‘No need to suspend church activities amid virus’

MANILA, Philippines — Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David on Monday assured the public that there was no need to suspend church activities in the country amidst the threat of the COVID-19 disease.

David, also the vice president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, said that while church activities, including Masses, will continue to be held, precautionary measures are being observed to prevent the spread of the disease.

“This coming Lent, we will not cancel our Masses, our celebrations, but we will be more cautious,” he said.

Catholics will observe Ash Wednesday — the start of the Lenten season marked by a ritual of placing ashes on the foreheads of the faithful — on Feb. 26.

But David said that instead of smudging the foreheads of the faithful with ashes, the ashes might just be sprinkled over their heads.—Tina G. Santos