Deacon Modesto Cordero, director of the Diocese of Honolulu’s Office of Worship, adjusts the monstrance inside the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa on June 14, the feast of Corpus Christi. (HCH photo | Dann Ebina)
The Office of Worship is one example of how diocesan administrative offices have shifted into full gear helping parishes through the coronavirus crisis
By Anna Weaver
Hawaii Catholic Herald
The Hawaii Catholic Schools office has spent many hours advising local Catholic schools on budgets and virtual learning.
The diocesan human resources office has worked with parishes on policies and procedures to keep staff safe.
The diocesan Finance Office offers well-attended weekly webinars on managing parish finances and helps parishes set up online giving and handle fundraising.
The Office of Worship wrote and revised countless protocols for church gatherings and liturgies and worked on livestreaming and then in-person social distancing of Mass.
While COVID-19 has caused increased spiritual and financial strain on Catholic churches, it’s also revealed how the Diocese of Honolulu’s chancery (administrative offices) has worked overtime to help parishes weather the pandemic.
Here’s a spotlight on just one of those offices.
Unprecedented times
“COVID-19 has been my life for the last three months,” said Deacon Modesto Cordero, director of the one-man Office of Worship.
“Nobody was ready for this,” he said. “I don’t recall, in my lifetime, a time where we closed churches.”
But the deacon’s operations background serving in the Army and with the state Department of Defense — including during 9/11 — has made him well-suited to lead the rapid development and oversight of best practices during a pandemic.
“I believe my emergency operator’s hat came back on,” he said.
Starting back with the release of the diocese’s first COVID-19 guidelines on Jan. 31, well before the disease was known to have swept the U.S. and the world, Deacon Cordero worked constantly to make sure the diocese stayed on top of safety while supporting local churches.
“In May, we moved from reactive to proactive,” he said.
Because his Office of Worship is the one responsible for releasing Bishop Silva’s approved COVID-19 guidelines, Deacon Cordero by default has become the first-contact for questions regarding an array of matters for the coronavirus. That means he’s worked round the clock since March (he has the part-time assistance from diocesan staffer Chad Chun but is the only full-time Office of Worship employee.)
A recent videoconference between Deacon Modesto Cordero, Lisa Gomes and Jayne Ragasa-Mondoy, who are a some of the members of a diocesan COVID-19 task force. (Courtesy photo)
To handle the many Catholic coronavirus inquiries, Deacon Cordero, Jayne Ragasa-Mondoy of religious education, Lisa Gomes from youth and young adult ministry, Deacon Keith Cabiles the diocesan chancellor, and Dara Perreria in human resources, have formed a coronavirus task force. The group videochats and communicates often as they work to support local parishes and Catholics as issues and questions arise.
Deacon Cordero has communicated frequently with his counterparts in other U.S. dioceses, particularly in Region 11, the group of Western U.S. Catholic dioceses of which Hawaii is a part. They share what problems they are facing and what protocols they are creating. The Diocese of Honolulu was one of the earlier dioceses to create directives regarding the coronavirus, which helped other dioceses create their own policies.
His experience landed him a spot on the short-term City and County of Honolulu Economic Assistance and Revitalization Committee that advises on how to use CARES Act funds in Hawaii.
He’s served as master of ceremonies at all the major liturgies Bishop Silva held privately (livestreamed and not) and later in public as churches were allowed to reopen. A recent example was the ordination of Deacon Ese’ese “Ace” Tui during a socially distanced, masked, paired down liturgy in June.
Funeral homes have used Deacon Cordero’s advice on how to hold Catholic funeral services during the pandemic.
Catholic ministry to hospitals, hospices and care homes needed to be reviewed and he’s sought advice on safety measures from hospitals for how to best provide support to the sick.
He’s FaceTimed and spoken with parish leaders who wanted him to review their socially distanced church set-up and other logistics prior to in-person Masses resuming.
Deacon Modesto Cordero, pictured at right, leads the Corpus Christi procession at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa on June 14. The procession was shorter this year due to COVID-19 and stayed within the co-cathedral’s parking lot. (HCH Photo | Dann Ebina)
Confirmation cotton balls
He’s even had to think about safety measures such as how to baptize without a baptismal font and whether using a holy oil-soaked cotton ball for safety to anoint a confirmandi versus direct contact affects the validity of the sacrament. (It’s valid.)
Deacon Cordero said he has not received a lot of feedback on diocesan policies since the pandemic, though he said the most “confrontational” issue was whether Catholics could still receive Communion on the tongue rather than only in one’s hands.
“We have comments on both sides (in favor/against it),” he said. (Diocesan policy allows Communion on the tongue, but encourages it in the hand.) Deacon Cordero also received negative reactions early on with some people asking why churches hadn’t been closed yet, and then others upset when public Masses were temporarily suspended.
But in general people have been thankful churches are re-opened and that they can receive the Eucharist again, he said. “They are also grateful for all the precautionary steps the churches are taking to keep everyone safe.”
Now the diocesan pandemic task force and other chancery offices are thinking long term.
“We are working now at how we can start looking at the future, because we know that this is something that is not going to stop for a while,” he said.
“We are moving into new ways to celebrate the Eucharist, to celebrate the sacraments,” Deacon Cordero said.
Parish ‘tax’ dollars at work
Deacon Cordero is one example of diocesan staff supporting parishes during the pandemic. His Office of Worship and the other chancery offices are funded in part from the annual parish assessment or tax on all parishes in the Diocese of Honolulu.
Each parish pays about 13.5% of its total operating revenue besides special bequests to the diocese as part of the tax.
About 40% of the diocese’s operating budget comes from the assessment, said Lisa Sakamoto, the diocesan finance officer. This year’s assessment was lowered from $5.2 million to $3.8 million to help all parishes during the coronavirus
“We are one family, one body in Christ, and the diocese is part of that family,” Sakamoto said about why the assessment is needed. “We support each other with the work that needs to get done.”
No better example than the pandemic.
