(VIS) 72 million dollars assigned to Catholic humanitarian organisations to alleviate
the crisis in Syria and the surrounding regions; 55 entities working in the field;
urgent aid given to 20 Syrian cities and 32 Catholic institutions involved so far,
and indispensable aid for the refugees present in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, Cyprus
and Egypt. These are the data recorded on 9 October, as a result of the mapping of
aid distributed in Syria, carried out following the meeting for the co-ordination
of Catholic charitable associations present in the Syrian situation, convened by the
Pontifical Council “Cor Unum” from 4 to 5 June 2013.
The Catholic Church
and the local churches in the zone have been involved since the beginning of the crisis,
in 2011, in the constant work of providing humanitarian aid to the population struck
by the civil war in Syria. Pope Francis has paid particular attention to the evolution
of the crisis and the aid work offered by charitable agencies, whom he received in
audience during a meeting organised by the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum”. “Helping
the Syrian population, regardless of ethnic origin or religious belief”, said the
Pope on that occasion, “is the most direct way of contributing to the pacification
and edification of a society open to all its components”.
Until now, the
difficulty of obtaining information regarding the needs of the population affected
and the development of the political and social population has led to the sometimes
sporadic nature of the aid given, and to a multiplicity of forms of support to to
the institutions present in the field. Therefore, the meeting in June provided an
opportunity to reunite the agencies active in the context of the crisis and to decide
upon the establishment of an office for co-ordinating information on the humanitarian
aid allocated by the Catholic Church, with the aim of avoiding the dispersal of efforts
and ensuring a homogeneous approach. Management activity was entrusted to Caritas
Middle East-North Africa, based in Beirut; it will have the task of appraising and
monitoring the extent of the aid gathered, and of sharing necessary information with
all the institutions involved, including those not present at the “Cor Unum” meeting.
This
tool will allow the Church to obtain a complete picture of humanitarian aid efforts,
with the intention of providing a detailed analysis of the needs in the field; to
transfer to Caritas Syria the information necessary on charitable works in aid of
the Syrian population; to highlight the profile of the Catholic Church among those
involved in the humanitarian sector in Syria, and to share information within the
network of Catholic organisations involved, both inside and outside Syrian territory.