TL,DR: Taxpayers should think through the tax implication of transactions in cryptocurrency before engaging in a trade. When it comes to taxation, there are a number of planning strategies to reduce future taxes and a number of considerations to keep in mind as legislation continues to evolve in the space. Keep in mind that this space is dynamic and the opinions expressed here are simply assumptions now since concrete guidance on specific crypto issues is largely not available. It is essential to honestly and accurately report your crypto earnings appropriately, even if you did not receive a 1099 from the exchange.

The following list of 12 crypto tax tips for those subject to income tax in the United States is meant to help with either filing taxes or planning for tax reduction strategies in the upcoming year.

1. Strive for Long Term Capital Gain Treatment: Cryptocurrency is considered property by the IRS and if held longer than one year, will be subject to preferential long-term capital gains treatment rather than short-term capital gains. Short term capital gains are taxed at an individual’s personal marginal tax rate (which may be as high as 37%) which is in addition to state income taxes (if you are domiciled in a state with an income tax) and the net investment income tax of 3.8% (for single filers who make more than $200,000 and married couples who make more than $250,000, as well as certain estates and trusts). Long-term capital gains, by contrast, are subject to a maximum of only 20% tax (as opposed to 37%). It may be even 0% or 15% for some filers. State income tax and net investment income tax still apply. As a result, if you are thinking of whether or not you should sell, always consider holding your crypto for at least more than a year (i.e. at least 366 days), all else being equal.
2. NFTs Might Be Considered Collectibles Subject to a Higher Capital Gains Tax Rate: Whether you know what a Bored Ape is or not, NFTs have exploded in popularity in the past year. But how is the sale taxed? As with many crypto tax issues, there is no consensus. A common theory is that NFTs are in one of two general categories: collectible NFTs or utility NFTs. Collectibles are those NFTs prized for art and it would seem that they would be subject, if held more than 1 year before the sale, to the special collectible rules governing long-term capital gains which set the maximum tax rate at 28% instead of 20%. Some, however, counter that collectibles in the tax code were only meant for tangible art and intangibles should not be subject to it. I take the opinion that NFTs prized as art should be taxed as collectibles whereas utility NFTs (e.g. NFTs that give access to special events and can be used) are not subject to the higher collectible rate. Of course, this assumes the NFT was held greater than one year since sales less than one year are undoubtedly subject to ordinary income rates as mentioned in point #1.
3. Avoid Exchanges that Issue 1099-Ks: Beginning for the 2020 tax year, Coinbase stopped issuing 1099-Ks for its users. Other exchanges like Crypto.com issue them only for those over a certain threshold of transactions and/or value. However, the 1099-K reports proceeds received and it does not take into account any basis, making it much more difficult at tax time to figure out your gains and losses and report them without triggering an automated CP-2000 IRS audit letter sent to your home. Other exchanges are now switching to 1099-B forms which better report gains than 1099-Ks but the actual calculation of gains and losses is the taxpayer’s responsibility and, even if no form is received, that does not negate the fact that crypto earnings are taxable. Spend time upfront before signing up to learn how a particular exchange reports at tax time to save yourself trouble on the back end.
4. Staking, Mining, Airdrops, Yield Farming, & Hard Forks Are Taxed as Ordinary Income & are Not Preferentially Taxed as Capital Gains: The IRS stated in guidance released in 2019 that “if a hard fork is followed by an airdrop and you receive new cryptocurrency, you will have taxable income in the taxable year you receive that cryptocurrency.” The same applies to airdrops where you will report the fair market value of the new cryptocurrency as income when you took control of it. If you earn “interest” in the form of additional crypto on platforms like Celsius, that too is subject to ordinary income, even if it is on stablecoins. And both staking and mining income is also subject to ordinary income tax rates and not capital gains treatment and are likely best reported on line Z of Schedule C. Likewise, providing liquidity to pools in decentralized exchanges or earning rewards from yield farming are ordinary income. However, for those who are engaging in crypto trading as part of a business (e.g. an LLC engaging in crypto trading that holds the wallets), the income earned by such a business is likely also subject to additional self-employed taxes at a rate of 15.3%. Be aware of the income you receive and how you receive it. When in doubt, speak with a Certified Public Accountant knowledgeable on crypto taxation.
5. Use HIFO to Calculate Your Basis: First in first out (FIFO) and last in first out (LIFO) are commonly used in accounting to calculate the value of sold inventory. If you sell a pencil as a retail store, do you value it using the per-pencil price from the oldest batch you bought or the most recent batch that is likely more expensive due to inflation and supply chain issues? These accounting cost assumption methods similarly apply to crypto and the IRS also permits highest in first out (HIFO) for crypto which is usually the optimal method to choose. With HIFO, the unit sold is assumed to be the highest-priced one — not necessarily either the first one or the last one. This will reduce the taxable gain to the lowest possible amount. Just keep in mind this may lead to fewer transactions subject to capital gains treatment, since the highest value coins may not be older than one year. The worst method to choose would usually be LIFO since the last unit purchased, for any regular trader, will virtually always be less than one year old and thus never subject to favorable capital gains treatment.
