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The letter says the bishops are “mindful of the challenges many people in our community are facing” and “understand the anxiety for parents and caregivers created by a loss of employment or other challenges of caring for children at home”.

The bishops noted that work is being done to ensure the community is supported during this period, and that students are not further challenged by a need to look for a new school as a result of financial hardship.

“Our schools offer strong pastoral care, which is the foundation of our Catholic faith, and is particularly important in times of upheaval, such as when many educators and students are having to adjust to distance learning. We want to ensure all those currently enrolled in Catholic schools are able to remain at their school of choice,” the letter stated.

It continued: “The New Zealand Catholic Education Office and our diocesan leadership teams have given Catholic school proprietors an appraisal of the challenges parents are likely to face as a result of the impacts of Covid-19. They are looking at ways we can support the cost of attendance dues for parents who have a loss of income or other hardship. Work is being done to ensure that our community is supported during this period, and that students are not further challenged by a need to look for a new school as a result of financial hardship.”

The bishops commended Catholic school families, staff and communities for their “creative and faith-filled response during this time”.

“We are inspired by how schools have worked to ensure the continued learning and spiritual formation of students. We look forward to continuing to support our community to remain part of the Catholic education family.”

The bishops also stated that they are remembering Catholic school families, staff and communities in their prayers.

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On April 23, 40 years ago, Bishop Cullinane became the first bishop of the newly created diocese.

“How did I celebrate under lockdown?  – Jesus and I did it quietly together; we are hoping to celebrate with others later. He is in my bubble”, Bishop Cullinane told NZ Catholic.

The diocese is still looking at celebrating his anniversary, hopefully after the lockdown is lifted.

“Monsignor Brian Walsh had suggested I lead the Mass on Pentecost Sunday, which is the diocese’s feast day. Let’s hope that can still happen,” he said.

Looking back on his appointment, Bishop Cullinane said he felt “anxious, but [I] also saw it as an opportunity to do some of the things I felt needed to be done”.

Bishop Cullinane was on the staff of the Pastoral Centre in Palmerston North in the 1970s, and was in touch with people from all over New Zealand who wanted the renewal introduced by the Second Vatican Council.

“We provided a wide range of courses – Scripture, liturgy, catechetics, social justice, etc. for laity, religious and priests. The enthusiasm of people committed to renewal, and the heartbreaks of those who experienced opposition to it, highlighted for me the need for ongoing adult formation at all levels.  This became a priority in my ministry as bishop,” he said.

At the start, there were no diocesan structures. “My first office was a small kitchenette at the Pastoral Centre,” he recalled. He said the “process of disengagement” (from Wellington archdiocese) was worked out by competent people from both dioceses and “the very fair-minded contribution of Cardinal Tom Williams”.

It fell to Bishop Cullinane to create a logo. “It was the Easter season when the diocese came into being, and so I chose a logo that featured the contours of the diocese, with Ruapehu at the top from where the Risen Christ speaks – kia tau te rangimarie ki a koutou. The bottom boundary is not shown, out of respect to the local iwi, who had felt cut across the middle by where the boundary was placed.

The only personal touch in the logo is the reference to Hebrews 5:7-9, Bishop Cullinane said. “Some time later, I was rebuked by the Heraldic Society for not conforming to traditional coats of arms; I haven’t slept since!” he added.

Bishop Cullinane said the main assets of the diocese were its people, religious and priests.

“Programmes of formation for lay ministries (Hand On and Waka Aroha) were important developments. So too was the appointment of lay women and men to important diocesan leadership positions, including finance and Catholic education. Eventually we appointed lay pastoral coordinators to lead some parishes rather than amalgamate them,” he said.

Instead of one Diocesan Pastoral Council, they established five Pastoral Deanery Councils “which were open to the participation of a much wider representation of the people of the diocese”. He met with each council three times a year initially, then dropping down to two.

