Covid-19: Pope Francis calls the
Archbishop of Manaus
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| Collective burial of Covid-19 victims in Manaus (ANSA) |
Pope Francis makes a telephone call to Archbishop Leonardo
Steiner of Manaus in the Brazilian Amazon region expressing his concern and
closeness to those affected by the new coronavirus.
By Linda Bordoni
Pope Francis expressed solidarity, closeness and concern to
inhabitants of the Amazonian city of Manaus and for indigenous, traditional and
poor people of the region.
A statement released by the Archdiocese of Manaus, the
largest city of the Brazilian state of Amazonas and a gateway into the
Rainforest, revealed that the Pope made a telephone call on Saturday afternoon
and spoke to Archbishop Leonardo Steiner.
According to the daily Covid-19 monitoring carried out by
Repam (the Ecclesiastical Pan-Amazonian Network), the Manaus region is the one
hardest hit by the pandemic in the Amazon region.
Words of comfort and consolation
The statement said the Archbishop thanked the Pope for his
“words of comfort and consolation”, and said he told the Pope about what the
archdiocese is doing to care for those living on the streets, distributing food
to those in need, reaching out to people who are suffering, and caring for
migrants.
“This Saturday, the rains brought even more suffering to our
peripheries,” Archbishop Steiner told the Pope.
At the end of the conversation, he said, Pope Francis
thanked the archdiocese, the faithful, the religious and the priests for what
they are doing to alleviate the suffering, assured his prayers for the deceased
and their families, and sent a special blessing to the Amazon.”
“We are deeply grateful to Pope Francis for his
paternal-ecclesial gesture”, Archbishop Steiner said.
Mass graves
The health care system in Manaus was the first to buckle
under the pressure of the Covid-19 emergency. All the ICU beds in the city’s
public hospital are reportedly taken and city authorities have started to bury
coronavirus victims in mass graves due to high demand.
The state of Amazonas to date has reported over 3,600
infections and nearly 300 deaths.
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