Diocese of Lancaster UK produces guidance for lay-led funeral services in the event that priests and deacons are self-isolating or ill with COVID-19

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IanM

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Diocese of Lancaster UK produces guidance for lay-led funeral services in the event that priests and deacons are self-isolating or ill with COVID-19
 
I’m confused as to how they’ve gone from having Masses right up to yesterday, to suddenly assuming there will be lots of funerals and no priests
 
All that model is saying to me is that social isolation strategies lower the cases.
I’m still not getting how it applies to priests saying funerals.
Moreover, if you’re that much driven to isolate, you shouldn’t even be having a lay-led funeral. You should do like Italy and postpone it until after the crisis is over.
 
I’m not defending what they’re doing, it’s just my guess as to why they’ve put those measures in. If millions will die because of this, they probably don’t think they’ll have the clerical manpower to hold funerals.
 
Part of the issue in the UK is that they’ve only just put social distancing into action… this is going to take a couple of weeks to kick in to start seeing the numbers drop. And they don’t expect this will be effective enough to have any real impact into the overall numbers… just a slowing down.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
I’m confused as to how they’ve gone from having Masses right up to yesterday, to suddenly assuming there will be lots of funerals and no priests
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It’s not so much a case of no priests as not enough priests. Where I am, the official guidance is that everyone over 70 is effectively to self-isolate - something which would apply to a number of our priests. Besides this, any self-isolated priest’s duties can’t always be covered by the neighbouring parish (or a supply priest) as might usually be the case due to restrictions of travel as well as the level of other priests’ workloads (I’m going to be doing a lot of housecalls and anointings over the coming weeks).

If nothing else, shifting something which can be done (and in some places is already done) by the laity to the laity is a sensible move where necessary. I’m not saying that this should be the new normal just that a funeral service, graveside (or crematorium) committal doesn’t need to be done by a priest.
 
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