Catholic bishops have welcomed plans to re-open churches for services next month but are calling on the Scottish Government to remove the planned cap on attendance.
Under the roadmap announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon last week, in-person worship will resume around 5 April, although she added that "in deciding the exact date for this we will obviously take into account the timing of major religious festivals, for example Easter and Passover so it may be a few days earlier when communal worship can restart."
The bishops have welcomed "the recognition of the status of public worship implicit in this decision", but have questioned the planned cap on attendance at 20 people.
They argue that attendance should be calculated in accordance with the size of each church along with social distancing, similar to the system being used in the retail sector.
"The Catholic community recognises the seriousness of the pandemic and is committed to working with others to avoid the spreading of infection," they said.
"At the same time, we anticipate ongoing dialogue with the Scottish Government regarding the requirement of a numerical 'cap' on the number of worshippers.
"As we continue to observe social distancing and the protocols on infection control and hygiene formulated by the Bishops' Conference working group under the leadership of the former Chief Medical Officer Sir Harry Burns, we maintain that it would be more appropriate for each church building to accommodate a congregation in proportion to its size rather than on the basis of an imposed number."
They added: "The opening of churches is a sign that the sacrifices endured so far are bearing fruit and gives us hope and encouragement to persevere.
"We pray that the Risen Christ, for whom we long during this holy season of Lent, will bless and bring healing to our nation."
