As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, some Catholic churches and schools across the U.S. have closed to the public, but the Rev. Robert Sirico, head of the Grand Rapids-based Action Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, said he believes the Catholic church isn’t doing enough during these times, saying it has been “unreasonable and inconsistent.” 

“But in terms of the Catholic church, I think the response has been anemic,” Sirico said on Chicago’s 'Morning Message' radio show. “The message generally, the impression generally given is we're closed until we come back when we open again.” 

Churches have stayed closed or are operating at minimal capacity. Sirico said some Catholic churches are operating at 25% and are only now starting to increase capacity. 

“They've curtailed the services, I think, too severely," he said. "This is not to say that the virus is not real. It's not to say that it's that contagious, that to say that there shouldn't be, you know, safeguards taken, but to close everything down in an unreasonable and inconsistent way.” 

But there are still protests taking place and schools opening for in-person learning. Many organizations can function well under changes and safety precautions taken to prevent the coronavirus from spreading, the reverend noted. 

Sirico said churches are afraid to open or increase capacity because the government might swoop in and have them close down again. The same goes for many schools. 

“It's because they're afraid the governor is going to come and order us to close down on this, that or the other thing happens,” he said on the radio show. “And so a number of our parents have said, ‘Look, we're very accustomed to home schooling. So we're going to take the kids out for a period of time. Let this thing settle and then put our kids back in school.’” 

It’s not the fear of the coronavirus that has parents taking their kids out of in-person instruction. Most don’t want their children to have an inconsistent way of receiving their education, Sirico argued. 

Regardless of what the Catholic church is doing during the pandemic, Sirico said it continues to function and adapt to the current coronavirus situation.

“You have, occasionally, somebody who has a positive test result or even comes down with the virus,” he said on the radio show. “There are ways of containing this if you're acting quickly. And that's exactly what's happened here. We're functioning.”