Belgian Government Concessions for Mass Analogous to a Slap in the Face

Jewish organizations in Antwerp lodged an application for interim relief with the Council of State. They delivered a verdict on December 8. The judgment notes that the authority “did not even provide for the possibility of collective worship on an exceptional basis and under certain conditions.” They therefore considered this to be a disproportionate restriction on worship.

The Council then ordered that “the Belgian state modifiy its ban on worship, at least temporarily, so that any restriction on the collective exercise of worship is no longer disproportionate.” The deadline for execution was December 13.

On December 9, the Belgian government undertook a consultation with all the religions practiced in the country. And on Friday, December 11, a new ministerial decree from the federal government authorized worship for a maximum of 15 people, children up to the age of 12 included ... This measure is applicable until January 15.

It is specified that only one person is admitted per 10 square meters. This clarification seems superfluous, since a church with 1000 seats would not be able accommodate more than 15 people in any case. While for small churches, the number could be reduced depending on the area ...

This lack of taking into account the area of ​​the building - or taking it into account in fact, only in the sense of reducing it – provoked a reaction by the authors of an Open Letter to the Prime Minister for freedom of worship, which collected 13,000 signatures online. In a press release, they are questioning this contradiction.

They wonder if “freedom of commerce (e.g., large stores), freedom of industry (e.g., the  construction sector) and freedom of religion are no longer guaranteed in the same way? Is this not de facto discrimination? Indeed, stores have reopened since December 1, and construction has not been affected by the re-confinement.

And how do you organize a Christmas celebration, a midnight Mass, with 15 people? How to choose? It is utter disregard for everyone to think that Belgians are capable of taking care of themselves in a store, but not in a church. In short, for the government, Belgians are good consumers, but poor faithful.