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Munich (dpa / lby) - The Catholic bishops and archbishops in Bavaria have asked for an exception for the "painful decision of the curfew" for Christmas Eve.
The extension of the church services over the entire evening would reduce the risk of infection in contrast to a consolidation in the time before 7.30 p.m., said the pastors on Tuesday after a conference call.
The Bavarian bishops are fully aware of the seriousness of the situation.
It is her concern to do everything possible for the exemption from the exit restriction requested by the state government that the Christmas services do not increase the risk of infection.
But it was also agreed that as many services as possible should be celebrated on Christmas Eve.
"Attending the Christmas mass also contributes significantly to the spiritual health and stabilization of people in this time of crisis with the religious strengthening", it says in the message.
The Christmas mass is originally a midnight mass and is one of the most important church services of the year in Bavaria.
In most parishes, it begins late in the evening at 10 p.m. or 10:30 p.m.
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The preparations for this by full-time employees and volunteers have largely been completed: Strict hygiene concepts have been developed, personal place cards - some of which are forgery-proof - have been issued and the range of services has been significantly expanded and thus straightened out.
This is one of the reasons why the strict exit restrictions from 9 p.m. hit everyone involved hard.
The Archbishop of Munich and Freising, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the Bamberg Archbishop Ludwig Schick, the Augsburg Bishop Bertram Meier, the Eichstätter Bishop Gregor Maria Hanke, the Passau Bishop Stefan Oster, the Regensburg Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer and the Würzburg Bishop Franz Jung attended the Unlock participated.
Notice of exit restriction