Religion

African cardinal tests positive for coronavirus

1, April 2020

African cardinal tests positive for coronavirus 0

Cardinal Philippe Ouédraogo of Burkina Faso has tested positive for the coronavirus, his archdiocese announced Tuesday. He is the second cardinal known to have tested positive for the virus, which is now a global pandemic.

Ouédraogo, 75, has been admitted to a medical clinic in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou.  He is “in good condition and his close collaborators are reported to be self-isolating,” a spokesman for Burkina Faso’s bishops’ conference, Fr. Paul Dah, told ACI Africa on March 31.

The cardinal is president of the African continental bishops’ conference, the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM). He was elected to the post in July 2019. He has been Archbishop of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso for ten years, and was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2014.

Ouédraogo is the second bishop from Burkina Faso known to have contracted COVID-19, as countries across Africa implement lockdowns and restrictions to slow the spread of the virus across the continent.

Another Burkina Faso bishop, Archbishop Emeritus Séraphin François Rouamba of Koupela, tested positive for COVID-19 after being admitted to Our Lady of Peace clinic for urgent treatment on March 19.

The 78-year-old archbishop has since been transferred to another hospital and is reportedly in stable condition, according to a March 25 statement from Bishop Laurent Birfuore Dabire of Dori, Burkina Faso.

Burkina Faso has the largest documented coronavirus outbreak in West Africa, with 249 documented cases as of March 31, according to Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.

The coronavirus has spread throughout the African continent to 47 countries, according to the Africa Center for Disease Control. In North Africa, Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco each have more than 500 documented cases, and the South African government has reported more than 1,300.

Three Nigerian states began two-week mandatory lockdown this week to combat the spread of the virus, including Lagos, Africa’s most populous city with more than 20 million people.

Zimbabwe and Mauritius have also implemented national shut-downs, and the bishops in South Sudan and Zimbabwe have suspended public Masses.

Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, vicar general of the Diocese of Rome, tested positive for coronavirus on March 30.

Other bishops in Italy, France, China, and the United States have also tested positive for COVID-19, and Bishop Angelo Moreschi, 67, died in the Italian city of Brescia on March 25 after contracting the coronavirus.

Source: Catholic News Agency

Cardinal Vicar of Rome tests positive for coronavirus

31, March 2020

Cardinal Vicar of Rome tests positive for coronavirus 0

Pope Francis’ Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Monday after testing positive for Covid-19.

The Cardinal is running a fever, but his general condition is currently good, and he has begun antiviral therapy. Cardinal De Donatis, following procedures in place to halt the spread of the coronavirus, has had fewer meetings with his staff at the Lateran Palace recently. As a precaution, his closest collaborators are in isolation. The Cardinal noted that he has not been to the Vatican in recent days, and has been in contact with the Pope only by phone.

Sharing in the suffering of others

“I am also experiencing this trial, I am at peace and confident”, Cardinal De Donatis said. “I entrust myself to the Lord, and to the prayers of all you, dear faithful of Rome!”

He added, “I live this moment as an opportunity that Providence has given me to share in the sufferings of so many brothers and sisters. I am offering my prayer for them, for the whole diocesan community, and for the people of the City of Rome”.

Entrusting ourselves to the hands of God

Since 11 March, Cardinal De Donatis has been celebrating a Mass every evening at the Sanctuary of Divine Love in Rome. The Mass is broadcast on the Bishops’ Conference television channel, TV2000, and is live-streamed on the Diocese of Rome’s Facebook page.

During the first Mass from the Sanctuary, on the occasion of the Pope’s act of entrustment to Mary, the Cardinal said that “the antidote, the therapy for the suffering of the present moment, is to entrust oneself to the hands of God. We are in His hands, and no one can tear us away from Him”.

Priests and Bishops on the frontlines

Catholic clergy have been particularly affected by Covid-19. Dozens of priests already succumbing to the disease in Italy alone. Last week, Salesian Bishop Angelo Moreschi, the Apostolic Vicar of Ethiopia’s Gambella Vicariate, became the first Bishop in the world to die of the disease. 

Flags at half-mast

Meanwhile, the Holy See, in solidarity with Italy, will be flying flags at half-mast on Tuesday, as a sign of mourning. The gesture is an expression of the Church’s closeness to the victims of Covid-19 in Italy and around the world, as well as to their families and to those who are generously fighting to end the pandemic.

Culled from Vatican News

Archbishop Andrew Nkea announces drastic measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus

30, March 2020

Archbishop Andrew Nkea announces drastic measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus 0

MORE DRASTIC MEASURES TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS WITHIN THE DIOCESE OF MAMFE

On the 17th of March, 2020, I issued out some recommendations to help and curb the spread of the deadly Corona Virus (Covid-19) that is ravaging the world and has also hit our country.All the recommendations stated in that letter still hold good.

