Dublin’s two Archbishops have welcomed the lifting of Government pandemic restrictions that will see public worship resume in the Republic from tomorrow, with the same restriction as under level 2.

However, in Armagh, Catholic Primate Archbishop Eamon Martin noted that in Northern Ireland, public worship has once more been suspended for two weeks even while, “south of the border, congregations can return to Mass and the Sacraments.” Public worship in the South ended again on October 7, but in certain counties such as Dublin and Donegal the previous month.

Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin Michael Jackson said the reopening of churches for public worship on Tuesday, “while modest in comparison with what we have been accustomed to doing, will gladden the hearts of members of my own diocese particularly at this time of year.”

Gathering, he said, was “important in how people of faith function. This relates both to our self–understanding and to the positive contributions we make to civil society.”

The Irish Church Together group, which represents the more evangelical Catholic, Protestant, Pentecostal and New churches in Ireland, thanked Taoiseach Micheál Martin for the return to public worship. “Thank you for your detailed consideration of the case we made for public worship to be allowed at Level 3.”

Pope Francis has written a note to women in his homeland who requested his help in opposing a bill to liberalise the country’s abortion law.

Eight women signed a letter to Pope Francis expressing fear that the abortion bill targets poor women and asking him “to help us by making our voice heard.”

The Argentine daily La Nacion published the full letter, together with the pope’s response, which was sent through the national deputy for the City of Buenos Aires, Victoria Morales Gorleri.

In the handwritten note, Pope Francis said that abortion “is not a primarily religious issue but one of human ethics, prior to any religious confession.”

“Is it fair to eliminate a human life to solve a problem? Is it fair to hire a hitman to solve a problem?” he said.

The family of a 90 year old Canadian woman says she chose a ‘medically-assisted death’ (MAID) rather than face another lockdown during which people could not visit her in her nursing home.

In Canada, you do not need to have a fatal or terminal condition to apply for assisted suicide.

Some in the field of assisted suicide report a growing number of elderly people inquiring about it, and that lockdowns are accelerating the timelines among seniors already considering assisted suicide.

An Irish advocacy group for people with Down syndrome is urging the producers of the UK soap Emmerdale to cancel a storyline featuring a couple ending their pregnancy after being told their unborn child has the chromosomal condition.

Down Syndrome Ireland says the storyline will be challenging and distressing for many people with the condition and for their families.

They add that the difficult emotions and choices that arise when considering abortion could have been explored without mentioning the child’s diagnosis.

“We would like to remind TV producers that people with Down syndrome watch TV programmes, listen to the news and read media articles,” the group said.

“This storyline will be challenging and distressing for many people with Down syndrome and their families, as well as for expectant parents”.

The most stringent coronavirus restrictions on public worship in New York are a violation of religious freedom, the US Supreme Court said Wednesday night.

The state had forbade the attendance of more than 10 people at religious services in areas designated “red zones”, and 25 people in “orange zones.”

Justice Neil Gorsuch said: “It is time — past time — to make plain that, while the pandemic poses many grave challenges, there is no world in which the Constitution tolerates color-coded executive edicts that reopen liquor stores and bike shops but shutter churches, synagogues and mosques”.

While the numeric limits are suspended, the less onerous limit of keeping houses of worship at 50% capacity remains in place.

Welcoming the ruling, the Bishop of Brooklyn, whose diocese was a plaintiff in the suit, said that religious worship should be considered an essential service during the coronavirus pandemic.

The French bishops are “both disappointed and surprised” at President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that public worship would be limited to 30 people per church.

“This announcement is not at all in line with the discussions that have taken place in recent weeks with the ministers concerned,” a statement said.

“Indeed, this unrealistic and inapplicable measure is completely disrespectful of the reality of the religious practice of Catholics.”

The French bishops had originally proposed a protocol of reopening public liturgies at a third of each church’s capacity, with increased social distancing.

Following Macron’s announcement, some bishops took to social media to express their incredulity.

Bishop François Touvet of Châlons wrote on Twitter: “30 people in my cathedral is ridiculous and absurd. It is 96 m long and 25 m wide (40m transept) by 30 m high. Total = 2500 m²: with 4 m² per person, we can fit 600 people! You have to learn to count!”

Pope Francis has sparked the ire of Chinese authorities after he included the Muslim minority Uighurs among examples of groups persecuted for their faith for the first time. It is estimated that China has 1 million Uighur men held in concentration camps.

In a new book ‘Let Us Dream’, Francis writes: “I think often of persecuted peoples: the Rohingya, the poor Uighurs, the Yazidi — what ISIS did to them was truly cruel — or Christians in Egypt and Pakistan killed by bombs that went off while they prayed in church”.

Francis has declined to call out China for its crackdown on religious minorities, including Catholics, much to the dismay of many church leaders and human rights groups. The Vatican last month renewed its controversial agreement with Beijing on nominating Catholic bishops, and Francis has been careful to not say or do anything to offend the Chinese government on the subject.

China and the Vatican have had no formal relations since the Communist Party cut ties and arrested Catholic clerics soon after seizing power in 1949 but recently renewed an agreement that gives Beijing a say over the appointment of bishops.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Francis’ remarks had “no factual basis at all.”

“People of all ethnic groups enjoy the full rights of survival, development, and freedom of religious belief,” Zhao said at a daily briefing.