Covid-19: ACN sends prayers
and funds to suffering communities
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| Labourers queuing for free food at a construction site dring a nationwide lockdown in India |
As Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) gathers communities in
worldwide prayer, it raises money to add concrete aid to messages and prayers
for solidarity and kinship.
By Francesca Merlo
All around the world people are suffering the consequences
of the coronavirus pandemic. Resources are scarce and the poor are more in need
than ever.
Since the beginning of April, communities worldwide have
been responding to Aid to the Church in Need’s invitation, to join
in prayer for an end to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This week alone, 50 monasteries have responded to the call
for prayer launched by the Pontifical Foundation and have also sent messages of solidarity to the areas most affected by
the coronavirus.
On top of this huge demonstration of kinship and solidarity,
ACN has established a fund that aims to raise 5million euros in order to help
the priests and men and women religious who are faced with huge difficulties in
some of the most desperate communities at this particular time. Donations can
be made through the portal: https://www.aed-france.org/projets/covid-19/.
Benoit de Blanpré is the Director of ACN. He says that
although this initiative might seem like a small drop of water in an ocean of
both present and future needs, it is essential for ACN to do what it can to
offer daily support to the lives of needy Christian communities. He explains
that this initiative will support various projects in the Middle East, Central
and Eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa.
The Executive President of ACN, Thomas Heine-Geldern, has
said that "the demand for social and spiritual care is huge”, as the
coronavirus continues to spread around the globe.
"We hope that this aid, which has been made possible by
our benefactors, will help to lighten the burden of our brave religious who are
on the front line”, he said.
Due to the pandemic, there are countless vulnerable
communities in developing countries, who are already poor and with limited
resources, and that often depend on the local Church for social services and
health care.
Heine-Geldern concluded by saying that “the Church has a
particularly vital spiritual and pastoral role in the daily life of the
Christian communities of the poorest on the planet”.
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