The Bishop of Mangalore, Peter Paul Saldanha, has told all churches of Mangalore Diocese to ring the church bells to manifest solidarity, appreciation and gratitude to medical, nursing and paramedical personnel and to the airlines and emergency transport personnel who risk their life to save the victims of corona virus.

In a circular sent to the churches of Mangalore Diocese of Saturday, the Bishop of Mangalore said corona virus crisis has brought a lot of sorrow, fear and anxiety among the people of the whole world.

He said the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has given a call to observe ‘Janata Curfew’ on March 22 from 7 am to 9 pm.

“This implies that we stay indoors during that time. Keeping this in mind, I request that we cancel not only our public liturgical services, as it has been already instructed, but also all private services including the visits to the churches and Blessed Sacrament chapels.

“A great number of medical, nursing and paramedical personnel are offering their precious service to protect the people from the pandemic. Similarly, the airlines and emergency transport personnel also risk their life to save the victims of corona virus. The Prime Minister has asked of us to stand in our balconies and doorsteps on Sunday, 22 March at 5 pm and clap for five minutes to gratefully acknowledge their selfless service,” he said.

“In our Catholic tradition, church bells are rung to invite people to divine service and also to announce good or sad news. While it is possible at the individual level to applaud by clapping hands, at the institutional level, we can express it by ringing the bells. I invite all the parish priests to arrange the pealing of the bells in their respective churches and chapels at 5 pm on Sunday, 22 March 2020. This will be a humble expression of our gratitude and great appreciation of these brave men and women who render their noble and selfless service in these moments of crisis. Of course, we do also appreciate and commend the dedicated services of all the government staff,” the Bishop said.

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