“The main limitation was that we were not used to working together on this scale. But it seemed consistent with the reason for creating the diocese in the first place: to bring people, priests and bishop into closer, more frequent, contact. It was that way of working together that Pope Francis is encouraging – a synodal journeying together, listening at grassroots, and sharing responsibility. The only way to get used to it was to do it,” he said.

Maori Mission

A bigger challenge for Bishop Cullinane was enabling the full participation of Catholic Maori in the Church. “The traditional ‘Maori Mission’ ran alongside the parishes in parallel. It gave Maori a strong sense of belonging in the Church, and we are permanently indebted to the priests, sisters and brothers who made this possible,” he said.

But there were several weaknesses, he added. For one, it was dependent on religious orders, who gradually had fewer personnel to provide, until they eventually withdrew. Also “Maori did not feel ‘at home’ in parish liturgies, programmes and apostolates. The challenge was to help Maori feel their place in the Church was not on the margins, while ensuring they could continue to experience their own ways of gathering,” he said.

Bishop Cullinane responded to this challenge by establishing a Maori Apostolate Coordinating Board.

“The appointment of Koro Danny Karatea Goddard as my vicar for Maori was a milestone. So too was the ordination of Maori priests: Steve Hancy ordained on his home marae at Raupunga in 1988; and two widowers, Pehi Waretini on the Maungarongo marae in 1992, and Tamati Manaena on the Waitapu marae in 1998,” he said.

Integration

Bishop Cullinane said the integration of Catholic schools into the state system almost saw the closing down of some schools.

“Integration into the state system was conditional upon our schools being brought up to the material standard of the state schools. But the cost of doing this was beyond our means, and we were literally faced with having to decide which schools to keep and which to close, if we could not integrate them all,” he said. Fortunately, Government suspensory loans enabled the schools to integrate.

“There was no let-out earlier, however, when, in the very first days of the diocese, I was told by the then-chancellor of the archdiocese that I would need to halt a collection already in progress in Hawkes Bay for the building of a new co-ed school, or face long-term, crippling indebtedness. It was a very upsetting time for us all,” he said.

Recycled

Bishop Cullinane said he is loving the slower pace of retirement. “In a letter recognising my 32 years of leading the diocese, the Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples spoke of a continuing apostolate of prayer and sacrifice. I really do find this is how I can continue to contribute. I am also very happy to be involved in parish ministry where and when required; at times more re-cycled than retired,” he said.

He said the title “emeritus” seems a bit prestigious, “but my Latin dictionary brings it down to earth: veteran, old, disused.”

From the outset, the Acts of the Apostles was the diocese’s “mission statement” and, at one of the bishops’ synods, he spoke of reimaging the Church as the community of Jesus’ disciples. “In both these ways I see the Church ‘moving into the future with its eyes on where it is coming from’:  ka titiro whakamuri kia anga whakamua. I think this is how the Church will find itself.”

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Each of these readings plays a special role in this Pentecost day celebration. For it is in each author’s words that we hear the extraordinary testimony members of the early Church give to a power of presence in their midst. And that presence, of course, is the Holy Spirit who breathes life into everyone in the wake of the Resurrection and ascension.

In Acts, Luke’s depiction of the disciples assembled inside a house reveals the great outreach that the Spirit enables. The phenomenon that suddenly envelops those present makes it possible for them to preach everywhere in every language. The Spirit is therefore capable of receiving an instant welcome in order to let the world hear of God’s great power working through a few for the good of all.

Paul, a talented speaker and charismatic member of that early Church, shows us in 1 Corinthians that the Holy Spirit is a singularly powerful gift of divine presence. And at work for the common good, the Spirit is in complete union with God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul thus bears witness to the universal benefits of being spiritually empowered by our God.

Like Luke’s account, John’s house scene also recounts a memorable post-Resurrection moment for the disciples. The risen Christ’s appearance explains why Jesus’ return to the Father is necessary. It takes place to announce that the Holy Spirit is the Church’s life force for future mission and ministry. And Jesus’ peace greeting signals the Spirit’s imminent arrival, that is the offer of well-being for all people.

