A new poll of Mass-goers in Ireland has found that just 36 per cent of Catholics who were attending Mass regularly before the Covid pandemic have returned to Mass.
Some 19 per cent of Catholics who attended Mass regularly before the Covid crisis do not know if they will come back, and another four per cent say they won’t be coming back. Seven per cent said they had “lost the habit” and six per cent said they are “happy to watch online”.
This is the first poll of its kind in Ireland. It was commissioned by the Iona Institute, a Christian advocacy and research organisation, and carried out by Ama´rach Research.
A large majority of those who have not returned to regular attendance said it was due to fear of the Covid-19 virus (45 per cent) or because of the limits on numbers permitted to attend (22 per cent) church services. The poll showed that 27 per cent of Catholics were attending Mass on a regular basis before the pandemic. The bishops lifted the obligation to attend Sunday Mass during the crisis.
Commenting on the poll findings, Dr John Murray, chairman of the Iona Institute, said: “The findings should act as a further wake-up call for the Church.
“On the positive side, 36 per cent of people are back at Mass, which is probably close to the maximum because of current restrictions. It is also good that a big majority of those who were attending Mass before the outbreak want to return when all this is over.
“But the fact that 19 per cent of Catholics who attended Mass regularly before Covid don’t know if they will come back and another 4 per cent say they won’t come back is obviously deeply worrying. The Church is clearly going to have to organise a big parish-by-parish effort and invite them back. The Church is nothing if it is not a community. We can’t be Christians on our own.”
Public Masses resumed in Ireland on 29 June but since then there have been local restrictions on attending church services in County Kildare and currently in Dublin city and county.
Last Friday, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin announced that churches in Dublin were closed to public worship due to a steep rise in Covid cases.
The move was criticised by David Quinn, founder of the Iona Institute, who highlighted that Dublin is the only capital city and possibly the only city in Europe currently where no one is allowed to take part in public worship, even though many other cities have higher infection rates.
However, churches in Dublin remain open for private prayer and funerals.