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Brooklyn Diocese fights in federal court for churches in red zone to reopen

The Brooklyn Diocese was in federal court Thursday to get churches in the red zone reopened.

News 12 Staff

Oct 15, 2020, 10:15 PM

Updated 1,517 days ago

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The Brooklyn Diocese was in federal court Thursday to get churches in the red zone reopened.
The churches were closed or limited due to the governor's orders last week. The diocese didn't expect a decision to be made on Thursday, but an emergency injunction could get parishioners back in the pews by this weekend.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo reduced the capacity for houses of worship in the red and orange zones last week.
The diocese immediately filed a lawsuit arguing this violates religious freedom.
They believe the order is unfair since there have been no positive cases in any of the churches.
Mayor Bill de Blasio addressed the lawsuit in a briefing Thursday saying they are doing this to prevent any kind of second wave and that he is asking all involved to be patient.
"If for a few weeks, we're asking people to do something exceptional to help stop a problem from growing and stop it from spreading, I think that's fair and I think the courts will understand," said de Blasio.