Pope Francis to readmit general audiences.

By; Gideon Peter Ssebulime

27^th Aug 2020

Pope to readmit faithful to general audiences from next week: Vatican

The faithful will be readmitted to Pope Francis’ weekly general audiences from Sept. 2, a Vatican statement said on Wednesday, as the Holy See slowly lift restrictions imposed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Thousands of people traditionally attend the weekly Wednesday gatherings, but the Vatican shut out the public in March, following the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy.

Vatican in his March statement urged the church to exploit modern means of technology to reach out to the God’s flock through Televisions, Radios and other social media platforms to spread the gospel.

The Vatican said that from next week he would hold the audience in the San Damaso Courtyard of the Apostolic Palace, adding that anyone could attend.

In the summer months the audiences are normally held in the much larger St. Peter’s Square, in front of the main basilica. However, with far few foreigners travelling to Rome because of the coronavirus, smaller crowds are expected.

In his video address on Wednesday, the pope said the pandemic had aggravated social inequalities, with some children seeing their education interrupted and poorer nations lacking the resources to help them deal with the crisis.

In Uganda places of worship remain closed to the general audience except for special ceremonies like marriages that are allowing with a group of people not exceeding 10.