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If extra Masses were scheduled during the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer people would be at each of them and the risk of being exposed to the virus would be reduced.
Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, who is the head of the Polish bishop’s conference, said ensuring not too many churchgoers gather at once is in line with the Polish government’s COVID-19 restrictions. A third of the Polish population attend Mass.
Concerned at the effect of these restrictions, Gadecki proposed his ‘more masses for fewer people’ option.
“Just as hospitals treat illnesses of the body, the church is there to heal illnesses of the soul. That’s why it’s unimaginable that we should not pray in our churches,” he said.
“With regards to the demands of the Chief Sanitation Inspector for there not to be mass gatherings of people, we ask for the enlargement – if possible – of the number of Sunday Masses in churches, so the appropriate number of churchgoers can participate in a Mass at a given moment.”
While the virus is still spreading, Gadecki suggested the elderly and sick could stay at home and follow Sunday Mass via television and radio broadcasts.
In Europe’s worst-affected country Italy, bishops have cancelled weekday Masses in the norther parts of the country. Such a step has never been taken before.
Poland has 20 confirmed cases of COVID-19 so far.
Source
- US News
- Image: Catholic News Agency
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