Scottish Catholic Observer

As Pope Francis called on Wednesday for ‘a powerful cry for peace’ to ‘go up from every land!’ during the worldwide day of fasting and prayer for peace tomorrow, a letter from Archbishop Philip Tartaglia of Glasgow and Bishop Emeritus Peter Moran of Aberdeen went out to all Scottish parishes asking Catholics to also send whatever they can afford to help the millions suffering in Syria.
Tomorrow night the Pope will lead thousands through a special vigil at St Peter’s Square, which millions more will join in special services around the world. That night and the next morning all Scottish parishes will hear the appeal from the Scottish bishops ‘to give what you can to help those in need.’
“You will have seen the terrible events unfolding on the news—people fleeing for their lives in terror,” the bishops write. “Over 100,000 people have already died in Syria and 2 million people are now refugees in the tiny neighbouring countries of Jordan and Lebanon. Living in crowded refugee camps and with local hosts, there is not enough food, clean water, shelter or medical care to go round and as more and more people arrive, things are only getting worse.”
The bishops letter says that the Catholic aid agency SCIAF has already sent £75,000 to fund vital work being done by its sister Caritas agencies but more aid is desperately needed so they are asking all parishes to hold a special collection for the aid agency’s Syria Emergency Appeal.
The two bishops also say Scottish Catholics must embrace the words of Pope Francis that ‘we cannot sleep peacefully while babies are dying of hunger and the elderly are without medical assistance’ and urge them to ask ‘parishioners to join with their brothers and sisters across Scotland to pray, to fast and to give what we can for those who desperately need our help.’

—[email protected]
http://www.sciaf.org.uk/emergencies/syria-emergency-appeal.html

— More on Syria in the September 6 re-launch print edition of the SCO, available in parishes.
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