PASTORAL RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE OF NIGERIA IN THE LIGHT OF THE OUTBREAK OF THE EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE Your Eminences, Your Graces, Your Lordships, We are faced with an extraordinary situation, the outbreak of the Ebola virus disease which medical experts tell us is highly infectious and has a very high fatality rate. As of now, there is no available cure or vaccine for it. There is need for education in the prevention of this disease by following the advice of health experts and cooperating with the commendable proactive measures taken by the Nigerian government to control its spread. In view of the seriousness of this disease, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) after some consultations with health experts and most members of the Administrative Board recommends the following: 1. Awareness and Sensitization: Priests should enlist the services of medical doctors and other health workers in sensitizing the people on Ebola virus disease: its symptoms, effects, preventive measures, management of self and how to handle an infected person, etc. 2. Personal Hygiene: Priests should encourage the people to practise frequent washing of hands and take proper precaution by adhering to best hygienic practices such as using suitable hand-washing liquids and hand sanitizers. 3. Sick Call: Priests should exercise precaution and discretion when they go for sick calls particularly when they have to administer the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. They should ensure regular hand washing after visiting patients in the hospital or homes. 4. Counting Offerings/Collection: Priests should encourage the use of hand gloves in the counting of money and proper washing of hands afterwards. 5. The Sign of Peace: We strongly recommend that instead of the physical hand shake and bodily hug during the “kiss of peace” at Mass, a respectful bow to one another may be given as sign of sincere wish for peace until this emergency is over. 6. Holy Water Bowls: The use of Holy Water Fonts at the entrance of the Church should be discontinued forthwith until the virus alert is lifted. This does not preclude private use of Holy Water in homes and offices. 7. Washing of hands: Wash hand bowls and soap should be provided in the sacristy for regular use by altar servers and priests while hand sanitizers are to be provided where necessary. 8. Caution at funerals: There must be a very careful handling of corpses before and during funerals because even corpses carry significant risk of transmitting certain communicable diseases including the Ebola virus. 9. Communion in the Hand: In line with our previous CBCN policy adopted some years ago that Holy Communion could be given in the hand, as well as on the tongue, we now highly suggest that the ordinary, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion and all those who receive Holy Communion should be more careful. We therefore recommend that communion be given in the hand during this period of the Ebola virus epidemic. For those who, however, feel very strongly about the reception of Holy Communion on the tongue, their priests will need to make some acceptable arrangements; but we strongly suggest that for the health of all, we adopt in the interim, communion in the hand. 10. Avoid Panic: We call on all Nigerians to avoid panic, fear, anxiety and exaggeration in the face of this epidemic and to take the proper medical advice to tame the disease by avoiding contracting the virus and infecting others. 11. An Appeal to Nigeria Medical Association: Even though not undermining the circumstances surrounding the industrial action by the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), we appeal to medical doctors to kindly suspend the strike in the light of this national emergency for the sake of the common good. 12. Call for Prayer: We request all to pray for the eradication of the Ebola virus disease. Pray earnestly for victims, health workers and those who have died since the outbreak. Pray too, for healthcare givers, who by their profession and vocation, cannot abandon the sick and are running a grave risk in carrying out their duties. Conclusion: We implore the intercession of Our Lady Help of Christians and Health of the Sick in these trying times. May the Lord continue to grant us all good physical, mental and spiritual health. Thanking you for your cooperation in passing on the information. We remain Yours fraternally in the Lord, Most Rev. Ignatius A. Kaigama President, (CBCN) Most Rev William venya Secretary, (CBCN)
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 10:32:45 +0000