The Catholic bishops of the Philippines have issued an open letter to their people, encouraging them to return to Mass.

The closing of churches during the Covid lockdown was a “painful and sad moment of the renunciation of the sacramental experience,” the bishops wrote. “No radio or television broadcast can compare to or replace direct personal participation.”

The bishops, who for months discouraged the faithful from attending Mass in person, now call for a return to “the normality of Christian life.”