Churchgoers should be allowed to attend public worship for Christmas – Doherty

The Government should ensure that public worship is allowed at Christmas time, a Fine Gael Senator has said.

Regina Doherty, Leader of Seanad Éireann, said, “As we move towards what should be the most celebratory and traditional time of year, I believe people should be entitled to attend their local church for personal worship, advent services and mass.

“For churchgoers, attending mass is an important and meaningful action that greatly benefits them, and after a particularly tough year, the ability to celebrate their faith in a church setting would be hugely welcome.

“With appropriate restrictions in place like social distancing, reduced numbers, hand sanitising and mask wearing, I don’t see a reason why churches should be made to remain closed over such an important and holy time for so many.

“I understand that the issue of public worship is currently under consideration, and a decision on this has yet to be made.

“All going well, we should hopefully be able to reduce the restrictions at the start of December, and whether that be down to level 2, 3, 4 or a variation of either, I think provision should be made to allow people of all faiths to attend places of worship if they so wish,” Senator Doherty concluded.