“Would not recommend anyone to travel to rome”

adminonDecember 6, 2021January 27, 2022Leave a Comment

St. Peter’s Square empty of people © Vatican Media/Romano Siciliani (KNA)

Tourists are staying away at the Vatican because of Corona. Not only does this mean that immense revenues will be lost by the Vatican Museums. Also the weeds are sprouting around St. Peter’s Square. But churches remain open despite renewed restrictions in Italy.

Interviewer: How big then is the weed problem in St. Peter’s Square without tourists?

Alexander Pitz (Rome correspondent for Catholic News Agency): I walked through St. Peter’s Square this morning. So far, it’s not too much of a problem. But it is already noticeable. I have looked, between the paving stones actually already the green grows and presumably must there soon times a gardener or something to it.

Interviewer: Now in one week, on 11. December, the famous Christmas tree in the middle of St. Peter’s Square, along with the crib inaugurated. The tree this time comes from Slovenia, a spruce tree. A strange sight when the crowds do not come to visit?

Pitz: Yes, definitely. There will be some celebrations but with few people. It will be a different Christmas and a different Advent this time than we are usually used to.

Interviewer: How can visitors see it this year?? What measures will be taken?

Pitz: To be honest, I wouldn’t recommend anyone to travel to Rome at the moment, because especially around Christmas time, the whole country and also the city will be getting more and more isolated. Anyone flying to Rome from Germany must first go into quarantine for ten days. This will all continue until 6. January last. The decree is still relatively fresh and in 2021, I think, tourism will really take off again. However only in the second half of the year, so say the tourism associations.

Interviewer: The changed situation in the Corona year also affects St. Peter’s Basilica or the Vatican Museums. Missing the missing tourists?

Pitz: For the Vatican Museums this is quite serious, because the museums are the "cash-cow" of the Vatican. Since fixed revenues are generated, otherwise monthly in the amount of 12.5 million euros. They are now missing since the beginning of November again completely. How long the closure will last is an open question. And not everyone is happy about this state of affairs either. Barbara Jatta, the director, has signaled that she does not fully agree with the new closure. Because, we have been on the tours, there was really a sophisticated security concept from June onwards. And basically really not a great risk of contagion. Nevertheless, everything is now closed again. The 1.000 museum employees fear for their jobs. But there is a firm arance from Pope Francis that there will be no entanglements.

Interviewer: How can Catholics who, if the situation were different, would make a pilgrimage to Rome and visit the Vatican, live out their faith??

Pitz: The churches will remain open. The Italian Bishops’ Conference has attached importance to the fact that there will be no renewed bans on religious services. That caused some displeasure here in the spring. There will also be Christmas services. However under the appropriate security conditions. Thus, z.B. the Christmette this year probably brought forward, in order to be able to keep the nightly curfew. Additional measures are also planned. But, if you are in Rome and in Italy, you can visit churches, you can cultivate your faith. This is still possible.

The interview was conducted by Katharina Geiger.

Following strong criticism of the planned awarding of the Quadriga Prize to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Board of Trustees has canceled this year’s award ceremony. Public prere had become "increasingly unbearable" and there was a danger of further escalation.

The trustees said in Berlin on Saturday that they had already apologized to the four nominated award winners in total for the cancellation and asked for their understanding, "not least to protect the award winners".

Most recently, former Czech President Vaclav Havel threatened to return the award given to him two years ago if it was given to Putin this year. Three members of the board of trustees had already resigned from the board in protest against Putin’s nomination. She was criticized above all for pointing out human rights deficits in Russia.

Kohl and Gorbachev among previous winners
According to the organizers, the Quadriga Prize has been awarded since 2003 to personalities and projects whose thinking and actions are based on values "that serve vision, courage and responsibility".

Among those honored so far are former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl (CDU), former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and GDR civil rights activist Barbel Bohley.

A free church congregation from Herford in Westphalia defends itself against accusations that it violated Corona regulations over the weekend. The police officers had written 111 charges for violation of the Infection Protection Act.

For example, there was no singing during a meeting broken up by police on Saturday evening, the lawyer of the German-Russian congregation of Jesus Christ, Lutz Klose, told the "Westfalen-Blatt" (Tuesday) in Bielefeld. "The choir singing was recorded and came from a stereo system."All members of the congregation would also have had masks with them. Whether these had always been worn, will be seen.

According to police, the more than 100 participants had neither kept their distance nor worn mouth-nose protection. The officers would have clearly heard singing already from outside. In addition, the community had not announced its meeting in advance, explained the city of Herford at the request of the Catholic News Agency (KNA). The police wrote a total of 111 charges for violation of the law on protection against infection.

Church services allowed under Corona conditions

In North Rhine-Westphalia, church services and other religious events are generally permitted even during the lockdown. However, the participants have to keep their distance, wear masks and are not allowed to sing. The congregations are obliged to inform the authorities about church services and other gatherings.

In recent months, there have been repeated accusations against free church groups for breaking Corona rules. Recently, for example, a Pentecostal congregation in Essen is said to have sung at a meeting with more than 80 participants and not to have kept their distance. A similar incident also occurred in the Munich area over the weekend.

Sociologist of religion: Strong skepticism among many free-church congregations

The Munster sociologist of religion Detlef Pollack explains the violations also with the self-conception of the congregations. Among many free-church and evangelical groups, there is a strong sense of skepticism about the state measures, he said in the KNA interview. "One’s own special religious interpretation is often placed above scientific and governmental authorities," said the scientist.

Pollack explained that personal contact and communal prayer are of great importance to many Free Church adherents. The Catholic dioceses and Protestant regional churches would have accepted, in contrast to many free churches from the outset, the statements of the policy and largely refrained from interpreting the Corona crisis exclusively in the light of the Gospel, for example, as a punishment of God or a test for the human being.

At the same time, the scientist emphasized that one cannot lump all free-church and evangelical associations together. Among the congregations, there are also those who take the guidelines seriously. "The free-church and evangelical spectrum is very polarized within itself."

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