The secretary of the interior, Antonio Luis Pabón Batlle, announced today that starting tomorrow, Friday, religious denominations are exempt from certain restrictions issued by the Executive Order in force. Until now the churches were only practicing religious services virtually, a method that has been agreed to continue using.
“The Government of Puerto Rico, through the Ministry of the Interior, determined to make the scope of the Executive Orders issued by the Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced around the celebration of religious services, ”said Pabón Batlle.
As part of the meetings with the Advisory Council for the Reopening of the Church, the representatives of the religious sector, whose protocols were established, requested a waiver to offer face-to-face services during the term of this Executive Order.
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“Recognizing the fundamental value that faith has in our people and the incalculable contribution of all the churches in our society, the Government of Puerto Rico has determined to agree to the request,” it was reported tonight.
The Secretary explained that, from this moment, the faith communities will carry out any worship or religious service pertinent to their creed during the weekend. It should be noted that each religious denomination is committed to complying with the Guide for the Staged Reopening of On-Site Religious Services.
“We recognize the importance of being able to gather and celebrate its different religious activities or services for its sector, by doing so we not only protect and promulgate the provisions of the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America and Article 2 of the Constitution of Puerto Rico in relation to the guarantee of the fundamental right to freedom of worship, but also the additional protections to faith communities provided by the federal ‘Religious Freedom Act’ (RFRA), ”concluded Pabón Batlle.
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