The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has issued a circular addressed to all dioceses amid threats posed by the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).
Rev. Fr. Marvin Mejia, CBCP secretary general, said measures are needed to “prevent the acquisition and spread of the disease.”
The CBCP recommended receiving communion by hand as a way to help prevent the spread of the deadly virus.
“The communion in the hand must be practiced ordinarily to help prevent further fear from people who are reasonably cautious about this matter. Other forms of close contact like holding hands during the praying of the Our Father (Ama Namin) and shaking hands and kissing (beso-beso) during the sign of peace are also being discouraged,” Mejia said in a CBCP News post.
The CBCP, likewise, urged parish churches to change regularly the holy water in the fonts and install protective cloth on the grills of confessionals.
An “Oratio Imperata” has also been released for those who have been infected by the virus and for the prevention of a global outbreak.
“We pray for your grace for the people tasked with studying the nature and cause of this virus and its disease and of stemming the tide of its transmission. Guide the hands and minds of medical experts that they may minister to the sick with competence and compassion, and of those governments and private agencies that must find cure and solution to this epidemic,” part of the prayer read.
The prayer will be recited in all weekdays and Sunday Masses, after the Communion, kneeling down, starting on Feb. 2, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.
To date, the Philippines still has no confirmed 2019-nCoV cases although a number of individuals are being closely monitored.
Meanwhile, Balanga Bishop Ruperto C. Santos has, likewise, discouraged communion by mouth and the holding of hands during the singing of the Ama Namin.
“We have to be vigilant. Human coronavirus spreads from infected person to others through the air by coughing and sneezing, close personal contact, such as touching or shaking hands, touching an object or surface with the virus on it, then touching the mouth, nose or eyes,” he said.
Santos also asked the faithful to forego kissing the bishop’s ring. “This will be observed only until the outbreak is controlled, he said.
The diocesan prayer against the spread of coronavirus will also be recited after the post-Communion prayer. (Christina I. Hermoso)