On the 26th of March 2020, I arrived Mamfe on a brief visit and I discovered to my greatest dismay, that either the people of Mamfe are not aware of the presence and danger of this deadly disease or they are not taking it seriously. I met the streets were all full, bars were open, even into the night, youth were playing various games on various pitches and choirs were rehearsing for Holy Week ceremonies. This saddened me, because knowing the havoc that this pandemic is wrecking around the world, if it gets to our Diocese then we would not be able to count our dead.

As Care-Taker Pastor of this Local Church of Mamfe, I feel bound in duty and in conscience to remind our people that this Covid-19 is real and therefore I am issuing the following decisions regarding the life of our church:

1. All the instructions issued by the Government of Cameroon against the spread of this virus must be respected to the letter.

2. All Masses and the celebrations of the sacraments are suspended in the Diocese of Mamfe as from the date of this letter.

3. All pastoral and home visitations by the priests and the Bishop must be suspended till further notice.

4. The celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Baptisms, sacrament of the sick and the celebration of marriages are also suspended. In case someone wants to go for confession, it suffices to stay at home, make a perfect Act of Contrition and feel the forgiveness of God. However, such penitents must confess their sins when these suspensions are lifted.

5. All external activities of the Diocesan Youth Federation are suspended with immediate effect. The youth are therefore advised to stay at home and not come to the mission compound for activities.

6. Playing of sports on all mission play grounds are suspended.

7. During the Holy Week, every Parish Priest must celebrate in his parish Church only and no mission stations to be visited. In accordance with the instructions from the Vatican, On Palm Sunday there shall be no procession with Palms, no washing of the feet during Holy Thursday and no procession with the Blessed Sacrament. On Good Friday, no veneration of the Cross in the usual style, but the Cross will simply be lifted and all bow where they are sitting. On Holy Saturday night, there will be no fire and no procession with the Easter Candle. There will be no Baptisms but there will be renewal of Baptismal vows.

8. If it is necessary for the Christ’s Faithful to be present during Holy Week ceremonies, they must not be more than 50 persons and must sit giving a distance of at least one meter from the next person. These 50 persons include altar boys, choir, readers and the celebrant himself. There must be provision at the entrance of the church to wash hands and sanitize them before entering the church.

9. All churches and chapels must be open during the day so that God’s people can go in and pray individually.

10. The Bishop’s Office will remain closed to the public until further notice.

11. All priests, Consecrated Men and Women, Christ’s Lay Faithful and people of goodwill are strongly advised to quarantine themselves as much as possible during the coming weeks to avoid contracting this virus or spreading it

Let us pray to God that he may spare us of this virus and help our scientists to get a cure as soon as possible. We implore the maternal intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Health of the Sick and Comforter of the Afflicted in this desperate situation.

I wish each one of you a very Happy Easter and may God bless you abundantly.

+Andrew NKEA,

Archbishop of Bamenda,

Apostolic Administrator of Mamfe.

Cameroonian Muslims Defy Coronavirus Prayer Restrictions

29, March 2020

Cameroonian Muslims Defy Coronavirus Prayer Restrictions 0

Muslims in Cameroon have defied and are protesting government restrictions on prayer attendance at mosques, imposed to reduce the spread of COVID-19, which has so far been confirmed in 92 people in less than a month.

The Muslims say the government order defies God’s teachings. Hundreds of Muslim faithful attended their Friday worship sessions in mosques throughout Cameroon despite the government order for prayers to be said at home and for numbers in worship houses to be limited.

As a sign of protest, they sat in front of mosques for 20 minutes.

 The government said most of those defying the order were on the central African state’s northern border with Nigeria. Student Koulanya Abo, 23, said he went to the mosque in the town of Maroua in the Far North region of Cameroon to pray for Allah to rid the world of the disease.

“This is a time people have to go to the mosque and pray ceaselessly. Anything out of that will not be tolerated by Allah, because this is a period where people are facing a lot of difficulties due to the outbreak of the pandemic COVID-19,” Abo said.

Terrorist area

Cameroon’s Far North region has been an epicenter of Boko Haram terrorist attacks for 10 years. The Nigerian Islamist militants want to create an Islamist caliphate. They have not made a statement on their stand on COVID-19.

However, Bouba Bakary, the traditional leader and Muslim spiritual guide of Maroua, said that when he noticed resistance to the government order, he directed clerics under him to keep an eye on extremists.

