This week saw reflections on the one-year anniversary of March 2020, when so many worldwide felt the grip of the COVID-19 emergencies tighten. Mourning for those lost and lost life experience combined with explorations of the very different impact of the crises on different communities. A reflection on how changing funeral practices in Japan affects broader religious practice is an illustration, as is a report of positive work by Catholic religious sisters in Africa. Among recurring themes are the nature and impact of “hidden pandemics,” notably those affecting women (reflections on domestic violence, abductions, trafficking, burdens of caring), children, and refugees and migrants. These took on special significance with the focus during Women’s Month and included documents issued by the Vatican Commission. In all these cases religious communities play widely diverse roles. Meanwhile, world events continue to bear the marks of the COVID-19 emergency, including, for example, concerns and precautions around Pope Francis’ historic visit to Iraq.
 
An interesting alliance in Malawi illustrates the broad issues and coalitions taking form. Drawing on experience in addressing HIV/AIDS there is working to strengthen multifaith action and community mobilization. Coordination is a central objective, as is cooperation with government entities. These echo universal challenges.
 
A host of issues center on vaccination rollouts, which are affecting different communities and countries at different paces. Coalitions of religious leaders are forming, especially in the United States, to reach out to their constituents and address concerns and to support government programs. Faiths4Vaccines brings together a multireligious coalition, and the Catholic Church has issued careful information resources. Specific efforts address both concerns (for example on ingredients in vaccines) and misinformation about their development and impact, and they are working to identify and reach out to groups where hesitation runs high (e.g. a study that found that Black Protestants aren’t least likely to get a vaccine; white evangelicals are). One issue is where on priority lists religious personnel fall, thus raising questions about whether they fall in an essential worker category: “Everyone agrees essential workers should be prioritized in the coronavirus vaccine rollout. But in 43 states and the District of Columbia, one group of essential workers is being ignored: Clergy.” A new topic of debate surrounds conditions for travel in the future, with “vaccine passports'' under discussion. A recent report suggests that Saudi Arabia will require such passports to participate in the hajj in 2021.
 
But globally concerns about “vaccine apartheid” loom ever large, with religious as well as non-religious leaders speaking out, calling for urgent action to speed vaccine deliveries and implementation beyond the wealthier countries where action is concentrated. Issues around rights to patents at the World Trade Organization have also mobilized significant faith communities. The one-year anniversary and global agenda discussions highlight questions about rebuilding in a “post COVID” world. The G20 Interfaith Forum agenda, looking to the Bologna gathering in September, focuses on healing, with COVID a central issue alongside climate, racism, and issues for peace and prosperity. 

An extended interview with Michael Woolcock (World Bank), viewed through a lens of his Christian background, comments on the report Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2020: Reversals of Fortune (to which he contributed). He links COVID, climate change, conflict, and global poverty in telling combinations (he terms them “the 3 Cs”). The central point is that the COVID pandemic, as it has led to massive economic contractions, is contributing to unprecedented shifts in direction on both poverty reduction and inequality. The spike in poverty “is affecting everyone, a real and present danger that has to be dealt with now. Climate change, on the other hand, is like a slow-moving escalator; it is inexorable.” He sees “a modern manifestation of an ancient problem. It is about how we all get along, and how our differences, especially our wealth differences, coalesce into a more just outcome.... This is our generational moment, and I hope global solutions can be found for a global problem.”