6. Invest in Crypto Tax Software: At this point, it may seem that the tax issues facing crypto investors are staggering and the amount of documentation needed outweighs the benefits. However, there are thankfully a number of crypto tax tracking software that will link to your exchanges using APIs, link your wallets like MetaMask, automatically apply your chosen accounting method like HIFO, and even generate the tax forms to give your accountant or upload in a tax software like TaxAct. (Using that link will allow you to save 20% off of your federal filing fees). These software solutions handle all of the documentation and allow you to review transactions, monitor your portfolio to see your current gain or loss position of unsold assets, and suggest loss harvesting techniques. I use CoinTracker and recommend them as they have several plans with affordable solutions for those who have just a few trades a year and advanced plans for those trading much more frequently.
7. Loss Harvest: If you invest in the stock market, you likely have heard of wash sales. Wash sale rules state that, if an investment is sold at a loss and then repurchased by the taxpayer within 30 days, then the initial loss cannot be claimed for tax purposes. Investors must wait at least 31 days before repurchasing the same investment if they want to record the tax loss. As of now, this treatment does not apply to crypto. While adding wash sale rules to crypto was part of the Build Back Better Act, it has not yet been passed by Congress. As a result, selling crypto for a loss and then rebuying it minutes later allows investors to record a paper loss on taxes which should easily outweigh any small trading fees to make the trades. Capital losses can offset both capital gains from other crypto sales and sales of stocks, bonds, and other capital assets. It is possible to have a net capital loss of up to $3,000 on your taxes to offset your ordinary income, and any excess will carry forward to future tax years. Loss harvesting is an excellent strategy but keep in mind that regulations are quickly changing. Ask your congressmen and senators to vote against applying wash sale rules to cryptocurrency.
8. Lost Crypto is NOT Tax Deductible — BEWARE: The loss of coins from losing access to private keys & wallets or sending crypto to incorrect addresses would be personal casualty losses and they are not deductible on your taxes. You may still be responsible for the gains incurred before the loss so always take great care to never lose your crypto. For this reason, I signed up with a Crypto domain on Unstoppable Domains so those sending me crypto will only need to know a simple domain name address and not a series of random numbers and digits. It allows me to also easily send crypto to my wallet. Use my Unstoppable link above to save 10% on your purchase.
9. If You Donate Crypto, Donate Coins Held Greater than 1 Year: According to the IRS, if you donate virtual currency to a charitable organization described in Internal Revenue Code Section 170(c), you will not recognize income, gain, or loss from the donation. Your charitable contribution deduction is generally equal to the fair market value of the virtual currency at the time of the donation if you have held the virtual currency for more than one year. If you have held the virtual currency for one year or less at the time of the donation, your deduction is the lesser of your basis in the virtual currency or the virtual currency’s fair market value at the time of the contribution. Hence, donating currency held greater than 1 year is usually preferable for tax deduction purposes. Charities that accept crypto have various disclosure requirements as well, so if you run a charity that accepts crypto, be aware of the requirements.
10. Wrapping Coins Is A Taxable Event That May Reduce Future Taxes: While selling crypto for fiat currency is undoubtedly a taxable transaction, so is exchanging a coin for a different one. The same would apply to exchanging a coin for its wrapped counterpart (e.g., exchanging BTC for WBTC). If it occurs more than one year after purchase, it would be a long-term capital gain/loss. But even with taxes on the transfer from unwrapped to wrapped, there may be future tax benefits. For those who are using Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) like Olympus or Time Wonderland, staking crypto can generate significant rewards which are compounded multiple times a day. Each one of these transactions is a taxable event as you receive new tokens which are ordinary income. However, taking Wonderland as an example, “users can wrap their MEMO into wMEMO, and receive their rebase as an increase in the value of wMEMO rather than an increase in the amount of MEMO.” Since no additional quantity is received, it could be logically assumed that no taxable event is therefore incurred until the wMEMO is sold for fiat or converted into another token (e.g. back into MEMO). The potential tax savings and administrative documentation saved could be very significant.
11. Be Aware of Dependent Children’s Crypto Activities: Have you heard of the Kiddie Tax? When a qualified child has unearned income in excess of $2,200 (for the tax year 2021), the kiddie tax may be applied to the excess at the parents’ marginal tax rate instead of the child’s tax rate. This is reported on Form 8615. Normally this is easy for parents to consider since they would be aware of brokerage accounts in children's names, but if your dependent children (including dependent children in college) are buying and selling crypto, you may unknowingly be responsible for the Kiddie tax. It is essential to know if your dependents are trading crypto and get a copy of those transactions to review with your CPA for kiddie tax implications.
12. Be Aware of Possible Future FBAR Reporting for Crypto Held Overseas: Those who have more than $10,000 USD equivalent in a foreign bank at any point in the tax year are required to file the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts. Currently, a foreign account holding virtual currency is not reportable on the FBAR but changing regulations may impact this. Stay informed and, if needed, you may need to reduce the size of your foreign accounts in any particular exchange or be subject to FBAR Reporting if changes occur.

