No handshaking during Mass

·         Bishop directs faithful

Most Rev. Joseph Afrifah-Agyekum, the Catholic Bishop of Koforidua Diocese, has directed Priests and faithful of the Diocese to stop handshaking during the Kiss of Peace at Mass but instead smile at each other or give a gentle wave.

The directive are part of precautionary measures put in place by Prelate in Koforidua to curb the spread of the Ebola Virus. The outbreak of deadly disease in the West African Sub-region has claimed over 1000 lives.

The Bishop has asked Priests and Extraordinary Ministers of the Holy Communion to put Communion in the palm of the faithful and not on their tongue, noting that since the disease was transmitted through body secretion including saliva, sweats, mucous, it was better to adopt the measure for now.

The Bishop also instructed that Holy Water receptacles at the entrance of the Catholic churches be dried up and urged the faithful to limit or stop handshakes at public functions such as funerals, weddings, and naming ceremonies among others.

Bishop Afrifa-Agyekum, who said these in an interview at Koforidua admitted that though the measures were going to be a challenge to our culture, he stressed it was necessary for us to adopt these actions to prevent the outbreak of Ebola in Ghana.

He urged Parishes to continuously read the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference’s (GCBC) statement on Ebola Virus to the faithful, and entreated them to invite experts to speak on Ebola and create the needed awareness among their congregation.

In its statement issued at Sunyani a fortnight ago at the end of the Second National Pastoral Congress, the Conference, called for intensive prayers to end the spread of the disease and advised Catholics and the public to help prevent the disease.

Noting that prevention was key, the Conference entreated the faithful to wash their hands often with soap and water or use sanitizers, wash fruits and vegetables well before cooking as well as avoid physical contact with people with suspicious signs and places of outbreak.

The statement signed and read by its President Most Rev. Joseph Osei-Bonsu, Catholic Bishop of Konongo-Manpong, urged people to report suspicious cases to the nearest Hospital or healthcare facility.