For an Integral Pastoral Care of the Faithful in the Event of a Pandemic

Canonical and Pastoral Profiles

Abstract

The Church, by virtue of the mission received from Christ, has an original responsibility for the integral – material and spiritual – healing of the person which, as she has done in the past, must be able to exercise even in the event of a pandemic, in collaboration with the State, which must protect not only the material but also the spiritual health of all people, respecting their religious liberty. In the exercise of their mission in the event of a pandemic, the pastors of the Church must be inspired by the primacy of the salus animarum, the necessary protection of the salus corporum and a balanced appraisal of the goods at stake with aequitas canonica. Only the authorities of the Church – specifically the Apostolic See and the diocesan Bishop – are competent to regulate pastoral care and the liturgy, in compliance with the legitimate provisions established by the health authorities of the State for similar situations. In the event of a pandemic, the rules of common law apply to cases of (serious) inconvenience, (grave) necessity, and (imminent) danger of death, but it is desirable that special rules be issued by the competent authorities.