Five Catholic priests in Indian diocese die of COVID-19 in 10 days

0

The death rate is so high in parts of India, such as Delhi, that crematoria are running out of space.

“Jharkhand is one of the states with the worst health structure, infrastructure, it is among the poorest in the country,” Bishop Mascarenhas said.

“At least I could take my priests, my seminarians. The poor very often have to rely on their villages. They are lying in their own homes – even if they come to the hospital, there is no place for them,” he said. “And if those who enter the hospital, there is no oxygen.”

The bishop said that although he directly cared for those who are sick, he was not afraid.

“I keep telling my seminarians…that we were ordained to serve and if that service can be like the service of the Lord, then there is nothing like it,” he said. .

Over 500 miles away in Hyderabad, Fr. Noel Maddhichetty also worked to help those affected by the pandemic.

Maddhichetty is the director of Bosconet, a Catholic association with 500 centers across 28 states in India.

During the first wave of the pandemic, Bosconet reached 3.28 million people with some kind of support including hot meals, weekly rations and health kits to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

But Maddhichetty said the organization was caught off guard by how quickly the situation deteriorated in this second wave with an acute shortage of oxygen.

“We are not able to deliver oxygen. We don’t have an oxygen supply chain,” he told EWTN.

The priest said Bosconet was researching how he could help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and what kinds of support he could provide for people who are sick and quarantined at home.

(Story continues below)

“In addition, we are now trying to promote vaccination… and Don Bosco centers are trying to give space to vaccination centers,” he said.

Less than 2% of India’s population has been fully immunized, as of April 28.

“It’s really an irony or … a big contradiction that the country that produces the most … facilities for the production of vaccines is not able to vaccinate its own people,” Maddhichetty said.

Bishops across India have called on the government to do more to ensure medical resources reach those in need.

Cardinal George Alencherry, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, has appealed to the Indian government to declare access to medical oxygen a human right as the poor sick are left without no options.

“Consider the availability of medical oxygen as a basic human right and immediately take all necessary steps to make it available to people who are fighting hard to keep their lives in hospitals and health centers,” he said. he declares. said April 25, according to UCA News.

Share.

Comments are closed.