THE GOAN NETWORK
PANAJI
Stating that plans are afoot to use a part of the Spiritual Renewal Centre at Old Goa as a Covid Care Home to offer basic facilities to Covid patients in need of self-quarantine, Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao has appealed to nurses to offer their services for this cause.
While celebrating Mass during the solemn religious profession of a nun at the Chapel of the Generalate of the Franciscan Missionaries of Christ the King at "Portiuncula" in Old Goa, Archbishop Ferrao said he had been receiving many messages, with one of them mentioning that people are panicking in villages on account of the Covid cases and didn’t know what to do.
The archbishop was informed that the Society of Vincent de Paul, parish councils, St Luke's Medical Guild and other parish associations could be mobilised to offer some assistance in this regard.
“I then got in touch with some priests concerned to gather people and to see what the Church could do at the parish and deanery level, to offer any kind of help.”
"Two priests came forward and suggested that we could offer some help by throwing open our Spiritual Renewal Centre to those in need of self-quarantine, not specialised medical care.”
“They asked me for permission to use the Spiritual Renewal Centre for this purpose and I immediately replied, ‘definitely, as everything is for our people. If people are not alive, why do we need institutions’," said Archbishop Ferrao.
Following an appeal, he said two doctors came forward to offer their assistance and efforts were being made to seek the services of nurses to be part of this team.
“If we have a basic team in place, we are prepared to put the new wing of the Spiritual Renewal Centre for this purpose and we will spend as much money as needed to save lives.”
Archbishop Ferrao said the Covid Care Home at the Spiritual Renewal Centre could provide care for people in quarantine, by providing them food and other basic help.
“We have some volunteers and we now need the services of nurses, as most nurses have been engaged by the government. One nurse has now come forward, but we need at least 6 nurses,” Archbishop Ferrao said.
He said one of the suggestions was to appeal to religious congregations, asking each of them to offer the services of one sister for a short duration of about 2 weeks.
Archbishop Ferrao said priests are also in contact with nuns who are running homes for the aged, to offer their services at the Covid Care Home at the Spiritual Renewal Centre.
“Once we have the team in place, we can then approach the government for the basic facilities,” he added.
