ASIA/PHILIPPINES - A diocese opens health centers in all parishes during the pandemic

Tuesday, 13 April 2021 pandemic   healthcare   local churches  

Manila (Agenzia Fides) - A diocese in the Philippines has decided to create a health facility in each parish to meet the needs of the population in the midst of the pandemic. Mgr. Pablo Virgilio David, Bishop of Kalookan, in the Metro Manila area, confirmed to Fides that "the diocese wants to take care of people's spiritual and physical well-being". Explaining that the initiative is a concrete response of the local Church to the Covid-19 scenario, the Bishop said he had asked all parishes to equip and organize a medical-health center or a clinic, inviting priests and laity to mobilize volunteers, doctors and nurses to help people infected with Covid but also suffering from other diseases. In a network logic, the diocese provides medicines and health items for all patients. "We want them to feel that we care for them, not only spiritually but also physically, psychologically and emotionally", said the Bishop.
The Diocese of Kalookan has 31 parishes and 15 mission stations in the cities of Navotas, Malabon and Caloocan. In recent weeks, the country has faced a wave of Covid cases in and around Metro Manila and four adjacent provinces. In this situation, the country has imposed stricter blocking and confinement measures, which also had repercussions on religious assemblies and activities. The government has suspended all public religious services in churches in the Manila capital region and in the provinces of Rizal, Cavite, Laguna and Bulacan. A lockdown regime has been in place in Metro Manila and neighboring provinces since last month as hospitals in the capital struggle to cope with an increase in hospitalizations for Covid-19. More than 11,000 hospitals across the country are at the limit of capacity and private institutions, civil and religious, have taken steps to offer a contribution in the health field. (SD-PA) (Agenzia Fides, 13/4/2021)


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