MADDIE AGONY: Madeleine McCann’s mum’s anguish as Mother’s Day church mass to pray for daughter is scrapped over coronavirus

MADDIE AGONY Madeleine McCann’s mum’s anguish as Mother’s Day church mass to pray for daughter is scrapped over coronavirus
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   Tracey Kandohla

   21 Mar 2020, 18:08Updated: 21 Mar 2020, 20:53

KATE McCann faces a poignant 13th Mother’s Day without daughter Madeleine as a church service to remember her has been axed over coronavirus fears.

Kate and husband Gerry were hoping to attend a special Mothering Sunday mass with their teen twins to pray for Maddie and other missing children.

But tomorrow's service, due to be held at the couple’s local church in Rothley, Leicestershire, has now been cancelled.

A  source at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church said: “Our last mass was on Friday morning and we are now sadly closing our doors on orders from the Archbishop of Canterbury who has put a stop to public worship.

“Our popular mass for Mothering Sunday where we always remember Madeleine McCann with her family present, among other children, has been cancelled.

"We are only keeping open doors for an odd hour of private and personal prayer. We cannot allow a crowd into our church because of concerns over the coronavirus outbreak.

“It is very sad for worshipers who rely on the church for both regular and occasional prayer and comfort. But we cannot stay open."

Former GP turned medical worker Kate, 52, has previously admitted that Mother’s Day is a painful date, saying: “I am still Madeleine’s mum and always will be. I just want to bring her back into the warmth and love of our family.”

Despite the cancellation of Sunday’s service, which a pal describes as “another blow”, Kate is buoyed up that police are determined to continue their hunt for her daughter.

The Sun Online recently revealed that British cops have requested new funding in their search, giving her parents fresh hope they could finally be closing in on her kidnapper.

Current Scotland Yard resources are set to run out in just days.

The pal said: “Mother’s Day is one of the toughest dates on Kate’s calendar and comes just a few weeks after her own birthday - another celebration without Madeleine.

“She will remember her daughter and pray for her in quiet reflection at home."

Kate and heart doctor Gerry, 51, usually attend the weekly Sunday morning mass with their 15-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

Maddie is always remembered during the crowded Mother's Day service and traditionally the children hand their mums a symbolic daffodil after the final hymn is sung.

One regular said: “It is a beautiful service and and we will miss is very much this year. Madeleine’s parents always go and prayers are always said for her."

Local villagers could have done with some cheering up during these troubling times."

Three-year-old Maddie vanished from a holiday apartment in Portugal’s Praia da Luz in May 2007.

She had been left sleeping alone with her younger siblings while her parents were dining in a nearby tapas restaurant with pals.

Kate and Gerry cling onto a glimmer of hope that their daughter - who would now be aged 16 - could still be alive.

The friend added: “They will never give up hope and they are encouraged that the investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance looks set to carry on.”

Our website told how Met Police have requested new funding in their painstaking search for Maddie.

Detectives have put a bid into the Home Office for more money when their current tax payer-funded handout runs out at the end of this month.

The McCann’s are buoyed up by Scotland Yard’s “iron will determination” to carry on the search, which they undertook in May 2011.

Family spokesman Clarence Mitchell told The Sun Online: “It is good news that the Met Police are seeking a new budget to continue the search for Madeleine.

"Kate and Gerry are greatly encouraged that officers still believe there is active work left to be done and do hope that the Home Office grants their request.

“Whilst an active investigation is ongoing it gives them hope that one day they will find out what happened to Madeleine after all these years.

"The Met has an iron will determination to find the answers Kate and Gerry so desperately want.”

A Home Office spokesperson said:  “We have received details of the Metropolitan Police Service’s anticipated spending for Operation Grange in 2020/21.

Requests for funding will be considered in due course, in line with our standard Special Grant process.”

They refuse to say how much police are seeking but it is expected to be around £300,000 - the sum previously applied for and granted over the past two years.

So far Op Grange has cost the public nearly £12m and the request for renewed funds could finally be decided by Home Secretary Priti Patel if she decides she wants to oversee any high profile special grant applications.

It is understood that Maddie’s baffling case remains a “top priority.”

Mr Mitchell said that any amount would be “very welcomed” by Maddie’s parents.

He said: "Kate and Gerry are extremely grateful to the police for all the work they have done and continue to do in the search for their daughter.

"New funding, if is it approved and they cannot take for granted it will be, means the search carries on.

"It shows that officers are still doing everything they can to get a resolution after all this time.

“They are also very thankful to the Home Office for supporting the police inquiry."

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11225122/madeleine-mccanns-mothers-day-church-coronavirus/
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And I thought the day couldn't get any worse - now that's given me the snivels

But didn't the MET recently say the Maddie investigation would be put on hold during the coronavirus crisis, so why would Operation Grange need more money now?

I think it was the tabloid/s that said the case was going to be put on hold - not the Met Police.

'Buoyed' twice in one article!

I thought we'd got her away from using that phrase.

Every opportunity is being exploited by this pair, even a worldwide crisis.

When are the McCanns and their fake news outlets going to realise that it's not all about them?

There are millions of people who will be upset on Mother's Day, some mums who may have lost a young or an adult child.  Then we have children and adults who have lost their mothers.  But there you go, only Kate McCann matters.

In Italy and across the world there are people mourning - not only their recently dead relatives,- but the fact that they have not been able to pay their last respects in the culturally appropriate way.

In England there is a couple who still rejoice in the fact that they do not have even to pretend to have done so.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has no authority over Catholic churches or services, Tracey.  He is head of Church of England.

I can't understand why this was axed, its hardly a risk. After all, in previous years we counted a turnout of 8-12 people and a dog. And at least two of them were doctors.

All the Church's services have been stopped, not just Sunday Mass - baptisms and confessions.  Probably the same for all Catholic churches around the country.  Too risky at the moment.

Jill Havern wrote:But didn't the MET recently say the Maddie investigation would be put on hold during the coronavirus crisis, so why would Operation Grange need more money now?

Perhaps they think Maddie could have been patient zero?

But the lockdown doesn't apply to our Peaceful friends, apparently.
https://5pillarsuk.com/2020/03/20/hundreds-of-uk-mosques-remain-open-for-jumuah-despite-closure-calls/


Hundreds of mosques around the UK remained open today for Jumu’ah prayers despite calls for them to shut due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Scores of mosques in Leicester, Lancashire, London, Birmingham, Luton and other parts of the country chose not to shut their doors and introduced restrictions instead, such as urging anyone who has coronavirus symptoms (constant cough or temperature) not come to the mosque at all.
One mosque in Manchester, Jameah Masjid E Noor, even announced a special Jama’ah for the over 50s.
Anti-closure scholars have justified their decision by emphasising the importance of Friday prayers in Islam, the lack of a government ban on mass gatherings, and the fact that general wider society has not shut down.
Earlier today Sheikh Haitham al-Haddad, of the Islamic Council of Europe, reiterated that he categorically disagrees with the full closure of mosques on the grounds that “no one has the right whatsoever to control the Houses of Allah.”

I knew that would happen.

   we have a funeral on Monday, or maybe we don't.  Only 10 people allowed at the crematorium.

Would it be different if the deceased had been Muslim?

I'm sorry you are having to attend a funeral. I think we know the answer to your question.