Masks, sanitisers a must in church, says Archbishop of Bombay

Mandatory use of masks and sanitisers restricting a churchs capacity to onethird and no more choir till the world is free of COVID19 may very well be the new normal for the churchgoers in the state when the restrictions are further relaxed next monthCardinal Oswald Gracias the president of Catholic Bishops Conference of India CBCI recommended a list of guidelines on Sunday giving the public across India a glimpse of what visiting a church would look like in the nearfuture The suggestions would also be applicable in Maharashtra in accordance with the state governments guidelines Archbishop of Bombay spokesperson Father Nigel Barrett told middayThere is a list of guidelines issued by Cardinal Oswald Gracias once churches reopenGracias who is also the Archbishop of Bombay in his letter addressed to priests bishops and archbishops across the w said India is now fifth in the world for new Coronavirus cases We cannot let our guard down I would urge all my brother bishops to not be in a hurry to start Eucharistic Sacrifices in our churches till you have a satisfactory protocol in placeHe mentioned that since Mumbai and Maharashtra are still under lockdown he had not issued any norms for the Archdiocese of Bombay Father Barrett said it was the prerogative of the state government to reopen religious placesRestrict church capacityCardinal Gracias stressed the need to maintain physical distancing in the church One square metre distancing is prescribed unless it is a family from one household Hence the number of people allowed to enter church should be restricted The bishop can specify how many He recommended onethird of a churchs capacityHe also said churches would have to make arrangements for sufficient ushers to ensure the rules are followed The ushers should ensure no one enters the church without a maskThere should be sanitising of hands Church doors should be kept open to avoid physical contact with handles doors I would recommend provision for washing hands with soap water and tissue at the entrance of the church Also a dustbin to dispose of the used tissues These should be burnt laterThe communication added that sprinkling of holy water should stop and the stoups must be empty Cardinal Gracias also suggested discontinuing choir for a while However cantor the lead singer of a choir can sing a hymn or recite a PsalmIssue of Holy CommunionReferring to Holy Communion as a most vexing issue Cardinal Gracias stated The safety of our people no danger of transmission of virus from priest to people or from communicant to communicant safety of our priests government directives that explicitly prohibit any physical offering like prasad inside the religious placeThere have been several suggestion regarding this a restrict the number of people drastically 2 Place a Ciborium with consecrated hosts on a table people can come and communicate directly c Distribution of holy communion after MassI urge that the number of Masses be increased I would also recommend that you grant a dispensation from the Sunday obligation for people of a specified agemorbidity the letter concludedCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news