Let us attend Mass once Level 5 is lifted
THE leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin, has called for churchgoers to be allowed to attend Mass once Level 5 restrictions are lifted.
Church services have taken place across the island of Ireland as Christians mark another Easter in lockdown.
And while face-to-face services remain prohibited in the Republic, the four main churches in the North have begun a gradual return to inperson worship having voluntarily stopped as the most recent Covid-19 wave took hold in January. Yesterday, on Good Friday, Archbishop Martin, the Primate of All Ireland, said church leaders had hoped people of faith would have been allowed to gather in small numbers for Holy Week and Easter, as is happening in the North.
His own cathedral, St Patrick’s in Armagh, had both a physical and virtual congregation on Good Friday.
Archbishop Martin expressed concern that lawmakers in the Republic had neglected the spiritual wellbeing of the community during the pandemic.
‘As soon as Level 5 is lifted, that very high level of restrictions, the churches should be able to gather safely,’ he told RTÉ’s News at One
He said that large, well-ventilated churches can accommodate socially distanced services, with parish teams working to make them as safe as possible.
‘It’s a really difficult balancing act but we would have really hoped to have some opportuhealth nity to gather in cautious, small numbers for Holy Week and Easter, as we’re doing in Northern Ireland,’ he said.
‘We have been having very mature and careful conversations with the government here in the North and with the public health authorities who recognise that people’s spiritual, mental and emotional health helps them with their physical as well.’ The cleric highlighted the unusual position of having different restrictions in different parts of the island.
He noted the experience of one cross-border parish that was having to adopt one approach for its two churches in the North and another for its solitary church in the Republic. ‘We’re really hoping for the day when across the whole island people can gather to worship safely,’ the archbishop added.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin met the archbishops in February, and they asked him to consider public worship at Easter and to increase the maximum attendance at funerals from 10 to 25.
While funeral attendances will increase from 10 to 25 from April 26, church services must continue to be streamed remotely for now. The Government has said that the recommencement of religious services on a staggered basis after May 4 will be considered.
‘Really difficult balancing act’