For those with significant gains in crypto, other niche methods of deferring or altogether eliminating the taxes may include the use of opportunity zones or using charitable remainder trusts.

Keep in mind crypto taxation is a new field and additional guidance from the IRS and law changes will undoubtedly happen. Using crypto tax software like CoinTracker and working with a CPA can be extremely useful on the front end to minimize the consequences — even inadvertent ones — years later.

For those interested in learning more or receiving customized tax savings plans designed to save taxpayers significant money, you may contact me with questions.

Affiliate Link Disclosure: Some of the links in this article are affiliate links, meaning that if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small affiliate commission. This is at no additional cost to you and, by doing so, you may even receive a discount off of the standard pricing. This is being fully disclosed in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Circular 230 Notice: Any accounting, business, or tax advice contained in this article, including attachments and enclosures, is not intended as a thorough, in-depth analysis of all specific issues, nor a substitute for a formal opinion, nor is it intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by the recipient for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed under the Internal Revenue Code or applicable state or local tax law provisions.

Network Effects Generally Determine Our Life’s Choices

James Currier, a General Partner at NFX, a seed-stage venture firm headquartered in San Francisco, wrote an insightful and thoroughly researched article earlier this year entitled “Your Life is Driven by Network Effects.” Network Effects, a topic often only discussed in economics, is the phenomenon by which the value or utility a user derives from a good or service depends on the number of users of compatible products. Network effects are typically positive, resulting in a given user deriving more value from a product as other users join the same network.

But this also applies to people. Mr. Currier’s article presents interesting data on how network effects keep us in certain areas, communities, and families. Even if we want to change, the ability to do so can be significantly harder due to network effects, illustrating why it is increasingly difficult in time for individuals to move from one state to another even if lower tax rates, higher cost of living, and good job prospects invite them. Simply put, the network effects of staying in the current area are simply too strong to break. Not all network effects are positive. This is why, as Mr. Currier demonstrates, most college graduates work in the same area they went to school and why most adults after marriage settle down and remain in that area for life.

Network Effects Pose An Obstacle in Conversions

Network effects also apply to us in the Church. How many people would be open to converting to the Catholic Faith but due to network effects from family, friends, local communities, college experiences, or professional associations, keep them from doing so? While I have focused for over a decade on actively defending the Faith through Apologetics, I often see that the primary objections to converting to the Faith stem from either the bad example of some Catholics or the consequences that conversion will have on someone’s own life. Will my spouse leave me? Will there be a community with whom to connect if my parents disown me? Will there be places where I can work if my colleagues ridicule me and force me out? These are real concerns in the lives of would-be converts.

More than only teaching people the Faith, we need to find ways to make it possible for them to be part of Catholic communities, especially if conversion means ostracization from their current families, friends, and even spouses.

Practical Advice for Converts

1. Find and join communities of other Catholics online. Facebook groups like Truth of Catholicism or local groups are worth joining. For instance, I am a member of the Chicago Catholic Young Adults Facebook Group and Traditional Catholics of the Archdiocese of Chicago. There are surely similar groups all around the country which will allow you to connect with and meet other Catholics.
2. Find and connect with Catholics on Twitter and other social media platforms. The tag #CatholicTwitter is a useful way to find Catholic posts and to find Catholics on the platform. And the Catholic-only social platform at SP3RN allows Catholics to connect with each other in an even more tailored manner.
3. Join a reverent, faith-filled parish. You do not need to be a Catholic yet to go to Holy Mass or meet other Catholics — though only Catholics in the state of grace may receive Holy Communion. Spend time finding a local Mass with a community you can be a part of. Directories like the Latin Mass Directory can help you find locations near you. And if you are attending a Traditional Latin Mass for the first time, it would be a good idea to read What Should I Do For My First Time at a Latin Mass? to help you prepare. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is our cornerstone.
4. Abstinence on all Fridays of the year and Mass attendance on all Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation are the two anchors of a Catholic’s week. By observing these precepts you are not alone as generations of Catholics before did this joyfully week-in and week-out.
5. Consider joining local Catholic groups to make friends. There are often groups of individuals who meet to pray the Rosary, visit the sick or pray for the dead, help clean the parish or do lawn work, help the priests with sewing, pray for the unborn and help pregnant mothers, or prepare meals for the sick and homeless. When you find a parish as mentioned in item #3 above, look into ways to actively participate in parish life to connect in a real way with other Catholics in your community.

Conclusion

“He that loveth father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me. And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth Me, is not worthy of Me. He that findeth his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for Me, shall find it” (Words of our Lord Jesus Christ taken from the Gospel According to St. Matthew 10:37–39).

Above all, you are not alone even if network effects seem like they control your life. Even if it seems difficult to convert and uncertainty remains, there is nothing more important for your salvation than to be a faithful, practicing Catholic. Despite the challenges you may face from friends or family or colleagues, conversion is worth it.

Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus (outside of the Church there is no salvation). Prioritize your salvation and “seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you” (cf. Matthew 6:33). But know that — no matter what — you are not alone and a whole host of Catholics are eager to welcome you so that together we may be united in the same Faith and same Sacraments as we hope to be likewise united one day in Heaven with all the Catholic saints who came before us.

With the continuing consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the ability of Catholic parishes to offer religious education, there is not a better time to consider implementing virtual learning.

As mentioned in “Why the Catholic Church Must Adopt Online Learning,” a 2009 U.S. Department of Education meta-analysis of evidence-based studies of K-12 and postsecondary online learning programs reported that “students who took all or part of their class online performed better on average than those taking the same course through traditional face-to-face instruction.” The Catholic Church must also adopt newer methods of teaching the timeless Catholic Faith.

How Can Parishes Do This?

1. Partner with A Proven Leader in Online Catholic Education

While I am certainly biased, I wholeheartedly recommend the programs of CatechismClass.com. Founded by Fr. James Zatalava in 2004, CatechismClass.com is the oldest running online religious education course provider, offering everything from online K-12 programs, RCIA classes, adult continuing education, marriage preparation, baptism preparation, confirmation prep, quince prep classes, catechist training courses, NFP classes, and more.

You need a partner with an organization that has experience in online education to help smooth the transition. There are few organizations out there with more than a decade of experience in online Catholic learning.

