COVID-19: Don’t Let Down Your Guards, Pope Warns

• Kaigama frowns on arguments against re-opening of worship centres

Pope Francis on Sunday said people should not let down their guard and assume that they are safe from the novel coronavirus now that infection levels are dropping in many Western countries.

He gave the admonition during his sermon at the Vatican on Sunday.

“You can’t declare your victory too early,” he said during his weekly prayers at St Peter’s Square. “Keep on being careful!”

That means continuing to follow the rules set by local health authorities.

There have been several renewed outbreaks around the world – though not necessarily at Catholic churches – after people returned to in-person services when it seemed that the virus had died down in their region.

Francis said he is pleased that Italy seems to have the worst phase of the virus well behind it. But, without naming specific countries, he said “there are other places where infections are still spreading rapidly.”

“Just last Friday, there was one country where one person was dying a minute. Terrible!” he said, without naming it. He said that he was keeping those infected in his thoughts.

St Peter’s Cathedral and Square were roped off in March for health reasons, though both have now reopened, albeit only to limited numbers of simultaneous visitors.

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Ignatius Kaigama, has frowned on arguments against the re-opening of worship centres in the country.

Kaigama also said the  view  that  religion  was  a  non-essential  service  ignored  the  fact  that a  highly  religious  nation  such  as  Nigeria  relied on  religious  peace  and  harmony  for  its social  integration,  economic  and  political  progress.

The immediate past President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) also picked holes in the murder of George Floyd, an African-American in Minnesota, Minneapolis, United States, saying that the killing was inhumane.

Delivering the homily to mark the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity at the Holy Cross Catholic Church, Gwarimpa, Abuja, Kaigama said: “For some months now, we  have  not  been  able  to  gather  in  this  sort  of  liturgical assembly  to  praise,  glorify  and  worship  God.  This has been on  account  of  the  deadly coronavirus. The  threat  of  the  virus  has  not  gone,  but  we  are  determined  to  learn  to live  with  it  by going  on  with  our  daily  routines.  We  must  however  observe  those  strict measures  that  will  protect  us  from  infection.

“Our  civil  authorities  realize  that  in  addition to  the  medical  and  social  distancing  precautions,  the  spiritual  response  to  this  disease is a  very  powerful part  of  the  strategies  to  defeat  it.

“Arguments  by  some  officials  that worship places are the breathing  grounds  for  the  virus  downplay the animated  effort  by  the COVID-19 Presidential  Task  Force  (PTF)  and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control  (NCDC)  in  promoting social  distancing  and  good  personal hygiene which are  the  ways  to  keep  us  safe  from  the  virus,” Kaigama said.

Kaigama further said the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja’s guidelines and protocols for the resumption of public liturgical celebrations showed  how  seriously  the  matter  of providing  safe,  healthy  and  conducive  atmosphere  for  worship  had  been  taken.

“I believe  that  many  of  the  public  places  like  markets  and  shops where  people  are allowed  to  frequent  do  not  provide  the  disciplined  control  and  the  same  healthy environment  that  our  worship  centres  offer.  The health of worshippers is very important  to  us.  The  view  that  religion  is  a  non-essential  service  ignores  the  fact  that a  highly  religious  nation  such  as  Nigeria  relies  on  religious  peace  and  harmony  for  its social  integration,  economic  and  political  progress.  To  argue  that  prayers  can  be  said at  home  and  not  necessarily  in  worship  places  is  to  betray  ignorance  of  the  potency and  efficacy  of  communal  prayers.

“I  commend  the FCT  Minister  who  in  dialogue  with  the  Christian,  Muslim  and  Traditional leaders,  following  the  guidelines  supplied  by  the  Federal  Government,  worked  out  the modality  for  the  reopening  of  Churches  and  Mosques  in  the  FCT,” Kaigama  also said.

Daily Sun