The Coronavirus has spread around the world, but people are expressing hope and courage worldwide to cope with this pandemic. I interviewed Fr. Francisco Béltran, SX to talk about the situation in the Philippines, place where he is working as Missionary.
Francisco what is your work in the Philippines?
I work right now as Parish Vicar at St. Francis Xavier Parish, Diocese of Novaliches, Metro Manila. It’s a parish ran by the Xaverian Missionaries.
How is the situation of the pandemic?
The situation is difficult because many families were affected by the lockdown, since the Philippines is one of the countries with the longest community quarantine. In one hand, it is good that the government reacted fast and locked down the Capital Region, before the virus started to spread. But on the other hand, many lost their jobs, and the government had a hard time to provide to everybody, because the dense population of Metro Manila. At the moment, some started to work again, but the majority of the families are financially affected.
How did the work of the Xaverians change during this lockdown?
It was affected since the religious services are not allowed or limited to small groups. Nonetheless, the ministry continues mainly in two ways: first, through online streaming activities; the parishioners are encouraged to follow online celebrations and other activities proposed by the Diocese. Second, through charity and social services; many of our parishioners were benefited by different charitable programs, our Parish was the channel for distributing donations and food reliefs from some donors and institutions like Caritas.
Can you share with us a meaningful story about a family or friend who is living hard time but with hope this tough situation?
Many families suffer financial consequences of the lockdown. Some of them are not worried about getting infected by the virus, but they are more concerned to find something to eat and provide for their families. I feel distressed because the need of the people is bigger than the charity that the Church or myself can provide. While distributing the charity, it was difficult for me to choose to whom to give leaving behind many families. However, I observed that some of the benefited families shared with neighbors who didn’t receive. Even though they were in extreme need, they were able to share with others. I’m also impressed with the strong sense of community of the Filipino, and the dedication of the Church leaders to provide to the poorest of the poor.
How do you see the future? In your opinion how will the “new normality” be?
Life will be not the same after this experience. The future is uncertain. Pastoral work and our way of doing mission is changing too, now we’re more sensible on our presence on the internet by evangelizing on the web, and we’re creating more ways of charity programs to help our people.
May you leave a message of hope for us?
My message of hope is that even though life can be very difficult during this time of crisis, but the community is stronger, and when we share the little we have, there is enough for everybody
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