2. Realize That Students Are Comfortable with Technology

As a teacher, catechist, director of religious education, or priest, you may be newer to technology. But that is okay! Keep in mind that as you begin to adopt online learning, your students are generally much more familiar with technology then you are. Students today grow up with phones, tablets, and computers. Most American families have the Internet and for the rest, nearly every family can access the Internet through their phones or at least through a local library or family member. You do not need to be an expert on technology. And it is okay if your students are more comfortable with e-learning than you are. It just takes practice, as with anything.

3. Decide Between Student Home-Based, Self Learning or Virtual Classes

You generally have two options: do you want your students to take part in an online course and provide their quiz results to illustrate that they did the work? Or do you want to help facilitate and virtually teach through software like Zoom or Go To Suite?

For online self-study options, keep in mind that accountability must be a key feature of any program you recommend or require for your students. Take CatechismClass.com for instance — as students take lessons, the parish DRE/catechist will receive instantaneous quiz reports of the student’s progress. They will see the questions, how well the student did, the amount of time the student spent on a lesson, and they will have the ability to issue retakes for quizzes that need them. Accountability must be key.

4. Get Comfortable with the Right Virtual Meeting Software & Practice

For virtual classes, online courses like CatechismClass.com and those offered by other organizations can still be useful. In fact, it’s extremely important to be prepared for these virtual classes — even more so than in-person ones, so you can hold the student’s attention. Having a structured program and notes to teach from and share on the screen is critical.

Do not just “wing” it. Be prepared. Download the virtual meeting software ahead of time and play around with it. Practice doing virtual calls with your family members. Even practicing with a group of 3 people will help make the transition even easier. Practice muting and unmuting people.

All you will need is often just your laptop since most laptops will have built-in microphones and webcams in them. You may always choose to use a headset as well but that would not be necessary to lead virtual classes. That means you likely already have everything you need now to start virtual classes.

No matter which platform you choose, sharing your screen is easy. In just a few buttons you can switch from your camera to sharing your own screen with the lesson plans and lesson contents.

Do take note that if you do choose to use a paid service, it is important to know where your money goes. The founder of Zoom came out by stating that pro-life laws are bad for business — not a good company for Catholics to financially support. By comparison, Jitsi is a free, open-sourced platform that functions like Zoom.

5. Understand The New Normal

While the Faith never changes, the manner in which we teach it has always changed. The Church rightfully so did not neglect to use the printing press when it was invented by claiming that was a protestant tool only. And in the same manner, it would be wrong to dismiss all virtual technologies by claiming that the Internet is also used by immoral organizations. The Internet and technology is a tool that can be used for good.

Above all, the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated online learning. But this should not be viewed only as a solution for the current academic year. There has been a growing trend in online learning year over year. And online learning will surely be here to stay, at least for some students, long into the future. So take the time now to become accustomed to this new normal. And let us use it for the glory of God and the spread of the Catholic Faith.

The lack of sound faith formation and reverent liturgies over the past few decades has led to disastrous consequences for the Catholic Faith. Based on statistics available from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate the collapse in enrollment in Catholic religious education, as well as Sacramental reception, has been profound.

Large Numbers of Catholics Stop Practicing the Faith

Forming Intentional Disciples by Sherry Weddell further illustrates the consequences following the changes post-Vatican II. These decades saw significant changes in the Sacramental life of Catholics and the customs and practices of living out a Catholic life (e.g. times of fasting, processions, cultural celebrations). The Church was also shaken by the disastrous consequences of the sexual abuse crisis by some of Her priests. The results are grim: only 30% of Americans who were raised Catholic are still practicing and 10% of all adults in America are ex-Catholics.

Most Catholics Do Not Understand Basic Doctrine

In one often-quoted study, data by D’Antonio, Dillon, & Gautier in 2013 showed 33% of American Catholics are unaware of the Church’s teaching of Christ in the Real Presence and an additional 4% even deny this central tenet of the Faith. The number of Catholics who are unaware of the official Church teaching illustrates the inability of modern religious education to meet the needs of today’s Catholics.

The Catholic Church Faces A Number of Issues With Religious Education

After working closely with Catholic Churches in the United States over the past decade, I have seen first hand a number of challenges that impact the ability of parishes to serve the needs of their parishioners and provide them with sound religious education to reverse these grim trends.

• Lack of qualified volunteers
• The limited time of priests and catechists
• Lack of Parental Involvement
• Budget Cuts and Financial Concerns
• Lack of Commitment or Interest by Students
• The administrative burden of creating lesson plans or grading
• The challenges of serving students with learning disabilities

The list goes on. There are a number of challenges facing every single Catholic parish in the nation. But with the growing secularism and anti-Catholicism present in the country, there is not a more important time to provide sound religious formation to our children and reverent, beautiful liturgies.

Online Religious Education Is the Answer

In 2009, the U.S. Department of Education published a meta-analysis of evidence-based studies of K-12 and postsecondary online learning programs. The study reported that “students who took all or part of their class online performed better on average than those taking the same course through traditional face-to-face instruction.” We have reason to believe that children in religious education will also perform better.

Children want to learn and be challenged. The discipline in a secular classroom should carry over to religious education. Children should have regular activities and homework — including frequent reception of the Sacraments, the practice of prayers and pious devotions, and ample opportunities for them to share what they learn.

Children want to be part of something bigger than themselves. They want to feel connected and a part of something; the internet provides this connectivity and hands-on learning, so long as parents and priests help foster this life.

Programs like CatechismClass.com have arisen to solve these needs and since 2004 have served hundreds of families and parishes.

While the Catholic Faith and its doctrines are timeless and unchanging, the manner in how we teach the Faith must adapt to newer standards in order to help ensure our children do not become statistics for ex-Catholics in the next decade. The Internet is a tool that children and adults are already using. Let’s as a Catholic community use it for the good of their souls.

