Archbishop Peter Comensoli has provided a quote for The Age (last weekend) concerning many unanswered questions regarding the proposed Victorian Roadmap, especially the implications for places of worship.
“Spiritual wellbeing is as important as psychological and physical wellbeing. Lockdown has affected Victorians deeply, no less for the thousands of people of faith who have not been able to attend worship or receive the sacraments of the Church.
We have been very flexible throughout this pandemic, but are urging Government and health authorities to make clear what the end goal is after we hit 80% full vaccination status. It would be a tragedy if two classes of citizens, the vaccinated and the unvaccinated, were to emerge and be entrenched as we look towards a COVID-normal goal. In our faith tradition, all the available vaccines in Australia are permissible to receive, and our clergy and people are strongly encouraged to be vaccinated.
We believe we can achieve ways that allow both vaccinated and unvaccinated people to worship in-person safely, and are working with other faith leaders to bring those proposals to the table.”