Support for the annual Good Friday Collection for the Holy Land remains vital, especially amid the ongoing conflict in the region, said Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, in a recent letter to the entire Catholic Church. Source: Melbourne Catholic.
An important annual demonstration of solidarity, the Good Friday Collection for the Holy Land is taken up in Catholic parishes and communities around the world in support of the Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land, who have the unique responsibility of caring for the holy places, as well as caring for Christians living in the Holy Lands.
Despite countless attempts, through dialogue and diplomacy, to bring peace to the region, “the weapons did not fall silent,” Cardinal Gugerotti wrote. “Arms continue to fire, people continue to die, lands remain contested, and Christians continue to emigrate in order to survive.”
Acknowledging “how exhausting it is to continue bandaging and disinfecting – however patiently – the wounds of a world so brutally torn apart”, he said, “we Christians cannot cease to hope, because God is our hope, and God does not betray us”.
Contributing to the collection is one small but important way we can prioritise humanity and stand against apathy and destruction, Cardinal Gugerotti said.
“The Collection for the Holy Land, sustained daily by the invaluable work of the Franciscans and those who serve in local communities, may seem like a drop in the ocean. Yet the ocean, deprived of its drops, becomes a desert,” he said.
This year, the collection takes on an even greater urgency, occurring in the context of the US and Israel war on Iran, which has rapidly escalated and spread throughout the region, with dramatic consequences for millions of people.
Contributions to the collection, Cardinal Gugerotti wrote, can make a huge difference to Christian communities who are struggling to survive and to remain in the Holy Lands.
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Good Friday Collection remains vital as war engulfs Holy Lands (Melbourne Catholic)
