Cebu bishop to faithful: Come out, attend mass in churches

CDN Digital file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Auxiliary Bishop Ruben Labajo has echoed the call of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) for the Catholic faithful to attend mass physically now that COVID-induced restrictions have been eased.

In an interview on Saturday, October 15, 2022, Labajo said even before the CBCP issued the circular encouraging members of the Catholic church to come out and attend mass inside churches, Archbishop Jose Palma was already reminding the faithful to do the same.

“About sa mga balaod sa liturhiya, ang ato g’yong Arsobispo ang atong agdon, but I’m sure bisan wala pa na moluwat ang CBCP sa maong statement, the Archbishop was already encouraging, mga a month ago, kato bang nabalik-balik na (into the new normal), he was encouraging every faithful to come out ug mosimba g’yod physically,” he said.

“So, ako I would like to support and totally, I agree with the statement of the CBCP in encouraging everyone to attend the mass physically and receiving Communion g’yod with the physical presence sa mga mosimba,” he added.

READ: CBCP encourages faithful to return to Sunday Masses in churches

Labajo reiterated that attending mass virtually cannot compare to the experience of actually receiving the word and sacrament of Communion in person.

He then said that he hopes many will adhere to this, as physically attending mass is also a form of sacrifice.

The Archdiocese of Cebu, in a social media post, announced earlier that the live streaming of masses in parishes will continue for those who cannot be physically present at the church for various reasons, such as old age, health issues, and physical disabilities.

However, the Archdiocese only limits these mass celebrations by only having to live stream two mass celebrations every Sunday and one during weekdays.

This was because the dispensation from the Sunday mass obligation given during the height of the pandemic was already lifted.

The Church also now prohibits priests from celebrating online personal masses outside of oratories and other places of worship.

READ MORE:

Archdiocese of Cebu eases Liturgical protocols amid downtrend of COVID-19 cases

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