Because of these readings, our Pentecost celebration becomes a jubilant and profound expression of confidence in our God. For they invite great trust in the Holy Spirit to support us wherever we are in the world.

PENTECOST SUNDAY

First reading: Acts 2:1-11.

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his own native language? We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travellers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.”

Second reading: 1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13.

Therefore, I tell you that nobody speaking by the spirit of God says, “Jesus be accursed”. And no one can say, “Jesus is Lord”, except by the Holy Spirit. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service, but the same Lord; there are different workings, but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.

As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptised into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

Gospel:  John 20:19-23.

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. [Jesus] said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

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Tomairangi Mareikura and Rāwiri Tinirau – the vice-chair and chair of Te Kaunihera Matua o Te Hui Aranga (the governance entity for the Hui Aranga) – told NZ Catholic in a statement that several thousand Māori Catholics were able to participate online in karakia/Miha (services/Masses) on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

“Primarily, two karakia/Miha were held via Zoom (Good Friday at 3pm – The Passion; and Easter Sunday at 10am – The Resurrection),” they said.

“The Zoom hui were hosted by Che Wilson of the Ruapehu Māori Catholic Club, supported by the Ngāti Rangi office (Ohakune). The karakia/Miha were developed in conjunction with, and presided over by, Pā Piripi (Phil) Cody, Pā Rāwiri (Dave) Gledhill (both of whom are based at Pukekaraka, Ōtaki) and Deacon Danny Karatea-Goddard.

“All Māori Catholic clubs affiliated to Te Kaunihera Matua o Te Hui Aranga were invited to participate in the delivery of the karakia with readings, mihimihi (greetings) and waiata (song) being shared across the 14 clubs of our Hui Aranga. All members of the Hui Aranga were invited to attend karakia/Miha from their bubbles, dressed in their respective club uniforms.”

Most of those who participated through Zoom did so as whānau groups. Zoom allows up to 100 participating links, and organisers estimate 300-500 people took part this way.

“Karakia were also streamed live via both the Ngāti Rangi and Hui Aranga group Facebook pages,” Ms Mareikura and Dr Tinirau said.

“The Facebook statistics tell us that these events had a reach in excess of 7000, with the videos having been viewed, shared and replayed over 3600 times with over 2500 engagements. Based on these numbers, and the number of active viewers during the livestreams, we calculate up to 2000 attendees at each karakia.”

Usually, as well as religious services, prayers and hospitality, Hui Aranga include activities like kapa haka (performing arts), sports and a religious quiz.

“The Hui Aranga Facebook page also allowed for Hui Aranga members to share their memories of past Hui Aranga and what it means to them, as well as sharing stories, pictures and videos of how they chose to celebrate Easter this year in their homes,” Ms Mareikura and Dr Tinirau said.

“Many chose to practise as best they could through the various Hui Aranga activities, including kapa haka, sports, religious quiz and the celebration hākari (feast/dinner) on Easter Sunday.”

Nonetheless, those who intended to be at the 2020 Hui Aranga were naturally saddened it could not take place this year.

“[But] all were understanding of the situation and in full support that, as a Māori community, a Catholic community and as a country, we needed to do this in order to keep ourselves and each other safe,” Ms Mareikura and Dr Tinirau said.

Some 1200 people from the 14 clubs across the North Island were expected to attend this year’s Hui Aranga. The 14 clubs affiliated to Te Kaunihera Matua o Te Hui Aranga come from Te Tai Tokerau (Northland), Tauranga Moana, Whanganui/Ruapehu, Taranaki, Hawkes Bay, Manawatū and Wellington.

The 2021 Hui Aranga is to be hosted by Waipatu, in the Hawkes Bay. As the hosts, Waipatu will form a management committee to organise the event.

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This was revealed by Auckland Bishop and NZCBC president Bishop Patrick Dunn who was among the religious leaders who met with the Prime Minister in a Zoom meeting on May 13.

