It is a concern Wellington's Cardinal John Dew has met with a set of instructions and suggestions for the Wellington archdiocese to follow.

Writing, Thursday, to priests and lay pastoral leaders he has told them he wants churches in the archdiocese to be open and welcoming, but at the same time they need to work within the government's Covid-19 Protection Framework.

Dew's guidelines for volunteers checking Vaccine Passes before Mass are based around a friendly, warm but if necessary firm approach.

Parish priests and lay pastoral leaders are responsible for ensuring churches and other gathering places in their parish comply with the new traffic lights entry criteria.

"As Parish Priests and Lay Pastoral Leaders it will be necessary for you to ensure that at churches and other gathering places in your parish the new regulations are complied with", he writes.

"You or your delegates must sight each person's My Vaccine Pass or verify it using the NZ Pass Verifier App as they enter".

Among the bundle of four documents sent Tuesday is a letter of authority.

"As the Archbishop of Wellington and the legal owner of parish property I grant you and your delegated the authority to refuse person entry, and/or instruct a person to leave a church or other gathering place in your parish where you deem it necessary to ensure compliance with the above rules and/or to prevent the risk of spread of Covig-19", Dew tells the priests and lay pastoral workers.

He says this authority includes but is not limited to circumstances where a person is not vaccinated, or has not proven their vaccination status, displaying symptoms associated with Covid-19 and / or their presence within the premises may breach the gathering limits or other rules imposed under the Covid-19 Public Health Act and any regulations made under that Act.

With the bundle of documents is one that outlines the weekend gatherings that do not require a My Vaccine Pass in the Archdiocese and a link to the Our Lady of Kapiti live stream Mass.

Dew tells the priests and lay pastoral leaders that when there is a transgression, the offending people are to be engaged with politely and respectfully, but ultimately if they are unvaccinated they need to leave.

He encourages parish priests and lay pastoral leaders to plan ahead and that if they believed they may meet resistance, to consider identifying the possibility ahead of time and invite police, Maori Warden, Pacific Island Warden, community patrol member, social worker, or security guard, as appropriate to be present at the time the community gathers.

He goes as far as saying that as a last resort if the priests and lay pastoral workers meet real resistance and that ultimately if things escalate, to call the Police on 111 and explain the situation.

Dew concludes by saying that the parish is obligated to do what it can to adhere to the new rules of gathering under the Traffic Light System and warns that if exceptions are made the parish is liable for a substantial fine and the risk of Covid-19 infection is unduly increased.

My Vaccine Pass holders have a right to expect that everyone inside is vaccinated (and has a Pass to prove it).

Source

• Supplied

Those CathNews has spoken to in "Orange", are looking forward to the extra level of safety and greater congregational capacities they can offer their vaccinated congregations.

All, however, are treading a fine line establishing procedures that are welcoming and enforcing the law.

"This is the first weekend, it's new for everyone so there will be bound to be teething problems".

"I'm sure we'll work them out," said Peter Head, Parish Priest of Christchurch South.

Head is responsible for five churches in Christchurch.

"We're very pleased to have larger congregations and we're working hard to have our procedures in place to safely welcome people", he said.

Head said the parish is focused on making sure that people are welcome and complies with government regulations.

"We've added a level of extra training for greeters", he said.

Making sure the greeting was warm is the main point of consuming a priest north of Auckland whose parish is still in 'Red'.

Happy to be interviewed, he did not want to be identified.

"There's a fine line between protecting the vulnerable and giving the vaccinated a level of safety they deserve", he said.

"The last thing we want is a confrontation at the door of the church."

He told CathNews that having a parish Covid Committee has been a big help to him and the wider community.

Down country in Wellington Ohairu Parish Priest Pete Roe says that "If the parish gets it wrong it's all my fault.

"I'm colour blind", he said laughing.

Roe operated his three parish churches at capacity during Level 2 and is looking forward to welcoming more of the parish under ‘Orange'.

He says the paperwork has been the real challenge, not just the amount of it, but the government regulations are a "little sneaky" he said.

Pressed, he said that under ‘Orange', on page four of the regulations it says ‘Gatherings at a place of worship have no limits' then a couple of pages over says there are capacity limits based on 1 metre distancing.

Reading further Roe says the regulation clarifies that people do not need to stand a metre apart, but 1 metre distancing means the maximum number of people who can occupy the space as if each person was a metre apart.

"It adds a needless layer of complexity", he said.

Roe told CathNews that as well as readying the three churches, he is also having to educate the people.

"One of the churches wanted to have the vaccinated congregation in the church and the unvaccinated separately in the kitchen"!

Further up the line, in Kapiti, Parish Priest Dr Michael McCabe describes the situation as "pastorally complex".

He told CathNews that there is strong guidance and church approval to get vaccinated and there are no winners in this ‘vaccinated vs unvaccinated' situation.

"We appreciate the difficulties but also appreciate the need.

"While respecting people's conscience, for the greater good I'm encouraging my parishioners to get vaccinated."

"It's not just words but a witness to the common good," said McCabe.

"Look, if it's good enough for Pope Benedict and Pope Francis, it's good enough for me too", he said.

Dr McCabe got his ‘booster' on Thursday morning.

In order to operate at maximum levels, under the traffic light system, churches, like businesses are required to refuse access to those not double vaccinated.

Many people have expressed confusion about the new framework and last Friday the Anglican Bishop of Auckland, Ross Bay (pictured), spoke on NewstalkZB saying he is consulting with his community on how best to continue ministering to everyone.

The restrictions on who may and may not attend church services is tricky, as welcoming people is "fundamental to our DNA and we want to be able to offer hospitality and a welcome to everyone," says Bay.

"We also want to be able to provide a safe and healthy environment for people to come confidently to know, to feel okay about, about being there."

Bay says businesses and organizations aren't clear yet about how the government expects them to manage the restricted entry process.

He has concerns like "how will we understand how to examine vaccination certificates?" and "what will we do if somebody's determined to find entry?".

Festivals may find this simple as they have trained security on the door as a matter of routine, so managing controlled access is a standard aspect of the entry process.

Churches, on the other hand are generally staffed by volunteers, Bay notes.

He says the Anglican church has always been determined to work with the government and the community in general to to build a healthy community in the face of the Covid-19 virus. Adaptation is key to this, he suggests.

"We've had a lot of experience over the last 20 months adapting to the changes and how we can gather, how we come together, how we do things.

"So I'm sure we'll be able to step up to the one and find a way through it. I suppose at the moment, this is still a few unknowns that make certainty around that more difficult to find."

He thinks Anglicans will find themselves holding smaller services for people who haven't been vaccinated.

As Bay doesn't think the traffic light system is practical, he's looking for alternative solutions.

"So we're consulting with our clergy and our local church communities at the moment to see if we can find a way that we're all agreed on that we think would be the best way to respond.

"We are committed to doing our best to continue to minister to all people."

There is still much to discuss before Bay will feel all the "i"s have been dotted and the "t"s crossed.

He says he believes 98 percent of the Anglican clergy is vaccinated. He thinks it's likely Anglicans, like the Catholic community, will require clergy and others in voluntary face-to-face roles to be vaccinated for their safety and the safety of the people they're working with.

This is still to be decided, however.

"We haven't formed our vaccination policy yet from the process of doing that on the basis of consultation," Bay says.

Source

• NewstalkZB
• Image: Stuff