Posted on 05/08/2020 5:41:12 PM PDT by marshmallow
LEICESTER, United Kingdom - According to the leaders of Ireland’s main Christian denominations, “at this time it would not be appropriate to consider a full return” to regular worship services.
The statement was made after a May 1 videoconference between the leaders of the Catholic Church, the Church of Ireland, the Methodist Church in Ireland, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, and the Irish Council of Churches. Most denominations in Ireland are all-island, and cover both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The Republic of Ireland went into lockdown on March 13, while Northern Ireland has been under lockdown since March 23, with the rest of the UK.
The Irish Christian leaders said in a May 4 statement that they recognized the desire of the their flock to join in collective worship, and commended Irish clergy “for their prayerful and creative use of various online platforms and other means that have brought encouragement, through God’s word and through prayer, to His scattered people.”
“We recognize, however, as we have said previously, that to be a community in the real sense of the word, means that as individuals we acknowledge our interdependence. In loving our neighbours, it is important that we all look out for one another and continue to adhere to government advice on social distancing and other measures. The current restrictions are challenging but are for the common good and the protection of everyone across our island,” the statement continued.
So far, 1,286 people have been reported to have died of COVID-19 in the Republic of Ireland, with 381 people dying of the disease in Northern Ireland.
On May 1, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar announced a 5-stage reopening process for the country beginning May 18. Churches will be allowed to reopen during phase 4, on July 20.....
(Excerpt) Read more at cruxnow.com ...
Irish used to be the toughest mugs in the world. What happened?
bttt
It is EXACTLY the appropriate time to restart worship.
This is sickening. If there was EVER a time for churches to be calling their congregations to prayer, it is now. Just goes to show the evil doers have infiltrated everything that was once revered and decent in our world.....
FIGHT BACK AGAINST THIS EVIL!
The bishops are acting like government employees
And not like the inheritors of the Apostles.
They also decided a few years back that marrying same sex couples would be appropriate so their decisions are not usually based on logic or fact.
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