Pope Francis reverses decision to close churches in Rome

Published March 13, 2020 2:56pm ET



Pope Francis on Friday reversed a decision to close all the Catholic churches in Rome amid Italy’s coronavirus outbreak.

The pope on Thursday had made the decision to close all churches to prevent the disease’s further spread. But after further conversation about the matter, he decided that leaving churches closed would pose the spiritual risk of making people “feel more isolated.” Priests in Rome are now advised to discern for themselves whether or not to remain open.

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