Chicago City Wire

The leader of one of the nation's largest Catholic activist organizations said Sunday that parents should pull their children from the schools of Illinois Catholic school leaders defying state law to force them to continue wearing masks.

Brian Burch, President and Founder of Catholic Vote, headquartered in Madison, Wisc., said church leaders requiring children to cover their faces in class are doing so to demonstrate their allegiance to "government bureaucrats and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, continuing to punish kids rather than admit their catastrophic mistakes."

“The science is clear: continued masking of children poses real and substantial risks to the development of children.  They are abusing and assaulting their students with these policies," Burch said. "Consider for a second that there are five and six-year old children that have never seen the face of their teacher – ever."

"The educational and mental health consequences of this unprecedented, failed experiment are now well-known. There is no credible argument in science, law, or Catholic teaching that justifies this assault on families and children," he said. 

"Parents have no choice but to remove their children from these schools until they take seriously their obligation to put what’s best for kids first."

In a 30-page ruling Friday night, Sangamon County Judge Raylene Grischow declared Pritzker's blanket state emergency school rules on masks and tests through the Illinois Department of Public Health "null and void." She said the governor and his agencies have been mandating rules upon students illegally.

“Statutory rights have attempted to be bypassed through the issuance of Executive Orders and Emergency Rules … This type of evil is exactly what the law was intended to constrain," she wrote.

Burch criticized the Chicago and Joliet Dioceses, which collectively oversee Catholic schools in Cook, Lake, DuPage, Will, Kendall and Kankakee Counties, for declaring they wouldn't recognize the court order, even while many of the state's largest public school districts went mask-optional.

“Let’s be clear what happened this weekend.  Illinois courts cleared the path for Catholic schools to allow students the option of not wearing masks.  Public school districts across the state are complying and moving forward accordingly," Burch said. "Yet Chicago area Catholic school leaders decided to go the opposite direction, shutting down sports, doubling down on masks, even going remote. And all to avoid the embarrassment of having to admit they were wrong."

"Call the police"

Catholic schools in the Belleville and Springfield Dioceses, including Father McGivney H.S. in Madison County near St. Louis, immediately announced after word of the court order that they would be mask-optional.

And Rockford Diocese Superintendent Vito C. DeFrisco announced Sunday night that its Catholic Schools, which include the Rockford area, Kane and McHenry Counties and all of northwest Illinois to the Quad Cities, would allow parents to decide if they wanted children to wear masks.

But Joliet Diocese Superintendent Michael Boyle cancelled sports over the weekend rather than let athletes play mask-less. He instructed schools to continue forcing students to cover their faces.

At St. Pius X in Lombard, part of the Joliet Diocese, principal Carrie Novak told parents Sunday that she "(needs ) to keep in mind the safety of all the teachers" at the school before announcing the school is "going remote for at least this week" and that "there will be no basketball practice this week, or until further notice when the (Joliet) diocese has more direction."

Chicago Archdiocese schools chief Greg Richmond said he felt the court order was illegitimate because the judge wasn't a health expert.

"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."

In an email to parents late Sunday night, Richmond acknowledged that Pritzker's statewide mask mandate was no longer law, but said Cardinal Blasé Cupich wants one for Chicago Catholic schools anyway.

"A non public school can require masks independent of the status of a governor's order," he wrote. "We required masks in our schools last year without an executive order and have the legal ability to continue to do it now."

Chicago Archdiocese General Counsel Jim Geoly emailed some parents on Sunday, threatening to have their children arrested if they take off their masks at school.

"The Archdiocese is authorized to utilize private security or to call the police to remove persons who refuse to leave its premises after having been instructed to do so."

Marmion Academy, a Catholic High School in Aurora, governed by the mask-optional Rockford Diocese, will also refuse to follow the Diocese and court order. It will continue forcing students to cover their faces in class, the school principal announced in a letter to parents Sunday.

Anthony Tinerella wrote that "we are so very close to getting things back to normal," arguing he felt following the court order could upset Gov. Pritzker, leading him to keep the mask mandate longer.

"We must stay together and support one another as One Community in Christ and not allow all of our frustrations of the last two years to boil over," he wrote.

But Burch said Catholic school parents have waited long enough for leadership from principals like Tinerella.

"Courageous citizens around the world are standing up for their rights, for real science, the good of children, and common sense," Burch said. "It’s time for Catholic parents in Illinois to wake up and do the same before it’s too late.”