Helping the Holy Land

Richard A. Sokerka

On Good Friday, April 14, in the Paterson Diocese and across our nation, the Pontifical Good Friday Collection is to be taken up in every parish in the United States to support ministries and good works in the Holy Land. It will also help to provide humanitarian aid to Christians and others who have been displaced by the war in Syria.

Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, addressed a letter to all bishops about the importance of the collection for the Holy Land. “Presently, there are millions of refugees fleeing Syria and Iraq, where the roar of arms does not cease and the way of dialogue and concord seems to be completely lost. Senseless hatred seems to prevail instead, along with the helpless desperation of those who have lost everything and have been expulsed from the land of their ancestors. If the Christians of the Holy Land are encouraged to resist, to the degree possible, the understandable temptation to flee, the faithful throughout the world are asked to take their plight to heart,” he wrote.

The collection offers a direct opportunity for Catholics to be witnesses of peace. Their support is a sign of Christian unity, which helps protect holy places and supports Christians in the Holy Land.

The Pontifical Good Friday Collection also supports parishes, Catholic schools and religious education in the Holy Land and preserves the sacred shrines for pilgrims while providing assistance, including housing and food, for the poor and needy.

Last year’s collection provided emergency funds to the people in Syria and Iraq; supported 29 parishes, four homes for orphans, three academic institutions; kept 16 schools open for more than10,000 pre-k through grade 12 students; funded university scholarships for 295 students; provided 398 homes benefitting Christian families; helped rehabilitate more than 100 homes for Christians families; provided senior care facilities in Bethlehem and Nazareth; created more than 1,500 jobs in the Holy Land; preserved 74 sanctuaries and shrines from the life of Jesus and the prophets, and supported more than 100 men preparing to be priests or brothers.

For all these needy causes, please be as generous as your means allow on Good Friday.