Nagaland dioceses on the forefront of the fight against COVID-19
Bishop James Thoppil of Kohima looks at efforts in his diocese. Although the Catholic Church lacks its own hospital, it is helping in other ways people who are sick or quarantined. In the diocese, a 50-hour chain adoration of the Blessed Sacrament ended today, the feast day of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Kohima (AsiaNews) – In the past few days, India has reported a significant drop in the number of coronavirus cases, falling below 100,000 a day after topping 400,000 just a few weeks ago.
However, in some regions, the pandemic is still raging. In north-eastern India, where the latest wave came later than elsewhere in the country, the death toll keeps rising.
This has worried local church since the infection has spread to villages and there are fears that it could spread to communities that lack the health infrastructure necessary to cope with the emergency.
For this reason, the dioceses of north-eastern India have set up an anti-COVID task force, coordinated by Archbishop John Moolachiara of Guwahati, with individual committees within each local Church.
Bishop James Thoppil of the Diocese of Kohima (Nagaland) told AsiaNews that during the first wave of the pandemic, his diocese created a task force of priests, religious and lay people to deal with the emergency.
During the second wave, however, many more people needed hospitalisation or quarantine assistance. Since the Catholic Church does not have its own hospital, it decided to help in other ways.
Diocesan priests have provided financial support available by offering the subsidy they receive each year from the German -based Missio Aachen (Institute of Missiology and Missio e. V)
The Catholic Association of Nagaland, the main lay association in the diocese, established the Nagaland Catholic Laity Charity Corpus on 19 May 2021, a new charity that the bishop himself launched in an online event.
Several religious congregations have offered their support to the diocesan task force. Many local committees are fully active and providing accurate information on prevention and home care to alleviate people's suffering and curb the spread of the contagion.
Two other important initiatives include the establishment of a 24-hour phone line for anyone in need as well as a 50-hour chain adoration of the Blessed Sacrament across the entire diocese that ended today, the feast day of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
.png)
