A health adviser for a top global Catholic relief agency stressed the Church’s key efforts on the Ebola front in West Africa: helping people overcome panic and avert devastating social stigmas by providing accurate information.
“Much of the work has been to educate people about the facts surrounding Ebola, because there’s so much fear and panic and misinformation that goes out among the people,” Monsignor Robert J. Vitillo told CNA on Oct. 20.
A special adviser on health for Caritas Internationalis, the priest observed that in the areas most affected by the disease – namely Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea – the Catholic Church has been “a credible witness” where people go to get good information.
Most of the facts are given by churches during Mass, as well as by Caritas and other Catholic organizations who offer special training to priests, religious and lay catechists on how to talk about the virus.
Msgr. Vitillo offered his comments after addressing the United Nations conference in Geneva last week during an Oct. 20 Caritas Internationalis briefing.
The information on how to prevent the spread of Ebola that the Church gives is basic, he said, and involves simple, practical procedures such as hand-washing, keeping three feet away from people, not touching those who already show symptoms of Ebola, and above all avoiding direct contact with the bodies of those who have already died of Ebola.
A lack of knowledge about Ebola has led to numerous social problems, including the ostracization of infected persons – or those suspected of being infected – by their own families, the abandonment of children orphaned as a result of Ebola, as well as pastoral problems for priests who want to visit the sick…Read More
Source and Original Content by CNA