Mumbai, June 22, 2020: Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, has appealed to his priests not to open churches and hold church services without the standard operating protocols in place.
“Even if there is government permission, please do not open churches and start Masses unless you have a protocol (SOP) in place,” said Cardinal Gracias, in his latest communication to the clergy in his archdiocese on June 20.
The cardinal, who leads the Church in the country as the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India has stated that churches may soon be opened and that a video conference with the deans will be held during the week to start preparing for the re-opening. The deans in turn could discuss the opening with their parishes, he said. At the same time he
With municipal authorities permitting all burials including of Covid-19 cases in all cemeteries after the World Health Organisation (WHO) and government of India guidelines concluded that there is no evidence of danger of infection from corpses, provided usual precautions are observed, he appealed to the clergy to caution family members to avoid any physical contact with the body.
“Wear a mask, or even better a face shield. The restriction on the numbers still holds. Our priests are advised not to go to the house and to complete all the burial rituals with sensitivity and respect in the graveyard itself,” he stated.
On June 7, in a communication to all bishops, the day before the government of India permitted religious places to be opened, Cardinal Gracias urged bishops not to be in a hurry to start services at churches until they have satisfactory protocols in place.
“The factors that need to be taken into account are; the right of our faithful to have pastoral care; our responsibility to protect people from the danger of infection that could prove to be fatal; government directives, and liturgical law,” he stated, giving bishops guidelines for the reopening of churches.
He suggested one square meter distancing unless it is a family from one household, restrictions on number of people entering the church with the bishop specifying how many can enter each church, depending on its size. He recommended that one third of the capacity of the church, with only one entry point and one exit point with clear signage indicating this.
Besides sanitizing hands, he suggested that the church doors be kept open to avoid physical contact with handles and doors, where people are requested to come with their hands sanitized at home. He also recommended provisions for washing of hands with soap, water and tissue at the entrance of the church and a dustbin where used tissues may be disposed and burnt after the liturgical service.
Similarly, Holy water stoups should be dry with no sprinkling of Holy water permitted. Ushers should ensure that no one enters without a mask and people should sit at a distance, one in a pew or if the pew is long, one at either end, with households permitted to sit together but distanced from other people, he said, adding that social distancing is not just sideways but also at the front and back of church-goers.
No choir will be permitted and cantors could be used if there is singing. While exiting people should leave pew by pew to avoid crowding at the door. He also suggested distribution of communion during the mass only to servers where communion could be distributed after the mass outside the church in a neighboring hall.
Source: The Times of India