France ordered to end Covid ban
on worship
 |
| French church (AFP) |
A court in France has ruled that the government must end a
ban on meetings at places of worship. The authorities claimed the measures were
needed to halt the spread of the coronavirus following an outbreak at an
evangelical congregation earlier this year.
by Stefan J. Bos
France's administrative court ordered the government to lift
the ban on meetings in churches and other religious places within eight days.
French officials had defended the ban saying it was needed to curb the
coronavirus outbreak.
But the Council of State called the measure
"disproportionate in nature." It stressed that the ban had caused, in
its words, "damage that was seriously and manifestly illegal."
Authorities say more than 28,000 people have died in France
from the coronavirus disease COVID-19. Currently, all gatherings in places of
worship are banned except for funerals, which are limited to 20 people.
However, the judge said that as private gatherings of up to
10 people are now allowed, the ban was "disproportionate to the objective
of preserving public health."
Some background
France had a cluster of Covid-19 cases in February that
originated at an evangelical church. Thousands of people gathered in the city
of Mulhouse for a week of activities.
The pastor of the congregation, Port Ouverte, or 'Christian
Open Door' church, says worshipers were threatened.
More than 2,500 cases are said to have been linked to his
congregation worldwide.
"This is the scapegoat effect," said Pastor Samuel
Peterschmitt, who himself survived COVID-19. "Obviously, there have been
relatively violent reactions on social media. There were many threats, even
threats such as: 'They must be shot with Kalashnikov rifles. We must burn the
church'," he recalled.
"We have had people who have been assaulted at their
workplace, people who had had nasty text messages from their neighbors. Of
course, people were afraid. " But the pastor stressed: "This is not
the time for war. We must not have division; we must unite against the disease.
We must not choose the wrong enemy. "
That view seems to shared by the Council of State court
ordering an end to a ban on worship. Bruno Retailleau, leader of the right-wing
Republicans in the Senate, already called the ruling "good news for
freedom of religion."
More debate
France isn't the only nation debating how far freedom of
worship can go in coronavirus-hit Europe. Montenegro, for instance, released
a Serbian Orthodox Church bishop and at least seven priests over the weekend
whose detention sparked protests and riots with police.
The church leaders were held last week for violating
coronavirus lockdown measures by organizing a procession attended by several
thousand people.
If found guilty, they could have faced up to 12 years in
jail.
So far, Montenegro has reported 324 cases of coronavirus
infections and nine deaths.
That is far less than its neighbors with dozens and, in some
cases, hundreds of coronavirus-related deaths, according to official
estimates.
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