Bishops call for cap to be scrapped

The Catholic Church in Scotland wants a planned 20-person limit on congregations when churches can reopen for worship to be dropped.

Instead, they believe each church should be able to allow a congregation in relation to its size, while maintaining measures to limit the spread of coronavirus such as social distancing.

As part of the Scottish Government's road map out of the lockdown revealed last week, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced plans to reopen communal worship in time for the Easter weekend and Passover on April 4.

Services will be limited to congregations of 20.

In a statement, the Catholic Bishops of Scotland welcomed the announcement but questioned the need for the 20-person cap.

They said: "The Catholic community recognises the seriousness of the pandemic and is committed to working with others to avoid the spreading of infection.

"At the same time, we anticipate ongoing dialogue with the Scottish Government regarding the requirement of a numerical cap on the number of worshippers.

"As we continue to observe social distancing and the protocols on infection control and hygiene formulated by the Bishops' Conference working group under the leadership of the former Chief Medical Officer, Sir Harry Burns, we maintain that it would be more appropriate for each church building to accommodate a congregation in proportion to its size rather than on the basis of an imposed number."