As a Catholic blogger, columnist, and President of CatechismClass.com, I’ve seen the transformative effects of COVID-19 on the Catholic Church firsthand. This article focuses exclusively on the Catholic Religion and its readiness and response to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. In conducting research for this article, I consulted over 20 articles and interviewed 10 individuals in the Catholic Church about how COVID-19 has impacted their apostolates.

Summary:

Today’s Catholic priests are asked to do more in their days than at any point in history. Due to widespread parish closures imposed by Church officials or government authorities in response to COVID-19, Catholic priests have needed to be resourceful in order to continue ministering to the faithful. In particular, the usage of social media, which the Church as a whole had not broadly adopted, has allowed priests to reach their parishioners in a way that beforehand would not have been possible. However, online services have also revealed the limitations of social media and the jury is still out on what future social media usage will look like post-COVID-19.

COVID-19 Led to Unprecedented Mass Suspensions and Church Closures

For the first time in the lives of most Catholics today, the COVID-19 pandemic led to the widespread suspension of Masses, Confessions, Baptisms, and religious education classes.

On March 8, the Diocese of Rome, the heart of the Roman Catholic Church, canceled all public Masses until April 3. That prohibition was later extended until May 18, including Holy Week and Easter, the most important religious days in the year. For the first time since the legalization of Christianity in 313 AD, public Catholic worship was prohibited throughout Italy.

Within one week, Every Diocese in the United States Suspended Public Masses. Eric Sammons, a prominent convert to Catholicism and active social media use, put together a series of graphics illustrating the quick suspension of public Masses throughout the United States on a diocese-by-diocese basis.

Within a single week, all public Masses across the 177 territorial Dioceses in the United States were prohibited. Rather than merely dispensing Catholics from the obligation to attend Mass, bishops went further by prohibiting priests from offering public Masses (i.e., Masses at which the faithful may attend). Instead, priests were asked to offer the Sacrifice of the Mass privately with only the necessary servers and sacred ministers and, if possible, to live stream or record the Mass so that the faithful could participate at least digitally.

Diocesan Restrictions Often Exceeded Civil Requirements

Pew Research published the above graphic depicting the state of religious exemptions in executive orders as of April 24. Notice, these prohibitions include both political spectrums, with governors and state legislatures from both Republican and Democratic majorities. And even Dioceses in states which allowed religious services to continue during lockdowns nevertheless still unilaterally prohibited public Masses.

Some Dioceses went further, prohibiting even Confessions and Baptisms, even when done while observing social distancing limited to small groups. The Archdiocese of Chicago ordered all churches closed, even for personal prayer time by the laity.

As of April 1, 30 Dioceses prohibited Confessions, even in states that exempted religious services from stay-at-home orders. Wyoming, for instance, the state with one of the fewest numbers of cases, still prohibited both Confessions and public Mass. By contrast, San Francisco, under Archbishop Cordileone, one of the more traditionally-minded bishops in the United States, allowed Confessions as long as appropriate steps were taken to safeguard the health and safety of all parties. As of May 15th, San Francisco County had 1,999 confirmed COVID-19 cases in its 46.9 square miles while the entire state of Wyoming had 688.

The Bishop of Lubbock had gone so far as to instruct priests to “not make themselves available to hear Confessions,” in one extreme example. He later rescinded this prohibition, which would seemingly have applied even to the dying.

Some locations have gone even further by shutting down and prohibiting the faithful from visiting places of pilgrimage renowned for their healing powers, such as the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, the site of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s apparitions in 1858. The same could be said for dozens of other places around the country. Yet all the while, the pandemic continues to call souls back to God. Researchers indicate that “26% of Americans say their sense of faith or spirituality has grown stronger as a result of the outbreak. Just 1% say it has weakened.” Will these wayward souls find a Church with open or closed doors?

Priests Implement Resourceful Approaches to Continue Providing the Sacraments

As of March 25, according to the BBC, over 50 priests have died globally from COVID-19. Since then, a variety of American priests have likewise died across America in Texas, New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey, and elsewhere. In response to the suspension of the Mass, public devotions, Sacraments, in-person religious education, and social gatherings have been canceled. Many individual priests have taken to using a variety of tools to connect in real-time to their parishioners while remaining at a distance for their safety. With the average age of priests over 60, most priests are at a history risk to die from COVID-19, thus necessitating a change not only for the needs of the faithful but also for their personal safety.

In some locations in the country, priests were offering drive-through Confessions where they would sit in a chair and allow those needing Confession to drive up and receive Sacramental absolution while remaining over six feet away. Other priests are taking to the streets to bless their parishioners or to offer public prayers against the plague. And some are offering “drive-in” Masses so that the Faithful could watch Mass from their cars. The Archdiocese of St. Paul — Minneapolis implemented a text message notification system to alert Catholics to join in prayer when a priest was sent to anoint someone dying from COVID-19.

Some noteworthy Catholics have mentioned that clandestine “underground” Masses are taking place across the nation for Catholics to be able to avail themselves of the Sacraments at a time when the majority of bishops are silent and absent.

Amidst Unprecedented Economic Uncertainty, Lower Mass Attendance Leads to Fewer Donations

With decreased donations due to church closures, a majority of American Catholic parishes have resorted to applying for PPP loans from the federal government or laying off their staff members due to the economic repercussions. The Diocese of San Jose has reduced the modest salary of its priests by 10%, laid off some diocesan employees, and reduced its hours. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which has been particularly hard hit by COVID-19, has guaranteed employment for the archdiocesan staff only through June.

