– Aurelio Porfiri
This first part of 2020 will certainly be remembered because of the coronavirus epidemic. There is no doubt that this problem dictates the agenda of governments, media and cultural institutions. In Italy, where I am now, the level of attention was raised on February 21, when a cluster of infections was uncovered in Lombardy. As of this writing, five have died and 219 have been infected. By the time someone is reading these lines, the numbers will have changed.
We have to say that in Lombardy (and in Veneto, where the first Italian victim was registered), there are numerous hospitals and doctors, and are considered excellent in this field. But we need to see how this system will react in a situation where there is a continuous emergency.
The problem also is that at the moment we don’t know exactly how this cluster started, because the people who were affected did not go to China recently. The Italian government on Saturday announced extraordinary measures of containment, similar to the one in place in Wuhan, China. Schools will be closed, public events (including sport events) suspended, people quarantined, churches closed.
As I have said before on several occasions, there are two kinds of diseases: one is the virus itself, and the other is the psychosis of the virus. It is not always easy to say which is worse, because if it is true that the virus affects the bodies of people and potentially threaten their well being, the psychosis affects the mind and is very widely spread. It is very difficult to control fear, and this is the reason why some politicians use it to gain the attention of people and get elected.
Now, I am not saying that there are no reasons to be alarmed: this is something we know very little about and so we have not much control of its development, at the moment. But sometimes this fear goes out of control, targeting everyone who perceives it as dangerous for his own safety.
Roberto Burioni is one of the most famous Italian experts on viruses, being a well known virologist. In his website (www.medicalfacts.it), an article by Dr Nicasio Mancini published on February 22 described what is happening in Italy: “In the next few hours it is inevitable that the number of subjects found positive for the new coronavirus will increase. Why do we say this? For two reasons. The first is that we now know how infectious SARS-CoV-2 is. We also know how subtle and efficient the process of contagion, which occurs when those who already have the infection do not manifest obvious symptoms. There is another main reason, however. If something is not sought, it cannot be found. If something is sought, it is found.
“The cases will be identified as an effect of the new epidemic containment measures in our country. Tracing the contacts of those who are already positive, in fact, will have the inevitable consequence of finding others but, at the same time, will allow us to protect an exponentially greater number of our fellow citizens (of ourselves!) from the risk of contagion. Knowing the situation, by acting promptly, will allow us to develop increasingly effective measures. At the same time, it will allow us to know the characteristics of the virus and its infection even better in reality. So there is no reason to panic, no need for controversies but one should be fully aware of what is happening. Each of us can, with our responsible behavior, act as a barrier to the spread of the virus. Let’s just do it, without hesitation.”
Yes, fear is an enemy as much as the virus. Citizens are for a certain time deprived of their normal life and they live in a sort of vacuum. I am also observing what is happening in Hong Kong and Macau, the cities that I know quite well, where the people live in constant fear of infections and where the local churches have to suspend public Masses and ceremonies to avoid people coming together and spreading the virus. Will it happen also in Italy? I am not sure, but I cannot exclude it.
What the faith can do to cure this fear? Let us remember an event that happened around this time of the year, in 591. Rome was devastated by plague. Let us follow the story in this beautiful article from roman-catholic-saint.com: “The miseries that afflicted Rome in the year 591 were substantial. The Gothic War between the Byzantine Empire and the Goths had substantially depopulated Italy, so much so that a Germanic tribe of Lombards had entered the peninsula and established their own kingdom. They were pagans and Arians who did not respect Catholics, burning the famous Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino and pillaging the land at will. The instability and warfare caused famine in large regions, though Rome was still able to obtain grain by sea. Then came earthquakes and flooding to further the suffering, and from this plague Rome was not immune. The banks of the Tiber overflowed, and when the waters did not recede, all of the low-lying lands became swamps that brought death and plague. The disease struck with such rapidity that the victim would often die shortly after realizing he had contracted the disease, although there were some who got sick but recovered. Our custom of saying, ‘God Bless you’ to someone who sneezes came about at this time, for sneezing was one of the signs that someone had contracted the disease.”
Certainly the situation in our modern world sounds safer than the one described here, but not so much. Let us remember that we are in a time of great international tensions, involving the two superpowers (USA and China) and that we live in a moment also of great moral instability, due also to the crisis of institutionalized religions. Let us continue to read the article above: “Even the Roman Pontiff died of the plague on February 7th, 590. His successor was Pope Saint Gregory the Great, who was both a humble and pious man. It would be an understatement to say he did not want the honor of being the next pope, but he did do everything in his power to try to save his people. He understood that the plague was a chastisement from God, and encouraged the faithful to repent of their sins and pray for deliverance while he and the religious cared for the people of Rome.
“Finally, Saint Gregory called for a procession to take place at dawn on April 25th. On that day the faithful first assembled in their groups throughout Rome and then walked through the streets of the city praying and singing as they approached the church of Saint Mary Major. The plague was so potent at that time that eighty people collapsed and died as they walked toward the meeting place. Pope Saint Gregory met them upon their arrival, joining them in prayer as he took his place with them holding aloft the miraculous image of Our Lady painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist. As the procession neared the Vatican, all of the participants saw Saint Michael the archangel standing upon the cupola of Hadrian’s mausoleum as he sheathed his flaming sword. It was a sign that the chastisement had come to an end, and at once the heaviness in the air abated and the air itself seemed to freshen and clear. Indeed, at that moment the plague ended as the faithful rejoiced and lifted up their voices to thank the Mother of God. “Regina Coeli laetare, Alleluia! (Queen of heaven, rejoice, Alleluia!) Quia quem meruisti portare, Alleluia! (Son whom you merited to bear, Alleluia!) Resurrexit sicut dixit, Alleluia! (He has risen as He said, Alleluia!).” The story goes on to say that for the reason of this miraculous intervention, Pope Gregory added the last line to the Regina Coeli: Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia! (Pray for us to God, Alleluia!).”
From a Christian perspective, it seems there is no other way of dealing with this problem than prayer. Of course God does not want anyone to suffer but He has His own pedagogy to deal with us. Let us remember the story of Job. Probably we should think about him more. We will do this in the next article. For the moment, let us ask the Virgin Mary to intercede for us to God.
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