Cardinal Vincent has been meeting with the Government Taskforce comprising religious leaders to discuss the re-opening of places of worship as the lockdown eases down. These are the main points that the Cardinal has communicated to priests today:

• When our churches first re-open – likely to be in June – it will most likely be for just ‘individual prayer’. Individual prayer, in the Government’s understanding, excludes any formal summons, service, liturgy or blessing. It cannot involve the participation of any minister, nor would it permit a group of individuals to pray in common, eg in public recitation of the Rosary. This will be a central condition of opening and crucial in our adherence to regulations on social gathering.
• The celebration of public Masses will be further away, and most likely not before July.

When the church re-opens we will still need to follow social distancing and other health and safety guidelines. We will, therefore, need volunteers to help us to do this. We will be looking for people to assist with the stewarding, regular cleaning, etc. We will publish more details when the time comes so do check the website and the newsletter for more updates.