Parish churches to partially open with new guidelines

THE Macau Diocese will partially reopen parish churches starting Saturday, March 7, with followers instructed to adhere to a set of guidelines to limit the potential spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. According to a statement, Sunday masses will remain suspended until further notice, while parish churches will only be opened for liturgies with a small number of participants. Open on weekdays, these churches will only accommodate private prayers and small-scale religious activities, such as weekday masses, as reception of groups of pilgrims from abroad will remain temporarily suspended. Devotees entering churches are required to comply with public epidemic prevention measures and instructions laid down by the parishes. These include “wearing masks at all times, submitting to body temperature checks, use of liquid disinfectants, sitting at a considerable distance from others, complying with the instructions of staff regarding movement within the church premises, and observing the designated entry and exit,” the statement read. Meanwhile, the Diocese encouraged the devotees to “live out the spirit of Sunday observance by continuing watching the live broadcast of masses at home, reading of scripture, spiritual communion, and other pious exercises such as the rosary.” In response to the epidemic situation and in order to cooperate with the public protection and disease prevention measures, Bishop Stephen Lee issued a directive earlier this month to suspend public masses in the Diocese from February 6 to February 19. However, it was decided to continually suspend public liturgical services until March 6. The Diocese has continually provided broadcast of Sunday masses online in different time slots according to three different languages. Meanwhile, all scheduled public masses in the chapels of religious community centers and elderly homes remain suspended. The Procession of the Passion of Our Lord, the God Jesus – one of the church’s biggest annual religious celebration – was also canceled, but the mass and novena prayer were streamed online. LV