Coronavirus: no worship in churches, temples and mosques from Sunday in France

Religious, Catholic and Protestant authorities immediately reacted to the Prime Minister's announcements on Saturday March 14, confirming, via their internal networks, that there would be no Christian worship open to the public on Sunday March 15 in France. For its part, the French Council of Muslim worship (CFCM) announced in the same evening that it called for " the closure of all mosques in France from Sunday March 15, 2020, after the prayer of the 'Dawn and until further notice. "

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The conference of Catholic bishops allows only one exception for Sunday March 15: the possibility of " celebrating baptisms " which were scheduled for that day. But on condition that the assistance does not exceed 100 people and that they respect the spacing distances required between each to curb the potential spread of the coronavirus.

It is specified however, on the Catholic side, that the churches will remain open. The United Protestant Church of France requests that the faithful be present at the doors of the temples to explain the situation to those who have not been informed. On the other hand, still indicate the national catholic authorities " from Monday March 16, neither masses, baptisms, nor marriages can be celebrated ". With this one other exception: " Only funerals can be held with less than 100 people distributed " according to the standards of distances between individuals.

The press release is signed by Father Thierry Magnin, secretary general of the Conference of Bishops of France in close contact with Bishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, President of the CEF.

Friday March 13, the Catholic dioceses of Ile de France had announced similar measures applicable from Saturday March 14, which involved the suspension of Sunday masses from March 15. But these with hygienic precautions in use, had not yet been eliminated on the rest of the territory, especially in rural areas. The suspension of masses is a national decision now.

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