While much of the world has forgotten about the war in Syria and the extreme poverty plaguing most of its people, Pope Francis has not forgotten the Syrian people and the Christians there who continue to witness to the faith, said Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches.
At the end of a meeting with the country’s bishops in Damascus Oct. 26, the cardinal announced that Pope Francis had sent $10,000 for each of the nation’s bishops to use to meet the greatest needs in his diocese or eparchy, according to information released at the Vatican. “The strings of the harps have for too long played the song of pain and mourning, especially for the dead, the kidnapped, the prisoners, for the children and young people who grew up under the bombs and were deprived of the affection of parents and of normal education,” the cardinal told the bishops.
“Now the lament can be heard that there is no bread, with a shocking percentage of the population forced to live below the poverty line,” he said. The U.N. World Food Program has estimated that 60 percent of the country’s population is “food insecure,” reflecting a record level of poverty after 10 years of civil war.
“The air, which was made unbreathable by the bombs and chemical agents, now may be polluted by the indifference that seems to have fallen over the drama of Syria, including in the media,” he said. “However, you know how Pope Francis, from the beginning of his papacy, has kept his gaze on all of you, inviting people to fast and to pray, calling for the end of the fighting, the reestablishment of justice and respect for law.”