Home 
There is no need to suspend Masses in Cebu due to the influenza A(H1N1) virus, although the archbishop has the authority to order it, a church official said yesterday.
“It has not come to that, in Cebu, at least. There is no need to suspend Masses in Cebu,” said Msgr. Esteban Binghay, episcopal vicar of the archdiocese.
He gave this statement after the possibility of calling off Masses as a last resort in a scenario of an outbreak of H1N1 flu cases was mentioned in an interview with Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Yniguez, of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.
Yniguez said suspending Masses would be a "drastic measure."
"We will have to evaluate that [the situation]...lalo na yang misa, yan ang pinakamahalagang gawaiin natin bilang mga Katoliko [especially since the Mass is our most important activity as Catholics]," Yñiguez said in a GMA 7 interview.
Meanwhile, Binghay suggested that if a person is sick with the novel virus and has to stay home or in an isolation room, there are alternatives to receive Communion and to hear Mass.
“If there is a real need, they can hear Mass by watching TV,” he said. Live broadcasts are aired on local Cebu Catholic Television Network (CCTN) and EWTN.
“But in Cebu, what we have is more faith in God, which is more powerful than any virus,” he added.
The response of church officials in Cebu to anxiety over the H1N1 flu scare has been noticeably different from what's happening in the capital.
Since May, a special mandatory prayer or “Oratio Imperata” is recited in every Mass on orders of Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal imploring the intervention of Our Lady of Guadalupe of Cebu so people would “be spared from the H1N1 virus”.
In early June, Manila Bishop Gaudencio Rosales told parishioners not to hold hands when the “Our Father” is sung during Mass because of the increase of confirmed flu virus cases in the country.
No such advisory has been issued by Cardinal Vidal who saw no need for it here. He left it to Cebu parishioners to do what they feel is comfortable for them.
Some parishes have modified mass services, discouraging hand-to-mouth communion and holding hands while singing the Our Father. But these traditional practices have returned in some churches.
“If there is an emergency and the DOH (Department of Health) said that the situation is already worsening, the bishop may suspend Masses,” said Msgr. Binghay, who is a canon lawyer.
“This can be done in order to minimize the spread of contamination, ” he added.
Binghay stressed that the incidence of H1N1 flu contamination in Cebu has not reached the point that would require Cardinal Vidal to stop the celebration of Masses.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque, reacting to the possibility of canceling Masses, said no other country has done that, not even those with a high incidence of H1N1 cases.
Since the Philippines has been experiencing “mild” flu , there's no need to stop people from going to Mass, he said.
One of the advisories of the DOH is for the public to practice “social distancing” and avoiding unnecessary trips to crowded places.
In Cebu, only one school has suspended classes because of the virus, the University of Cebu Mandaue-Lapu Lapu. A 10-day break ends today, when the 10,000-student population returns to classes.
Less than 20 confirmed cases of H1N1 were reported in Cebu compared to the national tally of 861 cases as of Friday.
“There is still no definite community transmission (in the region). All the cases we have reported so far have been traced to the source of infection,” said Dr. Susana Madarieta, regional director of the DOH in Central Visayas.
“This situation does not warrant (that Masses should be suspended),” she added.
She repeated DOH's advisory to practice “social distancing” by avoiding unnecessary trips to crowded places.
“We advice those who are have fever not to attend Mass,” she said.
On Saturday, the DOH lifted the mandatory quarantine of travelers who arrive from abroad. The agency is leaving it up to them to monitor themselves after their arrival for any signs of the flu virus. /Ma. Bernadette A. Parco Editorial Assistant with GMA report and Inquirer
