Church: Help ecology and others this Xmas

The Catholic Archdiocese of Ranchi has appealed to the faithful to celebrate Christmas with sobriety, ecological responsibility and generosity to the less fortunate in view of the pandemic.

“This year has been a difficult year marked by challenges, difficulties and suffering. Covid-19 and the enforced lockdowns have brought untold misery and hardships for the common man. An economy in distress, growing joblessness and increasing poverty stare in our face as winter sets in,” said the Advent and Christmas Pastoral letter released on Sunday.

The letter, signed by Ranchi Archbishop Felix Toppo and auxiliary Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, will be read at all Masses in cathedrals and parishes.

The Church will begin the Advent season — the time to prepare for the celebration of the birth of Jesus — on November 29.

The archdiocese also stressed on an ecological Christmas. “In view of the protection of the environment, and as a measure against air and sound pollution, we strongly request you not to use firecrackers during this festive season. The money you would burn by bursting crackers can be given in donation for the poor,” it said.

Another suggestion is for sobriety and modesty in the celebrations and expenditure.

“We call for sobriety and modesty in celebration and expenditure while celebrating Christmas in remembrance of the poor and recommend that each family and religious community contribute towards charity to help those who have been affected in Covid and the lockdown,” said auxiliary Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas.

At a meeting in Ranchi on Tuesday, bishops from the other eight Jharkhand dioceses — Jamshedpur, Hazaribagh, Gumla, Khunti, Daltonganj, Dumka, Simdega and Port Blair — were also requested to adopt the letter.

The letter commended that people become “angels of mercy to the poor, the hungry, the afflicted and the weary migrants returning home in miserable conditions” during the lockdown.