A large parish in Tipperary has had to make the difficult decision to prohibit any attendance at its Christmas ceremonies.
Nenagh Parish will be making its masses available online and on its radio frequency, but decided against allowing congregations due to health concerns and the likelihood of having to turn people away.
A maximum of 50 people are allowed in churches under Level 3 restrictions.
Fr Des Hillery says it was a tough decision to make.
“The Parish Pastoral Council made the decision.”
“We opted on two grounds – one was safety so that everybody would actually be able to enjoy Christmas together as a family, as friends, as neighbours but to do so in a very safe environment.”
“The second thing then is to allow people gather in their homes and link in with the actual celebrations that will take place in the church.”
