In Catholic churches all over Poland, collections are being held for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. Donations collected in the Archdiocese of Łódź will go to the victims in Aleppo. – The situation is very dramatic. (…) people wander, they have no place to stay, 500 people come to the parish just at night, and two thousand meals are served a day – enumerates the director of Caritas of the Archdiocese of Lodz.
Fundraising for victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria are conducted in most dioceses in Poland and are organized by Caritas Polska. The decision on this matter was made by the bishops of individual dioceses, informing the faithful via social media.
Director of Łódź Caritas: The situation is very dramatic
The money collected in the archdiocese of Łódź will go to the victims of the earthquake in Syria. The originator of the action, Archbishop Grzegorz Ryś, pointed out that aid from all over the world flows mainly to Turkey. For organizational reasons, aid reaches war-torn Syria to a much lesser extent.
The director of the Łódź Caritas – as reported by the TVN24 reporter – is in contact with the parish priest in Aleppo, who told him that there are over half a thousand people in one of the churches. These are people who do not have a roof over their heads. The local clergy organizes food, but they need money for it.
– The situation there is very dramatic, we have first-hand news from the parish priest of the Franciscan parish of Saint Francis of Assisi in Aleppo, who says that people wander, they have no place to stay, 500 people report to the parish at night, 2,000 are handed over meals – said the director of Caritas of the Archdiocese of Lodz Tomasz Kopytowski on TVN24. He added: – Houses that were previously damaged due to warfare are now uninhabitable after the earthquake. This is what they see every day, what they deal with. There’s rubble everywhere, people who can’t get medical help because the hospitals are full of victims.
According to Caritas of Łódź in social media, the first tranche of aid was sent to the Franciscan fathers in Aleppo – USD 10,000 for victims of the earthquake in Syria.
Prayer and collections all over Poland
In addition to collections, the faithful in Poland also pray for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. “In view of the enormity of suffering caused by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, I appeal to all bishops, priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful in Poland to pray for the victims and victims of this cataclysm,” Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, president of the Episcopate, appealed on Tuesday Polish. He asked that at all Masses of St. in Poland, a special invocation for the victims and victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria was added to the prayers of the faithful.
The tragic balance of the earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria
The earthquake and aftershocks that hit southeastern Turkey and northwestern Syria have so far taken the lives of more than 29,000 people. UN estimates that this tragic balance may be much greater. While in Turkey’s Kahramanmaras province, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths told Sky News that the number of victims would “double or more.” Although almost a week has passed since the tragic events, from under the rubble people are still being pulled out alive.
Strong earthquake in Turkey and SyriaPAP
Collections in the Catholic Church for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria
Main photo source: Caritas of the Archdiocese of Lodz