ACN ramping up its aid to Church in Lebanon

By Lisa Zengarini

In response to the worsening humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, the Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is stepping up its support for the Lebanese Church, offering desperately needed food, medicine, education and other aid to displaced families.

ACN emergency campaign to raise $1 million

The Catholic charity dedicated to the pastoral and spiritual support of persecuted Christians around the world, announced an emergency campaign to raise at least $1 million to help the Church in Lebanon as it strives to make facing the new challenges caused by the new escalation of violence. the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

700,000 people displaced within the country

According to UN sources, the fighting has caused a wave of nearly 700,000 internally displaced people in various parts of the country, with Beirut, Mount Lebanon and northern Lebanon bearing the brunt of this. massive influx from the south.

In all of these places, the Church sprang into action, also opening its facilities to displaced families, regardless of their religious or ethnic affiliation.

ACN, which has funded around 200 projects in the country, has already contacted the seven dioceses and five religious congregations most directly involved in the relief efforts, and is now trying to raise the funds needed to meet their needs, which in most cases include food, sanitary products, mattresses and blankets, medicines and other essential products.

Christians directly affected by the fighting

Although the crisis affects the entire country, the most affected areas are in the border regions between Israel and Lebanon, where Christians make up a significant part of the population.

ACN reported that on October 9, a Melkite Greek Catholic church housing displaced people was hit by a missile attack, killing at least eight people in Derdghaya, in the southern district of Tire. According to local Church sources, another missile hit a priest’s house and a three-story building housing parish offices, completely destroying them.

Thousands of Christians have been forced to flee their homes, leading in most cases to the separation of families, as mother and children seek refuge in Church premises or with relatives in safer areas , and the father remains in the family home to prevent ownership. flight, despite the danger. The Christian villages of the south were almost emptied of their population.

In recent months, the Catholic association’s aid has included food packages for thousands of families and medical aid for 1,200 people who remained in southern Lebanon despite the risks.

Many Christians in this region are farmers who have lost all sources of income due to the destruction of their land and crops.

Catholic schools, most of which have opened their classes online, will also likely need help as parents in areas most affected by the war find themselves unable to work and struggle to pay tuition.

The ACN alongside the Church in Lebanon

Regina Lynch, executive president of ACN International, said the charity will continue to stand with the Lebanese Church in this new critical moment of need. “We will not abandon them now and are convinced that our benefactors will understand the urgency of supporting the Church in Lebanon,” she said.