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Church life

We support the 4.5 million Catholics in England, Wales and Scotland to live out their faith and help them participate fully in the life of the Church. We work closely with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales and the Scottish Catholic Bishops’ Conference in this task. The Catholic Union acts as a link between lay Catholics and the hierarchy in this country and internationally.

Catholic Union calls on Government to rule out Covid passports for churches

The Catholic Union has called on the Government to rule out the use of Covid passports for churches and other places of worship.

 

The Government has said it intends to make certification mandatory for access to certain “crowded” places later this year, but details of the proposals are yet to be confirmed.

 

Faiths Minister, Lord Greenhalgh, said on Twitter that the Government does not intend to make double vaccination a condition of entry to places of worship.

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Catholic Union warns lockdowns risk fundamental rights

The Catholic Union has warned about disproportionate interference with people’s freedom of religion or belief during lockdowns imposed during the coronavirus pandemic.

 

In evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR), the Catholic Union states that the Government was slow to reopen churches after the first national lockdown. It also highlights the lack of evidence for closing churches again in England last November.

 

The JCHR – which is made up of MPs and peers – is carrying out an inquiry into the impact of lockdown measures on human rights. As part of the inquiry, the JCHR called for evidence on the impact of lockdowns on freedom of religion and belief, and in particular on collective worship.

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Catholic Union calls for evidence on Scottish church closures UPDATED

The Catholic Union has called on the Scottish Government to publish evidence for its decision to close places of worship again.

 

In a letter to Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon MSP, the Catholic Union said it was extremely concerned about the decision to close churches for private prayer and worship as part of new lockdown measures in Scotland.

 

In November last year, the Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Chris Whitty, said there was no evidence of places of worship contributing to the spread of the virus.

Read More »Catholic Union calls for evidence on Scottish church closures UPDATED

MPs and peers call for Christmas church guarantee

A cross party group of over 70 MPs and peers has called on the Prime Minister to guarantee that church services will go ahead this Christmas.

 

In a letter to Boris Johnson, they call for churches in England to be open for worship as soon as possible, and at least in time for Christmas.

 

The current lockdown restrictions in England, which are due to expire on 2 December, ban religious services from taking place.

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