Ignatius Darren Gozali, the founder of CatholicER, which owns Mercy Wallet, an app designed to allow individuals to contribute to parishes easily, noticed a decrease in donations during COVID-19. Likely due to the economic impact of the crisis, contributions to churches, even on digital platforms, have decreased.

Fr. Vincent of St. Cyprian Catholic Church in Sunnyvale and a promoter of Mercy Wallet, noted a 30% drop in donations due to COVID-19. Even with the advent of mobile apps and websites that allow the parish to accept donations, he noted that many parishioners who are not donating are not tech-savvy and would not know how to give using apps or via social media.

Yet, charities and religious orders that focus on apostolic outreach in the community are experiencing some of the most challenging circumstances in their histories. The Mission of Our Lady of the Angles, run by Franciscan religious sisters in the economically depressed West Humboldt Park area of Chicago, has seen unprecedented demand. On April 28, they served 643 families in need, the highest record in their pantry’s history. They have taken to Facebook to share their stories and elicit donations to help them in their outreach.

The Effect of Previous Pandemics on Catholics in America

The last time that widespread Masses were suspended in the United States was during the Spanish Flu of 1918. Yet, the closures were often more isolated and did not span coast to coast.

San Francisco was hit particularly hard by the second wave of the Spanish Flu. They mandated the closure of the city, including all public venues, and required masks. Churches could continue services but only if done outdoors. The Archdiocese of San Francisco, for instance, offered Mass outside near the entrance to the former cathedral, and the faithful attended in droves. The critical distinction between 1918 and 2020, at least in San Francisco, was the government’s orders; California permits no religious exceptions to the shelter in place orders during COVID-19, yet such exemptions existed in 1917.

In 1918, with a population of 687,000, the city of St. Louis was the fourth largest city in the nation. On October 7, 1918, the city ordered the closure of numerous buildings and banned gatherings of 20 or more people. The city’s health commissioner, Dr. Max Starkloff, closed churches for the first time in the city’s history, against the wishes of Archbishop John Glennon. Archbishop Glennon, though, obeyed the closures and dispensed the faithful from attending Mass.

The closure of churches and the suspension of public Masses occurred throughout the country but did not affect every Diocese. The closures in 1918, however, were often the result of government mandates as Bishops generally viewed suspending the Sacraments as a last resort.

James Cardinal Gibbons, one of the leading figures in the Church in the era, argued, “It would be a much-needed relief to our church-going population if they could be allowed to attend brief morning services… I am told that a number of calls upon our physicians are simply the result of nervousness, or the consequence of alarm. This might be considerably allayed by the reassurance of religion, and discreet words from our priests given the people in Church.”

Catholic Demographic Trends Today

The Ratio of Priests to Parishes is at an all-time low.

The Catholic Church reached one of its highest levels in America in the 1950s with the number of men wishing to become priests hitting such a high level that dioceses would often have to turn men away for lack of space and resources. However, since the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, the Catholic Church has, except for a few metrics, experienced an ongoing decline.

The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) by Georgetown University studies various demographic trends in the Catholic Church. From 1970 to 2018, the Catholic Church in the United States experienced:

● A reduction in the number of priests from 59,192 to 36,580 ( -38.2%)

● A reduction in the number of men studying for the priesthood from 6,602 to 3,553 ( -46.2%)

● A reduction in the number of religious sisters from 160,931 to 44,117 ( -72.6%)

● A reduction in the number of Catholic parishes from 18,224 to 17,007 ( — 6.7%)

● An increase in the number of parishes without a resident priest serving as the pastor from 571 to 3,363 ( + 489%)

As a result, the responsibilities of any single priest since the 1970s has significantly increased. In 1970, the ratio of priests to parishes was 3.2, yet in 2018 the number had fallen to 2.1. Before the Second Vatican Council, which took place between 1962 and 1965, it was common for parishes to host a number of Sunday or daily Masses along with extra devotions such as the Rosary, Benediction, and Eucharistic Adoration. Catholics would regularly meet for both prayer and social functions.

Additionally, The Number of Catholics Attending Sunday Mass Has Significantly Declined, falling from 71.3% in 1970 to 45.3% in 2018, according to survey estimates from CARA. The reduction in Mass attendance is significant since the Catholic Church requires a Catholic to attend Mass every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation unless a grave reason or illness prevents them — failure to do so is a serious sin that must be confessed. During periods of crisis or severe weather, Bishops may also dispense the Faithful in their dioceses from the obligation. The decline in Mass attendance has also led to both decreased parish donations as well as to less religiously-centered social gatherings.

Priests Today Also Serve a More Ethnically Diverse Congregation Than in the Past. Half a century ago, most parishes typically only served Catholics of a specific nationality. While Mass was always celebrated in Latin, parishes would often be situated close together in a city and serve different communities. It was common to see an Italian neighborhood with its parish within walking distance of the German Catholic’s parish or the Polish Catholic’s parish.

As cities became more ethnically diverse and with the importance of nationality diminishing over the generations, some parishes fell into disuse and were sold, leading in part to the decline in the number of churches. Nowadays, it is not uncommon for a priest to celebrate Mass in multiple languages and conduct the other Sacraments (e.g., Baptism, Last Rites, of Confession) in various languages.

Therefore, the priests of today are asked to do more for a more diverse congregation with less resources than at any point in our nation’s history.

