Secular Franciscan Order (OFS) Ireland

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Covid -19 Evaluation Submission

Summary
– Religion is important to the Irish people. In the latest available census figures, 85% of
the population stated that they had a religious affiliation and 69% of the population
identified as Roman Catholic.

– Religious worship is essential to the good of society and its members, as outlined in the
Irish Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights.

– The designation of religious worship as non-essential, and subsequent management of
the pandemic caused great distress to our members.

– Many of the restrictions were unnecessary when considered in the context of
international best practice.

– The status of “essential” should apply to religious worship if emergencies of this
magnitude arise in the future.

Introduction from our Faith Community
The Secular Franciscan Order, also known as the Third Order of St. Francis, is a lay faith
community operating within the life and mission of the Catholic Church. It has a long and
distinguished history in Ireland and is presently composed of fraternities, or groups, throughout
the island of Ireland. Secular Franciscans participate in the general faith activities of the
Catholic Church and usually have their own gathering for Mass and Meetings monthly. The
restrictions placed upon public worship during the pandemic were keenly felt by our members,
many of whom attend church services daily. In addition to the impossibility of attending Mass
and the Sacraments for very lengthy periods, members felt a sense of isolation from their
fraternal activities and from the contact with others which is part of Church experience.

The Challenges posed by Covid and the State response
We fully appreciate the challenges to society brought about by the Covid -19 pandemic. There
were difficult decisions faced by Government and Public Health officials given the newness of
the pathogen and the uncertainties about its trajectory. Nonetheless, we believe that the extent
and duration of restrictions placed upon religious activities were disproportionate and harsh.
We are of the opinion that Christian Churches should have been seen as valued partners to the
State in maintaining morale during the pandemic and their opinions sought on how best their
ministry could operate during this time. We contend that the restrictions that were imposed
post Summer of 2020 were particularly inappropriate given that confidence had been gained
around mitigation methods and societal management.


Public Worship protected by Law
We submit that a blanket ban on public worship was unjust and set Ireland apart in severity
from many countries. Public worship enjoys protection under Article 44.1 of the Constitution
which states as follows:

Article 44.1. The State acknowledges that the homage of public worship is due to Almighty
God. It shall hold His Name in reverence and shall respect and honour religion.

A further protection is provided by Article 9 and Article 11 of the European Convention on
Human Rights. These protections imposed an obligation on the State to give special
consideration to the status of religious services when drawing up guidance or regulation for the
pandemic. It is especially in the context of these clauses that the blanket ban on public worship
appears inconsistent.

Religious Practice was deemed “non-essential”
In the Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021 Plan for Living with Covid -19, under the heading
Religious Services the instruction was given that at Level 3 and higher “Services Move Online.”
Clearly, religion was seen as “non-essential” since at Level 3 & 4 ,“Schools and Creches, Retail
and Personal Services (e.g. hairdressers, beauticians, barbers) were open with protective
measures.” In this sense religious practice was treated less favourably than other sectors and
as we shall point out “moving online” was not a genuine option as it could not replace in person
worship.

Key Examples of excessive restrictions

– Attendance at Funerals.
The limitation of numbers allowed at a church funeral to just nine mourners was
contrary to the ordinary human consideration owing to the bereaved. Everyone is aware
of the dearly held traditions involved in funerals especially here in Ireland. The
limitations imposed prevented due grieving and put immeasurable mental strain on
those effected. For churches with a capacity of several hundred or more to be compelled
to host only around a dozen people in all (including mourners, Priest, undertaker,
sacristan) lacked any reasonable basis.

– Mandating that “religious services move online”.
The attendance at a celebration of a public Mass on a weekly basis is a core practice for
Catholics. At the same period people were able to shop, attend medical centres and
avail of personal services at Levels 3 & 4. What they could not do was attend Mass.
Although other countries had allowed Mass attendance at a much earlier period (e.g.
England and Wales) it was the refusal to allow church reopening for Easter 2021 which
perhaps more than anything marked Ireland out as an outlier and raised international
comment among observers. Members of the Secular Franciscans living in Northern
Ireland were able to worship freely during Holy Week and Easter of that year. In the
Republic of Ireland, our churches remained closed. In Scotland, where a short time
previously the Courts had ruled against the ban on worship, churches were open to
celebrate Easter.

Conclusions
Our Faith Community, like society at large, greatly bemoans the loss of life and the
incidences of severe illness which resulted from the Covid–19 pandemic. Some of our own
members passed away during this period. We appreciate that measures were necessary to
contain as far as was possible the spread of the virus and for this reason sacrifices were
needed at various levels. We contend however that the vital dimension of shared faith life
and the availability of the Sacraments should not have been all but extinguished for eleven
months in 2020 and 2021. With goodwill, consultation and mutual respect we believe
continuity of worship would have been possible albeit with modifications, even perhaps
onerous at times. We are confident that Church communities would have risen to the
challenge given the opportunity. That religious practice was relegated in the list of
priorities to the extent of being considered non-essential was extremely unjust and we hope
this will never be repeated in our country.

Submitted on behalf of the OFS Ireland National Council by:
Gabriel Costelo ofs,
National Minister (President),
Secular Franciscan Order (OFS), Ireland.
Website: ofsireland.org

Address for correspondence:
Secular Franciscan Order (OFS),
C/O Mary Tiernan ofs
National Secretary,

This information was redacted for GDPR purposes