Prayer services in Udupi diocese to resume on July 6: Bishop

Mangaluru: Udupi diocese has allowed churches in its jurisdiction to hold mass and prayer services from July 6, said Gerald Isaac Lobo, bishop of Udupi.
In an official communique, he said that even though the government of Karnataka had allowed the churches, which were barred from having any communitarian religious celebrations due to the pandemic, to resume worship and other activities from June 8, as the health and safety of our people are of paramount importance, the United Christian Forum for Human Rights, Udupi, had decided not to conduct common worship and other religious activities in the churches of Udupi district till June 30.
The forum which met at Bishop’s House, Udupi, to discuss the further course of action on Tuesday, decided to allow services to resume from July 6. “As the faithful are without the Holy Mass or worship since almost a hundred days, most of them are yearning for spiritual nourishment. The Covid-19 situation is worsening day by day. The only alternative we have is to learn to live with the virus by taking all the necessary precautions. The government has allowed most activities in the state. However, Sundays’ beginning with July 5 will be under lockdown as a precautionary measure. Based on this rationale, it is decided that the churches of Udupi diocese will be opened for people to participate in prayer services from July 6. The parish priests shall discuss with the parish pastoral council as regards the mandatory guidelines before resuming mass,” the bishop stated.