When the word “obligation” – referring to the duty on Catholics under Canon Law to attend Mass on Sundays – occurs six times in a statement of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, there appears to be a hidden message. At the onset of the Covid pandemic in 2020, the bishops ordered churches to close, though parishes were allowed to stream a solitary priest celebrating Mass. They issued a statement suspending the obligation to attend Sunday Mass until they said otherwise. Which they have now done, applicable from the feast of Pentecost on 5 June. The term comes from Canon 1247: “On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass.” The traditional version of this rule used to add “… on pain of mortal sin”, and that seems to be implied by the bishops, though it is not stated.