Catholics lose dying wish as COVID-19 keeps priests at bay

Catholics are accustomed to anointing the dying with oil and performing the sacrament of the sick for the gravely ill, but tradition has taken a back seat to precaution as hospitals have curtailed visits. Priests, like all non-medical personnel, are completely restricted from COVID-19 wards at hospitals.

The suspension of rituals for sick patients has forced priests to find other ways to minister to dying parishioners, like calling them on their phone, but it has deprived them of the opportunity to give them the final touch and to physically prepare their soul for transition.

Prior to COVID-19, Father Arokiadas Arumainathan at Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church would visit the hospital to pray and anoint members of his church.

But as two of his parishioners, Anne Chin-Teape and Leslie Teape, were dying minutes apart on a COVID-19 ward in Kingston recently, all he could do was pray from a distance, make frequent phone calls to enquire about their progress, or send text messages with encouragement.

The priest, who is affectionately called Father Francis, is very much aware of the risks of visiting a COVID-19 ward, but he longs for the days when he could physically be with his parishioners during their darkest hour.

“It is always very sad for me not to be able to be with my church members, with my parishioners, with my loved ones in a time like this, especially when they are sick, in the hospital and almost at the point of death,” he lamented.

“I think as Catholics, one of the nicest things for them to have in that moment is the presence of a priest because of what we believe is the sacrament of the anointing, and that always gives them a sense of comfort and peace.”

Hospital administrators were forced to restrict the visiting times to just one hour. The number of persons allowed to enter the ward has also been reined in to curtail the spread of COVID-19, which last month left the health sector on life support.

“We have reduced visiting hours and we have reduced visiting days and we have reduced the number of persons who can visit and the category of persons. We have limited to very close family and persons who are next of kin,” chairman of the South East Regional Health Authority, Wentworth Charles, said.

Given the restrictions on the general ward and the complete ban on visitors on the COVID-19 ward, Charles said that religious rituals would have to be performed when the body was given to the family, or at the burial site. Funerals are not permitted and burials are only allowed Mondays to Fridays for up to 30 minutes, according to COVID-19 containment measures currently in place until May 2.

PREVENTED FROM SHARING

Prior to COVID-19, Catholic priest Father Roger Graham said they were allowed to visit the hospitals outside of the general visiting hours, depending on the urgency of the situation. Now they have to share the one-hour visiting slot with the family members. Relatives are now prevented from sharing in the experience.

“The relative comes in when the minister is finished, or if a relative is [already] there, the relative has to leave most of the times,” he said, reflecting on the change in routine.

In some countries, hospital chaplains and priests are given personal protective equipment (PPE) gear to visit COVID-19 wards to pray for the gravely ill and offer final rites. The minister would, however, have to go on 14-day quarantine afterwards.

Graham, who pastors the Sts Peter and Paul Catholic Church, was under quarantine while speaking with The Gleaner recently. He self-isolated because he had visited the hospital to meet another priest who was being discharged.

COVID-19 has upended many traditions, even those held sacred, like the last rites.

“It has curtailed the different support that is normally provided by a church community to persons who have passed away,” said Father Graham.

nadine.wilson@gleanerjm.com