Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David has asked parishes in his diocese to create a health care ministry as part of the local Church’s response to the prevailing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
(File photo courtesy of CBCP via PNA / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
“I asked them to put up a health care ministry in every parish in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said in a CBCP News post.
David asked parishes to organize volunteers and partners with concerned local government agencies.
The prelate said they want to help in the monitoring of people infected with coronavirus.
The diocese, he added, also provide patients small packages containing medicines and vitamins as well as rosaries and prayer cards.
“We want to make them feel that they are cared for, not just spiritually but also physically, psychologically, and emotionally,” David said.
The Kalookan diocese is composed of 31 parishes and 15 mission stations in the cities of Navotas, Malabon, and Caloocan.
Metro Manila and nearby provinces have been under lockdown since last month as hospitals in the National Capital Region (NCR) struggle to cope with a surge in COVID-19 cases.
The government has also suspended all public religious services in churches across the NCR and the provinces of Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, and Bulacan.