be the time to consider a universal basic wage which would acknowledge and dignify the noble, essential tasks you carry out. it would ensure and concretely achieve the ideal, at once so human and so christian, of no worker without rights." francis celebrated holy week and easter in a nearly empty st. peter's basilica. due to masses being canceled, a table was set up with blessed palms, yellow ribbons, and prayer cards on palm sunday at our lady of lourdes catholic church in springfield, tennessee across europe, church leaders urged "solidarity and prudence" in response to the covid-19 pandemic. in some european countries, catholic masses were completely halted while in others smaller groups continued to congregate. in spain, the bishops' conference "suspended all talks, concerts and catechesis sessions on church premises, and urged catholics 'with chronic diseases, elderly, weakened or with potential risk, and those who live with them' to follow masses via the media." in poland, the bishop's conference canceled its march plenary. in italy's northern bergamo diocese, clergy tested positive for covid-19 with six deaths as of march 2020. in germany, the head of the german's bishop conference bishop georg bätzing expressed disappointment over the church services ban being kept in place as announced 15 april by chancellor angela merkel. bätzing emphasized religious freedom and said that he was confident that discussing the matter with the federal government "will very soon lead to a consensus that will make responsible forms of worship in our churches possible again." eastern european catholics supported measures to mitigate the spread of covid-19, but for some the pandemic "revived painful memories of communist rule." questioning and resistance also emerged in western europe, "where some catholics have questioned the right of civil authorities to prohibit religious worship." polish radio presenter glabisz-pniewska described the sight of empty church "terrifying," drawing a parallel between the situation and the hypothetical catholic church today "if past anti-catholic hostilities had prevailed." romanian bishop virgil bercea, from a church who experienced persecution under communist régimes, said although church closures were questioned in romania, he predicted that most critics would have a different reaction if their own families were affected by covid-19. "we've experienced this before, when having nothing was normal. at that time, it was communism, and now it's the coronavirus. the situation is different, but the realities are much the same." post lock down in italy for church gatherings italian bishops negotiated an agreement with the government for religious gatherings while maintaining safety measures like masks, gloves and safe distancing, but the italian government buckled under pressure to drop requirement of thermometers. the 2020 fiscal report for the vatican showed a decrease in revenue of about 50%, but the institute for the works of religion contributed more income. expenses were reduced by $3.88 million. the vatican also planned to increase their liquid capital in response to market uncertainty in order to avoid selling church assets in unfavorable market conditions. on january 10, 2022, pope francis issued a statement on covid-19 vaccines, pope francis stated that covid-19 vaccines was a "moral obligation" and denounced "how people had been swayed by "baseless information" to refuse one of the most effective measures to save lives". eastern orthodoxy the greek orthodox ecumenical patriarchate of constantinople issued a worldwide suspension of all "divine services, events, and rites, with the exception of private prayer in churches that will remain open, until the end of march". patriarch theodore ii of alexandria, head of the greek orthodox patriarchate of alexandria, has exhorted clergy throughout the continent to "comfort and support our fellow africans, teach them ways of elementary health and cleanliness, because most do not have access to clean water. and, as the situation is serious, i recommend that you comply with the orders and decisions of the countries in which you serve". the greek orthodox patriarchate of antioch and all the east issued a joint statement with the heads of other churches in syria and lebanon declaring "the suspension of all general prayer services, including liturgies, in all churches from today's date and until further notice." in a joint communique with the heads of other jerusalem churches, the greek orthodox patriarchate of jerusalem urged members "to adhere by the provisions and instruction of the civil authorities" regarding covid-19. the russian orthodox church has yet to suspend church services, but has implemented precautionary measures to reduce the potential spread of infection. the romanian orthodox church, serbian orthodox church, bulgarian orthodox church, and georgian orthodox church have implemented similar precautions without suspending services. in a homily given on 29 march, patriarch kirill of moscow called upon the faithful to temporarily refrain from attending church services, and to commit "to strictly following all the regulations coming from the sanitary authorities in russia,". serbian orthodox church in total, four bishops and the head of serbian orthodox church died from covid-19 as of july 2021. patriarch irinej, the head of the church died from covid-19 on 20 november 2020. he became infected earlier that month after attending the funeral of amfilohije radović, the serbian orthodox metropolitan bishop of montenegro and the littoral, who had also died from covid-19. bishop amfilohije's funeral in podgorica was held in violation of montenegrin social distancing guidelines and is believed by officials to be a superspreader event. following the podgorica outbreak, serbian orthodox priests began appealing to their parishioners to take the virus more seriously. two more bishops of the serbian orthodox church, milutin knežević and artemije radosavljević, died from covid-19 in 2020. bishop emeritus atanasije jevtić died on 4 march 2021, from complications due to covid-19. independent eastern orthodoxy patriarch filaret, former honorary patriarch of the orthodox church of ukraine, founder and patriarch of the second independent ukrainian orthodox church – kyiv patriarchate, contracted covid-19 in september 2020. he became the first independent autocephalous leader or patriarch in eastern orthodoxy to contract the disease. months earlier, he had stated that the pandemic was god's punishment for same-sex marriage, which is currently not legally recognized in ukraine. anabaptism after ohio governor mike dewine ordered no gatherings of more than ten people, ohio's amish steering committee advised all church districts to heed the state's orders, telling amish "to cancel or postpone weddings, youth and family gatherings until further notice." amish weekly newspaper the budget had by 10 april "devoted more than 50 pages to dispatches from amish communities across the country struggling to reconcile social distancing with a way of life that survives through communal work and worship". pentecostalism in mississippi in april 2020, the first pentecostal church of holly springs successfully led a legal battle against its city's government over a stay-at-home order after local police broke up an easter service and a bible study. the church was burned to the ground a month later on 21 may 2020 in a church arson and a message was written in the parking lot, reading "bet you stay home now you hypokrits ." nondenominational christianity other christian churches, including non-denominational churches, have begun using livestreams with a chat feature and emphasizing gathering in small groups, such as immediate families, while suspending in-person church attendance. this includes life.church's church online platform and an encoder device known as living as one. articles are being published to aid those who have not started a livestream in the past. in compliance with local recommendation, churches such as cornerstone fellowship in the california east bay were moving exclusively to online, emphasizing it not being done out of fear or panic, but out of concern for the elderly. in hong kong, churches have moved to life.church's open network church online platform as well. church of jesus christ of latter-day saints the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints has implemented a temporary suspension of all worship services across the globe as a result of the covid-19 pandemic. on 25 march, all temples were temporarily closed worldwide. some lds members were involved in providing aid to international communities where members reside. on 4 april, lds church president russell m. nelson called for a worldwide fast to take place the following friday stating: "i invite all, including those not of our faith, to fast and pray on good friday, april 10, that the present pandemic may be controlled, caregivers protected, the economy strengthened, and life normalized." they described a fast as "going without food or water for either two consecutive meals or 24 hours." lds charities donated food healthcare supplies to 16 countries affected by covid-19. the church partnered with project hope to offer personal protective equipment or ppes, moms against poverty and intersos, a disaster relief nonprofit. the lds church donated protective and respiratory supplies to china and food to local food distributions in the united states. on 6 may 2020, the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints released a video, as they try to decide when worship services will return to gathering after being suspended during the covid-19 outbreak. "we will continue to be prayerful and proceed with an abundance of caution. your safety and well-being will always be our utmost concern," said president russell m. nelson. islam