The Church internationally has stepped up the fight against coronavirus, with humanitarian and spiritual initiatives taking place on four continents over the past few weeks.
The Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean consecrated their country to the Virgin of Guadalupe this Easter Sunday, 12 March, with the stated purpose of praying for the worlds heath and a speedy end to the coronavirus pandemic.
In a ceremony presided over by the Archbishop Primate of Mexico, Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, and held in the famous Basilica-shrine of Guadalupe, Bishops from 46 different countries took part remotely to consecrate their nations to the Virgin Mary. Cardinal Retes, who has been Archbishop of Mexico since 2017, said that Easter Sunday was “a beautiful and significant date to put ourselves under the mantle of our dear Mother, Mary of Guadalupe.”
The Church in Ranchi, Eastern India, has opened a shelter for migrant workers and their families stranded in the region. Many Indians have become “internally displaced” in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, due to government restrictions on movement stopping internal migrants from returning to their towns of origin. According to official estimates, 450 million people out of 1.3 billion Indian citizens have migrated within the vast country, usually from poorer states to urban centres, and often working informally in service jobs or otherwise precarious professions. With coronavirus causing both economic collapse and the halting of buses, taxis and trains, many of those migrants have been stranded in regions far from their families, sometimes with no means of supporting themselves.
The auxiliary Bishop of Ranchi, Mgr. Theodore Mascaren, visited the new shelter on 4 April, alongside a senior local Jesuit, Fr. Joseph Marianus Kujur. Bishop Mascaren told guests to consider the refuge, which houses 200 individuals, “as their home”, and assuring them that “they will be treated with love as brothers and sisters”. The Bishop also confirmed that 13 other Catholic structures in the diocese are being prepared to function as shelters for displaced people in the region.
A South African Bishop has today, April 14, called for the clergy and laypeople of his diocese to “share food” and other support to people suffering financially due to the coronavirus outbreak. Bishop Sithembele Sipuka, the Bishop of Mthatha, warned that the virus could strike at anyone, and that the outbreak could have a terrible humanitarian and economic effect. “We pray to God that the lockdown will bring the desired effect and people can get on with their ways of making a living”, stated the Bishop, in a pastoral letter - but he warned that many South Africans already struggle to support themselves, in a country where the coronavirus pandemic has only just begun. South Africa has recorded 2,415 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and 27 have died from the illness.
The foreign aid agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland has launched an urgent appeal to fund its international work against the coronavirus outbreak. Trócaire is currently providing aid in 18 countries where cases of Coronavirus have been recorded, but has had its fundraising efforts hampered by the closure of Irish Churches and Schools. "Many communities in which Trócaire works," warned Caoimhe de Barra, the CEO of Trócaire, "do not even have access to drinking water, and in the slums it is impossible to maintain a safe distance because of overcrowding.” The funds raised from the appeal will be used to purchase hygiene kits and testing apparatus, as well as to fund prevention information campaigns.
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