Fr Michael Canny says no daily Mass anytime soon
Step-one of the pathway to recovery in the North of Ireland allowed for drive-through church services and churches to be open for private prayer.
But it could be step four before churches are allowed to re-open for services.
Church leaders in Derry welcomed that move, but have reiterated that churches are still “a long way off” from returning to normal church service.
Fr Michael Canny told BBC Radio Foyle “it is very easy to close down, but the challenge is to re-open”.
The Derry priest says he has seen small number of people coming to the church to exercise private prayer and said so far it has been manageable.
However, Fr Canny said that he does not expect “daily mass anytime soon” and believes that is still a “fair bit up the road”.
This was echoed by the Reverend Andrew Forster, the Church of Ireland’s Bishop of Derry and Raphoe.
“We are being cautious and taking it step-by-step,” Reverend Forster told the programme.
“We want to make sure that we have all the appropriate safeguards in place before we take any of those larger steps.”
