Six priests with Covid-19 after Opus Dei meeting – Observer

After an Opus Dei meeting in Vila Nova de Gaia, six of the 12 priests present tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and yet another awaits the results of the tests, confirmed the meeting’s organizer, João Paulo de Campos, on Observer radio. after the news advanced by Correio da Manhã.

Infected priests after being together in Opus Dei retreat

The meeting ended on July 31 and the 12 priests returned to their normal activities in parishes in the North and Center of the country. “They are priests like me, they have public masses, they have public activities, and they had to cancel all that [depois de saberem que estavam infetados]”, Says João Paulo de Campos.

The priest guarantees, however, that parishioners who may have contacted the infected priests are warned of the situation and health authorities are monitoring the situation.

This Thursday, it had already been disclosed, by SIC Notícias, that three priests of the Diocese Viseu were infected – Santiago de Cassurrães, Ferreira de Aves and Viseu. The Correio da Manhã also adds that two others infected are from Viana do Castelo and Famalicão.

It was only “when the first case that got complicated” appeared that the priests were all tested, says the organizer, who is not infected. João Paulo de Campos confesses that he never suspected he could be infected because most of them remain asymptomatic or with mild symptoms.

João Paulo de Campos guarantees that the health rules recommended by the Directorate-General for Health were complied with. “At the table we had a reserved area for each one”, exemplifies the priest.

“The organization also provides half an hour meetings, a maximum of three quarters of an hour, and then there are moments of rest, in which people go out and talk – they have space in the garden”, says the organizer. The priest says, however, that it is not a retreat, it is a “priestly meeting for theological and pastoral updating”.

Updated at 11:45 am

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