Families must remain vigilant against Covid-19 infections in the wake of Government moves to approve the restarting of confirmation and first communion ceremonies in September, health experts said.
The Governments announcement on Friday saying the young peoples religious ceremonies could proceed in September subject to the public health situation at that time was welcomed by churchgoers.
Large social gatherings taking place after the religious events have been the focus of public health concerns.
A number of bishops, including Dublin Archbishop Dermott Farrell, said last week priests in their dioceses could contravene the guidelines by holding ceremonies during August if they believed it was safe.
In a homily in Dublin, Archbishop Farrell said he understood the frustration and resentment of people who felt the guidelines discriminated against religious worship.
They have been perplexed as am I that of all of the types of events which might give rise to mingling between households it is uniquely these sacraments which are prohibited under public guidelines.
In all other aspects of life, whether family celebrations of birthdays and anniversaries or fans gathering to watch sporting events or indeed after weddings and funerals, people are trusted and expected to observe the guidelines on household mixing.
Households are permitted to mix in homes and in restaurants in ways that take account of the age and vaccination status of those present.
“I find it difficult to explain, or justify, that it is only parents of children receiving the sacraments who cannot be trusted to observe these guidelines.
But Fr Roy Donovan, spokesman for the Association of Catholic Priests, said he did not believe the Government was anti-church in seeking to safeguard public health and said its priority was to see schools reopen safety in September at a time when children were still unvaccinated.
He said Archbishop Farrell was missing the fact that a number of cases of infections came from first communions and confirmations last summer.
Leading public health doctor Ina Kelly, Irish Medical Organisation president, said families must think very carefully of the possible consequences of failing to adhere to health guidelines at parties to celebrate confirmation and first communion.
Dr Kelly said churches are big enough to allow many people to participate safely but risks loom at family events afterwards.
Some of the difficulty in is the mixing of groups at these family events. Many will be vaccinated but not everyone who is vaccinated is immune, she said.
Families may not have thought through the consequences.
Dr Kelly said many older and vulnerable people want to avoid social events as community immunity has not yet been reached in Ireland but the holding of a family event puts pressure on people to attend.
If an important religious event takes place then families should keep it small and have the party on another date, she said.
Archbishop Farrell wrote to his priests stating they could proceed with ceremonies from mid-August if you consider it safe but his own personal preference was for parishes to postpone ceremonies until the autumn.
Augustinian priest Fr Iggy ODonovan said the bishops who set aside the public health guidelines should not have done so after adhering to the guidelines for almost 18 months. Its like calling the team off the pitch with only a few minutes to go before the final whistle, he said.
Church of Ireland Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross Paul Colton said the only safe course was to adhere to guidelines as a pick and mix approach created doubt.
Professor Anthony Staines, referring to the risks of parties after family events, said: People need to be told very clearly that any large gathering of people is highly risky as this [Delta] variant of the virus is a lot more infectious. There are not too many people who stay outdoors at these events. And not everyone has a garden.
Speaking as an epidemiologist, he said the recent changes in the hospitality sector that allow children to dine indoors were crazy because of the increased infection risks.
We needed to vaccinate 80pc of people to control the previous variant. Now it must be over 90pc for the Delta variant, he said.
Families must remain vigilant against Covid-19 infections in the wake of Government moves to approve the restarting of confirmation and first communion ceremonies in September, health experts said.
