In Wisconsin, the Catholic Diocese of Madison had advised its parishes to follow state guidelines until May, when the state Supreme Court struck down Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ stay-at-home order.

The diocese released a plan to resume Masses at 25% capacity with distancing and other health measures, said Brent King, the diocese’s communications director. The diocese set up sanitation stations and asked congregants to sign up for Mass and refrain from congregational singing.

But officials of Dane County, which includes Madison, limited gatherings to 50 people and said it would fine churches in violation. The limit wasn’t an issue for smaller parishes, but seven of the parishes in the county can have close to a thousand attendees, King said.

So the diocese sought counsel from Becket Fund, the legal firm, which sent a letter June 3 to county officials saying the cap was unconstitutional. Two days later, officials changed the limits for religious services to 25% capacity.

“Given the virus, and now given the civil unrest, people need God,” King said in an interview. “People need God all the more right now.”

Dane County did not want to use taxpayer dollars on a lawsuit, said County Executive Joe Parisi in a statement. “COVID-19 is here, infecting more people every day and minimizing contact in large group settings is an incredibly effective approach to staying healthy.”

Changing Guidelines

After Trump’s news conference and detailed guidelines from the CDC that followed, a few states loosened restrictions on religious gatherings.

Guidelines lifting Minnesota’s ban on religious gatherings were released May 23, a day after the CDC’s.

Pritzker of Illinois released new guidelines May 28. The nine-page report gives a range of options for churches and advises against the riskiest activities: singing, group recitation, serving food and beverages, and person-to-person contact.

In some places, changing guidelines have led to confusion. The CDC, for one, quietly updated its guidelines within days of releasing them. The changes included removing warnings about singing as a risk for spreading the virus.

Unclear guidelines, in part, prompted a state lawmaker to introduce a bill in the Pennsylvania House to bar the governor from restricting participation in and travel to religious activities under a state of emergency.