HOMELESS:
DISPARITY:
BENEDICT:
PAGE 3
PAGE 4
PAGE 13
SF moves to protect homeless from COVID risk
Data reveal COVID’s unequal social impact
Humanism threatens world, B16 says in new bio
CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO Newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco
www.catholic-sf.org
SERVING SAN FRANCISCO, MARIN & SAN MATEO COUNTIES
MAY 7, 2020
$1.00 | VOL. 22 NO. 10
Elderly in long-term care ride out COVID with family, staff CHRISTINA GRAY CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO
Administrators and staff of longterm care facilities, residents and their family members, and a Catholic chaplain talked to Catholic San Francisco about how they are meeting the physical, emotional and spiritual challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, which has disproportionately affected the elderly in residential care across the U.S. and worldwide. “The fear in the air is palpable,” said a San Anselmo woman named “Molly,” who asked not to identify the Bay Area facility where her mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease, has been living for the last five years. She said two residents have died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. “The lightness and joy is gone right now,” she said of the mood of the facility’s staff and patients. The full-time caregiver her family hired to supplement her mother’s care in the memory care unit quit over fears of contracting or communicating the virus. Molly was cleared to step in. An April 23 Kaiser Family Foundation report tracking data on pandemic-related deaths in the U.S. showed that in nearly two-dozen states, 27% of those deaths were of residents of longterm care facilities. In some states the percentage was closer to 50%. Administrators at three area longterm care facilities that are Catholic or have Catholic roots – Nazareth House in San Rafael founded by the Sisters of the Nazareth; Alma Via in San Francisco, which traces its history to the Sisters of Mercy, and St. Anne’s Home in San Francisco, a ministry of the Little Sisters of the Poor – say their sites have statistically fared better. None of the 95 residents of Nazareth House have tested positive for the virus, spokesperson Lynetta Matteo said. She credited “conservative and strict” early action, cooperation from residents and families and “God’s grace.”
US dioceses study best practices to reopen Masses CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
(COURTESY PHOTO)
Rudy Zannini, 86, took this selfie at his residence at Nazareth House in San Rafael. He said the physical isolation during the pandemic has been hard but he has quickly adapted to texting, Zoom and FaceTime to stay connected. He worries most about how the economy will affect his children and grandchildren. “In the first few weeks of the virus scare, fear was expressed by families as to how we planned to keep residents healthy,” Matteo said. The facility moved from early social distancing to isolation and stepped up procedures to closely align or exceed public health directives, she said. Daily Mass and Communion in the Nazareth House chapel ceased in mid-March under Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone’s directive. Meals moved from the common dining room to in-room service, all
group activities were canceled and no visitors were allowed. “Family members expressed difficulty coping with the reality that they could not visit” or help with mail, hair styling, laundry, walks or trips to the doctor, Matteo said. All these tasks transitioned to staff. Rudy Zannini, 86, a former administrator at Archbishop Riordan High School, is a two-year resident of Nazareth House. “When they said we are going into SEE ELDERLY, PAGE 5
Bishops in dioceses across the U.S. are turning their attention to how best to reopen Masses to the public and celebrate the sacraments while protecting the safety of worshippers and adhering to state guidance on mitigating the spread of the coronavirus. In California, a resumption of religious services remains months away, under a four-stage recovery plan outlined April 28 by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The state is currently in the first stage, the planning phase. Stage 2 will concern lower-risk sectors of the economy, including schools, which Newsom said may reopen in the summer with adaptations. Churches and personal services such as gyms, spas, and salons are in the third stage. The fourth stage would mark the end of the stay-at-home order and allow for reopening of the highest risk parts of the economy such as concerts, convention centers, and live audience sports. “In terms of timing, Newsom conveyed Stage 2 is in weeks, not months,” the California Catholic Conference said in a policy update. “Stage 3 and 4 is in months, not weeks.” SEE REOPENING, PAGE 8
SERVING EVERYONE Join us. Volunteer and donate today. LEARN MORE : CatholicCharitiesSF.org
(CNS PHOTO/TOM WILLIAMS, CQ ROLL CALL, VIA REUTERS)
A demonstrator in Annapolis, Maryland, April 18 demands Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan end restrictions on public Masses.
INDEX National . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Community . . . . . . . . . 14 SF Católico . . . . . . . . . 18