He said he told the 1,200 imams and clerics under his authority that the measures taken by the government were aimed at saving their lives and protecting their communities from a deadly disease that has killed thousands of people all over the world. He said there was a surprising amount of resistance, and he wanted the government to take further measures that would  force the faithful to obey the instructions and at the same time maintain peace.

 Bakary said he was also asking the government to use such local languages as Fulfulde and Haoussa to inform both clerics and the faithful who may not understand French that COVID-19 kills, and that the decision that people should stop crowding into mosques was made to save their lives.

Cameroonian Minister of Youth Affairs and Civic Education Monouna Foutsou said the situation was very worrying. He has sent youths not only to the regions where there is resistance but all over Cameroon to inform civilians that they should abide by the measures or they will be punished.

Youths sent to spread word

He said President Paul Biya had instructed him to advise Cameroonians to be socially responsible, and he has dispatched youths to towns and villages with loudspeakers, flyers and banners to try to persuade the population to adhere to the lifesaving measures directed by the government. He said the government would not spare anyone who exhibited irresponsibility after the two-day education phase.

 A crisis meeting was held at the Defense Ministry on Friday, where it was decided that the military would be deployed to areas where there is resistance.

 The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Cameroon on February 6. Health officials said Saturday that the number of confirmed cases had increased to 92. Two people have died.

 In an effort to stop the spread of the virus, Cameroon on March 18 closed its borders and suspended issuance of visas into the country until further notice. The central African state also closed all schools and asked Christians and Muslims to limit worship attendance and pray at home.

Source: VOA

Coronavirus in Italy: the heavy price paid by Roman Catholic clergy

26, March 2020

Coronavirus in Italy: the heavy price paid by Roman Catholic clergy 0

They preside over funerals, comfort the sick, and are often themselves elderly: in the coronavirus crisis in Italy, priests are paying a heavy price.

“A priest is always close to the people. For good or bad, it’s his raison d’etre,” said Monsignor Giulio Dellavite, secretary-general of the diocese of Bergamo, which is currently the hardest hit area in Italy’s north.

Over 7,000 people have been infected by COVID-19 in the city and province of Bergamo, and priests have not been spared.

Of the 67 Italian priests who have died of the virus, more than 20 have come from Bergamo, including a bishop, according to the Catholic newspaper Avvenire.

However, the grim toll does not deter many.

Giuseppe Locatelli, the priest of the parish in Albino, also in the province of Bergamo, says he has no plans to renounce his ministry.

“Priests are on the second line. Doctors and nurses are on the front line with the risks they take every day. We take fewer risks,” Locatelli told AFP.

He recently blessed a man on his death bed, he said, “because it was a special circumstance,” with only the ailing man’s wife and handicapped son at home.

“They were alone,” Locatelli said.

Like doctors and nurses, priests need to protect themselves, Dellavite said.

“Our priests are dying because they’re not calculating” the risks, he said.

One of them was Giuseppe Berardelli, a priest from Casnigo, near Bergamo, who died in hospital this month at the age of 72.

“Not knowing that the virus was so dangerous, he continued to work, going into homes to perform funeral rites. And when he got infected, he didn’t stop right away,” said Gianbattista Guarini, a local merchant in Casnigo.

Source: AFP

Cameroon: Church facing Covid-19

26, March 2020

Cameroon: Church facing Covid-19 0

Cameroon, like many other countries in the world, has embarked on measures aimed at preventing the spread of the new coronavirus. Based on measures announced by the government, Cameroonian Bishops have invited their faithful to respect the new rules in place.

A call for compliance

The prelates have urged the faithful to pray fervently as families and as individuals for the virus to end. They have also encouraged Christians to adhere to the constant washing of hands; reception of Holy Communion in the hand and the temporary suppression of the gesture of peace by physical contact during Mass. Pastoral visits, solemn celebrations of Palm Sunday and Holy Week, as well as other general events such as Diocesan Youth Days and diocesan pilgrimages, have all been suspended until further notice.

Churches remain open but the Church leaders are urging reduced numbers at Mass as well as social distancing.

“We must avoid everything that brings us into close contact with others…We are in a delicate situation because of the pandemic. As for the reception of the Body of Christ, it will now be done in the hand,” said Archbishop Samuel Kleda of the Archdiocese of Douala.

Archbishop Kleda recites the rosary on the streets of Douala

Archbishop Kleda took to the streets of Cameroon’s economic capital, Douala, this week, carrying the statue of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. The Archbishop, accompanied by some priests, went around city streets reciting the rosary.

Archbishop Nkea appeals for more prayer

For his part, the Archbishop of Bamenda and Vice-President of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon, Andrew Nkea, also appealed to the faithful of the country to pray so that the fight against the pandemic would be won.

