AS PART OF ITS CAMPAIGN to support priests and
religious working with the weak and vulnerable in areas affected by
COVID-19, Aid to the Church in Need has approved 11 new projects in
Brazil, one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic.
Combined, the projects they will benefit 169 priests, 31 seminarians,
141 women religious and 56 lay missionaries working in their local
communities.
Among these are priests in the state of Ceará, in
northeast Brazil, where the coronavirus is very much present in the city
of Itapipoca, in the north of the state, around 80 miles from the state
capital of Fortaleza. The Church there is
working hard to maintain a spirit of solidarity and provide support to
the local Christians who depend upon the aid.
The region is experiencing a constant increase in
the number coronavirus cases. As of June 5, there were 4,258 confirmed
cases and 203 deaths. As of June 8, there were more than 690,000 cases,
with 36,455 recorded deaths in all of Brazil.
As part of the lockdown, local churches remain closed and Masses are
live streamed on social media. With the aid of a handful of people,
priests are continuing to celebrate Mass in empty churches.
Father Francisco DanÃzio Silva, finance director
for the Diocese of Itapipoca, spoke of the importance of “maintaining
contact with our people. Our people need us very much, they need our
prayers, our companionship, our advice; however,
as a result of the pandemic it is difficult to maintain physical
contact.”
He also said that the local Church’s income “is
greatly reduced, since the offerings of the faithful have fallen by
around 60 percent. There are no collections as there are no public
Masses—the resources we did have are now being exhausted.”
“At the present time, it’s not possible to speak
face-to-face with our people, who are very upset and anxious. We are
helping them as best we can via social media such as WhatsApp, Facebook
and YouTube,” said Father Francisco explained.
When they have to provide help in emergency situations, priests use
protective face masks.
In some of parishes, priests have succeeded since
the beginning of the pandemic in organizing a campaign to collect
supplies and make up baskets of basic necessities for distribution among
the most needy. “Recently we have made great efforts
to raise funds, but it is now getting very difficult, since the people
themselves have next to nothing,” said Father Francisco.
Some parishes, as part of their family outreach
program, distribute a daily dinner to the most needy. However, the money
is running out for this campaign also.
Father Francisco is counting on the kindness of the
ordinary people. He said: “During these times we are going through, the
support of every individual is very important. With the little that we
have we can still help many people.”
“Our Church is poor and in need, but it is rich in the grace of God and in kind and generous people.”
Father Francisco thanked ACN donors directly. He
said: “You have helped us greatly. Your support is directly linked to
the help we can give to these brothers and sisters of ours who need so
much of us, who need our compassion, our attention
and our loving support.”
“I pray to God, through the intercession of his
most holy Mother Mary, that he may bless each and every one of you, and
that your generosity will be the source of your salvation. May we never
forget that helping our neighbor is one of the
most effective ways of imitating our Lord Jesus Christ, the Good
Shepherd.”
“Our grateful thanks to all those who are helping us to evangelize through charity, throughout the world.”
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic,
ACN has been providing emergency financial support to hundreds of
priests, religious and lay pastoral workers, so that they can continue
helping the most needy during the crisis.
—Daniela Almeida
With picture of priest ministering with social distancing in Brazil
(©
ACN)
Editor’s Notes:
Directly under the Holy
Father, Aid to the Church in Need supports the faithful wherever they
are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need. ACN is a Catholic
charity - helping to bring Christ to the world through
prayer, information and action.
Founded in 1947 by
Father Werenfried van Straaten, whom Pope John Paul II named “An
Outstanding Apostle of Charity,” the organization is now at work in over
145 countries throughout the world.
The charity undertakes
thousands of projects every year including providing transport for
clergy and lay Church workers, construction of church buildings, funding
for priests and nuns and help to train seminarians.
Since the initiative’s launch in 1979, 43 million Aid to the Church in
Need Child’s Bibles have been distributed worldwide.
For more information contact Michael Varenne at
michael@churchinneed.org
or call 718-609-0939 or fax 718-609-0938. Aid to the Church in Need,
725 Leonard Street, PO Box 220384, Brooklyn, NY 11222-0384.
www.churchinneed.org