“The Prime Minister said New Zealand was still at a very ‘vulnerable’ stage in what she hoped would be a rapid return to normal life.  She asked for patience for a little longer and hoped to review the limit of 10 when the next stage of Level 2 was announced on Monday 25 May,” Bishop Dunn said.  “She hinted that, unless there was a spike in new infections, the limit of 10 would hopefully be expanded, but probably not initially to 100.  This maximum would then be reviewed again after a further two weeks.” Catholic and Anglican bishops wrote to the Prime Minister, which resulted in a Zoom conference on Wednesday (May 13) with her, Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield and Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa. Bishop Dunn said Ms Ardern left a cabinet meeting to attend this.

Wellington Cardinal John Dew attended the meeting with Bishop Dunn.

“The Prime Minister said she deeply appreciated how difficult these days were for religious leaders, and she knew how important faith was in sustaining people at all times, but especially at moments of great crisis, such as a death in the family or a pandemic like this,” Bishop Dunn said.

In the meeting, Bishop Dunn said the religious leaders “made the point that with social distancing and careful management we could cope with numbers far greater than 10”.

“A Muslim leader said his people pray five times each day in the mosque, and they had felt they could cope safely with 100 worshippers,” he said.

Asked specifically why a restaurant can host a large number of diners while a religious service is not allowed, Ms Ardern explained that the difference was that people will only socialise in their own bubbles in restaurants and not engage with diners at other tables.

“Religious gatherings, by contrast, tended to foster fellowship as well as worship.  She said she grew up in a small parish of perhaps 50 families, but they all knew one another.  She regarded her parish as her extended family.  When they got together it was not like a group of 10 going for a meal at a restaurant: they would all chat with one another. This made religious gatherings a slightly higher risk with this very contagious virus,” Bishop Dunn said.

The Prime Minister assured the faith leaders the Cabinet was “taking very seriously the distress being expressed over the restrictions for religious gatherings”.

“She hoped that they would not continue for much longer, and again expressed her gratitude for the support that religious leaders offer for the spiritual lives of our citizens.  We, in turn, thanked her and the Government for the measures they were taking to keep us safe at this challenging time,” he said.

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“Making the elderly happy, that’s what counts.”

That quote from St Jean Jugan, foundress of the Little Sisters of the Poor, is of paramount importance at the Sacred Heart Home and Hospital at Brockville in Dunedin during the current Covid-19 pandemic.

The facility went into a voluntary lockdown on March 22, a few days before the national lockdown was declared. Just prior to that, management had required that only one visitor at a time from a resident’s family could visit. Also, anyone coming into reception had to answer a series of questions, and were admitted only if their answers were deemed satisfactory.

The move to a full lockdown meant adapting to many changes, with the emphasis on providing the social, psychological and morale support to the residents, many of whom are frail and in their nineties.

One of the big changes has been the cessation of daily Mass. The last Mass was celebrated in St Joseph’s chapel on the site on March 20. To compensate for that, YouTube presentations of daily Mass have been projected so that residents can watch in their respective areas.

A rosary is said each day in the chapel with a small group of five residents observing social distancing. This is part of the global effort to ask a million families to say a daily rosary, praying for the intercession of Our Lady for a rapid end to this pandemic.

Sr Rita Mary Nedunthally, LSP, noted that the spiritual needs of the seven Little Sisters at Brockville were largely catered for by their “Rule of Life”, but they certainly miss the daily Mass and Holy Communion and fortnightly confession. However, “the prolonged fast has deepened our appreciation of the sacraments and our longing for their return”, she said. As a consolation, each evening there is an hour of adoration with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament.

Another common feature of the sisters’ routine has ceased at the moment. It was normal for two of the sisters to be seen sitting near the entrance to a supermarket and to be accepting donations to the home. That would happen at different Dunedin supermarkets four or five times a month. The generous assistance often given has ceased at the moment.

The facility provides care for 24 residents in the rest home and 28 in the hospital section. Care is provided with a roster involving 11 registered nurses, 27 carers and 23 auxilary staff.

