Residents in East Nusa Tenggara have a habit of holding parties after first communion ceremonies even though the local Church authorities have banned them.

Parties, accompanied by dancing and drinking alcoholic beverages, often require police protection due to untoward incidents in the past. Read more

Bishop Kevin Doran of Elphin says after consulting with clergy, baptisms, First Holy Communions and confirmation ceremonies will be held. The regulations for general religious services will be followed.

"The mission of the Church cannot be put on hold indefinitely," he says. He describes the state's guidance as "advice by government rather than regulation."

Three other Irish Catholic dioceses will follow suit. Like Doran, the bishops of Clogher, Waterford and Lismore wrote to the government last week informing it that access to the sacraments "will go ahead from mid-August."

Taoiseach (prime minister) Micheál Martin responded, saying he did not approve "any unilateral breaching of regulations no matter what quarter they come from.

"I'd say to the Church authorities that the government's only motivation here in terms of the regulations we have brought in, in respect of gatherings and congregations, is to protect people and to protect people's health."

Last month Archbishop Eamon Martin, who is the Primate of All Ireland, accused the government of communicating in a "grossly disrespectful" way that the baptism, confirmation and communion ceremonies should be delayed due to COVID-19.

The government's decision marked a "complete reversal" of its previous position in June, where the Taoiseach indicated the ceremonies could go ahead the following month.

Martin says he has been "deluged with calls from parishes" and priests and others have been extremely disappointed by the government's change of mind.

By 31 July, Ireland's 4.9 million people had recorded 299,549 COVID-19 cases and 5,035 related deaths. It is currently experiencing a fourth COVID wave driven by the Delta variant.

Waterford and Lismore's bishop is criticising the way the government and its COVID health team saying its communications with the Church "regarding the sacraments leaves a great deal to be desired.

"We are all conscious of the need to remain vigilant. Parishes have been exemplary ... but for any local parish community and their priest who wish to avail themselves of these sacraments, they must be allowed to do so."

The bishop of Clogher, whose diocese straddles the border with Northern Ireland, says the ceremonies will take place in the Republic of Ireland from 20 August.

"The appropriate protocols presently in place in our churches will be maintained, and families are reminded of the need for adherence to public health guidance in relation to social interactions following the church celebration," he says.

He says the diocese will follow the same practice as last year. The liturgies will involve small groups of children. Attendance will be restricted to the child, the parents/guardians, and sponsor."

The new regulations effectively criminalise Mass with a congregation, Martin says.

After meeting with Ireland's health minister, he stressed that priests' pastoral work should be "deemed essential, rather than subject to penal sanction" amid the pandemic.

Source

• The Catholic World Report
• Image: Independent.ie

"Some efforts, often well intentioned, run the risk of reducing the administration of sacramental acts almost to the level of a supermarket in which you can drop in and ‘get the sacrament done.'

"This would reduce the Eucharist to a commodity", Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin says.

Martin was responding to the displeasure some parents and grandparents have expressed because First Communion and Confirmation ceremonies have been cancelled because of the Covid-19 restrictions.

Martin says he understands families' disappointment when these ceremonies are postponed.

Martin says he is worried "about parishes taking initiatives to ‘get First Communions and Confirmations done.'

"I appreciate the pressure that families and schools can bring in parishes. We have to remember that First Communions and Confirmations are sacramental acts and must be celebrated in an appropriate liturgical context and catechetical preparation."

"The idea that sacramental acts have to be done quickly and can be done outside the normal liturgical situation is false. There is no urgent need to celebrate these sacraments just because they fit into the school calendar."

Martin is also concerned that many people are underestimating the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic in Ireland.

"The spread of the virus has reached serious levels and constitutes a real risk of radically increased infection within the community," he says.

Although there's no evidence the virus is being spread in worshipping communities, he says Dublin's response to it is appropriate at this time.

Another concern Martin spoke of is what he calls the "serious distortion" of a Vatican document that addresses worship amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

"I have seen reports quoting a Vatican document urging a rapid return to normal worship. Some are using that as an indication that the official line of the Holy See is to object to restrictions. This is a very serious distortion of what that document says.

"The document . . . strongly supports the application of restrictive measures and ‘painful decisions even to the point of suspending the participation of the faithful in the celebration of the Eucharist for a long period'."

Martin's concern for people's safety is echoed by other faith leaders.

Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin Michael Jackson says prospect of churches closing under Level 3 restrictions was "both frustrating and frightening." He added: "It is important that we face this with resilience and hope."

The Islamic Foundation of Ireland mosque on the South Circular Road also opted for safety, having Friday prayers live on Facebook when no-one was allowed in the mosque.

Dublin's small Jewish community says it hopes for some scope this weekend to mark Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The community is staying in close contact by phone and Zoom.

Source

• Irish Times

Ten students from three primary schools in Northern Ireland took part in a special video link-up with local parish priest Fr George Begley.

Jane O'Kelly, whose daughter made her First Holy Communion, says it was a lovely occasion.

"She recorded a prayer of the faithful earlier and I whatsapped the video to Fr George who played it during the Communion Mass."

"Other children recorded prayers too. Everyone got involved."

Laoise, who is nine, wore her Communion dress and was joined by her father and sisters while Jane gave her the Eucharist.

"Fr George consecrated the hosts at an earlier mass today and then families were given different time slots to collect them."

Another parent, Anna Marsella Horan, whose eight-year old son Sebastian also took part in the virtual service, says all the parents had trained in the local church on how to dispense Communion to their child.

"It was explained that our child has to say 'Amen' and we were shown how to place our hands correctly for when we gave them the Eucharist."

Sebastian celebrated the occasion with a special family party at home.

Begley says he is delighted with how the virtual Holy Communion service went.

"The parish pastoral council decided to offer local families the option of waiting for a physical celebration or going ahead with one by video link."

"The parents of 10 pupils took up the offer of a virtual Communion. It gave me a real sense of what the early Catholic church must have been like, when people gathered for mass in each other's homes."

"I have not heard of this happening anywhere else and perhaps not every parish would give their blessing but it worked well for us."

Begley says holding virtual Confirmation ceremonies would be more difficult.

"You have to anoint the child with oil and that would be problematic with social distancing."

Source

• RTE