Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and FEBRUARY 16, 2020 hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age TERHAD PP 8460/11/2012(030939) understood this; for if they had, they would ISSN: 1394-3294 not have crucified the Lord of glory. Vol. 27 No. 06 THE CATHOLIC WEEKLY 1 Cor. 2:6-8 INSIDE Friendship tunnel will P14 soon link mosque and cathedral P18-20 Respond to God’s call P16 to become the ‘now’ of CWL Keuskupan Sandakan tajamkan BM8 God Celebrating the Religious among us P4 kecekapan dalam pelayanan P21-22 Catholics urged to show Christian love overANOI, Vietnam: Bishops ofthe Coronavirusvirus and returned home from the hospital on Vietnam have asked Catho- Feb 4. She said people were afraid to contact them Hlics to live out the Christian and said no words to them. Her parents had to faith to fight against the fast-spread- stop their daily work because of public dis- ing coronavirus by treating infected crimination. patients fairly and not seeking prof- Vietnam has reported 14 virus-infected pa- tients, including two Chinese visitors and one its on health supplies. Vietnamese-American. Five Vietnamese and On Feb 8, Bishop Paul Nguyen Thai Hop of one Chinese patient have been cured of the Ha Tinh said the world is severely affected by deadly pathogen. the coronavirus epidemic, so “local Catholics Vinh Phuc in northern Vietnam has nine pa- should make a great show of Christian love tients, including five female workers who re- during this difficult time.” turned from Wuhan, the epicentre of the coro- Bishop Hop urged them not to make profits navirus, on Jan. 17. from a lack of medical supplies, especially face Bishop Hop asked Catholics to take preven- masks which now fetch much higher prices. tive measures proposed by the Church and The Directorate of Market Surveillance said government agencies in a careful and calm the severe shortage of masks had been caused manner. Those who have a fever and cough by unchecked speculation and hoarding of should not attend services but can receive the masks to raise prices. Many pharmacies and People wearing protective masks pray during Mass at the National Shrine of Our Mother of Eucharist at their homes. stores in Ho Chi Minh City reportedly an- Perpetual Help in Manila, Philippines, Feb 5, 2020. (CNS photo/Eloisa Lopez, Reuters) Archbishop Nang said Catholics started a nounced they were out of masks, but 150,000 to love and help one another generously in criminate against but love and respect virus-in- novena — nine consecutive days of special masks were found on Feb 7 at Tan Son Nhat this difficult time,” Archbishop Nang said in a fected patients, suspected ones and those who prayers for the epidemic and patients — on International Airport to be exported abroad. message on Feb 5. are from affected areas. Feb 9. They attend Masses, recite the rosary Archbishop Joseph Nguyen Nang of Ho Chi He also asked them to pray for leaders of na- A female receptionist who was infected with and Divine Mercy, change their lifestyles, fast, Minh City called on Catholics not to be greedy tions to be wise in finding practical solutions coronavirus by two Chinese tourists at her ho- do penance and perform charity. — ucanews. and self-interested in making money on the for the virus epidemic and to serve people in tel in January in the coastal city of Nha Trang com sufferings of other people. truth and love. said local people had kept away from her and “We should pray for the human community Bishop Hop called on Catholics not to dis- her family even though she was free of the Turn to Pages 10 & 11 for more Pope to celebrate Pentecost in Malta VATICAN: Pope Francis will celebrate others aboard the storm-tossed boat: “They The verse, the archbishop said, is “a re- Pentecost in Malta, the Mediterranean is- showed us unusual kindness.” minder that we need to welcome each other, land-nation where St Paul was shipwrecked The official logo for the trip shows hands to forgive each other and to welcome mi- and where thousands of migrants and refu- reaching up to the cross, “a sign of a Chris- grants who knock on the shores of our island gees continue to seek welcome and shelter. tian’s welcome of his neighbour and assis- seeking a safe haven and human dignity.” The Vatican announced Feb 10 that the tance of those in difficulty, abandoned to As Italy and Greece, since 2015, Malta Pope would visit the islands of Malta and their destiny,” a Vatican press release said. has been a significant destination for mi- Gozo May 31, Pentecost. It is the first papal Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta grants and refugees fleeing violence in the trip confirmed for 2020. said in a video announcement of the trip Middle East or extreme poverty in Africa. A schedule for the trip was not released that since the quote from the Acts of the And like its European neighbours, Malta’s immediately, but the Vatican said the theme Apostles was used in January for the Week politicians and the local population have of the visit would be taken from the Acts of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope Fran- been sharply divided over the number of of the Apostles’ description of how the cis had offered several meditations on the newcomers the country can and should wel- Maltese people treated St Paul and the 275 verse. come. — CNS Logo and motto of Pope Francis’ visit to Malta. 2 FORUM / REFLECTION HERALD February 16, 2020 Community solidarity in the face of coronavirus ome years ago — I can’t remember Two years ago, the Trump administra- exactly when — a relative gave me tion cut funding for disease security pro- Sa book called Pandemic. I flipped Sunday Observer grammes. It slashed $15bn in national through the pages and found it grim, de- By health spending and cut the global disease- pressing reading, as it predicted the likeli- fighting operational budgets of a string of hood of a global epidemic. I put it away – Anil Netto government agencies, according to Pu- though now I wish I had read it back then. litzer Prize-winning science writer Laurie [email protected] There were enough problems in the world; Garrett (foreignpolicy.com). The UK Na- this one could wait, I thought. tional Health Service too has experienced But no longer. Now we are faced with to this interconnectedness. In Malaysia, healthcare spending is just funding cuts in recent years. another alarming epidemic, coronavirus, As we become increasingly intercon- over four per cent of GDP (about half of Despite its low public healthcare budget, which is growing by the day. (The virus nected in a small “global village”, diseases it from public healthcare) — whereas we Malaysia’s public health service is punch- is called corona because it resembles a can spread much quicker, jumping from should be touching six per cent to vastly ing above its weight with a score of 62.2, crown under the microscope; corona is the say, bats to other species and to human be- improve the service. So we are still short the second highest in Asean, behind Thai- Latin for crown.) ings, undetected to the human eye. of public funding — and we need to re- land (73.2) ahead of Singapore (58.7). This one seems more serious than Sars. Meanwhile, large corporations have de- view the spending on all the private sup- This is a credit to the doctors, nurses and With Sars, we could look out for those stroyed and degraded the ecology, cleared port services at the public hospitals – to other personnel in the public healthcare having a fever, but with the coronavirus and burned forests, in the process driving build a more robust public healthcare sys- sector who have coped remarkably despite there is a 14-day incubation period, when out the creatures that live in them. tem. the low budget. the patient shows no symptoms. In recent months, I have seen videos of China’s ability to build hospitals in little The coronavirus shows us why we must Meanwhile, all sorts of conspiracy the- elephants, tigers and even crocodiles ven- more than a week has won widespread ad- invest more in our public healthcare sys- ories have been flying around about the turing into areas where human beings live. miration. It shows the critical importance tem, including disease prevention, in the source of the virus. What more the smaller creatures that are of a strong public healthcare system and spirit of community solidarity — and not Whatever the precise source and origin, displaced. Where do they go? the ability to marshal resources to cope neglecting or undermining the system by what matters now is our state of prepared- It is critically important to carry out with sudden emergencies at short notice. say, focusing on medical tourism. ness in tackling the virus, given that many economic activities sustainably, especially Global Health Security found that “na- The world has shrunk into a global vil- have already died in China and now a mass livestock farming. It is also about tional health security is fundamentally lage. What we need now is more commu- couple outside mainland China. So far, 18 time, given the climate crisis, to encour- weak around the world.