A Catholic Response to COVID-19
For the last several weeks, we have been watching the coronavirus epidemic unfold, from its beginnings in China barely two months ago to the first confirmed case in Maine this week. The World Health Organization has formally pronounced the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic – meaning that it has spread worldwide. Several aspects of the coronavirus outbreak create or heighten anxieties and fears. For one thing, this is a new strain, and medical professionals are still learning about it. For another, we have seen media reports of its effects and the responses various countries have made to it. We have seen people of all walks of life affected by it. Many activities that we take for granted have been delayed or cancelled because of it. Our economy is affected by it.
Many people are talking about coronavirus and speculating about it. What I hope to do here is to offer a perspective based on Catholic faith and practice. It is important for us that our response to this be informed and guided by our faith. We have an opportunity to witness to others what a loving, hopeful and faithful life looks like when it is confronted by such a challenge as coronavirus. It is important that we not give in to panic. Otherwise, our response will cause more harm than the pandemic itself. It is also important that we not dismiss this as overblown and sensationalized. Our response needs to be measured by what we know about coronavirus, and by the principles of our Catholic faith. We believe in a God who is with us always, who is present to us especially in our weakness, and whose power in us is best seen in our weakness.
What can we say about coronavirus? Since it is relatively new, our knowledge of it continues to grow and develop. Based on what we know now, we can say the following. Most people are not high-risk for coronavirus, meaning that if they contract it, it won’t be a life-endangering illness. Most people can expect symptoms similar to a cold or a flu. In fact, it’s likely that if we did not know about coronavirus at all, and came down with it, we’d call it a flu during flu season. However, some people are high-risk. These are the elderly and people whose immune system is already compromised in some way: people with naturally weak immune systems; people already ill with certain diseases, such as pneumonia; people who are undergoing medical treatment which weakens the immune system.
For high-risk people, coronavirus is very dangerous and potentially deadly. It is estimated that about 2% of people who contract coronavirus die from it. Other high-risk people will become very ill from it. Coronavirus is comparable to the “Spanish flu” pandemic of 1918 in that sense. It’s worth noting here that a more typical flu outbreak is also dangerous for high-risk people. Coronavirus seems to be more dangerous than the typical flu, but not that much more dangerous.
On the other hand, it is possible that some people have a natural resistance or immunity to coronavirus. If they contract it, they may feel only mild cold or flu-like symptoms, or no symptoms at all. It’s important to keep this in mind. If you’re in this group, coronavirus may not threaten you, but you could be a carrier and give it to someone else. That is important to remember. It’s not just about not getting it; it’s about not spreading it if you have it.
We are urged to take certain precautions, similar to what we do in any flu outbreak. We are asked to wash our hands frequently, using antibacterial soap or hand sanitizer, or both. We are asked to avoid touching our face mouth and nose with our hands if at all possible. (It’s easier to say than to do.) We know other protocols as well. If we follow these, we will reduce the chances of either getting or spreading coronavirus or any flu.
What does our Catholic faith add to this conversation?
First of all, it reminds us that the Lord is always with us. Therefore, we need not be ruled by fear. How often did Christ urge His disciples during His earthly life to not be afraid! This does not mean that we never feel afraid or anxious. This means that fear and anxiety need not rule us or make our decisions for us. The Lord is close to us in our needs, whatever they may be. Whenever any of us feel fear or anxiety welling up, whether it’s over the coronavirus outbreak or anything else, we will do well if we pause, remind ourselves of the Lord’s presence, and ask for His help. We can commend all our fears and anxieties to Him. In His light, we can see more clearly what we should do, and what we need not do. We need not be ruled by panic. We can be prudent and take wise precautions. But we need not panic. Illness and death do not have the last word. We are always in the Lord’s loving, faithful hands.
Secondly, our faith gives us a focus and a direction, a place to go with the assurance and grace He gives us. Recall that, in the Scriptures, the Lord by always urged His people to take special care of the weak, vulnerable and defenseless. In ancient Israel, these people were represented by the foreigner, the widow, and the orphan. To these, the New Testament adds children and others who have no social capital, all those who are powerless or excluded in any way.
How does this play out in dealing with the coronavirus outbreak? In this case, those who are most vulnerable are those who are high-risk if they contract this disease. Therefore, our focus as Catholics should be on helping the high-risk people among us. We follow flu protocols, then, not merely to protect ourselves, but to prevent ourselves from being carriers of coronavirus to high-risk people. Moreover, high-risk people may be afraid to go out, even to buy needed groceries. We can reach out to them, offer to do such things for them, while doing our part to keep ourselves protected for their sake. As Catholics, we protect ourselves from the coronavirus so that we can help high-risk people by checking in on them, reassuring them, and offering to do things for them as long as the current situation lasts.
We need to make an even greater effort to show love to people who contract coronavirus. They are likely to be shunned by others out of fear, or even blamed, out of fear, for putting others at risk. We can still do the usual protocols to keep ourselves reasonably protected. But people ill with coronavirus are also among the vulnerable and defenseless who need our help and our love. They are not unlike lepers in the time of Christ’s earthly life, who were also shunned by others and had little if any hope. We cannot so protect ourselves that we fail to show love to those who have this disease – or any disease. If you were a parent whose child was ill, you would love and care for that child, regardless of the risk to yourself. The same is true here.
I say this as someone who, being autistic, knows very well what it feels like to have a condition that others cannot understand. Some people accept it, and me along with it. Others consider me less of a person or less of a priest because of it, or see my eccentricities as something to ridicule. So it is very easy for me to feel empathy for someone with coronavirus who may then feel rejected, abandoned or even scapegoated when people respond out of fear. Perfect love casts out fear. We need to be open to the love of Christ in us, so that Christ can love others through us. How we respond to people who have coronavirus is a good test of how well we get what being a Catholic Christian is all about.
This is an opportunity for us, as Catholics, to lead by example and to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. With the Lord’s grace, we can, and we will!