MORE DETAILS OF THE BISHOP’S MEASURES REGARDING COVID-19

Bishop Zammit’s Press release yesterday, summarises in a statement for the general public, the Church’s response to the Health authorities’ instructions on reducing the transmission of the dreaded Covid-19. The Bishop had issued a Decree suspending all public religious events within the Diocese.

The Decree also referred to other matters which are more specific or relevant to the Faithful. Here, we offer you the full text of the measures issued through the Decree:

 

 

  1. All Churches and Chapels and other places of the Diocese of Gibraltar, where Masses are celebrated or other public religious services are held, are to be suspended as from Saturday 14th.

  2. Parish Churches and Chapels may remain open daily as normal, but solely for personal prayer and visits to the Blessed Sacrament.

  3. All prayer groups and other groups of apostolate are to cease all their regular meetings and other events organized by them, as from Saturday 14th March, until further notice.

  4. In accordance with the instructions issued by the Health authorities, funerals are to be held at the Cemetery or Crematorium, with only immediate family members present.

  5. Confessionals are not to be used. Instead, the Sacrament of Reconciliation may be celebrated in a larger space where there is a sufficient gap between the priest and the penitent.

  6. With regard to concerns over fulfilling the Sunday and Holy Days of Obligation: The demands and challenges of this emergency, as for other situations when there is a genuine health crisis, pastorally overrides and mitigates the obligation to attend Mass. Instead, the Faithful are encouraged to use these times for private prayer and Spiritual Communion, for example, by reflecting on the Sunday’s readings and Gospel, reading the Bible, or saying the Rosary.

  7. Baptisms and weddings may not be held in public, but only, if the Parish Priest judges that the sacrament cannot be postponed for genuine pastoral reasons, with a maximum of persons present as follows:

    1. Baptisms: the person being baptized, the parents and 2 Godparents.

    2. Weddings: the couple, their parents, 2 witnesses and a photographer.

  8. First Holy Communions will not be held for as long as these measures are in force.

 

The Bishop concludes:

Since this is an evolving pandemic situation, further updates will be issued through our Diocesan website and on our Twitter account: catholic.gi and @CatholicGi

Sadly, these exceptional, emergency measures are essential. The Catholic community remains committed to cooperating with the efforts being made to reduce the impact of Covid-19 in Gibraltar.