Thecircular of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman instructing all parishes to opentheir church doors for the resumption of church services by November 15 isunlikely to bring cheer to Catholics in Goa for whom live-streamed and 24x7televised masses are proving to be more spiritually uplifting and edifying.Public liturgy may have come to a halt during the pandemic, but the liturgicalspirit of the faithful has not dampened, with almost every home becoming avirtual domestic church with a renewed spirit, and the new normal ofworshipping God in spirit and truth. In this context, it is pertinent tomention that the temple of Jerusalem was not central to the life and ministryof Jesus Christ, who spent more time with the people than in the temple.Secondly, it remains to be seen how the church copes with large parishes inview of the stringent safety protocol of social distancing, and restriction ofthe number of devotees to a maximum of 50-100. Finally, even though dueconsideration is required to be given to senior citizens and the vulnerable atchurch services, I wonder how many would choose to risk their lives when thepercentage of Covid positive cases in Goa is still far above the nationalaverage and WHO requirements.
