Mangaluru: Christmas The eve and Christmas day prayers in Dakshina Kannada will be held inside the church premises following all the COVID-19 protocols. No additional events such as cultural events will be held, said Most Rev. Peter Paul Saldanha, the bishop The Diocese of Mangalore.
“The state government has come out with new guidelines for Christmas and New Year celebrations, as cases of Omicron type are coming to the fore. churches Will strictly follow the guidelines of the government. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day mass gatherings will be held inside the church premises only. All protocols will be maintained. The crowd will start from 7 pm on December 24 and churches can hold it in the open air. On December 25, churches have been instructed to hold more mass,” the bishop said on Thursday.
The diocese’s public relations officer, Father John Baptist Saldanha, said the church was discouraging children and the elderly (even if they had been vaccinated) from attending prayer. “As per our information, around 85% of the eligible beneficiaries under our diocese have been vaccinated with one or two doses. However, we are forbidding the elderly and children from attending the prayer.”
Abandon Indifference and Hatred: The Message of the Bishop
In his Christmas message, Bishop Peter Paul Saldanha called on people to let go of indifference and hatred, both within families and outside. “The biggest tragedy today is the growing culture of indifference. It’s worse than hate. If we love someone, that person holds a place in our hearts, and if we hate them, it’s in our minds.” But if we promote indifference, that person doesn’t exist for us. We don’t care whether he’s alive or dead. This is the danger we’re in, because many people embrace division, violence, and death. By example, Jesus teaches us to care and share, to give and to forgive our enemies, and to never hate anyone. Hate and indifference will burn us before we can burn others. It destroys our conscience It destroys the goodness within us,” he said.
Bishop Peter Saldanha said, “Like the Go Green initiative or Clean India, we need to promote a clean mind and a pure heart without hatred and indifference. This Christmas is our challenge to foster a pure heart so that we can take care of our to see God in the neighbor and in nature.”
“The state government has come out with new guidelines for Christmas and New Year celebrations, as cases of Omicron type are coming to the fore. churches Will strictly follow the guidelines of the government. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day mass gatherings will be held inside the church premises only. All protocols will be maintained. The crowd will start from 7 pm on December 24 and churches can hold it in the open air. On December 25, churches have been instructed to hold more mass,” the bishop said on Thursday.
The diocese’s public relations officer, Father John Baptist Saldanha, said the church was discouraging children and the elderly (even if they had been vaccinated) from attending prayer. “As per our information, around 85% of the eligible beneficiaries under our diocese have been vaccinated with one or two doses. However, we are forbidding the elderly and children from attending the prayer.”
Abandon Indifference and Hatred: The Message of the Bishop
In his Christmas message, Bishop Peter Paul Saldanha called on people to let go of indifference and hatred, both within families and outside. “The biggest tragedy today is the growing culture of indifference. It’s worse than hate. If we love someone, that person holds a place in our hearts, and if we hate them, it’s in our minds.” But if we promote indifference, that person doesn’t exist for us. We don’t care whether he’s alive or dead. This is the danger we’re in, because many people embrace division, violence, and death. By example, Jesus teaches us to care and share, to give and to forgive our enemies, and to never hate anyone. Hate and indifference will burn us before we can burn others. It destroys our conscience It destroys the goodness within us,” he said.
Bishop Peter Saldanha said, “Like the Go Green initiative or Clean India, we need to promote a clean mind and a pure heart without hatred and indifference. This Christmas is our challenge to foster a pure heart so that we can take care of our to see God in the neighbor and in nature.”
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