Manu Dibango 1933 – 2020

 At least 66 people in Cameroon have tested positive for COVID-19. Authorities are monitoring the situation and are not ruling out the possibility of a total lockdown.

On Tuesday, this week, Cameroon was mourning one of its most famous sons, Manu Dibango, the 86-year-old African jazz legend who died in Paris after contracting the new coronavirus.

Source: Vatican News

Italian Priest Dies from Coronavirus After Giving up Ventilator to Another Patient

24, March 2020

Italian Priest Dies from Coronavirus After Giving up Ventilator to Another Patient 0

A 72-year-old priest in Italy has died from coronavirus after giving up his respirator to a younger patient, whom he did not know.

Parishioners bought a respirator for Father Giuseppe Berardelli, from the town of Casnigo in the northern Italian province of Bergamo, after the priest had tested positive for coronavirus. Hearing there was another, younger patient suffering from the disease and who had no ventilator, Father Berardelli gave him his own.

“Father Giuseppe Berardelli died as a priest,” said one of the healthcare workers in the Saint Joseph retirement home where the priest lived. “I am profoundly moved by the fact that he, as archpriest of Casnigo, freely renounced his respirator to give it to someone younger than him.”

The priest died during the night of March 15 in the hospital of Lovere, in Bergamo, but his story only began to circulate on Italian media on Monday. Like many others who have succumbed to the disease, Father Berardelli already suffered from severe health complications.

The deceased priest is being compared to Saint Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish priest who was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II and offered to take the place of another prisoner who had been condemned to death.

In punishment for an escaped prisoner, guards had randomly chose ten prisoners to be starved to death. One of the men chosen began to plead for his life, insisting that he had a wife and family. At that point Father Kolbe offered to take the man’s place, noting that he had no wife, after which the priest was thrown in the starvation bunker, where he died days later.

At least 50 priests have reportedly died with the coronavirus in Italy, many of whom followed the appeal of Pope Francis to go out and assist others during this difficult time, even at the risk of their own lives.

As of Monday evening, Italy has reported 6,077 deaths of people with coronavirus, at an average age of 81, almost all of whom suffered from other serious diseases. Since March 9, Italy has been under a state-imposed lockdown, with its economy at a standstill and citizens confined to their homes.

Source: Breitbart.com

Coronavirus killing Roman Catholic priests who bless the dying in Italy

20, March 2020

Coronavirus killing Roman Catholic priests who bless the dying in Italy 0

They come to bless those suffering the most from the novel coronavirus. And then, more and more often, Italy’s priests die themselves.

The diocese of Bergamo northeast of Milan appears to have been ravaged the most by the stealth killer. At least 10 of its priests have died of COVID-19, the Catholic daily Avvenire reported Thursday.

The deaths, whether of priests or members of their communities, are “so numerous that it is difficult to count,” the paper wrote.

Five more fatalities were registered in the city of Parma. Still more virus-related deaths emerged among priests in Brescia, Cremona, and the northern industrial hub of Milan itself.

All these parishes are clustered in Italy’s north, the virus’ target from the day the Catholic country’s first death was reported four weeks ago.

More than 3,400 Italians have died of the virus since then.

Italy has taken over the grim title of being the global epicenter of the pandemic from China, where COVID-19 was first reported in late December.

Like doctors

Like doctors, Italy’s priests come in contact with the disease’s most serious cases.

And like doctors, priests are known to congregate among themselves in close quarters, creating the perfect conditions for contagion.

A count by Italy’s ANSA news agency on Thursday put the number of medics killed by the disease at 13.

Figures reported by Italian media suggest the death toll among priests is higher. At least 18 priests have been reported killed.

“Dressed in a mask, a cap, gloves, a robe and protective glasses, we priests walk around the halls like zombies,” Father Claudio del Monte told Italy’s Adnkronos news agency.

Del Monte has a parish in Bergamo, a walled, hillside city of 120,000, with square towers and slanted terracotta roofs familiar to tourists of many scenic Italian towns.

Its province is now Italy’s worst affected. With 4,634 infections as of Friday, it had piled up 11 percent of all of Italy’s cases.

Its population accounts for just 0.2 percent of Italy’s total.

Europe now ‘epicenter’ of coronavirus pandemic: WHO

Bergamo has so many dead that army trucks had to deliver supplies of freshly-made wooden coffins Thursday.

It has so many dead that mortuaries can no longer hold them all.

“We no longer know where to put the dead,” the bishop of Bergamo, Francesco Beschi, told the Vatican News site.

