The health ministry of the Catholic church will be providing help to Filipinos suffering from anxiety and depression amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Bishop Oscar Florencio, chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Health Care, said parishes and dioceses will begin to provide mental health services to people.
“Because of the pandemic, [people face] not just a problem on food and unemployment but also mental health and depression,” Bishop Florencio said in a radio interview.
“This is why we opted to create a network. We must do something about this,” he said.
Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan said it is part of the mission of the clergy to help those who are distressed and depressed.
He said being with the needy forms part of the priest’s ministry of accompaniment.
“Those stressed, suffering from depression, abused, traumatized are growing. This is where the Church needs to be able to help,” said Bishop David.
“It is related to our mission, the ministry of accompaniment,” added the prelate.
The Diocese of Kalookan earlier launched its “Covid-19 Hopeline,” a counseling service hotline that is being manned by mental health experts and priests.
The National Center for Mental Health reported that there has been an increase in the number of calls that their crisis hotline has been getting since the start of the pandemic.
