MANILA – Churches will not turn away people if ever they attend Holy Week masses next week, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said Wednesday.
The CBCP, however, does not encourage people to attend church events to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019.
“We are going to celebrate our liturgies because it’s the Holy Week. Hindi naman namin ine-encourage na pumasok ang mga tao. However, kapag may taong kumatok, hindi naman namin puwedeng sabihin sa kanila na hindi kayo puwede pumasok,” Jerome Secillano, CBCP public affairs executive secretary told ABS-CBN News Channel.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque earlier warned that churches will be possibly closed down if they will continue to hold masses for the Holy Week despite tighter restrictions imposed in “NCR Plus” or in the National Capital Region and provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, and Cavite.
Secillano assured Malacañang that churches will not defy the government’s orders but called the government’s ban on religious gathering for two weeks within “NCR Plus” as “unreasonable.”
“Well, on my part, it’s quite unreasonable kasi kung titingnan mo ‘yong policy, magbibigay ka nga ng 10 persons sa baptism, sa wedding, sa funeral masses. Kapag ang misa na ang pag-uusapan natin dito, bakit totally wala?” said Secillano.
Meanwhile, Archdiocese of Manila apostolic administrator Bishop Broderick Pabillo insisted that religious activities with only 10 percent capacity in attendance cannot be considered as mass gathering.
“Ang sabi nila na walang mass gathering. Ang aming pananaw, ang 10 percent ng loob ng simbahan, hindi naman mass gathering ‘yan,” Pabillo told DZBB AM radio.
“There should be a rational approach to formulate a strategy. However, at the rate things of going, mukha yatang irrational ang dating nito, ang daming parang loopholes, ang daming parang inconsistencies,” he added./PN
