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The priests will go to the house of the faithful before Christmas or the Epiphany, “they will not enter the houses of the parishioners except by their insistent request” and they will respect all the sanitary regulations imposed by the authorities, the representatives of the Prefecture of Bucharest and the Church agreed on Monday. However, priests are urged to “intensify individual pastoral care, responding to the requests of parishioners by officiating at home celebrations, reading health prayers, visiting the sick.”
The Prefecture of Bucharest organized, on Monday, a meeting attended by representatives of the Archdiocese of Bucharest, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese and the Diocese of Bucharest, in which the measures that priests must observe during the holidays, and the Archdiocese of Bucharest presented a series of additional sanitary measures regarding pastoral visits.
The established measures, according to the Capital Prefecture:
- Clergy are urged to intensify individual pastoral care in response to requests from parishioners by officiating at home celebrations, reading health prayers, visiting the sick.
- It was mentioned that no clergy can be compelled to make pastoral visits during this period. If a clergyman considers that organizing pastoral visits would be a danger to him or to the faithful, he may opt for other pastoral methods.
- Outside of the place of worship, believers can meet with church priests who can offer them a pastoral gift.
- Priests who want to organize pastoral visits on the occasion of the Nativity or the Baptism of the Savior Jesus Christ, should take into account the following recommendations:
- only one period will be chosen: before the Nativity or on the Epiphany. You will not go twice on pastoral visits to the same parish.
- the option will be sent to the archpriest and will necessarily include the chosen period.
- As these visits are a unique opportunity for pastoral care, it is forbidden to delegate pastoral visits. They will be carried out only by the pastor / pastoral sector.
- During these visits, all sanitary norms imposed by the authorities will be observed: clergy and singers will wear a mask and sanitary gloves and the distance of 1.5 m will be observed.
- It will not enter the houses of the parishioners, except by their insistent request.
The prayer of the balance between the years will be officiated between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. The representative of the Catholic Church mentioned that the solemn Holy Mass on Christmas Eve will be celebrated at 8:00 p.m.
“It was reaffirmed that solidarity and social responsibility are fundamental in times of crisis and are two values that dictate every decision at the regulatory level. (…) The prefect assured the ecclesiastical representatives that, regardless of the cult, the Institution of the Prefect does not want to be affected. greater measure of religious activities, wishing to guarantee the rights of all believers, respecting the existing protection norms, with the health and life of the residents of Bucharest being a common priority ”, the Capital Prefecture also transmitted.
