French Bishops Appeal to Lift Ban On Churches During 2nd Lockdown

Case information
Incident date
Country
France
Place
Paris
Categories
  • Government Restrictions
Attack Against
  • Faith
Perpetrator / Motive Indicators
  • Political
Societal Sphere
  • Governmental
Hate Crime & Violent Incidents
  • Other (text field)
Religious Freedom / Discrimination
  • Other (text field)
  • Freedom of Association and Assembly
  • Freedom of Religion
Place of Incident
  • Christian Holiday Display / Celebration
  • Church
Bias Indicators
  • Significance of Property/Structure/Location to religious community
  • Victim/Witness Perception
Reported to Police
  • No
Response of Local Authorities
  • Investigated
Symbolic image; not a photograph of the reported incident.Image credit: Mitya Ivanov on Unsplash

The second Lockdown in France restricts people to only leave their homes for essential work or medical reasons. Schools and churches remain open but masses are not allowed to take place after the 1st of November. A group of Bishops and several other religious movements have appealed to the Council of State for the allowance of communal services of 90 minutes. This appeal was rejected on the 7th of November, but Vincent Neymon, President of the French Bishop's Conference will continue to seek an agreement.

The Catholic Family Umbrella Organization said that "spiritual support and the need for communal ceremonies for all followers of a religion are indispensable."

"To refuse the expression of faith is an attack on people in what they hold most dear." - Bishop Bernard Ginoux

Sources