Covid-19: Church ‘as important’ as an off licence, says Bishop

Derry’s Catholic Church leader spoke out as religious denominations across Ireland search to find ways how to best serve their congregations amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Weekend public worship has been suspended across the island and church buildings on both sides of the border, initially allowed to remain open for private prayer, are now closed.

Dr McKeown said churches with open doors were particularly important for “people who are distressed”, particularly where “they might go off to the off licence instead if they can’t get to church”.

Standalone off licences across NI were forced to close last week when the government tightened restrictions on what shops could remain open during the Covid-19 crisis.

However, they were allowed to reopen after lobbying led to them being added to the Stormont Executive’s list of “essential businesses”.

“Access to well spaced out private devotion time in a church, particularly in the Catholic tradition, is at least as important as access to an off licence,” said Bishop McKeown.

“We are trying to communicate that to the authorities. I would fight for it, because people miss being able to drop in for private prayer.”

The Bishop also spoke of the dramatic impact the Covid-19 restrictions have had on wakes and funerals.

He said that Ireland’s “very healthy tradition of the wake” meant that bereaved families were understandably upset by the new restrictions.

“We are trying to develop ways of engaging with the reality of bereavement and asking how can we best help people in their really painful hour of need,” he said.

“But we have to have as our starting point: what is the best we can do for people in their hour of grief?”