Pandemic Ponderings (Asynchronous Session)
The Silent Sleeper: Our Rights During a Pandemic View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Janelle Christine Simmons
This study explores the issue of rights during an event like a pandemic with COVID-19 as the backdrop. The case study for this interpretative research is New York City and a cluster of states in the tri-state area within the United States. However, this foundational exploration will also reference other countries and their major cities as COVID-19 still looms its ugly head. For countries that are considered democracies, how do rights fare when the government decides to further govern the populace to control disease outbreaks, etc.? For the United States in particular, what does religious freedom look like during a pandemic, especially when restrictions are made on how "religion" is done? This and more is explored and expressed during this review.
Catholic and Public Education: A Comparative Review of the Literature View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Eric Moran
Covid-19 has changed life as we know it, casing us to improvise and question essentials. Why should education be any different? In a scramble last year most educators and students alike found themselves moving from the traditional in-class format to a online learning space in the spring 2020. Uncertainty persisted through the summer and into the fall of 2020 with many questions remaining as to how classrooms would look in 2021. Some schools choosing to remain online while others are planning for an in-person hybrid model; in the hybrid model the students would be split in half and alternate the days they were physical and online. This forced the hands of certain parents who wanted an in-person education for their child but the public school in their district choose to remain online. Therefore, an influx of new students came to Catholic schools willing to spend the money for in-person classes. Which begs the question, is this form of education worth the price tag? The age-old question that is the educational equivalent of Coke or Pepsi; what type of school should I send my child, Catholic or Public? Is the religious education taught at this school worth the price of admission and will my son or daughter be more successful learning about faith-based curriculum? Or is it just an affordable prep-school with an interesting twist? The short answer is no, many studies show that the academic performance is remarkability similar. Perhaps the advantage of Catholic Education is not just academic.
Crises, Catholicism, and Covid19: A Rhetorical Discourse Analysis of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ Pandemic Responses View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Marielle Justine Sumilong
Following the suspension of most economic, recreational, educational, and religious activities due to the Covid-19 pandemic, religious leaders and their respective churches all around the world have either cancelled their services indefinitely or have adopted virtual alternatives to continue their processions. With the church and society’s changing dynamics, beliefs, and modalities, what role, then, does the church perform in the Covid-19 pandemic, and is the role of clergy in navigating the current crises still crucial in sustaining the community? How does the church enact its role in response to the current global public health emergency? The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is the official episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the Philippines whose primary mandate is promoting that greater good which the Church offers to humankind, especially through forms and programs of the apostolate which are fittingly adapted to the circumstances of the time and place. With the institution’s mandate and ascendancy considered, this study investigates how the CBCP responds to the national crisis brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic through a rhetorical analysis of their Covid-19 related pastoral statements as performatives. Employing Burke’s cluster-agon in the rhetorical criticism, the god term identified in the statements was universal, supported by good terms collective action, greater good, faith communities, and public discernment, analyzed vis-a-viz the agon, “devil” terms: separation and isolation.
COVID-19 Pandemic Perspective of the Holy Quran View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Nabeel Iqbal
This qualitative paper maps relevant verses and concepts from the Holy Quran to the COVID-19 pandemic and adversities in general. The findings of the mapped verses are then linked to other relevant verses of the Quran, academic and newspaper articles, books, essays and scientific research in order to obtain a broader perspective of the arguments and rationales presented in the Quran. The Quran informs us that calamities of a global scale are consequences of human actions which in turn are a result of the degeneration of the collective consciousness of humanity. However, calamities can help trigger a correction of the collective consciousness. The Holy Quran also informs us that trials and tribulations can work like a filtration process to mark out the best individuals of a community and help in the development of humility.
