VATICAN - Letter to Bishops from the Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches: “continue to sustain spiritually and materially those Catholics living in the Holy Land.”

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - With the occasion of the collection for the Church in the Holy Land, which is customarily done on Good Friday, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, and Bishop Krzysztof Nitkiewicz, undersecretary for the Dicastery, have sent a letter to all the Bishops asking for aid from the community of faithful.
After recalling Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the Dicastery of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, and his “concern for the situation in this region and for the welfare of its inhabitants,” the Cardinal writes, “I wish to take this opportunity to address myself for the first time to my brothers in the episcopate who serve your respective Churches. I also desire to emphasise, as has the Pontiff, the invitation to you to continue to sustain spiritually and materially those Catholics living in the Holy Land.” “The absence of peace,” the letter continues, “exacerbates the many long-standing problems as well as the poverty afflicting the region of the Holy Places. That absence also contributes to the creation of new difficulties. Thus, we must recognise that Christians who reside there are a priority for the attention of the entire Catholic Church, together with that of all other Churches and ecclesial communities. For even in their need, they embody the ‘living charism of Christianity’s origins.’”
The letter expresses the hope that the Good Friday Collection, which takes place on a day so “appropriately” and “relevantly” chosen by the Roman Pontiffs, will be well received on behalf of all the local Churches, thereby spreading this movement of charity that the Congregation, “by virtue of Papal directive, coordinates...with exactitude and fairness. Always, the goal is to assist with the everyday requirements of Christian life.”
The Latin community and the other Eastern Rite Catholic Churches will hopefully benefit from “the charitable outreach by all Catholics...not simply be viewed as occasional, but as so continuous and profound that the future may be welcomed with hope. Nor is this program of charitable distribution based upon religious, cultural or political distinctions. Rather, it seeks especially to equip the younger generations...” Among the most urgent problems, the letter mentions: “the ever present matter of immigration, bringing with it the risk that Christian communities can be deprived of their most important human resources.”
At the close of the letter, Cardinal Sandri thanks the particular Churches, as well as the parishes, religious families, institutions, foundations, and associations, for their commitment to helping the Holy Land, conveying “the deepest gratitude of the Holy Father for your support of this cause which is of such vital importance for the Church and for humanity. I extend thanks also on behalf of this Dicastery and of all the Latin and Eastern communities of the Holy Land.” (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 14/2/2008; righe 37, parole 460)