Opinion
By Staff Writer, Christian Today
12-08-23
Churches must never be forced to close again, a Catholic group has said after a survey found that this had a detrimental effect on Catholic worshippers’ physical and mental health.
The Catholic Union surveyed almost 1,000 people and found that for nearly two thirds (62%), their physical or mental health had been affected by the forced closure of places of worship during the pandemic.
Respondents described feelings of loneliness and depression, with one person calling it “one of the most distressing experiences of my life”. Another described feeling like “a part of me was missing”.
The vast majority of respondents (90%) said that if there were to be a pandemic again in the future, places of worship should be regarded as an “essential” service along with food shops and healthcare facilities.
Only a quarter thought it was necessary to forcibly close churches and other places of worship at the start of the pandemic, while most (93%) said they did not think politicians gave enough consideration to people’s faith when making decisions during the pandemic.
Read the full article here: Covid church closures impacted worshippers’ physical and mental health – survey (christiantoday.com)
The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal Florida.
