More than 2,000 people have signed a petition calling for the Diocese of Pittsburgh diocese to revoke a mask mandate in its Catholic schools.

The online petition contends school-age children have “spent the summer enjoying activities with family and friends mask-free” and were “putting the hardships of last school year behind them.” On Tuesday, the diocese announced it would require face masks for all students, faculty and staff, regardless of vaccination status, for the start of the academic year.

“Many parents feel bait-and-switched,” said Helen Bollinger, a parent who signed the petition. Her two children — one entering first grade and the other starting third grade — were set to attend John F. Kennedy Catholic Elementary School in Washington this year.

Masks are not required to attend Mass at Catholic churches within the diocese. The diocese has about 13,000 students, a spokesman said Wednesday.

Parents were told in May when they registered for the upcoming academic year that masks would be optional, Bollinger said.

“Although we had hoped to be in a position to allow optional masking, that is not possible at this point in time,” Michelle Peduto, director of Catholic schools, wrote in a letter to students, families, teachers and staff Tuesday. “The protocols for quarantining in an optional-mask environment would significantly compromise our ability to provide in-person instruction. We must evaluate how the first month of classroom instruction impacts covid numbers for students of all ages.”

But parents who signed the online petition argue that decisions regarding masks should be left up to each family.

“I’m not against masks, but I’m pro-choice,” said Bollinger, who is vaccinated against the virus, though her children are too young to be inoculated. “We chose this school for the small class size, the curriculum and the mask optional.”

Bollinger, who previously homeschooled her children, said her kids were eager to attend a brick-and-mortar school for the first time this year. But with a mask mandate in place, they’re now feeling “unsure,” she said.

Bollinger said she is “highly debating” pulling her children from Catholic school over the issue and instead sending them to Canon-McMillan, the public school district where they reside. Masks are optional at Canon-McMillan.

“Parents and caregivers — not the government or the diocese — are responsible for making decisions about their children’s health and safety,” the online petition reads.

Masks are optional for students attending Catholic schools in the Diocese of Greensburg.

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