KUCHING: The
Catholic Archdiocese of Kuching has decided to immediately suspend temporarily
its Masses starting yesterday instead of this coming Friday for fear of the Covid-19.
In a statement, Kuching Archbishop Simon Poh said in response to the State
Disaster Management Committee’s recent press release, as of 10.40am yesterday,
he moved to suspend Masses immediately yesterday instead of March 20.
“With immediate effect today (March 15), all large gatherings and Masses scheduled for this evening and the coming week will be suspended,” he said in a statement yesterday.
He said all Catholics should instead read the Word of God, pray and make a spiritual communion during this time.
“Dispensation from the obligation to participate in Mass is hereby given to all Catholics who cannot go to church on Sundays,” he said.
He said all must come together, be kind and be considerate to each other, collaborate and share resources to overcome the challenging days ahead.
“As people of faith, we pray and place our hopes and trust in our Lord Jesus. May God bring a swift end to this crisis,” he said.
He also called upon the Catholics to follow the government guidelines, take precautions and practice good hygiene.
“May Almighty God bless your families with good health, peace and abundant grace,” he said.
On March 14, Archbishop Simon issued a statement that all weekend and weekday public Masses will be suspended for two weeks from March 20 to April 3.
“We are
making arrangement to broadcast online Masses over the weekends in the various
major languages and will provide the link as soon as we have them,” he
said.
Prior to the immediate suspension, Catholics fulfil their Sunday obligations at
St Joseph’s Cathedral Kuching for the 6.30am Mass in English, 8am Mass in
Chinese and 9.30am Mass in Bahasa Melayu.
St Joseph’s Cathedral priest Bernard Jim Bujang when met after the Mass, called upon all church members to keep good personal hygiene and pray during this difficult time.
The evening Mass at 5.30pm in English had to be temporary suspended following the church’s immediate suspension directive.
