THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In what could emerge as a matter of serious concern, as many as 155 Catholic priests and three bishops of various dioceses in the country died after they contracted Covid-19 during the raging second wave of the pandemic in the last one-and-a-half months. Of them, 38 priests were from Kerala.
The most number of fatalities was reported in Thrissur archdiocese of Syro-Malabar Church where eight priests had died of Covid-19. In the wake of this worsening scenario, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) had issued guidelines to ensure the safety of priests on May 5, said Fr Jervis D’Souza, deputy secretary-general of CBCI. The Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) will issue fresh guidelines after its three-day virtual conference to be held from June 1 to 3.
The list of deceased priests includes religious and diocesan priests working for India’s three ritual Catholic churches — Latin, Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara. Fr Suresh Mathew, editor of ‘Indian Currents’ who had compiled the list, said, “The number of priests who died is higher than the national average of Covid deaths and we should undertake an in-depth study into the reasons for these deaths.
I wanted to know the number of priests who had died in the deadly second wave of the pandemic. Hence, I began compiling the list of priests who died. I approached the deputy secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India and got the statistics.”
He added that many priests who died were in their 40s. He has also sent the list to each individual bishop in India to ensure the safety of the priests. Fr Jacob Palakkappilly, deputy secretary, KCBC, said the situation needs to be addressed. “Many priests died of Covid-19 in the country due to the nature of their work, They need to attend the services. Since we can’t dissuade them from the services, KCBC had already instructed them to do it adhering to the Covid-19 protocol.
But sadly, many priests tested positive and some of them died of the disease. In North Indian states, the situation is much worse as young priests too have died there. The priests who died in Kerala are mostly elders. However, we are committed to the safety of priests and we will issue fresh guidelines for the priests after the conference,” he said. Recently, four priests of CSI South Kerala diocese died of Covid-19 after they attended an annual retreat at Munnar in Idukki last month.