Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez OFM of San Juan, Puerto Rico, issued a pastoral letter asking the Catholics of the island to cooperate with civil officials in efforts to combat an outbreak of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease, and to care for those who have fallen ill.
“The evangelical experience reminds us of the importance and responsibility of caring for our health and that of our families. The principle of solidarity calls us to be responsible for the well-being of our neighbour,” Gonzalez said.
Calling on his flock to be “Samaritans in action”, the archbishop wrote: “I ask you to welcome this letter as an urgent invitation to pastoral action, to preserve our lives and those of our neighbour, to be instruments of everyone’s right to health, and to make our parishes Christian communities where the Gospel is lived out.”
Eliminating breeding grounds for mosquitoes is one of the most urgent tasks, but is made difficult by the almost daily rain showers that come to the island on Atlantic Ocean trade winds.
Gonzalez, who celebrates his twenty-fifth anniversary as archbishop of San Juan on 8 May, called for special attention to the poor and most vulnerable.
The Department of Health said that 795 cases had been reported as of 18 April, with 478 people requiring hospitalisation. The disease can cause high fever, rashes and severe muscle and joint pain.
Puerto Rico’s civil authorities enforced strict vaccination requirements during the Covid pandemic and Gonzalez was an outspoken supporter of the government’s strong interventions to prevent the spread of that virus.
However, Bishop Daniel Torres of Arecibo refused to cooperate with Gonzalez and the other bishops on the island in supporting adherence to the strict vaccine protocols. This is widely understood to have contributed to Pope Francis’ decision to remove Torres from office in 2022.
Loading ...
