The Scottish Bishops have broadly welcomed the First Minister’s announcement of a relaxation of the ban on public worship, but have asked the Scottish Government to reconsider the cap on number attending.
The bishops have insisted that size of congregation should be proportionate to the size of the church in question. This is a system that is successfully applied in the retail sector, where a large supermarket can accommodate many more shoppers than a small corner-shop. In a statement, the Bishops said that they “anticipate ongoing dialogue” on the matter.
It was considered of the utmost importance that places of worship be re-opened in time for Easter and Passover, the most important festivals in the Christian and Jewish calendars. Initially, Nicola Sturgeon’s statement had specified April 5 as the earliest likely date for a relaxation of the ban, which would have been too late to allow public worship on Easter Sunday. The First Minister’s office agreed that this matter would be subject to review
The bishops’ statement said that “the opening of churches is a sign that the sacrifices endured so far are bearing fruit and gives us hope and encouragement to persevere. We pray that the Risen Christ, for whom we long during this holy season of Lent, will bless and bring healing to our nation”.
Their remarks echoed those of Pope Francis in February when he said that “Even as we seem ways to protect human lives from the spread of the virus, we cannot view the spiritual and moral dimension of the human person as less important than physical health”.
Unlike the other home nations, Scotland imposed a further ban on all public worship at the time of the second spike in covid-19 infections. This was vigorously resisted by the bishops and by a senior Glasgow priest, Canon Tom White of St Alphonsus’ Church in the Calton, who filed a pre-action letter with the Scottish Government seeking to lift the ban on gatherings.
The Scottish Bishops had argued that there was insufficient evidence that public worship, conducted under strict social distancing guidelines, was a significant vector for infection. The bishops confirmed: “As we continue to observe social distance and the protocols on infection control and hygiene formulated by the Bishops’ Conference Working Group under the leadership of the former chief medical officer Sir Harry Burns, we maintain that it would be more appropriate for each church building to accommodate a congregation in proportion to its size rather than on the basis of an imposed number.”
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