Nigerian Catholics lift suspension on liturgical handshake
Written by Olarotimi Oshin on September 18, 2022
About thirty months after the suspension of the liturgical practice of hands popularly known as ‘Kiss of Peace’, amongst Catholic members, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria has directed resumption of the handshake.
Recall that the suspension of the handshake followed the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic by the World Health Organization as a global emergency in 2020.
The decision to lift the suspension was taken at a second plenary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria which was held in Orlu, Imo State and communicated to newsmen in a memo by Reverend Cosmas Uzoigwe, the Personal Assistant to the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, His Grace, Most Reverend Lucius Ugorji titled, ‘Kiss of Peace.’
In the memo, Reverend Lucius directed that the traditional shaking of hands (Kiss of Peace) during Eucharistic celebration and other events in the liturgical celebrations of the Church resume.
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