The Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson, has welcomed the announcement that in–person church services can resume as part of the easing of restrictions on May 10. His full statement reads as follows:
“We welcome the announcement from An Taoiseach Micheál Martin this evening that our churches can reopen for public worship from May 10, albeit with restricted numbers. We look forward to welcoming people back through the doors of our churches and will continue to work within the guidelines to ensure our places of worship are as safe as possible.
“We particularly welcome the increase in numbers permitted to attend funerals as this will bring enormous comfort to those grieving the loss of loved ones.
“Since Christmas we have reached out to people in their homes and we acknowledge the tremendous work carried out by clergy and all who assist them in creating online services.
“An Taoiseach spoke this evening of finding hope for the future. In this season of Easter, a season of hope, we are thankful for the efforts of our population, from frontline and essential workers and the scientists who have worked on the creation of vaccines, to all of us who have made sacrifices to bring us to this stage of beginning to reopen society.”
