The Corona pandemic as a challenge for spiritual care

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Religions for Peace Australia has two related websites, Multifaith Education Australia and Multifaith Chaplaincy Australia. The following article appeared on our Multifaith Chaplaincy website as Advice for Pastors (Chaplains) and is excellent reading as it gives a Chaplaincy in the European Union point of view – where the maximum death counts are taking place in the world at the time of publication. We offer it for your reflection and engagement.

Spiritual Care is an essential part of the care of critically ill and dying patients and their family members. This also applies in the current corona pandemic, in which all those involved are challenged to an unprecedented extent. Chaplains in hospitals, geriatric care facilities and in outpatient palliative care bear responsibility for the maintenance of spiritual care, with and for all those involved. They represent the shared caretaking effort of all health professions and are usually the first point of contact for spiritual care.

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Buddhists and Christians : Constructing a Culture of Compassion and Fraternity

Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue Logo
The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (the Vatican’s Interfaith Council) has written a message on occasion of Vesakh/Hanamatsuri for the Year 2020. The Message is titled, Buddhists and Christians : Constructing a Culture of Compassion and Fraternity

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Parashat Tzav: Taking Care of Ourselves and Each Other Amid Crisis

House and HeartIn Parashat Tzav, we read, in minute detail, of the priests’ tasks to keep the flame on the altar burning day and night. That fire was central to the spiritual life of the community. Through their burnt offerings the Israelites drew near to God at times of transition or vulnerability. To do so, they depended on the priests to keep the altar clean and the fire burning.

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WCC releases “Health and Hope” online publication as a resource amid COVID-19 pandemic

Ecumenical Review Cover

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has newly released an online publication, “Health and Hope: The Church in Mission and Unity,” a collection of previously published articles that resonate with the worldwide struggle amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The publication, available online free of charge for the next three months, serves to remind us of the presence of God during challenging times throughout history, and of how we can draw upon that history and tradition for the present time.

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Australia – Roundup 4 April 2020

Religions in Australia

On this page, we seek to give account of how different faith communities in Australia – in many states – are providing devotional and spiritual activities for their adherents in this time of Coronavirus – when places of worship in Australia have been closed by the government. There is much information here, more is welcome. Use our contact page if you do not find your community listed, and you wish to have your community’s offerings listed here.

Update: There are a number of new links added for Christian worship in languages other than English.

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How coronavirus challenges Muslims’ faith and changes their lives

hajj at mecca
Fortunately for Muslims, the closure of mosques does not mean they stop daily prayers altogether. In Islam, individual prayers and worship play a greater role than communal ones. Muslims can pray five times a day wherever they are, and often home is a place where most praying takes place.

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“In the Beginning was the Word”: Why Covid-19 Renders Words even more Powerful

writing and wordsWords have an impact on human consciousness, something scientists have long studied, and many researchers and health services are committed to. Articulation and eloquence have long defined culture. And ‘having a way with words’ is a way of either praising special capacity – or bemoaning ‘spin’. Words, and how they are used, is a large part of what many bemoan as ‘fake news’. So, we know that words matter. Now that we move into virtual communication for everything from trade to learning, from industry to worship, words will matter more than ever, writes Prof. Azza Karam is Secretary General, Religions for Peace International.

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Covid 19 and Immigration Detention

Department of Home Affairs

The Department of Home Affairs oversights immigration detention, and programs associated with detention. These include the detention visitor program closure, visits by legal representatives and Consular Officials, oversight by scrutiny bodies, provision of ​Religious services, Excursions, Medical services, ​Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and suspected cases of COVID-19 in immigration detention.

Currently, there are no detected cases of Covid-19 in immigration detention. However, the two-person rule has come into effect, limiting access and contact with others who have concern and provide selfless service for those in detention.

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