A COVID Christmas
Fr Anthony Percy, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn
Vicar General of the Archdiocese, Father Anthony Percy, has written to the Premier of NSW, Gladys Berejiklian, and the Chief Medical Officer of the ACT, Kerryn Coleman.
He has made the simple request that Parish communities around the Archdiocese be given permission to celebrate outdoor Masses that permit more than 300 and 200 people currently allowed in NSW and the ACT respectively.
The Vicar General told Catholic Voice that it is the custom of some parishes to celebrate outdoor Christmas Masses because of numbers.
This year is no different, but ‘A Covid Christmas’ will make it impossible for most parishes to accommodate the numbers of faithful within the Church.
“Whilst infections have dropped in Australia, they continue to rise overseas. It makes sense for the State Governments of Australia to wisely restrict indoor gatherings to the 4sqm² rule,” Father Percy noted.
“What we are asking is for a minor exemption for outdoor gatherings at Christmas, that permit larger crowds to gather, respecting the 2sqm².
“We are awaiting the NSW and ACT response. Given the size of our communities and demand for Christmas Mass, we expect an affirmative response.”