Nuns found breaching Covid-19 restrictions after attending exorcism

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A pair of nuns turned out to have breached a few Covid-19 restrictions before Christmas last year by attending an exorcism of the Dáil Éireann, Ireland’s parliament.

Mother Irene Gibson and her colleague, Sister Anne Marie from New Zealand, attended the exorcism on Dec. 8, as per Irish Examiner yesterday, Feb. 22.

The two, who are based in Cork, traveled to Dublin to attend the said religious practice at a time when inter-county travel was banned due to the pandemic.

The exorcism was then followed by a mass, which was attended by 70 people, breaching the maximum headcount of 15 as per Covid-19 guidelines there on mass gatherings.

The news came after the recent surfacing of a video of the said mass, which was said by Fr. Giacomo Ballini. In the clip, Ballini told the crowd that “no human power can take away the right to say mass.”

Ballini is a member of The Society of St. Pius Resistance while the nuns are from the Carmelite Sisters of the Holy Face of Jesus. Neither group is “in communion” with the Catholic Church, the report said. None of the two also sought permission from the Diocese of Cork and Ross regarding the said religious activities.

The two nuns have meanwhile raised over €77,000 (around $94,000 or P4.5 million) via a GoFundMe page they set up after being ordered to leave a site in West Cork, where Gibson set up a religious retreat in 2016.

Gibson has been ordered to leave the compound at Corran South by next June following a 2019 conviction for breaching planning regulations, according to the report.

On the GoFundMe page, the sister said the fundraiser is to help them finally purchase a property they can use. Ian Biong/JB

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