With restrictions imposed by the lockdown, some of the usual outside services have not been permitted to come in. So that has meant the Little Sisters visiting residents and providing personal care such as haircuts. Access to residents’ families can be met through modern technology such as smartphones, skype, and the like, or even just a normal phone call.

It was recognised that maintaining the morale of residents was of prime importance in the lockdown. This has been aided by an increased focus on art and craft activities. For example, special little Easter bunny baskets cut from paper and painted had several small chocolate eggs put in them before they were put on all the breakfast trays. That was a great success.

Another effort saw heart-shaped items produced in various colours and attached to two of the large windows looking out over Dunedin. One of those windows is festooned with the different coloured heart shapes to make a rainbow, while the other window contains the simple message of “Have Hope”, surrounded by red cut-out heart shapes.

Much endeavour went into the production of poppies for Anzac Day. Other activities include exercise classes, quizzes and the highly popular bingo sessions.

The rest home and hospital have been fortunate that there have been no deaths among the residents during this lockdown, so they have not had to deal with the distress of families being unable to attend a dying family member.

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Ingenuity was used at a time when essential Catholic spiritual work such as attending to the sick and dying was severely restricted by Level 4 rules.

Fr Maurice Carmody of Plimmerton, north of Wellington, said kerbside prayers for the dead as funeral directors paused their hearse outside his home, which is close to St Theresa’s church, where he is parish priest.

Fr Carmody met the funeral directors – at the required social distance – by the roadside. Standing near the open rear door of the hearse, he said the prayers of final commendation while the family watched and prayed over a phone video link.

“I was able to pray the prayers and bless the remains of their loved ones knowing they were there,” Fr Carmody said. “It was a beautiful experience, and it was something I felt graced to do.”

Archdiocese of Wellington Vicar for Māori Deacon Danny Karatea-Goddard has been using technology to remotely accompany whānau in their tangi.

“Even though we are not able to be there kanohi ki te kanohi [face-to-face], we are reaching out using alternatives. It’s not the best way of doing things, but it’s what we can do.”

Deacon Karatea-Goddard said he is able to train younger whānau members to offer words of farewell and prayer: “Families themselves are drawing on their own resources.”

Technology could not help with all funeral lockdown problems, but grieving families were asked to contact parishes to link with the support available. The Government has said the intended change to Alert Level 3 scheduled for April 28 would allow ten people to attend a funeral, though families will need to decide who the ten would be.

With churches closed by the lockdown rules, online Mass has been extremely popular. Daily Mass is streamed live in each of the country’s six dioceses and from many parishes, with priests and bishops celebrating Mass within their “bubbles”. The National Liturgy Office regularly updates its list of online Masses. See www.nlo.org.nz/news-and-events/media-releases/celebrate-mass-online/

Work

Work that is less visible nationally, but very important locally, is happening everywhere. In Dunedin, two Society of St Vincent de Paul staff have continued to work providing food parcels. Because the usual donations of food at parish Masses has not been available, food has been bought with donated money, including with a grant from the Tindall Foundation.

The Dunedin and Central Otago Catholic Social Services (CSS) counselling and social work teams are keeping in touch with people using Zoom and phone calls, providing support, counselling, information and helping people get food parcels, technology support and financial help when needed.

Mike Tonks, CSS Dunedin director, said life for some people has been a little easier under lockdown, with some having less anxiety and reporting they are coping better.

In Christchurch, Catholic Social Services manager Jon Brian said team members are working from home to support parishioners via phone and video link. People have been pleased to “unload” to a professional counsellor outside their “bubble”, he said.

“Almost all the people reached didn’t expect to be contacted or to be able to contact counsellors; they were pleasantly surprised and grateful for that,” Mr Brian said. 

Catholic hospital chaplains have been working from home, connecting with patients and hospital staff by phone and other devices. Wellington hospital chaplain Lizzie Wootton said chaplains are learning to adapt to new rhythms and routines, at a time when face-to-face contact is not possible. But she is able to talk to and pray with people in hospital using their own and hospital phones.

“I try to be present to them, because human presence in any form helps with mental health and healing,” she said.

