Priests afraid of church ‘clusters’
With Masses starting up soon, clergy say they get no support
PARISH priests are worried they will be left ‘carrying the can’ if there is an outbreak of Covid-19 in their churches, as they rush to prepare for the resumption of Masses.
The Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) has said that priests are anxiously trying to ready their parishes for public worship in just two weeks.
The return date was initially scheduled for July 20, but it was brought forward to June 29 when Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced that an earlier easing of restrictions was possible due to the suppression of the virus.
The Irish Catholic bishops have circulated meticulous and comprehensive directions, including, for those in the west of Ireland, a list of 13 specific guarantees for priests to sign before permission is granted for public worship to recommence.
The checklist includes sourcing and training a team of stewards and volunteer cleaners, implementing physical distancing measures and associated signage, plans to distribute Holy Communion in the church and a plan to deal with an outbreak of the virus.
The ACP said in a statement that while priests were looking forward to opening their church doors again, there was ‘unease, upset and in some cases anger among priests’ that they were being asked to organise matters without assistance.
‘It needs to be said that there is widespread unhappiness among priests with the expectation, indeed presumption, that they take individual responsibility for orchestrating this demanding and difficult task and by implication to accept blame for, say, a possible cluster of Covid cases in their parish,’ the association said.
‘Rather than bishops spelling out what priests are expected to do, it would make more sense if all dioceses might relieve some of the burden by, for example, centrally sourcing resources such as PPE and signage, as well as offering short training courses – possibly online – for those implementing the new regulations.’
Fr Brendan Hoban, of the Killala Diocese in Connacht, said the timeline change in easing restrictions on churches has left priests with little time to be fully prepared. He said: ‘The problem is that we have just two weeks to prepare for public Masses to be reopened. Time is very, very short and it’s very difficult to do all that needs to be done, to ensure people are safe and protected from the virus as far as is humanly possible.’
He added that ‘the person on whom all the responsibility lies is the parish priest’.
Fr Hoban continued: ‘A lot of people who come to Mass are elderly or have underlying health conditions. The danger is that a cluster of the virus could develop, and the person carrying the can is the local parish priest.’
Limerick priest Fr Roy Donovan also voiced concerns, saying: ‘The issue is who takes responsibility for making sure it is all done exactly as the insurance company seems to be demanding. A number of parish priests are over 70. There is no way they are going to get the resources, know-how and skills.
‘It takes a lot of organisation to do all this. It is unfair to leave it all down to the parish priest. It should be chaired by some group, or pastoral council.
‘Many different types of businesses have had to do online training courses, but there has been nothing like that for us.’
A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Dublin responded: ‘Archbishop [of Dublin Diarmuid] Martin has been providing updates almost daily to priests and parishes and volunteers helping them prepare.
‘They have also received advice on where to source the signage and sanitising materials. There has been a very positive level of feedback from priests and parish pastoral councils who are working together to help with a safe return to the celebration of Mass and the Sacraments.
‘The diocese will continue to offer support, advice and assistance as preparations intensify and there has been regular communication and feedback from priests, parish staff and volunteers.’
‘Unease, upset and anger’