Mourning and Management of the COVID-19 Health Emergency in the Priestly Community: Qualitative Research in a Region of Northern Italy Severely Affected by the Pandemic

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is causing major social changes to which significant psychological effects are linked. During the first phase of the pandemic wave in Italy, whilst there was insufficient information about the phenomenon and the strategies to safeguard the population against it, many categories of people, whose professions required constant contact with the public, were affected by the contagion.Aims: The literature has shown how religiousness can support the management of stress due to diseases and health risks. In relation to this, the current study wanted to investigate how priests managed the early stages of the pandemic. This work, therefore, aimed to investigate the psychological experiences related to the contagion and the eventual death of colleagues as well as the resilience strategies activated by the priests during the process.Participants: The research involved 12 Catholic priests, all male and aged between 42 and 63 years. They came from the same pastoral community in one of the regions in Northern Italy that were most affected during the first phase of the pandemic. Those ministers had been constantly in contact with the faithful of their parishes since the breakout of the virus.Methodology: A qualitative research design was adopted, and in-depth interviews were conducted. The dialogues aimed at investigating the deep, personal and relational experiences of the priests, together with their concerns and the tools they adopted to manage anxiety. The texts obtained from the interviews were subjected to thematic analysis.Results: The areas studied concerned the experiences of the participants during the lockdown, the implications of social distancing and lack of funeral rituality and, finally, the importance of prayer as a resilience factor.Conclusions: In the current scenario dominated by the pandemic, it is significant and stimulating to understand and reflect on the functions and roles of the experiences of faith, particularly the act of elaborating the process of mourning due to COVID-19.

“Plačimo, plačimo u tišini, umrimo, umrimo u samoći”

“…[…] pa su onda ovi u Splitu gledali, ovi u Njemačkoj, ova cijela familija tu po Zagrebu koji nisu mogli, onda su svi vidli misu, ne, to je onako bila mješavina, ono, čuđenja i nekog, ono, olakšanja, jer, "ajde, prisustvovat ću nečemu". (Anđelko) Svi vjerski službenici koje smo intervjuirali istaknuli su prednosti digitalnih tehnologija pri održavanju obreda, molitvi i komunikaciji s vjernicima, što je potvrđeno i u drugim dosad povedenim istraživanjima (Testoni et al 2021). Njihova iskustva smrti i sahrana te s njima povezanih obreda te odnos s vjernicima tijekom pandemije odlučile smo prikazati u zasebnom radu.…”

Perdas, mortes e luto durante a pandemia de COVID-19: uma revisão sistemática / Loss, death, and mourning during the COVID-19 pandemy: a systematic review

“…A perda de entes queridos devido a COVID-19 caracteriza-se como uma perda traumática, exacerbada pelas restrições impostas em decorrência da pandemia 4 . O Transtorno do Luto Prolongado (TLP) consiste em persistente resposta de luto por mais de seis meses associada à dificuldade em aceitar a morte, além de sentimentos de raiva, culpa e intensa dor emocional, resultando em prejuízo no funcionamento do indivíduo.…”

“…Os rituais fúnebres são datados desde a pré-história considerados um processo humano desenvolvido visando ao enfrentamento do sentimento de perda de um ente querido para o retorno às atividades de vida usuais 3 . Com o contexto da pandemia da COVID-19, esses rituais foram alterados e, não rao, impossibilitados, visto que vários países fizeram adotaram medidas sanitárias severas, prejudicando o processo natural de despedida e luto, trazendo consequências psicossociais profundas 4 . Sintomas de depressão, ansiedade, estresse pós-traumático, insônia e ideação suicida são alguns dos impactos causados na saúde mental de pessoas que perderam entes queridos durante a crise de saúde causada pelo SARS-COV-2, sendo os indivíduos jovens mais propensos a desenvolverem esses sintomas 5 .…”

“…COV-2, houve prejuízo à realização desses rituais e consequentemente ao processamento da morte, ampliando o sentimento de solidão já ocasionado pela perda de uma pessoa amada e com agravamento pelas medidas de isolamento social empregadas4 .Nessa perspectiva, as medidas sanitárias para controle das taxas de transmissão do vírus forçaram a restrição do número de pessoas que poderiam frequentar as cerimônias fúnebres para algo em torno de 3 familiares, como no caso da Espanha, e de duração menor do que 10 minutos9 . A abordagem fragmenta e muitas vezes impede a conclusão do processo, gerando um luto patológico por não permitir a vivência dos momentos de aceitação e reconhecimento da morte, visto que era exigido que os velórios ocorressem da COVID-191 .…”

Putting into Words the COVID-19 Lockdown Experience: Psychological Symptoms and the Referential Process

“…In fact, they concentrated on linguistic diversity during the epidemic, both in social media in the form of posts or tweets [ 8 , 9 ] and through collecting interviews or writing. In fact, linguistic research focused on an important part of this mental health crisis and studied how people faced this event in their life [ 10 ]. Research highlighted the variety of emotions provoked by the COVID-19 pandemic [ 11 ], particularly the negative emotions that are also found in dream narratives [ 12 ].…”