According to the information provided by doctors and the Department of Health, Atypical Pneumonia [Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)], which is currently spreading in Hong Kong, is mainly transmitted through droplets expelled during coughing and through objects in contact with these droplets, such as fingers. The following guidelines have been laid down after consultations with the Diocesan Liturgy Commission and medical professionals. All priests, liturgical ministers and the faithful are required to observe these guidelines, with a view to safeguarding the common good and reducing the possibility of the spread of the SARS virus in our local communities. All the faithful are urged to do their utmost, each in his or her own way through prayers and the practice of the virtues of faith, hope and love, to join the government and the general public in combating this extraordinary form of viral pneumonia.

1. Hygiene within the Church Premises

1.1 Keep doors and windows open for the maintenance of good ventilation. Where necessary, improve ventilation by means of electric fans and air-conditioning facilities.

1.2 Regularly cleanse and disinfect the Church floor, furniture such as prie dieux, the Reconciliation Room, especially the screen, and the toilets, using diluted household bleach (i.e., adding 1 part of household bleach to 49 parts of water), rinse with water and then mop dry.

1.3 The faithful should put on a mask before entering a church. If they do not have their own masks, these will be distributed to them in a hygienic manner by servers at the church entrance. While leaving the church, the faithful should not throw the used masks and paper tissues at random, but should dispose of them in the bags provided by the church. (Any parish or Catholic community in need of masks may approach Fr. Dominic Chan,V.G.)

1.4 Priests should wear a surgical mask when celebrating the Eucharist or officiating at other liturgical functions.

2. Mass

2.1 For their own safety and that of others, members of the faithful who feel unwell or show respiratory symptoms, such as coughing, difficulty in breathing, or fever, must not attend Sunday Mass. However, in this case, they should practise other forms of piety, such as reading Scripture, saying the rosary or other prayers.

2.2 As a temporary measure, abstain from providing holy water at the Church entrance, so that the faithful need not use holy water.

2.3 The practice of individual faithful placing small bread into the ciborium before Mass should be suspended for the time being.

2.4 Liturgy booklets and hymnals in the church, being repeatedly used by members of the faithful on Sundays and weekdays, easily become agents for transmitting the SARS virus. Thus churches should set them apart for the time being. Readers may use their personal copies or photocopies of the liturgy booklets, while the congregation listen attentively. Choir members on their part may use their hymnals in leading the congregation to sing familiar hymns.

2.5 Readers and commentators should wear surgical masks while carrying out their duties during the liturgy. The microphone equipment in all its forms should be cleansed after Mass. (Alcohol may be used.)

2.6 To keep their hands hygienic, Sunday collections should be taken up from the faithful after the "Postcommunion".

2.7 Before, during and after consecration, the bread and wine should be covered with purificators until Communion time. These purificators should be changed after each Mass and washed before reuse.

2.8 As a temporary measure, give Holy Communion under one species only, the Host, and do not give the Blood of Christ.

2.9 As a temporary measure, all members of the faithful are to receive Holy Communion only in the hand, and not by the traditional method.

2.10 All priests and Eucharistic ministers should individually wash their hands before and after giving Holy Communion.

2.11 To avoid their saliva from being transmitted to communicants, priests and Eucharistic ministers are advised to give Holy Communion to the faithful first, before they themselves receive Holy Communion.

2.12 All priests and Eucharistic ministers are advised to wear surgical masks while giving Holy Communion. They may omit saying "The Body of Christ", and the communicants may omit responding "Amen".

2.13 Priests and Eucharistic ministers should place the small hosts gently in the hands of the communicants, but should avoid touching their hands as far as possible.

2.14 If by chance a consecrated host drops onto the floor, it should be picked up by a Eucharistic minister who stands by, to be disposed of properly afterwards, without being given to any faithful.

2.15 Take care of hygiene in cleansing chalices -

a. The minister who consumes the Blood of Christ should himself cleanse the chalice with water and drink it. He should not ask someone else to do it for himself.

b. The chalice should then be washed with tap water before reuse.

c. Purificators should be changed after each Mass and washed before reuse.

2.16 Reduce unnecessary contact, thus -

a. While saying or singing the Our Father, do not hold hands.

b. Express the Sign of Peace by bowing heads, instead of shaking hands.

c. As a temporary measure, do not lay hands in blessing children.

2.17 All liturgical ministers should wash their hands before and after the Liturgy. Their liturgical vestments and other uniforms should be washed more regularly.

3. Visitation and Giving Holy Communion to the Sick and the Elderly

3.1 As a temporary measure, Eucharistic ministers and visitors should abstain from visiting or giving Holy Communion to the sick in the hospitals or the elderly at home or in the homes for the aged. If it is deemed necessary to go, the minister or visitor should consult the Parish Priest. (Note: At present all hospitals have cautioned against day-to-day visits.)

3.2 If a priest is obliged to visit a sick person (for example, for anointing or giving viaticum), he should wear a surgical mask, and should consult beforehand the matron of the ward concerned, so as to comply with the directions of the hospital. Before leaving the ward, he should wash his hands with the antiseptic provided by the ward.

3.3 All should wash their hands after visitation or giving Holy Communion to the sick.

3.4 Priests should use dress applicators, instead of their own fingers, to anoint the sick. To avoid infection, the pyx and oil stock should be cleansed immediately after giving Holy Communion and anointing.

4. Reconciliation

A priest must wear a surgical mask while hearing confessions. A penitent must at least put on an ordinary mask. Confessionals and reconciliation rooms with no ventilation should not be used for the time being. Instead, "face-to-face" confessions should take place at a venue with fresh air and ventilation.

5. Provisional Arrangements for Holy Week (2003)

5.1 To ensure a hygienic environment, leaves and branches should not be used on Palm Sunday.

5.2 The "Washing of Feet" during the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper should be omitted.

5.3 For the "Veneration of the Cross" during the celebration of the Lord's Passion on Good Friday, the faithful should adopt the rite of bowing or other appropriate rites, instead of kissing the crucifix.

5.4 During the "Service of Light" on Easter Vigil, the faithful need not hold any candles. In administering baptism, the rite of infusion should be used instead of the rite of immersion.

5.5 The Diocesan Liturgy Commission will issue detailed guidelines for the Holy Week liturgy in due course.

6. Others

6.1 Taking into account the concrete circumstances, parishes should consider cancelling functions in which large groups of the faithful are gathered within a restrictive area (e.g., Sunday School, seminars and the "Paschal Meal"), and such activities as home visits.

6.2 Alert the faithful on the need to maintain good personal and public hygiene. They should keep clear of objects which are often touched by the public (e.g. handrails). They should cleanse their hands often with handwash. In greeting one another, they should use nodding instead of handshakes.

6.3 Take note of latest information on the website of the Department of Health:

http://www.info.gov.hk/dh/ap.htm: Latest update on atypical pneumonia

http://www.info.gov.hk/dh/new/chi/protect.htm: Protecting yourself against Respiratory Tract Infections

http://www.info.gov.hk/dh/diseases/ap/chi/puplace.htm: Health Advice on the Prevention of Respiratory Tract Infections in Public Places

6.4 Take note of any latest guidelines from the Diocese.

6.5 For enquiries or expressing their views, parishes or Catholic communities may consult Rev. Dominic Chan, V.G., Fr. Lawrence Lee (Chancellor), or Fr. Thomas Law (Director, Office of the Diocesan Liturgy Commission).

6.6 The faithful are urged to continue praying for the government, for medical staff, and for those who have contracted the atypical pneumonia and their families and relatives, in the hope that Hong Kong will soon contain the SARS virus, and our social life will soon be back to normal.