“We will continue the current mask policy for now,” Richmond wrote then in an email to parents, as reported by LGIS News Agency.
“A court case is not medicine,” he wrote. “While we follow the laws that apply to us, our decisions about the health and safety of our students and staff will always be guided by health data and in consultation with doctors and trained public health officials.”
Richmond added that allowing students not to wear masks “would create confusion and disruption in our schools.”
Then on Feb. 8, parents at Queen of Martyrs Catholic School in Evergreen, Illinois, located in Cook County, protested after the archdiocese removed its principal for making masks optional at the school. The principal, M. Jacob “Doc” Mathius, told Chicago media that he was placed on administrative leave and did not expect to be reinstated to his position.
Richmond sent his letter out to parents amending the policy later that same day, but Mathius was still relieved of his duties as of Thursday, Feb. 10, WGN-TV Chicago reported. The archdiocese declined to comment on his status, saying it was a personnel matter, the station reported. Parents and students plan to hold a rally Sunday calling for Mathius to be reinstated, the WGN-TV report said.
Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago is one of several bishops in the U.S. who has instructed clerics not to assist parishioners seeking religious exemptions from receiving COVID-19 vaccines.
Cupich also decreed that all archdiocesan employees and clergy must receive the vaccine for COVID-19, only allowing exemptions for medical reasons.
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