Due to the Corona situation, the Bishops’ Conference is adjusting its rules for public services. From Wednesday, the Catholic Church will temporarily suspend the obligation to wear an FFP2 mask at office services. This is what the Secretary-General of the Bishops’ Conference, Peter Schipka, reported to Kathpress on Tuesday.
In concrete terms, this means that entering churches and celebrating services in the area of the Catholic Church is possible without special corona-related restrictions, according to Schipka (photo below). Separately, the bishops recommend that various hygiene measures be “maintained as far as possible”. A prevention concept is also mandatory for parties with more than 500 people. This does not apply to funerals or related services.
Bishops Rely On Personal Responsibility
As Schipka further explained, the suspension of the previous regulations is based on the personal responsibility of the believers and they are asked to protect themselves, for example by vaccination or wearing masks. “Those who wear an FFP2 mask during service in self-protection should be treated with respect,” the bishops’ conference stated explicitly.
“Maintain as many hygiene measures as possible”
Since the last relaxation of the corona measures on Holy Saturday, an FFP2 mask is only mandatory when entering and leaving a Catholic church. It could be collected on site during the service. From June 1, the Bishops’ Conference recommends “maintaining hygiene measures (e.g. disinfecting hands) as much as possible”. This includes providing disinfectants and airing churches after the service.
Since the start of the pandemic, the corona protective measures for public services in Austria have been determined by agreements between the state and the legally recognized churches and religious communities. The prevention concepts varied from keeping a distance to not singing and shaking hands in the sign of peace. After the last Corona agreement with the Ministry of Education expired at the end of June 2021, the churches created their own prevention concepts.
Source: Krone
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