The Rise of Social Media and Technology

Historically, the Catholic Church has been reluctant to embrace newer technologies. The printing press, the telegraph, and the radio were not widely used by the Church until their gradual adoption by a more substantial portion of the populace. While the Church does not, in theory, oppose technology, as some groups like the Amish famously do, She does tend to reluctantly embrace newer technologies, allowing for sufficient adoption before embracing them. Since most priests and parish staff tend to be older, the generational reluctance to try new, sometimes confusing technologies, has likely contributed to the slow adoption of social media.

For example, the Majority of Catholic Parishes Lack A Social Media Presence. Between 2016 and 2020, I helped compile a list of over 13,000 churches in the United States in a downloadable Excel format made available on CatholicParishDirectory.com. As part of the research, I reviewed the diocesan listings of all Catholic Churches in America and reviewed their websites and social media presence. The vast majority of American Catholic Churches did not have a Facebook page that was claimed and actively managed. Of the 13,227 parishes that I recorded in the directory, 12.7% of churches did not have a single email address and relied on the telephone or a fax machine exclusively for communication. For the 11,547 parishes that had email addresses, not all of them had websites. And of those, only a small subset had an active social media presence.

Pope Francis Offers an Extraordinary Example in Livestreaming

On March 27, 2020, in an extraordinary rare Urbi et Orbi address, which is usually only given twice a year on Easter Sunday and Christmas, Pope Francis presided over an hour-long ceremony where he read from the Scriptures, offered a prayer and reflection, and concluded with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. For the first time in history, a Pope gave a live-streamed Urbi et Orbi to an empty St. Peter’s Square with cameras carrying his blessing to all watching digitally or listening over the radio. Unlike Mass attendance, which requires a Catholic to attend in person to fulfill their obligation, certain blessings and devotions (e.g., the Rosary) can be prayed using pre-recorded tapes or on live streams. By contrast, the Sacraments (e.g., Confession, Baptism, Last Rites) or the Mass must be performed in-person for them to validly occur and produce an actual result in a person’s soul.

In addition to live-streamed Masses, parishes have taken to Facebook to promote devotions. The Archdiocese of San Francisco has been advertising a daily event on Facebook for the faithful to join in a 7 PM Rosary Rally by calling in on the phone.

Some parishes have gone further than live streaming only Sunday Masses and began to live stream the weekday Masses, which most Catholics do not ordinarily attend. In a piece published on WGN Chicago, Monsignor Dan Mayall commented on the novelty of live streaming Masses by saying: “It has opened up the door for a lot of people, more people are watching the daily Masses, we are doing this every day not just on Sunday and I’m astounded by how many people are saying I watch it every day.”

Other parishes have shifted to live stream all their devotions and public prayers, in addition to the Mass. St. John Cantius Church in Chicago is live streaming on both Facebook Live and YouTube their entire devotional schedule and making the videos available for playback. With higher-end camera technology, they have been able to live stream beautiful liturgies that have attracted viewers from around the world, outside of Chicago. Across the four publicly live-streamed Sunday Masses for May 10, over 16,000 viewers have watched their Masses on YouTube either live or for playback. Even Twitter has hosted various live streaming Masses and devotionals.

Live Streaming Has Made Niche Catholic Traditions Accessible to Significantly Larger Audiences

Beyond live streaming the typical Sunday Mass that most Catholics would be accustomed to attending (the Novus Ordo Mass), live streaming during COVID19 specifically allowed lesser-known Catholic traditions to have a significantly larger audience.

For instance, most Catholic parishes that celebrate the Traditional (Tridentine) Latin Mass have live-streamed all of their Masses, including daily masses. The Tridentine Mass is the manner that all Masses were said before the changes in the late 1960s. This changed in 1969. While Mass is still sometimes said in Latin, it is much more uncommon. And in addition to the language changing, the very format of the Mass — its prayers, rituals, gestures, and practices — was arguably altered in the most significant way in history.

Most of these priests, aside from a few specific cases, did not live stream or record their Masses beforehand. A directory of some of these Masses illustrating their geographic dispersion across both the United States and globally can be found at A Catholic Life.

A subset of these priests during Holy Week celebrated the Mass using the rubrics that existed before the changes to the Church’s Liturgy (i.e., Her public prayers and rituals) by Pope Pius XII in 1955. In 1955, Pope Pius XII significantly changed the prayers, readings, and rituals for Holy Week. Those changes were embodied in the 1962 Catholic Missal, which most Tridentine Masses follow. In the past few decades, there has been a call for a return to the pre-1955 Holy Week ceremonies.

In response to these calls, the Vatican permitted the pre-1955 ceremonies on a three-year trial period starting in 2018. In 2018 and 2019, they were attended by self-proclaimed liturgy nerds and some of the most traditional Catholics. The number of Catholics who witnessed these pre-1955 liturgies in either 2018 or 2019 numbered likely 5,000 or less.

By contrast, the YouTube channel Sensus Fidelium, which as of May 13, 2020, has 144,000 subscribers, live-streamed these older pre-1955 liturgies from just three different chapels in the United States. Across those three locations only, the channel’s organizer, Steve Cunningham, said that these older liturgies generated over 100,000 page views: “Many non-Catholics saw it and love it.” Over a dozen other pre-1955 Masses were live-streamed from chapels that had beforehand not live streamed their services. It is realistic that live streaming has at least quadrupled the number of Catholics who saw the pre-1955 Liturgy this year. Steve added in referring to Tridentine Masses offered on other Sundays outside of Holy Week, “Many [average Catholics] saw a [Tridentine Latin] High Mass for the first time.”

