Covid-19: Catholic Church suspends public masses in Peninsular M’sia
CORONAVIRUS | The Catholic Church has suspended all public masses and other church-related gatherings in Peninsular Malaysia until March 29 in the wake of the second wave of the new coronavirus outbreak.
In a pastoral letter from the catholic bishops of Peninsular Malaysia, the Church said this was in line with the Health Ministry's advisory to postpone all mass gatherings...
CORONAVIRUS | The Catholic Church has suspended all public masses and other church-related gatherings in Peninsular Malaysia until March 29 in the wake of the second wave of the new coronavirus outbreak.
In a pastoral letter from the catholic bishops of Peninsular Malaysia, the Church said this was in line with the Health Ministry's advisory to postpone all mass gatherings.
It announced that all weekend and weekday public masses will be suspended from March 14, or March 13 in states where the weekend begins on Friday.
It also called for all catechism classes, catechetical activities and other church-related meetings and gatherings be cancelled during the same period, which is meant to coincide with the school holidays.
“We witness the rise in numbers (of cases) in our country and the uncontained explosion in other countries where both civil and religious authorities had been slow in responding to the imminent threat, it is now time for us to put in place further measures, which may appear to be extreme...
“We, therefore, exempt all Catholics from fulfilling their Sunday obligation in assisting/attending mass during this period. This exemption is a temporary measure in the face of the current crisis.
“We will continue to monitor and review the situation to determine if the above period of suspension needs to be extended,” the letter read.
It further called on all weddings and funerals during that time be held in private and only among family and close friends.
Meanwhile, the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur is making arrangements to broadcast masses.
The Catholic Church’s statement came after the new Islamic affairs minister and former Federal Territories mufti Zulkifli Mohamad had this morning stated there was no need for the Muslim Friday prayers to be called off for the time being.
However, he said, sermons would have to be cut short.
As of noon yesterday, Malaysia recorded a total of 149 Covid-19 cases with 26 recoveries.
Meanwhile, the government is tracing those who attended the “Ijtimak Tabligh” at the Seri Petaling Mosque in Kuala Lumpur last month.
This is after it was confirmed that a Malaysian man who attended the 10,000-strong gathering over five days, including 5,000 Malaysians, tested positive for Covid-19.
It was the same religious gathering attended by a 53-year-old Bruneian man who was later diagnosed with the new coronavirus, becoming Brunei's first Covid-19 case.
Keep up with the latest information on the outbreak in the country with Malaysiakini's free Covid-19 tracker.
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