Canadian Bishops launch campaign for solidarity for victims of Syrian conflict
(Vatican Radio) The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) and the Canadian
Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP) are launching a joint campaign
to raise emergency aid for Syrian refugees.
The revenues collected will assist
the extensive work in the Middle East by Catholic charities and development agencies,
particularly Caritas Internationalis.
Archbishop Richard Smith,
the President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, spoke with us about
the campaign:
Below,
please find Archbishop Smith’s letter to Canadian Catholics: ‘BE IN
SOLIDARITY WITH THE PEOPLE OF SYRIA IN THEIR MANY SUFFERINGS’: Invitation
to the Catholics of Canada from the President of the Canadian Conference
of Catholic Bishops My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Pope Francis
has appealed to Catholic charitable organizations to cooperate in providing humanitarian
aid for Syrians who have lost homes, are displaced, or are refugees. He has expressed
deep “concern for the crisis in Syria and, in a particular way, for the people, often
defenceless, who are suffering as a result of it.” The Holy Father is asking all of
us to offer concrete assistance to the Syrian people.1
Therefore,
together with the Pope and all the Bishops of Canada, I invite you, through prayer
and in works of charity, to be in solidarity with the people of Syria in their many
sufferings due to war, violence and displacement. As a community of faith, let us
pray to God to bring justice, peace and healing to the region. Let each of us do what
we can to provide assistance and aid to our suffering brothers and sisters in Syria
and its neighbouring countries.
Joint emergency campaign with Development
and Peace for Syria
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB)
and the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP) are launching
a joint campaign to raise emergency aid for Syrian refugees.2 We invite
your participation. The revenues collected will assist the extensive work in the Middle
East by Catholic charities and development agencies, particularly Caritas Internationalis.3
Our
special joint emergency campaign for Syria begins Sunday, 30 June 2013, and will continue
throughout the summer. It will culminate with a day of prayer and fasting for the
people of Syria and all the Middle East on Saturday, 14 September 2013, the Feast
of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. All donations to the special campaign should
be sent to Development and Peace by 14 September.
Syria’s humanitarian
crisis
Caritas Internationalis and CCODP estimate the number of Syrians
inside the country needing assistance to be about 7 million people. A third of Syrian
hospitals are not functioning. Some 7,000 Syrians each day flee to Jordan, Lebanon,
Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. It is believed this humanitarian crisis in Syria has already
claimed some 90,000 lives.
Information from the United Nations Human Refugee
Agency indicates already more than 1.6 million Syrians are seeking refuge in foreign
countries. Over 1 million of these have registered as refugees since the beginning
of 2013. Three-quarters of these are women and children. The vast majority are completely
dependent on aid, arriving with little more than the clothes on their backs. The numbers
of destitute people place unprecedented strains on the communities, infrastructure
and services of the host countries. It is estimated that by the end of 2013, half
the population of Syria will be in need of aid. This includes an anticipated 3.45
million Syrian refugees and 6.8 million Syrians inside the country, many of them displaced
from their homes.4
Catholic efforts to assist Syria
In
addition to the work of CCODP with its sister Caritas agencies around the world, CCODP
will be working with CNEWA-Canada5 and Jesuit Refugee Service6
as well as other Catholic agencies in the region to bring aid to the victims of this
humanitarian tragedy. Here in Canada, a number of dioceses and religious communities
are working to bring Syrian and other Middle Eastern refugees to our country to find
new homes and safety. These collaborative initiatives are worthy of our assistance,
encouragement and support.
Fasting and praying for Syria and the Middle
East
Of course, all our efforts must be supported by intense prayer.
When we fast and pray for the people of Syria and the Middle East on 14 September,
let us lift up to the Lord the needs of the Syrian homeless and wounded, their broken
families and shattered lives, and pray for an end to the hostilities and for lasting
peace.
Please check with your diocese and parish about plans to participate
in the joint emergency collection for Syria, and to be part of our 14 September day
of prayer and fasting for Syria and the Middle East. More information on the campaign
and the day of prayer and fasting can be found on the websites of the CCCB and CCODP.7
Pope
Francis has said that “The destiny of the Syrian people is a concern that is close
to my heart.” This concern, found also in our own hearts, is the motive for our solidarity
in prayer and works of charity. Thank you for your support.
Yours sincerely
in Our Lord, + Richard W. Smith Archbishop of Edmonton and President of the
Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
1 Pope Francis, address to participants
in the meeting coordinating activities by Catholic charitable organizations working
in Syria and neighbouring countries, promoted by the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum”,
5 June 2013 {http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/speeches/2013/june/documents/papa-francesco_20130605_corunumsiria_en.html}.
2
An outline of the work already underway by Development and Peace to assist Syrian
refugees is found on its website at http://www.devp.org/en/emergencies/syria.
3
http://www.caritas.org/
4 UNHRC (United Nations Human Refugee Agency), “Stories
from Syrian Refugees: Discovering the human faces of a tragedy” {http://www.data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/syria.php}.