- Emmanuel Macron met on Tuesday with religious leaders in France and announced that the places of worship would probably remain closed at least until next June.
- Since the establishment of confinement, believers have been forced to renew or modify their religious practice.
- After Easter and Passover for Christians and Jews, Muslims will have to celebrate the start of Ramadan under special conditions.
Places of worship will not reopen on May 11. At the time of deconfinement, the churches, temples, synagogues and mosques of France will remain closed, said Emmanuel Macron. During a videoconference organized on Tuesday with representatives of religions and secular organizations, the Head of State said that an assessment would be necessary, in June, before a possible reopening.
In the meantime, believers and officiants are organizing to maintain their religious practices in this exceptional context of the fight against the coronavirus. After the Easter and Passover celebrations for Christians - Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox - and Jews, Muslims will in turn have to celebrate a major religious event, the start of Ramadan, under these special conditions.
Strict instructions and confined prayers
A few days before the start of Ramadan, the date of which should be set this Thursday, Perinne knows, her family will have to "adapt", she writes at 20 Minutes : "Usually, the whole family gathers around a nice table every evening. Everyone brings a dish, we talk about religion but also family memories, it's really a unique moment ”. Like her, Abdelkrim underlines "the incomparable atmosphere" during the Ramadan period: "It is hard not to be able to pray in a group, together, especially during the coming month. "
Because usually, on this occasion, "the mosques are full," notes Abdallah Zekri, general delegate of the French Council for Muslim Worship (CFCM). “It has always been a time of sharing, forgiveness, prayer and solidarity. So it's hard to live it in this context. However, we insist and spread this message everywhere: you have to stay at home and respect the rules, ”he adds. Confined with her husband, Perinne still planned to share this party with her loved ones with "the means at hand": "We will use Facetime [a videoconference call application] to try to overcome the imposed distance and create a semblance of being together. "
Maintaining the link online
For many believers, digital tools have imposed themselves to maintain exchanges with their religious referents and common prayer meetings. Angélique is Protestant and went regularly to her Parisian parish. Since the closure, she has been trying to remain positive: “Confinement deprives us of assembly, but our two pastors spread the cults on social networks. A daily link has been created (…) and we can ask the questions that bother us, we find real spiritual comfort ”.
Arnaud is Catholic. And like Angélique, he claims to live better than he thought this religious confinement: “Finally, it is not that difficult to practice thanks to all the initiatives on the Internet and the retransmission of many masses. We are even spoiled for choice! And some priests do not hesitate to gather the members of their parish in instant messaging loops. This is what Alexander, a Catholic, experienced: “I watch the mass broadcast on France 2 but the mass in my parish is also broadcast live on Facebook. And during the week, I pray thanks to a WhatsApp group that the priest of our parish created by bringing together a large number of families. ”
Contacted by 20 Minutes, Dominique Lebrun, Archbishop of the Diocese of Rouen, recognizes a "real upheaval" in times of common prayer. “But the Internet and the radio also allow us to reach the faithful whom we no longer see. It is a great frustration but it is also a great opening ”, he analyzes.
A more intimate and daily practice
This "great upheaval" also changes the relationship of believers to their faith, some readers write to us. The confinement thus gave Alexander “a boost of spirituality”: “Sharing in the parish has never been so intense. "More exchanges and more time given to faith, abounds Arnaud who believes" to practice more than usual ". Within his diocese, the Archbishop of Rouen made the same observation: “We have had feedback from parishioners who explain to us that prayer has entered more into their daily and family life. Some receive the texts by e-mail, then each family then adapts its religious practice. "
Our file on the coronavirus
However, the prospect of a prolonged closure of places of worship worries this Catholic representative: “If we decide to reopen schools and businesses, how will the decision to keep places of worship be understood? Especially since we saw it during funeral celebrations during this confinement, spiritual support is fundamental for some. "
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