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Confinement: these slinging priests who refuse the gauge of 30 faithful

2020-11-29T03:55:07.562Z


While the masses resume this Saturday in too small a committee for their taste, many are the priests who will free themselves from counting the parties


This weekend, Father Benoît de Roeck, priest of the parish of Soler, not far from Perpignan (Hautes-Pyrénées) will once again be able to celebrate mass in the presence of the faithful.

On paper, he must respect a gauge of 30 people maximum in accordance with the announcement Tuesday evening by President Emmanuel Macron confirmed Thursday by Prime Minister Jean Castex.

But in reality, if more flocks than the imposed limit appear, he will not leave anyone in the square.

“The rule asked of us is not fair.

I do not understand it, I am helpless.

So maybe I will be an outlaw, but I will be able to explain my decision if I am asked to give an account of it, ”warns the 40-year-old clergyman.

To legitimize his choice, he relies on the Gospel and “the parable of the lost sheep”.

“When we gather the herd, if one is missing, we will look for it.

We can't let someone out of our church, we don't know how to do it, ”he stresses.

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This country abbot, in charge of eight bell towers, can say mass in front of “25 faithful” in small villages.

But sometimes he also faces “100 to 150” practitioners.

“I'm not going to count them, I have to prepare myself.

And anyway, what would be the selection criteria?

If there are more than 30 people, I can't help it, ”he says.

Appeal to the Council of State

Like him, many clerics in France have every intention, especially on this first Sunday of Advent, to free themselves from government restrictions while religious ceremonies with the public are, for all faiths, authorized to resume. .

In force as of this Saturday, this rule of 30 which, according to Matignon, must be able to evolve according to the health crisis, is contested by the Conference of Bishops of France (CEF) which has filed an appeal with the Council of State.

The episcopate, which wants the gauge to be proportional to the size of the place of worship, announced that a meeting with the Prime Minister on this sensitive subject was scheduled for Sunday at 6 p.m.

In the meantime, most of the rebellious priests have the blessing of their bishops, some of whom have almost called for civil disobedience.

Rarely have so many purple caps gone on the offensive.

For Mgr d'Ornellas, Archbishop of Rennes, "priests do not have to count the faithful in order to exclude them, under penalty of serious discrimination".

"They will therefore welcome those who come, asking them to strictly observe barrier gestures," he wrote.

Same story delivered by Mgr Aumonier, Bishop of Versailles.

"The Church cannot engage in a selection of the faithful

authorized

to participate in Mass", he insists.

Mgr Turini, in Perpignan, asks “the priests not to set themselves up as accountants for their Sunday assemblies and therefore not to reject, if such were the case, the 31st person and the following ones who would present themselves”.

“When the Church is at the service of the poorest, she does not sort.

It will not do it either for the reception of the faithful ”, one declares to the diocese of Paris.

Its archbishop Mgr Aupetit invites each parish priest to ensure "to limit the filling of his church without leaving anyone at the door".

"I haven't heard of it"

In the parish of Notre-Dame de l'Assomption des Buttes-Chaumont in Paris (19th century), Father Jean-Luc Leverrier added a mass on Saturday evening and another on Sunday afternoon.

But in his building which can contain 550 faithful, he does not intend to bend to the 30 gauge. "I have not heard of it," he quipped.

And to clarify: "I fully assume what I do!

"

In Saint-Ferdinand des Ternes (17th century), Father Stanislas Lemerle intends to adopt the principle of “first come first served” and not the system of “very poor pastorally” inscriptions.

With his team of Roman collars, he will double the number of services at the same time, with one in the church, the other in the crypt, allowing two groups of 30 to share the Eucharist.

Twelve masses, with this provisional arrangement, will thus be able to be celebrated this Sunday.

If the rule is respected to the letter, we arrive at a total of 360 satisfied faithful against "2000-2500" in normal times, which makes the priest say: "I will not respect it ..."

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In Saint-Médard (Ve), Father Alexis Bacquet promises to be in the nails.

How? 'Or' What ?

"By welcoming 30 faithful in the church, 30 in the parish hall accessible from the other street and another 30 in another parish hall ..."

Source: leparis

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