Churches insist on reopening

Mass can be celebrated with sanitary measures and healthy distance, the Catholic Church claims.

Yucatecan entrepreneur Jorge Escalante Bolio points out that, for the sake of the faith and spirituality of the Catholic people of Yucatan, the churches must return to face-to-face activities under strict health protocols.

He also explained that after five months of confinement and limitations on mobility to minimize contagion from Covid-19, it is time for the church authorities of the Yucatan Archdiocese to have a dialogue with the state government to agree on the prompt reopening of the temples and spiritual, worship and catechetical activities.

“Nourishing the soul is as important as nourishing the body,” he said.

“When the temples were asked to close their doors to protect the parishioners from the coronavirus, the Church was responsible and, in accordance with this official order, ceased its pastoral activities in person and looked for new channels and means to continue its work at a distance,” he explained.

However, he pointed out that “faith is much more than the word; we need the sacraments of reconciliation and communion, catechesis and the apostolates, all of that which nourishes the soul and the spirit; we lack the Eucharist, confession, essential elements that a televised Mass cannot provide.

“If we go to the supermarket to look for food for the body within strict health rules, why can’t we look for spiritual food in the sacraments that we find in the temples,” he said.

“I would ask the archbishop, Monsignor Gustavo Rodriguez Vega, to kindly approach the governor Mauricio Vila Dosal to discuss the immediate reopening of the temples.

“I’m sure it can be done, if you can go to a supermarket to buy food, why can’t you go to a temple to feed your spirit and your faith,” he reiterated.

“We’ve been told that feeling good on the outside is important, but feeling good in mind and spirit is also important. So why do we have to wait until a green light or the last wave of reopening to feed ourselves spiritually?” Escalante Bolio concluded.

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