ASIA/INDIA - Churches close, but not faith and charity: Christians face second wave of Covid-19

Thursday, 22 April 2021 pandemic   coronavirus   solidarity   faith   local churches   charity   poverty  

Bombay (Agenzia Fides) - Churches are temporarily closing due to the second wave of Covid-19, but not faith, hope and charity among Indian Christians: as Agenzia Fides learned, with the increase in cases of Covid-19 in India, churches across the country have decided to stop all liturgical services for the faithful. In Mumbai, the financial capital of Maharashtra in western India, the lockdown will continue until April 30. The Archdiocese of Bombay has announced that all churches will be closed until April 30. Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, has issued special guidelines for the celebration of all sacraments, including baptism, confirmation, confession, marriage and funerals. The Cardinal addressed a video message to the priests and parish priests urging them to follow all health protocols to prevent even "accidental infections". In general, the sacraments will be celebrated in small groups and weddings, given the full curfew in effect at weekends, can only take place with special permission from government authorities.
In Bangalore (in the southern state of Karnataka) all public religious services in the churches, chapels and institutions of the urban and rural districts of the Archdiocese of Bangalore have been suspended, however, churches and chapels will remain open for private visits. Priests celebrate religious services in private with little or no participation by the assembly and strictly following all the necessary precautions. The Indian states most affected by the pandemic there is Uttar Pradesh, which is home to around 200 million people, but also Odisha, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. India is currently the third most affected nation in the world by Covid-19, after the United States and Brazil.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on April 20 that the second wave of the coronavirus hit India "like a storm", but called on states to put in place a lockdown measure only as a last resort. In his address to the nation, the prime minister stressed the self-discipline and personal responsibility of every citizen to contain the pandemic.
The second wave of Covid-19 has hit the middle class of the Indian nation hard: according to the Pew Research Center, about 32 million people in India fall into the category of poverty due to the pandemic in 2020. The pandemic - observers note - is destroying decades of economic and social progress for the country that was struggling to lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. According to Jayati Ghosh, a development economist, "the pandemic has hugely slowed India's growth trajectory and created much greater inequality than in the past".
In this situation, the commitment of the Christian Churches stands out in providing a lifeline to the poorest and most vulnerable sectors of the population affected by the pandemic. Those living below the poverty line, including day laborers and migrant workers, face unprecedented challenges. The second wave of Covid-19 "shows once again the deep economic and social gap that exists in India, with the poorest people in the country being the most affected by the restrictions", notes Reverend Joshuva Peter, Executive Secretary of the United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India (UELCI).
During the crisis, Christian churches of all denominations engaged in a vast relief effort, supporting the most vulnerable with local resources and providing food to hungry people who lost their livelihoods due to the lockdown. The government had initially ordered that the distribution of food and essential goods be carried out exclusively through official networks, causing a stalemate in the humanitarian work of churches and NGOs. Subsequently, a court ruled that it is sufficient for civil society entities to inform the government of the humanitarian work performed, provided that social distances and health safety protocols are respected. (SD-PA) (Agenzia Fides, 22/4/2021)


Share: