Irlande

• August 2021 : Catholic leadership challenges state’s covid-related regulations regarding sacraments

In recent weeks, Catholic bishops have spoken out against perceived inconsistencies in government regulations aimed at tacking the spread of the coronavirus, particularly regarding the holding of the sacraments of first communion and confirmation. Some bishops have pushed back against public health guidelines, highlighting how different rules seem to apply to quite similar events and urging clergy to press ahead with the sacraments. Other bishops have sought their postponement till a later date. The recent public debate around first communions and confirmations – which has brought out disunity within the hierarchy as well as between clergy and bishops – has shown how these sacraments have become a wedge issue for articulating broader dissatisfaction with the treatment of religious groups by the state during the pandemic as well as the place of religion more generally in Irish society.

For more detail, see Irish Catholic bishops’ conference website, Midwest Radio, The Irish Times, or Kfm Radio.