On behalf of our project partners and those you are helping in Syria, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for your outpouring of generosity in response to our earthquake appeal. We are beyond grateful for your kindness and compassion; you are offering a lifeline to our suffering brothers and sisters in the country.
The people of Syria have suffered enormously – 12 years of war, extremist
violence and economic crisis, and now the terrible aftermath of the recent earthquake. Sadly, the suffering in Syria cannot be over-exaggerated. Before the earthquake, the people were already struggling to survive with 90 percent of the population living below the poverty line.
In a message to ACN, Cardinal Mario Zenari, Apostolic Nuncio to Syria, said: “After visiting Aleppo, Lattakia and Jableh, my impression can be summed up like this – I saw a sea of pain.”
In response to the earthquake, ACN has pledged more than £500,000 – providing displaced families with emergency aid including food, medicine and temporary shelter.
Our project partners there are overwhelmed with your compassion – Fr Fadi Azar of Lattakia said: “We warmly thank you for your kind assistance granted to the needy people…”
Read more about how you are offering practical and pastoral assistance to Syrian Christians including those seeking refuge in neighbouring Lebanon. With prayers and tremendous gratitude for your support.
Dr
Caroline Hull
P. S. Your continued support is vital to help them survive amid deepening challenges.
|
PLEASE SUPPORT SUFFERING CHRISTIANS |
|
Share this e-newsletter on:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Police and locals outside a church in Nigeria after a terrorist attack
ACN News
NIGERIA and UK: Call for justice
An ACN-organised petition will be handed to Fiona Bruce MP, the UK Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief. The petition calls for justice for victims of a massacre at a church in Nigeria. The attack, reportedly carried out by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) militants, took place at St Francis Xavier’s Church in Owo, south-west Nigeria on Pentecost Sunday in 2022, killing 41 people and injuring over 70 others. The petition, due to be submitted on 5th June, the first anniversary of the massacre, requests that the UK government lobby the Nigerian authorities to bring to justice those responsible. Read more here.
|
To sign the ACN (UK) petition calling for justice for the victims of the massacre at St Francis Xavier’s Church, Owo, please click here. The deadline for signatures is 31st May 2023.
|
|
|
|
|
ACN Thank You
Thanks to You! A vehicle for a remote parish in northeast India
Saint Francis Xavier’s parish in Lazu, diocese of Miao, near the border Burma (Myanmar), has 10 outstations, serving 2,500 Catholics. Many of these down-trodden ethnic minorities work as day labourers for local landowners. They struggle to survive on pitiful wages. Any family illness or crisis forces them to borrow from their employers at exorbitant interest rates. This forces them into wage slavery, with no hope of paying back the loan. The parish is a lifeline, with three Sisters working in the community and two priests visiting villages weekly. Some of the villages are up to 30 miles (50km) away. They celebrate Holy Mass and administer other Sacraments. Their 14-year-old parish car is on the point of collapse. Father Samuel
pleads: “Please help us to purchase a vehicle, to bring Christ to hard-pressed families. We need this vehicle urgently and are counting on your help."
|
|
|
|
Thanks to your generosity, they will get their new vehicle.
|
|
|
ACN Primary Resources
Pentecost – 28th May (Primary Resource)
This lively resource exploring the wonder an awe of the Feast of Pentecost, can be used as part of an
assembly or within a parish or classroom setting. It is fully linked to RED and This is Our Faith and is suitable for KS2/First and Second Level (Scotland) as well as First Communion parish groups. It includes a Pentecost ‘Quick Quiz’, information about ACN’s work and a prayer and reflection. Comes with supporting notes. Become a MEMBER: For a regular supply of free ‘members only’ resources for schools, chaplaincies, youth groups and CYMFED Youth Award Scheme, why not sign up your parish, group or school. Contact community.outreach@acnuk.org for more information.
|
|
|
|
|