Church lockdown closures caused widespread mental and physical harm, says survey
The closure of Catholic churches during the 2020 lockdown contributed to widespread mental and physical suffering, according to the results of a new study.
The survey carried out by the Catholic Union found 62 per cent of people reporting that their mental and physical wellbeing were adversely effected directly as a result of not being able to go to church.
The poll of 1,000 Catholics also found that 90 per cent believe places of worship should be treated as “essential” services alongside food shops and healthcare facilities in any future pandemic, meaning they would not be forced to close.
Catholic Union president Baroness Hollins of Wimbledon, a former president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, described the results as “shocking”.
She said: “These results are distressing. They confirm that the lockdown of churches was not only hugely unpopular, but had a real impact on people’s wellbeing.
“The increase in the number of people feeling lonely or depressed as a direct consequence of the closures is particularly shocking.
“It is vital that the Covid inquiry properly considers the decisions to close and reopen churches during the pandemic.
“There is a very strong sense that faith and faith communities were pushed to one side when decisions were made, and this needs to be addressed in the learning from the Inquiry.
She added: “It’s clear from these results that places of worship should never be forced to close again.”
To prevent the spread of Covid-19, the Catholic bishops of England and Wales suspended the celebration of public Masses from March 20, 2020, the same day the Government closed the schools.
The churches were closed completely after Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, announced the first lockdown on March 23, and remained closed until July – seven weeks after garden centres and construction worker were allowed to resume their services.
They were put in the same higher-risk category as pubs, cinemas, hairdressers and beauty salons because the Government claimed social distancing within them would be difficult at a time of elevated risk of infection.
The survey by the Catholic Union represents the first major study of Catholic attitudes towards the closure of churches during the pandemic and the impact it had on people’s health.
One responder described the church closures as “one of the most distressing experiences of my life”.
Another said: “I became very depressed – it felt a part of me was missing.”
Another said: “I live alone and going to daily mass is the most important event in my life.”
Other findings from the survey include:
• Only 25 per cent of responders thought that it was necessary to close churches and other places of worship by law at the start of the pandemic
• 93 per cent of responders did not think that politicians gave enough consideration to people’s faith when making decisions during the pandemic
• 89 per cent of responders said that it was unhelpful having different legal restrictions on churches across different regions and nations of the UK
The survey also found a resilience in Mass attendance, with less than 10 per cent of people saying that they go to church less frequently or not at all since the pandemic.
The Catholic Union will use the results from the survey to inform its evidence to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, which is currently taking evidence from senior politicians and advisers including Mr Johnson.
The study puts further pressure on Baroness Hallet, the chair of the inquiry, to properly consider the decisions around the closure and reopening of places of worship during the pandemic.
Last month, Lord Greenhalgh of Fulham, the Minister responsible for faith and community during the first lockdown, said that the decisions to close places of worship was “outrageous” and in a Tweet said that defending church lockdowns was a “ministerial low” for him.
He said that churches and other places of worship were closed because “people at the heart of power did not understand faith”.
At the start of the pandemic, the bishops of England and Wales were hoping that the churches might stay open for private prayer.
Confessions, even in open air, were also prohibited and from April 2020 priests were told to counsel patients with coronavirus by telephone rather than give them the Sacrament of the Sick in person.
The numbers of mourners at funerals were also drastically limited, and baptisms, confirmations and first Holy Communions all put back.
Most dioceses live-streamed liturgies from empty cathedrals and some parish churches and invited the faithful to watch such Masses each Sunday and make a “spiritual communion” at home.
The bishops successfully appealed against the churches being subjected to a complete lockdown during the second wave of restrictions in 2021.
Mass attendance dwindled in the aftermath of the lockdown, however, and some apostolates, such as the Catholic Press, suffered severely.
Besides the prohibition of public Mass during the Protestant Reformation of the 16th and 17th centuries, the only time when English Catholics were denied access to the sacraments was between 1208 and 1214 when Pope Innocent III froze public worship to punish King John for refusing to accept Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury.
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