Archbishop John C Wester,

We, the undersigned, concerned Catholics of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, implore you to immediately open all Catholic Churches in the archdiocese for public Mass.

We endured with relative patience the closure of our beloved Church throughout the summer. We submitted to sacramental restrictions in obedience to Church and state.

Now, with full knowledge of the risks, perceived or real, associated with the Covid-19 virus, and in full submission to the Divine Will of God, whether in death or life, we beg to be admitted into the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We beg to adore our Lord within the sacred walls of our Churches, to receive our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament in the way in which our devotion deems necessary. We beg to receive the healing balm of forgiveness in our confessionals, and to welcome our newborn babies into the family of God at our Baptismal Fonts. We plead for the rites of our dying loved ones to receive the anointing that strengthens them for their journey. We long to celebrate with the saints and angels both marriages, and the sending forth of our loved ones to their eternal rest.

Archbishop, your October 22, 2020 press release states that these current restrictions are "in accordance with our faith's concern for the protection of human life.' We, the Catholic faithful would respectfully remind you, that it is within each person's ability to adhere, within reason, to the state and CDC directives, and according to individual health circumstance. We do not need our shepherds to be hospital administrators. We need you to be faithful and courageous administrators of the Sacraments, as directed by our Lord. 

God may not be bound by our religious practices, but in conscience and in justice, the Faithful are. We owe sacrifice to our Lord and King, and our sacrifice cannot be offered unless we are present at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. 

Allow your sheep to decide for themselves what risks they are willing to take as regards their physical health.

Allow our priests to be heroic in virtue, not by encouraging them to 'shelter in place' but as Saint Charles Borromeo admonished them "not to be so forgetful of your priesthood as to prefer a late death to a holy one." 

We the undersigned, Faithful Catholics of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, respectfully and urgently ask for the retraction of all current restrictions regarding the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Further, we respectfully and urgently plea for the retraction of all current restrictions regarding the administration of the Sacraments to the Faithful.