On the 8th of June as the Government of Karnataka lifted restrictions on religious places, Archbishop Peter Machado had requested the Parish Priests to be extremely cautious and responsible in opening our Churches for public worship and liturgies with a minimum number of participants.
As per the latest Government statistics, the number of covid positive persons are on the rise and the Government has announced every Sunday as full curfew day.
Taking the present dire situations into consideration, Archbishop Peter Machado requested that the Public Church Services, even with few people, be stopped w.e.f. 5th July 2020 in Bangalore Urban and Bangalore Rural districts. This official order is applicable even to parishes celebrating the weekday Masses until now in these districts (Bangalore Urban & Rural).
However, the Churches in these districts (Bangalore Urban & Rural) may be kept open for private visits; and Holy Communion may be given only at a particular time, with prior information to the people, and after strictly implementing the standard operating procedures inside and outside the churches.
As regards celebration of liturgies with minimum number of people in the districts of Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Ramanagara and Tumkuru, the same may be continued with maximum caution in consultation with the respective deans, taking into consideration the standard operating procedures inside and outside the Churches. However if the Government brings about total lockdown in these districts, consequent to the surge of cases, Archbishop requests the Parish Priests in these districts too, to refrain from celebration of public liturgies, until further notice.
With the coronavirus refusing to go away we can only raise our hearts and minds to God and beg for his intervention and assistance.