Religion put to the test by the coronavirus. Emmanuel Macron warned on Monday the representatives of religions, gathered by audioconference, that the April holidays (Jewish and Christian Easter, beginning of Ramadan) will have to be "without gathering," several participants told AFP.
“All the religious holidays arrive in April. The president had a language of truth: the festivals, taking into account the current situation, cannot be organized as it is done usually, "declared to the AFP the president of the French Council of the Muslim worship (CFCM) Mohammed Moussaoui, and François Clavairoly (Protestant Federation of France), who participated in the exchanges. The Elysee Palace confirmed to AFP that the president had asked them to "prepare to celebrate these major holidays in a different setting".
Holy Week and Easter weekend for Christians fall from April 6 to 12, before Easter Monday on the 13. The Passover celebrations, the Jewish Passover, are scheduled from 8 in the evening to April 16 and Ramadan must start around April 24. "We have to see how we manage to do something that makes sense," said the president of the Conference of Bishops of France Eric de Moulins-Beaufort. "We are going to work this week to announce things early next week," he said.
Listening unit
According to the Elysee Palace, the participants also agreed on the "creation of a listening cell, available to caregivers to guide families or the most isolated or destitute people in the management of the disease". It would be “a more limited tool than a toll-free number, where associations could carry out hotlines and where people in difficulty would be directed to obtain moral or even spiritual support, depending on their beliefs or sensitivity or obedience. "
The president "asked the Ministry of the Interior to make him a quick proposal in this direction to offer a simple and easily usable tool for families," according to the Elysee. Emmanuel Macron also wanted to be reassuring that it was out of the question for cremation to become widespread for those who died from Covid-19. "The president said that no directive had been given to the prefects in this sense", there were blunders of language in some situations, the misunderstanding is cleared up, "said the Elysee. Cremation is prohibited in the Muslim tradition.
The management by local authorities of funeral spaces was also discussed, bearing in mind that it is incumbent on mayors to make the necessary arrangements for places in cemeteries. "Squares [Muslims] reaching saturation, we fear to run out of space, in the days to come, if there were to be a peak," explained Mohammed Moussaoui.
- Society
- Coronavirus
- Emmanuel Macron
- Religion
- Ramadan
- Easter