I must confess to feeling dejected by today's vote in the Commons today which prevents public acts of worship for all those of faith communities.
Our own Bishop Stock has added his voice to that of the Cardinal Nichols and Archbishop McMahon in a letter to Boris Johnson. The Leeds diocesan website reports the following:
"The global spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a fast-evolving situation. From Thursday, 5 November to Wednesday, 2 December, the Government has said that places of worship in England, including Catholic churches, will only be permitted to open for private individual prayer and funerals.
Bishop Marcus has contacted the Prime Minister, adding his personal request to the statement made on behalf of all the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales by the CBCEW President and Vice-President, Cardinal Nichols and Archbishop McMahon, that churches be allowed to stay open for worship and religious services throughout the forthcoming period of national ‘lock-down’.
In the letter, the Bishop told Mr Johnson:
‘Our human nature is comprised of body and spirit, and the spirit is sustained by hope. It is in the heart that hope is born and builds within us the resilience we need to face the challenges in our lives. What I ask you is, please help places of worship to sustain hope in the hearts of a great many people of our country.’
Bishop Marcus has asked that both lay faithful and clergy circulate his letter and the CBCEW statement and contact their MPs with all speed to request that the Government’s guidance be amended to allow places of worship to remain open for acts of worship and religious services.
This means that there will be no public Masses in the the EF or OF for a month in our Diocese.
Oremus pro invicem.
