“At the beginning of Advent the bishops of Scotland looked forward to welcoming the faithful back to Holy Mass and anticipated that the restoration of the Sunday Obligation might be possible as we begin the New Year,” the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland said in a statement released on December 23.

“Sadly, there has been a serious worsening of the situation, and the restoration of the obligation will be postponed until a more favorable time,” they added.

Scotland’s bishops suspended public Masses in March 2020 and resumed public worship at Easter 2021.