The stories of the surging pandemic in India are ghastly. Reports of new variants of the disease \u2014 and the appearance of a black fungus attacking those with the coronavirus \u2014 resemble the horror stories of the Black Plague that swept through Europe in the Middle Ages, carrying with it huge segments of the population. Even as the country is consumed with the crisis, there appears no clear way out of this disaster. In one diocese, however, the bishop and his team have a plan and a clear course of action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy dear brother priests, sisters and the people of God,\u201d began Syro-Malabar Catholic Bishop Sebastian Adayanthrath of Mandya in a recent letter to his flock, \u201cwe are going through an unprecedented time in our recent history. We are struck down with a pandemic that is showing its fierce face all over the world and especially in our country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are sad, shocked and are quite uncertain about the future. Many are unemployed, sick in the hospital and at home. Our churches are closed, which means we are not able to come together as a community to console and strengthen each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bishop notes that during several meetings, he was \u201cdeeply touched\u201d to hear of \u201cthe arduous tasks taken by many priests, sisters and my beloved people of God.\u201d There are some strong proposals, he added, that \u201ccame up for our consideration and I share them with you now with the hope that you will take the necessary steps to address some of the most devastating situations in our field.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What follows is a combination of directives and appeals for his sprawling eparchy that covers much of the southern portions of the state of Karnataka. These range from:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Noting that \u201cit is our Christian responsibility to feed those who are hungry,\u201d the bishop asks the trustee of every parish to identify those who are sick and quarantined and are prevented from obtaining food, asking that the \u201cyoung people bring the cooked food or groceries to those families in need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bishop concludes by inviting anyone in the eparchy to \u201cshare with the wider diocesan community any other innovative models which are being tried out at the parish and community levels to face this pandemic meaningfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy prayers and blessings are with you as we march forward with courage and enthusiasm. God will accompany us in our journey. As someone very well put, \u201clife is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away by heroic actions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLet us be heroic in these tough times.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CNEWA is supporting the efforts of this valiant church in taking on the challenges of the pandemic in southern India \u2014 at this juncture providing food packages and hygiene kits for 500 families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Michael La Civita is CNEWA\u2019s director of communications.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n