Information updated 10 September 2021
The following Guidelines are approved by Most Rev Peter A Comensoli, Archbishop of Melbourne, to assist Clergy and Faithful with questions pertaining to specific areas of liturgy and ministry in the Archdiocese of Melbourne during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The restrictions in place are compulsory as issued under lawful direction of the Chief Health Officer of Victoria, where a State of Emergency remains in place until 16 December 2021.
As of 11:59pm Thursday 9 September 2021, the following measures will be applied across Regional Victoria (excluding the greater Shepparton area) and Metropolitan Melbourne. These will be in place until otherwise advised.
Regional Victoria comprises those areas outside the 31 designated local government areas (LGAs) of Metropolitan Melbourne as follows: Banyule, Hume, Moreland, Bayside, Kingston, Mornington Peninsula, Boroondara, Knox, Nillumbik, Brimbank, Manningham, Port Phillip, Cardinia, Maribyrnong, Stonnington, Casey, Maroondah, Whitehorse, Darebin, Melbourne, Whittlesea, Frankston, Melton, Wyndham, Glen Eira, Monash, Yarra, Greater Dandenong, Moonee Valley, Yarra Ranges and Hobsons Bay. Check your region here
Curfew
Face coverings
Religious Gatherings and Ceremonies
Funerals
Weddings
Leaving Home
Permits will be required if entering Metropolitan Melbourne for work purposes.
Private Gatherings in the Home
Public Gatherings (park, beach etc.)
Care Facility Visitors
Schools
Hospital Visitors
Work
QR Contact tracing
Curfew
Face coverings
Religious Gatherings and Ceremonies
Funerals
Weddings
Leaving Home
Other specified reasons (specific exemptions refer DHHS website).
Private Gatherings in the Home
Public Gatherings (park, beach etc.)
Care Facility Visitors
Schools
Hospital Visitors
Work
QR Contact tracing
Under no circumstances should anyone awaiting a COVID-19 test verification, including Clergy (even without presenting symptoms) attend a church or parish setting until a diagnosis is confirmed. Additionally, under no circumstances should anyone attend who is closely connected to people who are awaiting test results or who have tested positive.
For the time being, all Catholics in Melbourne continue to be dispensed from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass until further directed by the Archbishop. We continue to carry the happy obligation to keep Sunday holy, whether we can attend Mass or not, and can do so by any kind of prayer with members of our household and parish, reading holy scripture, and encouraging one another in our faith. Prayerfully watching an online Mass continues to be a great source of comfort on Sundays.
In 2020, Pope Francis asked the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DPIHD) to create a Commission, in collaboration with other Dicasteries of the Roman Curia and other organisations, to express the Church’s solicitude and care for the whole human family facing the COVID-19 pandemic. In announcing the commission, the Pope said:
'I am thinking of what comes after; of the future and of the social and economic consequences. The future has a memory. I ask you to prepare the future in two ways; with science and imagination to rise above the challenge in front of us.'
Drawing on a wealth of expertise from local communities, global platforms, and academic experts, the Commission seeks bold, broad changes: dignity in work, new structures for the common good, solidarity at the heart of governance, and nature in harmony with social systems. The goal is not only to alleviate immediate suffering, but also to usher forth the transformation of hearts, minds, and structures toward a new model of development that prepares a better future for all.