With churches and other places of worship having resumed operations on Monday, the Roman Catholic Church has listed out protocols which requires all priests to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

Those distributing holy communion must also be fully vaccinated according to the rules, as well as choir members, lectors and hospitality members.

Below is an excerpt of important features of the Church’s policy document:

PREPARATION OF THE PHYSICAL SPACE

All churches, chapels, parish halls and their contents i.e. furniture, furnishings and vessels there-in must be cleaned and sanitized prior to hosting the first public Mass. Expert servicing of electrical, plumbing and cooling systems is strongly advised as sources of infection and disease beyond COVID-19 must be considered e.g. stagnant water and mosquito breeding sites.

A routine schedule of cleaning and sanitizing between services must be reestablished as we return to in-person worship.

Do stock all toilets, sinks and sanitizing stations with tissue paper, paper towels, soap and/or 70% alcohol-based hand sanitizer. 

Individual seating and floor markings when queuing must be clearly demarcated to ensure that worshippers maintain a safe physical distance of 6feet or 2metres apart in all directions.

 The natural air ventilation of the building can be achieved by keeping open, internal and external doors and windows. Oscillating fans and open vents on air conditioning units aid the movement of air through the building and keep the space cool for all users. Natural air ventilation is preferred during in-person worship. 

THE LAW

Emergency Powers (No.2) Regulations 2021, the legal requirements of the Public Health [2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)] (No.18). Church leaders must identify the pre-COVID-19 or ordinary (seating) capacity of each facility where Holy Mass is hosted. Calculating twenty-five percent (25%) of this figure will generate the total number of persons currently allowed in the building during Holy Mass, subject to the 6-foot physical distancing. For example, where the ordinary capacity of the building is three hundred (300), the maximum number allowed for Mass until further notice is seventy-five (75), subject to the stipulated 6-foot physical distancing. NB: Included within this 25% number are the ordinary worshippers, choir members, hospitality team and ministers serving on the altar.

HOLY MASS PRE-REGISTRATION

It is advised that registration for Mass attendance be made available in the days before the scheduled Mass. The Calendly app is one such digital tool as are the parish links via catholictt.org. Alternatively, worshippers can call ahead to the Parish secretary to book their place. When the maximum capacity has been reached registration should cease.

CAMSEL has developed a new portal for registering on catholictt.org. When a person registers for the first time he will be remembered when next he seeks to register. We should be generous in allowing others to participate in Masses by not booking every weekend unless there is space.

Remember that until further notice, attendance at weekday Masses satisfies the obligation to attend Sunday Mass. Please remind persons that if they know that they will not be attending the Mass for which they registered, they should cancel the registration so that someone else can attend Mass.