All people have a moral obligation to their neighbors to practice social distancing, wear masks and avoid large gatherings. Christians, of all people, should recognize and respect that obligation.
Pope Francis will celebrate the Vatican’s traditional Christmas “Mass during the Night” at 7:30 p.m. so that the few people invited to attend can get home before Italy's 10 p.m. curfew.
While a visit from the pope will no doubt provide a spiritual and psychological boost to Nineveh Christians, under the current pandemic conditions it is a prospect that must give local public health officials pause.
The massive “Guadalupana,” as the annual celebration of the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe is commonly known, would be a potential public health catastrophe.