Nebraska’s Catholic Church Restores Sunday Mass Obligation
By Aaron Bonderson 
, Report for America Reporter/Producer Nebraska Public Media
May 19, 2021, 6 p.m. ·
At the beginning of the pandemic, Nebraska’s three dioceses and their bishops decided on a hiatus for obligatory Sunday Mass. Capacity recommendations did not allow the churches to conduct in-person Mass. Many churches decided to utilize live video streams to continue services. Some already had local cable channels broadcasting their Mass.
Slowly, Nebraska’s Catholic churches reopened around May 2020. The local parishes and their priests were allowed to make reopening decisions.
Recently, bishops from the Omaha, Lincoln, and Grand Island dioceses held a meeting together to discuss Sunday mass. COVID-19 cases have declined and mass attendance has increased. Father Nicholas Kipper of the Lincoln Diocese explains what the bishops decided.
“Throughout the country and all of them in the state of Nebraska for this weekend of May 23 is to restore that obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation, so that’s where we're at right now,” Father Kipper said.
Each bishop has authority over his region, but the Nebraska bishops came to an agreement to ensure uniformity across the state.