[ad_1]
The Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP) published, this Friday, the guidelines for the return of celebrations and community services on the last weekend of May, in the context of the covid-19 pandemic.
In a statement, the CEP emphasizes that “while community participation in the Liturgy resumes, protection against infection must be guaranteed” Therefore, it invites all Catholics “to do everything possible for themselves to limit this pandemic ” These protection rules must be implemented in each diocese, modifying them, if appropriate, taking into account the guidelines of the health authorities.
Therefore, among the various measures, there is the obligatory use of a mask, which should only be removed when receiving the Eucharistic Communion. Hands should be cleaned at the entrance to the church with a disinfectant.
“The access of the faithful to Sunday masses, celebrations of the Word and other acts of worship will be limited in the number of participants, according to the size of the church and the applicable regulations, by the competent authorities, to all events in closed spaces “and the minimum safety distance between the participants must be respected so that each member has a minimum space of 4 square meters for them. The distancing rule does not apply to people from the same family or living in the same house.
In communion, priests must wear a mask and communion is not yet in the mouth and cup. In the event that the celebrating priest is older or belongs to a risk group, he must be replaced, in the distribution of the Communion, by some deacon or extraordinary minister.
All objects used en masse must be disinfected, as well as the hands of those who handle them before use, such as the communion cup. Cleaning should be done with disposable masks and gloves and objects should be dried with disposable paper towels.
The offertory, which takes place during the mass, takes place at the end of the mass, at the exit of the church, to avoid the passage of the containers for the offerings from hand to hand.
The optional gesture of peace remains suspended.
After mass, the church should be ventilated for at least 30 minutes, and the points of contact (holy vessels, liturgical books, objects, benches, door handles and handles, sanitary facilities) should be carefully disinfected.
“Pilgrimages, processions, festivals, pilgrimages, religious gatherings, camps and other similar activities in large groups, susceptible to a strong spread of the epidemic, remain suspended until further guidance is received,” recalls CEP, who asks people who are ill. or they feel ill if they abstain from attending mass and those who belong to groups at risk appeal not to attend mass on Sundays, but to other weekly ones with less affluence.
The rules are also defined for celebrations and sacraments such as baptisms, first communions, weddings, or funeral ceremonies. See the guidelines here.
