Great desire to return to worship as soon as possible
The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland has said he hopes the Taoiseach will bring the bishops’ concerns over the “blanket restriction on public worship” to the Cabinet and discuss it with public health authorities. Sarah McDonald reports in Ireland.ie
Archbishop Eamon Martin was speaking about the meeting on Wednesday evening between the country’s four catholic archbishops and Micheál Martin. However, the Taoiseach gave no commitment to the bishops that the current ban would be overturned.
The discussion between Mr Martin and the churchmen focused mainly on the effect which the current Covid-19 restrictions are having on the health and well-being of the faith community and the “great desire to return to worship as soon as possible”, the bishops said.
Speaking to RTÉ Radio’s News at One, Dr Eamon Martin criticised the imposition of the ban on all public worship with the introduction of Level 3 restrictions. He said this had been done “without any meaningful consultation with religious leaders right across the island – north and south”.
“It is one of the things I really can’t understand – why the restrictions are put in place without consultation with the bodies concerned. In Northern Ireland all of the Christian traditions, all of the faith leaders have ongoing contact with the Executive office.”
He said he believed that public worship could take place safely and in a way that meets public health concerns.
“There is absolutely no evidence, that we know of, that our church buildings have actually been a source of contagion or of spreading the disease,” he said.
Of the meeting, the Catholic Primate said the bishops got “a very respectful response from the Taoiseach” and that they had tried to convey to him “the strength of feeling that we’re hearing on the ground from so many people in our congregations” and from other Christian church leaders.
Acknowledging the challenges for the government he said different groups would be making the case for concessions but that faith and religion was different as it was “very fundamental to people’s lives”.
“It is fundamental to what we are as a Christian community. It is not like other things; we all would dearly love to be able to go to restaurants and to socialise but going to the house of God to pray on the Lord’s Day – Sunday – is fundamental to who we are.”
He also underlined that churches play a role in putting forward public health messages about respect for each other’s lives and promoting health and the common good.
In Wednesday’s meeting, the Taoiseach acknowledged the role that religious leaders have in supporting people and giving hope at a time of stress and worry and in reaching out to those who may feel isolated or marginalised.
The challenges of those suffering bereavement at this time were also acknowledged, particularly ahead of November, the traditional time of remembrance of the dead.
Report courtesy of Ireland.ie
29 October 2020
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