Covid has tested the church: Derry Bishop

Speaking at the Mass of Chrism at St Eugene’s Cathedral - one of the annual Easter Week services - Dr Donal McKeown remarked that you can gauge the health of any organisation when it has to face an unexpected crisis.

“Pressures can reveal both weakness and remarkable resilience,” he said. “These last two years have certainly tested us as a diocesan church with our parishes and organisations.”

The Bishop added: “In the first place, it has been very encouraging to see great creativity in using online platforms to reach very many people when our doors were closed and parishioners could not gather in person. The dedication of many parishes and groups meant that an almost monastic timetable was offered in many places, enabling people to tune-in and structure their often lonely or cramped days. I thank God for the new skills that we have learned. So many of us older people have now become adopted digital natives. We have also discovered that faith in God is still remarkably close to the surface for many people. A gentle rhythm of prayer has a power far beyond the content of the words used.

“On the other hand, I know that the lockdowns have taken their toll on many people – including families, businesses, schools and clergy. Many people were unable to celebrate the funeral of their loved ones. Since March 2020, we celebrated the funeral of 10 diocesan priests, one Carmelite, from Termonbacca, and one bishop. Clergy were unable to mark the loss of a brother with the usual ceremonies. We will see some of the effects only as the time goes on, prices rise, and we struggle to re-energise our parishes.”