the plan was changed to get rid of the vaccinated and unvaccinated sections. Now, most pews will be open seating but there will be two sections where social distancing will still be in place. The socially distanced seating will have ropes blocking some of the pews.
Callahan also encourages his parishioners to get vaccinated in the message.
Last week the Archdiocese of St. Louis announced changes to its COVID-19 guidelines, following the new recommendations from the CDC. Churches are no longer required to enforce face masks for anyone who has been vaccinated and each parish is free to determine its own social-distancing measures based on the size of the congregation.
© 2021 KMOX (Audacy). All rights reserved
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Follow KMOX
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram