Lincoln Catholic Schools will follow the directive of the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department and require masking for ages 3-11 and strongly recommend masking for all others in our Pre-K-8 schools, including students, faculty and staff.
The Diocese has not and will not mandate COVID-19 vaccination or require proof of COVID-19 vaccination in schools.
Dr Matt Hecker, in an e-mail to parents, detailed a number of interactions with parents, medical experts, legal counsel and more as the reason for the final decision to require masking. Hecker also noted the directive was for 30-days only and will be re-evaluated by September 5th.
KLIN News has provided the original correspondence from Health Director Pat Lopez to Dr Hecker (which was also sent to all schools in the county) and Dr. Hecker’s letter to Director Lopez for clarifications of several questions.
Those answers from Lopez are available at klin dot com and Dr. Hecker’s e-mail to parents is also available.
Neither Director Lopez or Dr. Hecker have responded to KLIN News’ request for an interview.
Below is the link to the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Departments’ reply to Dr. Hecker’s original inquiry:
Response to Catholic Schools Questions 08 09 21
And the text of Dr. Hecker’s e-mail to parents is below:
From: Dr. Matthew Hecker
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2021 5:45 PM
Subject: Masks in our schools
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Over the past few days, many have taken time to contact me regarding the issue of masks in schools. To begin, thank you. I confess, I received far more messages than I could possibly find time to send a reply. However, in reading and listening to the messages, it is evident there are good, knowledgeable, holy and faith-filled individuals with genuinely good intentions on both sides of the masking issue.
Second, thank you for taking the time to read the letter LLCHD Director Pat Lopez sent to me as well as my response to her letter. Our schools desire to be good partners with the LLCHD. We have not suddenly gone “rogue” and ignored the advice of our public health officials. But neither have we unquestionably accepted their directive.
As you can see in the attached document, Director Lopez responded to the concerns and questions I raised. While I remain unconvinced on some points and some questions were left unanswered, on balance, Director Lopez portrays a compelling picture regarding the very troubling direction of COVID-19 and the Delta variant here in Lancaster County.
Further, a number of local-area physicians and nurses contacted me. Their (unsolicited) information corroborates the story portrayed by the data from the LLCHD. In short, it appears the local medical community is in agreement with the LLCHD regarding the current COVID-19 conditions and the level of danger posed. No matter your beliefs about the efficacy or not of masking, it’s objectively clear COVID-19 is very active and on a troubling trajectory in Lancaster County.
I spoke yesterday (Monday) with our K-8 principals. All mentioned they are hearing from both sides of the masking issue. Frankly, it leaves schools in a terrible position. No matter what we might decide, people will be angry with us. One of my primary objections to a mask mandate is this divisiveness. It pits parishioners and neighbors, friends and family members and colleagues against one another. This is not of God! We must actively resist this spirit of division. We must strive to see Christ present in one another, despite our differences.
Our schools exist for the salvation of souls. That is our mission and purpose. As I said last year and it remains, our help and our trust is in the Lord God Almighty, not the CDC. But neither are we reckless, especially as it concerns the health and well-being of our faculty, staff, students and their families. You have also heard me say, we are educators, not medical or public health officials. As such, we should not attempt to substitute our judgment for theirs. That is unchanged.
Thus, owing to the compelling and troubling picture painted by the local-area COVID-19 data, and given the clear, unified voice of the local medical community, after much thought and prayer and in consultation with Bishop Conley, our legal counsel and our K-8 building principals, I believe the most prudent and careful course of action is to accept the August 5 LLCHD directive to require masking for ages 3-11 and to strongly recommend masking for all others in our Pre-K-8 schools, including students, faculty and staff. (Note: we have not and will not mandate COVID-19 vaccination or require proof of COVID-19 vaccination in our schools.)
However, as indicated by the LLCHD, their directive is in place for 30 days. The directive was issued on August 5. Meaning the directive will expire on Sunday, Sept. 5. After that, we will re-assess based on local area COVID-19 indicators and what we believe is best and right for our Catholic schools.
We will be good partners with the LLCHD and our local medical community but we will not be co-opted by them. We will be prudent but we will not live in fear. We will open our schools next week to receive our students, celebrating the abundant love and joy of Jesus Christ! And by the grace and help of God, with eyes focused on our Lord and his children rather than the events around us, we will enjoy a happy, healthy and productive school year. Let us be so resolved. Blessed Mother, St. Joseph and all the angels and saints, pray for us.
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
(Deacon) Dr. Matt Hecker