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The Portuguese Episcopal Conference asks the authorities not to close the cemeteries on November 1 and the following day, to commemorate the Dead.
“It is true that the management of the vast majority of national cemeteries does not depend on the Church. But it would not be appropriate to complete the closure” of these spaces, taking into account the suffering to which families have been subjected in these pandemic times, says the note, broadcast. this Monday afternoon by the spokesman for the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP), Father Manuel Barbosa.
According to the priest, it is sensible to impose additional protective measures, such as the mandatory use of masks and control of the number of visitors, establishing a maximum limit according to the size of the spaces, but not the closure of cemeteries, as has already been announced, for example, by the municipality of Póvoa de Varzim.
The dioceses of Aveiro, Guarda and Viseu recommended that pilgrimages and celebrations in cemeteries should not be held on these two days, but according to the CEP, parish priests can celebrate more Eucharists, in coordination with local authorities, to avoid crowds.
At the meeting of the Permanent Council of the CEP, where this recommendation was approved, the bishops reiterated their concern about the return of the issue of the possible decriminalization of euthanasia and pointed to the possibility of holding a referendum as one more opportunity for the matter to be debated . more broadly by civil society.
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