More people will be allowed to congregate in “cathedrals of commerce” than in churches once public health restrictions are eased, Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell has said, as he called for greater numbers to be allowed to attend funerals and Mass.
“People of all faiths will find themselves locked out of worship when everything else in this country is open,” he told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.
The archbishop said that when he goes to his local shop for milk, he has to “wade my way through the aisles to get there.”
“I'm not saying that the restrictions should be set aside, what I'm saying is the current restrictions are far too rigid, far too blunt, they could be relaxed somewhat and people would still be safe,” he said.
People were safer inside church buildings, which were sanitised to almost medical levels, he said. However, he warned that people's patience was running low. “They are not going to accept a situation where they are being locked out of worship until we get to Level 2,” he said.
The archbishop said he was not suggesting “a free for all” but that a limited number of people be allowed to attend their local church.
A limit of 50 had worked previously, he said, and there had been a good system of pods which were 4 metres apart, with separate entrances and exits to the church.
'Harsh and unfair'
Separately, in a statement issued as part of his St Patrick’s Day homily, Archbishop Farrell said current restrictions limiting funeral attendances to just 10 mourners are “harsh and unfair”.
That some close family members are denied the right to be present at the funeral of their loved ones is “tolerable only in the most extreme circumstances and for the shortest possible period”, the archbishop said.
Religious worship more generally has a “clear human priority” over other activities, which must not be subordinated to “powerful commercial interests” as restrictions relax, he said.
“As a matter of dignity and fairness ... I call on the public authorities to give assurance that the legitimate desire of people to gather responsibly and within reasonable guidelines to exercise their constitutional right to worship will be prioritised in the easing of restrictions.”
