The Pope's charity for humanitarian emergencies in 2012

January 05, 2013: 388 armed conflict, 20 of which are high, 69 full-blown humanitarian crisis, 40 desperate appeals for immediate response. These figures reflect the dramatic situation faced by most of the world's population and that reflect a commitment by Cor Unum - the Pope’s Charity for humanitarian emergencies, said Msgr. Giampietro Dal Toso, secretary of Cor Unum in an interview. He was taking stock of the Cor Unum over the past one year.

Syria, Libya, Bangladesh, South Sudan, Bolivia, Paraguay are some of the countries in which Pope’s Charity decisively intervened in 2012, Msgr. Added.

In 2012 there was a spike of humanitarian crises in the world. Caritas Internationalis has launched a record number of 41 programs in support of people in distress. Currently there exist 69 humanitarian crisis situations, which created many difficulties, he said.

When asked about what causes this increase in humanitarian crises, Msgr. Toso said that it was caused by natural phenomena such as earthquakes, cyclones, floods, with increasing frequency as a result of climate change. And then there are wars. In the world today there are 388 armed conflicts, including 20 high intensity, with more than a thousand deaths per year.

When asked how did Cor Unum intervene in the plight of a country, like Syria, he said that Pope’s Charity has intervened several times last year. He also said that he personally visited Damascus in March and took a first aid of one hundred thousand dollars on behalf of the Pope. And when the situation gradually worsened, Pope Benedict XVI send in November the President of Cor Unum Cardinal Robert Sarah with a second major contribution, this time the result of a collection of Synod of Bishops and their large personal donations. Since there were no safety conditions in place to go directly to Syria, the cardinal stopped in Lebanon.
I accompanied the cardinal so I can testify to the great effort that the Church is doing in that region. We met in a special meeting of the representatives of more than 25 Catholic organizations engaged at the time and we have heard painful stories and dramatic testimonies.
When asked whether the intervention of Cor Unum was welcomed by Christians and Muslims, he said that the Christians have clearly perceived the presence and participation of the Pope and the Church in their crisis. Muslims too understood that the help of the Church is not partisan, but it is for everyone.
Looking ahead of the New year 2013, Msgr. Toso said that two important events are awaited (1) our plenary meeting, scheduled for January 17 to 19 on "The Christian anthropology and the new global ethic." The other major event consists of a smaller meeting to be held on 4 and 5 March to discuss the distinction between the theology of charity and social doctrine of the Church.