Wellington’s Compassion Soup Kitchen has doubled its meal production to more than 150 a day since the lockdown started. Operating under Level 4 as an essential service for the city’s most vulnerable people, the kitchen has closed its communal dining area, instead distributing meals at the door. 

In Auckland, Catholic Social Services, Catholic Caring Foundation and St Vincent de Paul’s foodbank in Newton are working together to get food parcels out to the elderly. Parishes are also responding to the crisis by setting up phone groups to call elderly parishioners to see who needs help.

One parish is forwarding fresh produce to Vinnies, while another is ensuring that protective gear is made available to the volunteers and staff at the foodbank. Another parish programme is being set up to help the elderly receive their flu vaccinations.

NZ Catholic understands that, as of April 27, the Auckland Vinnies had also helped more than 2000 families with food boxes since the start of the lockdown.

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“You’ve heard me clearly outline them. This is only intended, we hope, to be a very, very, very short period that we are asking New Zealanders to unfortunately stay with us in what is a very difficult thing to do but the intention is, it will get us there faster when people can come together again,” she said at her regular press conference at 1pm today.

She said preventing the practise of faith has weighed heavily on her mind as she was brought up in a family “that practised it’s faith religiously”. Ms Ardern was raised as a Mormon in The Church of the Latter-day Saints but left because it conflicted with her personal views.

However, she explained that the measure the government used to allow larger gatherings is whether or not there is a possibility that people would congregate.

“Ultimately, some of the feedback that we’ve had from those even within church communities was that actually, it (a church) is a place for fellowship. It is a place for a community to come together,” she said. “And if we were building rules, it is ultimately, we are trying to stop people , on large scales, interacting with one another closely, then that is where that fell into the same category.”

“If you think about it very simply about whether or not you are going to a place where you know other people and you are likely to congregate with them that’s really where that line falls. And that is why we’ve used evenly across the board the rule of ten,” she added.

The Prime Minister said the same measure applied to tangihanga or funerals.

“The one thing I also know is that funeral and tangis are a place where you want to comfort people. It is your natural instinct. That’s why we come together. And the idea that we would force people to not be able to comfort one another, to support one another is equally a very, very hard thing to comprehend,” she said.

Ms Ardern said she knows the decision “is causing pain”.

“This is all based on the advice of health. And you can imagine, I feel a real obligation to make sure that we are listening to that advice,” she said.

In a letter to parishes, the New Zealand Catholic bishops have made plans to comply with Government directive.

“The move to a restrictive Level 2 allows many of our parish activities to resume, including churches opening for private prayer and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  But because of the gathering restriction of 10 people, we bishops have reluctantly agreed that public Masses will not commence again during this stage of Level 2 and we are not advocating Eucharistic Adoration at this time,” they said.

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This is the message sent by the country’s six Catholic bishops in a letter to parishioners, priests and parish leadership today.

The new Level 2 rules the Government announced yesterday restrict religious gatherings to a maximum of 10 people, compared with the limit of 100 stated in the Government’s first Level 2 announcement last Thursday. Masses and other religious services would have been possible with the 100 limit.

All celebrations of Mass were suspended on 20 March and churches closed five days later as New Zealand was locked down in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The bishops met this morning via Zoom video conference and concluded that the limit of 10 people was too restrictive to allow even a limited resumption of weekday Mass, and certainly not any Sunday services.

“Like yourselves, we too are disappointed that we are not yet allowed to assemble in our churches in groups larger than 10 people,” the bishops’ letter says.

The letter notes that the Government will reconsider the limit of 10 people at religious services in two weeks. It adds that the Catholic bishops have today joined with the Anglican Church in asking the Government to look again with urgency at increasing that number.

The bishops say the limit of 10 will allow churches to reopen from Thursday for individuals to visit for such activities as private prayer and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  All official health and safety requirements must be met for this.

Not all churches will be ready to open their doors on Thursday for these limited activities, but that will be up to individual parishes.

The popular online streaming of many Masses is likely to continue for some time.

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