The impact of niche traditions reaching a wider audience was made possible entirely through social media by parishes that otherwise would not have live-streamed or recorded their worship. Rather than merely providing a means for older Catholics to reconnect with the traditions from their youth, college students have found solace and spiritual enrichment from these traditions made accessible through social media.

The Rise of Online Learning in Religious Education Has Accelerated Due to COVID-19

The unique challenges presented by COVID-19 have further illustrated the need for flexibility in religious education. The pandemic has led to both the layoff of paid teachers and the inability for in-person student meetings.

The online religious education course provider, CatechismClass.com, for which I am the President, has been around since 2004 and provides a variety of self-study Catholic religion courses for children and adults. While the number of students we serve has consistently increased over the years, a particularly noteworthy increase occurred in April 2020. In April of this year, we sold more adult and children courses than we did in any April in our history. I expect continued increases in the adoption of e-learning in the Church at an accelerated pace due to COVID-19.

Some teachers and catechists have taken to keeping their current curriculums while turning to video conferencing software to facilitate and lead student discussions and class sessions. Both RCIA classes — classes for adults converting to Catholicism — as well as children’s catechism classes turned to new, innovative platforms due to the crisis.

Since religious education schedules typically follow the secular system of beginning around September and ending in the spring, most parishes have already canceled the remainder of the 2019–2020 academic year. Some churches in harder-hit areas are expected to delay or even suspend all in-person classes initially scheduled to start in Fall 2020.

A Slow Reopening of Parishes Begins

At the end of April, public Masses started being reintroduced — even though attendance was limited due to both ecclesiastical and government mandates against large gatherings. The first five Dioceses to restore public Masses in some form (e.g., Dioceses of Helena, Great Falls-Billings, Omaha, Las Cruces, and Lubbock) still dispensed the faithful from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass attendance while encouraging live-streaming of Masses to continue.

On April 27, the Dioceses of Boise and Lincoln joined the first five.

Within a week of the first Diocese to suspend Masses, public Masses vanished from the entire country. Yet as of May 1, more than a week after the reintroduction of Mass in the Diocese of Las Cruces, the first Diocese to reintroduce public Masses, the number of Dioceses reinstating the principal act of worship in the Catholic religion remained limited.

As of May 1st, 18 dioceses have so far announced the resumption of public Masses. However, as Eric Sammon states: “Note that they may not have begun public Masses yet but have at least announced a specific date to resume.”

As of May 13, the number had grown to 58 dioceses. However, Mr. Sammon noted on his Twitter release of the graphic: “All dioceses with public Masses have imposed many restrictions on the celebration of Mass, some quite onerous; none are back to ‘normal.’”

Online Mass “Attendance” During COVID-19 So Far

Decreased Attendance of Live stream Masses After Lent and Easter Sunday has led to concerns that many individuals may simply drift away from religion. However, digital media has made it possible for wayward Catholics to easily access the Faith, for the homebound including the sick and elderly to unite themselves to the Sacrifice of the altar spiritually, and for classes of both adults and children to continue learning Catholicism.

Mercy Wallet, which put together a webpage hosting live-stream Masses, noticed a decrease in viewers within the weeks after Easter Sunday (which this year was April 12). St. Thomas More Darien CT live-streamed their Masses during the pandemic and noticed declining viewership week-over-week. In two months, the attendance of those attending the live-streamed Masses has declined from 617 on March 29 to 158 on May 10.

For comparison, on a typical Sunday before COVID-19, the parish would welcome roughly 1,500 people through its doors. Yet, even with the decline in parishioner attendance, Fr. Clark notes: “I think live-streams certainly have the potential for someone who is not Catholic to investigate our liturgy without any commitment.”

While social media and digital tools cannot replace an authentic, in-person encounter with God in the Sacraments, they can make religion available to a broader audience and reach those whose circumstances make them unable to attend a parish physically.

The Pontifical Council on Social Communications on the Church and the Internet published a document in 2002 that states in part: “Virtual reality cannot substitute for the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, nor the sacramental reality of the other Sacraments, nor the worship shared in a human community of flesh and bones….Sacraments on the Internet do not exist….Even religious experiences that are possible there through the grace of God are insufficient if they are separated from interaction in the real world with other persons of faith.”

For a Catholic, there is no digital substitute for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Sacraments. While participating virtually in the Mass can lead to benefits for one’s own spiritual life, digital tools do not replace an in-person encounter with God that for a Catholic can only happen in person. Theologians have raised the question of how these widespread and lengthy closures will ultimately affect the people of God.

Tools may make it possible to remain united, at least imperfectly, with our priests and parishes. Yet, digital tools cannot replace the ability to receive the very Body and Blood of God in Holy Communion or receive actual forgiveness for sins in the Confessional. The divide is even more profound for catechumens (those studying to enter the Catholic Church) whose Baptisms, which are traditionally performed at the Easter Vigil, have been indefinitely postponed.

In Summary

As shown throughout history, while the Church has been reluctant to embrace new technologies, social media adoption will likely only increase by parishes because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And yet, while such tools will never replace in-person religious worship, they can be used to reach more people.

St. Paul himself, writing to Corinthians, wrote, “To the weak, I became weak, that I might gain the weak. I became all things to all men, that I might save all” (1 Cor 9:22, Douay Rheims Translation). For today’s priests, the use of new technologies will similarly allow them to better reach souls.

While the jury is still out on the future usage of social media in a post-COVID-19 world, early indicators are illustrating both the benefits of social media yet also its limitations.