Netherlands: bishops choose curfew for churches too. Christmas Masses will have to end by 5pm

The curfew will be in place for the Church as well, in the Netherlands. It has been decided by the bishops, who earlier today announced in a notice that as from today, December 1st, no celebrations or events will take place in the churches from 5pm to 5am. “This will also apply to Christmas”, the notice says. Obviously, catechetical meetings or parish council meetings may take place online. Instead, all Masses will have to be over by 5pm. This measure adds up to those that have already been imposed in the past few weeks by the “one and a half meter rule” and then the booking system for those Masses which are expected to attract more people. “Like last year, no public midnight Mass will be possible for Christmas”, so the bishops ask the parishes to “make the most of the opportunities to celebrate Christmas during the day, even on the days of the Octave of Christmas”. This decision has been met with great displeasure but it is born of the wish “that the Church may not be a source of infection”. “The new measures ask the parishes and all believers for more efforts and perseverance”, write the bishops, who thank all those “who work relentlessly” for the runup to Christmas to take place in the best possible way. As last year, a website with lots of ideas and tips to experience Advent is available (https://www.vierkerstmis.nl/).
Sarah Numico