Jakarta archdiocese allows three Greater Jakarta churches to resume Sunday service

JAKARTA, Jul 12, 2020, The Jakarta Post. The Jakarta Archdiocese has allowed three parishes to restart Sunday service after months of holding online services during large-scale social restrictions (PSBB), The Jakarta Post reported.

The three parishes are Jakarta Cathedral, Harapan Indah in Bekasi, West Java and the Tangerang Parish in Banten.

Jakarta Archdiocese secretary Adi Prasodjo said the number of parishioners allowed to attend the Sunday service would be limited. They were also required to adhere to strict health protocols.

“We have granted the three parishes’ request to resume service because they have followed our guidelines. We have also checked their readiness in resuming service,” Adi said in a statement.

Read also: ‘I miss praying at church’: Christians celebrate lonely but hopeful Easter from home

He added that other churches were required to follow requirements implemented by the archdiocese in order to obtain permission to resume Sunday services, including a mitigation plan to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.

The archdiocese would evaluate the first Sunday service conducted at the three churches while looking into the possibility of opening other churches as well, Adi went on to say.

During the transitional PSBB period, Jakarta allows houses of worship to reopen and resume holding religious rituals.

The city administration requires attendees to maintain a distance of 1 meter from one another and clean up before and after praying. Church capacity would be halved and opening hours restricted to activities considered routine.