Derry Bishop: TV Mass a ‘poor substitute’ for actually going to church

Bishop of Derry Donal McKeown says that staying at home to watch Mass on TV is no substitute for going to church.
Bishop Donal McKeown.Bishop Donal McKeown.
Bishop Donal McKeown.

Dr McKeown acknowledged that online worship was a “great boon” during the Coronavirus lockdown.

“It is still helpful for the housebound,” he said. “But, for the vast majority of parishioners, it is a very poor substitute for gathering around the table of the Lord with people of all ages and backgrounds.”

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He added: “You can’t really listen to Jesus if you are washing the spuds or cleaning the dishes. Jesus asks for our full attention.”

Dr McKeown says there is an “onus” on churchgoers to gather.

At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the Derry-born leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland revealed that parishes across Ireland had been “flooding the digital highways” and crashing webcam live-feeds in response to the coronavirus-enforced closure of churches.

Archbishop Eamon Martin said that, amid the profound difficulties and upheaval of lockdown, people had responded with remarkable positivity.

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He added: “Our parishes have taken to cyberspace like never before. We’ve been flooding the digital highways with Eucharistic celebration and other prayer moments - so much so that we’ve crashed our ‘live-feeds’. Our webcam providers report that millions of people across the country are gathering virtually for Mass each week.”