A priest's perspective on re-opening Catholic Churches for private prayer

Canon Christopher Whitehead, a Catholic priest from Bath in the west of England, has been able to re-open his church after the UK Government eased lockdown restrictions imposed to counter the COVID-19 pandemic. In this 'Catholic News' podcast, we discuss the challenges of re-opening for private prayer: respecting the necessary social distancing requirements - the need to keep people a safe minimum of two metres from each other - as well as rigorous cleaning routines and marshalling. We also discuss the impact of lockdown - conducting small, tightly regulated funerals, new challenges like live-streaming Mass and the need to stay connected to parishioners and the community. But also the personal impact - missing that human connection that we all need. Canon Christopher Whitehead is parish priest of St John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Bath.