Vatican foreign minister urges increased support for
Syrian refugees
(Vatican Radio) The Vatican’s
Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, has
appealed for increased funding to support refugees from the Syrian crisis,
saying the Holy See will “continue its humanitarian assistance” to the region
over the coming year.
The Vatican ‘foreign
minister’ was speaking at a conference in London on Thursday entitled
‘Supporting Syria and the Region’. The one day meeting, organised by the
British government in partnership with Germany, Kuwait, Norway and the United
Nations, focused not only on the emergency humanitarian needs of Syrian
refugees but also on providing longer term support through jobs, education and
economic development of host countries in the region.
In his statement Archbishop
Gallagher highlighted the deaths and “ever-increasing human suffering” in Syria
as the conflict enters its sixth year. In particular he mentioned the
malnourishment of children and other civilians trapped in besieged and
hard-to-reach areas.
Holy See responded to
Syria crisis from start of conflict
The Holy See, he said,
through the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum”, and the Catholic Church, through its
network of charitable agencies, have been responding to the humanitarian crisis
in the region from the start of the conflict. Given the overwhelming
humanitarian needs, he said the Holy See “joins its voice to the appeals for
increased funding to help refugees and impacted host communities” such as
Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey and Egypt.
Existence of Christians in
Middle East "gravely threatened"
In distributing aid, the
Vatican diplomat noted, Catholic agencies make no distinction regarding the
religious or ethnic identity of those in need and seek always to give priority
to the most vulnerable victims. He said that Christians and other religious
minorities suffer disproportionately the effects of war and social upheaval in
the region, stressing that their very existence in the Middle East remains
“gravely threatened”.
Here is the full statement
by Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Secretary for the Holy See’s Relations with
States
The Holy See is pleased to
participate in the “Supporting Syria and the Region” Conference aimed at
responding to the humanitarian crisis in Syria that is now, regrettably and
painfully, entering into its sixth year. A crisis that is characterised by
ever-increasing human suffering, including extreme cases of malnourishment of
innocent children and other civilians, especially among the high number of
people who are trapped in hard-to-reach and besieged areas and are deprived of
essential humanitarian aid. Notwithstanding renewed hopes for the political resolution
of the crisis, our humanitarian efforts are increasingly focused on not only
emergency aid but also the medium and long-term needs of refugees and host
countries. Therefore, the Holy See warmly welcomes the emphasis on providing
education, jobs and economic development at this pledging conference.
As we address the
humanitarian needs of this crisis, it behoves us to remember that the real cost
of this humanitarian crisis is measured by the deaths and suffering of millions
of our fellow human beings. In his recentaddress to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy
See, on 11 January last, His Holiness Pope Francis recalled “the plea of
thousands of people who weep as they flee horrific wars, persecutions and human
rights violations, or political or social instability…forced to flee in order
to escape unspeakable acts of cruelty towards vulnerable persons, such as
children and the disabled, or martyrdom solely on account of their
religion.” In looking ahead to the First World Humanitarian Summit, which
will take place next May, His Holiness expressed his desire that this Summit
“will succeed in its goal of placing the person and human dignity at the heart
of every humanitarian response”.
The Holy See, through the
Pontifical Council “Cor Unum”, and the Catholic Church, through its network of
charitable agencies, have been responding to the humanitarian crisis in Syria
and the region from the very beginning. The funding needs of many Catholic
agencies and NGOs are already included in the United Nations Regional Refugee
and Resilience Plan [3RP] 2016-2017 in response to the Syria Crisis. The 3RP
funding requirement for 2016 alone is significantly greater than the amount
appealed for in 2015, which regrettably was only 50% funded. Given such
overwhelming humanitarian needs, the Holy See joins its voice to the appeals
for increased funding to help refugees and impacted host communities in the 3RP
countries: Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey and Egypt.
In 2015, entities of the
Catholic Church (dioceses, Catholic Church aid agencies and Catholic NGOs) with
funds received from appeals promoted by national episcopal conferences, private
donations of Catholic faithful throughout the world, and in partnership with
Governments and International organisations, contributed to providing USD 150
million of humanitarian assistance of direct benefit to more than 4 million
people. The following were the principal areas of priority for Catholic
agencies in 2015:
Education: USD 37 million for
education programmes in Lebanon and Jordan, for both refugees and impacted host
communities; Food aid: USD 30 million, of which USD 25 million was distributed
in Syria; Non-Food aid: approximately US 30 million in Syria and Iraq; Health:
approximately US 16 million was provided to the health sector, particularly in
Syria, Jordan and Iraq; and finally, accommodation: US 10 million for
accommodation and lodging for refugees and IDPs. A further US 12 million of
funds were used in the provision of direct cash assistance, water and
sanitation, livelihood and socio-psychological assistance.
On this occasion, I wish to
give assurances of the commitment of the Catholic Church to continue its
humanitarian assistance in the coming year.
In distributing aid, Catholic
agencies and entities make no distinction regarding the religious or ethnic
identity of those requiring assistance, and seek always to give priority to the
most vulnerable and to those most in need. Particularly vulnerable are
religious minorities, including Christians, who suffer disproportionately the
effects of war and social upheaval in the region. In fact, their very presence
and existence are gravely threatened. For this reason, His Holiness Pope
Francis has repeatedly called attention to the particular needs of Christians
and religious minorities in the Middle East.
See also this blog post on the conference by Britain's ambassador to
the Holy See Nigel Baker
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét