MANILA, Philippines — The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has discouraged communion by mouth and the holding of hands during the singing of “Our Father” to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus or 2019-nCoV in churches.

The CBCP has provided these guidelines addressed to all bishops and the diocesan administrators as it also issued an “Oratio Imperata” or mandatory prayer for patients inflicted by nCoV and those attending to infected individuals.

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“The communion in the hand (must) be practiced ordinarily to help prevent further fear from people who are reasonably cautious about this matter,” Fr. Marvin Mejia, CBCP Secretary General, said in his circular to all the dioceses.

“[We discourage] our faithful from holding hands during the singing or praying of the ‘Our Father’ and from shaking hands during the Sign of Peace,” he added.

The CBCP likewise urged parish churches to regularly change the holy water in the fonts and to install a protective cloth on the grills of the confessionals.

The “Oratio Imperata” will be recited in all weekdays and Sunday Masses, after the Holy Communion, kneeling down, starting on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord on Sunday.

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