Standing and looking at the coffins makes him feel “very heavy,” Beschi said.

‘Dying of zeal’

Like all the other victims, the clergymen are buried without ceremony.

Funerals, along with weddings, have been banned for over a week to stem contagion. They may not be allowed again for many more weeks or months.

“It is painful to see the priests fall sick,” Enrico Salmi, the bishop of Parma, told the Avvenire. “Sometimes it happens (to them) out of pastoral zeal. They enter the intensive care unit where, naturally, no one is supposed to go.”

Touched by the plight of the priests of Bergamo, Pope Francis placed a call Wednesday to Beschi, the parish bishop.

Pope Francis was “very impressed by the suffering of the many dead,” Beschi said in a statement.

The Argentine-born pontiff has repeatedly called on priests to spend more time visiting the sick.

(Source: AFP)

Coronavirus Outbreak: The Holy Father leaves Vatican City to pray in one of Rome’s basilica

15, March 2020

Coronavirus Outbreak: The Holy Father leaves Vatican City to pray in one of Rome’s basilica 0

Pope Francis left Vatican City on Sunday to pray in one of Rome’s cathedrals for victims of the coronavirus pandemic, the Vatican said.

The 83-year-old pontiff first visited Rome’s Santa Maria Maggiore basilica and then walked “on foot, as if on a pilgrimage” to the San Marcello al Corso church, the Vatican said in a statement.

The statement said Pope Francis selected the church because it holds a “miraculous crucifix which, in 1522, was carried in procession through the districts of the city” to mark the end of the Great Plague.

The pope prayed for “the end of the pandemic that affects Italy and the world, imploring for the healing of the many sick, and remembering the many victims,” the Vatican said.

Italy on Sunday recorded 368 new deaths from the virus, its highest one-day increase to date, taking the total to 1,809 — the most outside China.

The statement said Pope Francis returned to the Vatican about 90 minutes after leaving.

Source:  AFP

Coronavirus Outbreak: Father Maurice Agbaw-Ebai brings message of hope to Christians

15, March 2020

Coronavirus Outbreak: Father Maurice Agbaw-Ebai brings message of hope to Christians 0

Message for the Third Sunday of Lent 2020

Hope Does Not Disappoint (Romans 5:5).

Dear Holy People of God, God is good, all the time, and all the time, God is good!

Let me start by saying that I miss you all this weekend. I miss your spiritual company, your prayers, your presence, your smiles and your love. It feels so lonely here at our parish home at Ste Anne’s this weekend. As I pray the Liturgy of the Hours and celebrate Mass in the chapel of the rectory, I am thinking of you all, of your families and loved ones. I am thinking of your prayer intentions, of your anxieties and likewise of your hopes, especially your hope in Christ, for in the midst of such uncertain, frightful and anxious times, what better place can we place our hope than in the hands of Christ? We are saved by hope, as St Paul tells us in Romans 8:24: “For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?” And again, St Paul says to the Romans and likewise to us here at St Anne’s: “And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love” (Romans 5:5).

As we go through this period plagued by the Coronavirus, we too can feel disillusioned and our faith tested: Where is God in all these? To be honest with you, there are no easy answers. In Jesus Christ, we believe that God has entered history – Immanuel, God with us. God is part of this history with all its uncertainties and vicissitudes. However, we can be sure that even as we go through these trying times, we are not alone. God has not abandoned us to face these anxious moments alone. In Jesus, God knows firsthand what it means to suffer, to be anxious, to be in pain, and even to die. Jesus did not take away the world’s sufferings. Rather, Jesus enters into the sufferings of the world and points a way forward by his resurrection. And it is faith in the resurrection that gives us the hope for the present and the future. I wish to urge us all to remember: God is with us, and God will not abandon us. With God, there is a future and a hope.

Given that we cannot celebrate the Eucharist tomorrow as a parish family, I am asking all families, as the Domestic Church, the first Church, to spend time in family prayer tomorrow, for where two or three are gathered together, Jesus is in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20). The family is the first Church, and parents, biological or God-parents, are the first witnesses of the Gospel to the children. I will suggest that we all read the Gospel for tomorrow’s mass during a family prayer time: John 4: 5-42. We should also make an act of spiritual communion. This might be an opportunity for us to thank God for the gift of the Eucharist, and to be in solidarity with our brothers and sisters the world over who are prevented by many other factors from celebrating the Eucharist on a weekly basis.

Be assured that my Holy Mass tomorrow at the chapel in the rectory will be for all of you and for all your intentions. God bless you all. God is still good, all the time, and his goodness is his presence with us, now and always.

 Fr Maurice Agbaw-Ebai

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