The Catholic Church in France has lost about 40 per cent of its normal annual revenue to the two pandemic lockdowns this year.
The Church has appealed for donations to make up at least some of the €90 million shortfall.
About one third of the 90 dioceses in France are in a “complicated” situation and 15 of those are “fragile”, according to the Church's annual financial report.
“We’ll rationalise, we'll sell a little more, some parishes will have to sell assets, in particular real estate,” said Ambroise Laurent, deputy secretary general of the bishops conference.
“We … may have to close churches here or there that are not used much, or regroup churches,” he added. Some parish projects might also have to be delayed or cut.
Laurent said about 40 per cent of ecclesial income went for operating churches, especially those built after the 1905 laïcité law that turned ecclesial buildings built until then into public property maintained by the state.
This was a larger chunk of the total than salaries for priests – mostly under 1,000 euros a month – and about 8,000 lay employees, he added.
Pilgrimage sites suffered even more, losing 70 to 80 per cent of their revenues.
The Church has received about five million euros in state aid during the lockdowns, which was small compared to its losses, Laurent said.
“The Church lives only by contributions,” he said. During the lockdowns, “there were no contributions, no collections, no offerings of Masses, no offerings at baptisms, marriages or confirmations”.
The government has not changed the latest cap on Mass attendance for Christmas, but its lifting of a newly applied 8 p.m. curfew for the evening of Christmas Eve means Masses with restricted congregations can be held.
Prime Minister Jean Castex, who rowed back on tighter limits on religious service attendance set last month, said on 12 December that coronavirus infections had not dropped enough to allow more worshippers to attend.
Church leaders quietly accepted the extension of current limits, which allow public services with social distancing, after successfully suing when the government briefly limited religious services to 30 worshippers no matter how large or small a house of worship might be.
By contrast, the curfew will apply on New Year’s Eve, a major secular festival when many French flock to public spaces to greet the coming year with champagne and fireworks.
The government has pledged to review its list of limitations by mid-January, but a feared spike in infections during the holidays does not bode well for any loosening of restrictions.
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