10 Pampanga parish churches reopen after protesting quarantine protocols
ANGELES CITY-— After six days of silent protests, 10 Catholic parish churches in this city are reopening their doors to parishioners and resuming Sunday (July 19) Masses with a mix of strict and relaxed rules.
Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr. allowed only 15 percent of seats inside the churches to be occupied and required senior citizens to first present quarantine passes before attending Mass.
Other church activities, including weddings and baptisms, will also resume but with a limited number of people in attendance.
Fr. Francis Dizon, parish priest of the Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Parish here, said the clergy and Lazatin had reached a compromise after discussing on Tuesday the guidelines for the moderate general community quarantine.
“We first complied with the guidelines of the local government and then challenged them,” said Dizon, also the vicar general of the Archdiocese of San Fernando.
According to Dizon, they questioned a local government guideline that included religious services as among the forms of mass gathering that remained prohibited.
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Parishioners opposed the ban by wearing buttons or shirts printed with messages calling for the reopening of the churches here.
Article continues after this advertisementProtests were also made on social media while parishes held online Masses. Although churches were closed, the faithful attended Mass by standing outside and listening from a distance of at least 5 meters. To Catholics, the Mass is a form of prayer and devotion.
Lazatin, Dizon, and other priests said safety protocols outlined in archdiocesan guidelines were being practiced.
“I explained that while we don’t have local transmission, we have three Metro Manila workers who are COVID-19 positive,” the mayor told the Inquirer by phone.
Set for reopening are the parishes of the Holy Rosary, Our Lord’s Transfiguration, Holy Spirit, Our Lady of Fatima, Eternal Word, Apung Mamacalulu, Holy Cross, Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, Christ the King and another in Barangay Teresita.
