CEI Presidency | One million euros for Congo
We disseminate the press release of the Presidency of the Italian Bishops’ Conference: an appeal for the Democratic Republic of Congo
Enough violence! One million euros for the emergency
We launch our heartfelt appeal for a halt to the slaughter in Goma and other areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the grip of violence: enough is enough!
In close contact with local Churches and missionaries in the area, we receive daily news and images of killings, mutilation, destruction and displacement of large masses of the population, taking place in almost total media silence.
A massacre that claims victims mainly among civilians, sparing no children, even infants, women and defenseless people.
We cannot remain silent in the face of this havoc, the annihilation of humanity.
We express our closeness to the local population and to those in the country who are working to cope with an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. We make our own the words of Pope Francis, who on Wednesday, Jan. 29, at the end of the General Audience, urged “all parties to the conflict to commit themselves to the cessation of hostilities and to the safeguarding of the civilian population of Goma and other areas affected by military operations,” and called on “the local authorities and the international community to the utmost commitment to resolve the conflict situation by peaceful means.”
As the Church in Italy, we have been present in the country for years with workers and missionaries and we do not stop standing by the people and the local Church, which continues to be the target of violence and attacks.
Since 1991, the Italian Bishops’ Conference has supported interventions
in the Democratic Republic of Congo for 136 million euros.
Through the Service for Charitable Interventions for the Development of Peoples and thanks to 8xmille funds, 1,236 interventions have been financed. These were projects in response to emergencies, such as, for example, for displaced people in Goma, and socio-economic development in various sectors.
To address this additional emergency, it was decided to allocate one million euros
from the 8xmille funds that citizens give to the Catholic Church.
Our commitment will not fail for the promotion of human dignity and a future of peace.
The Presidency of the CEI
Source
- National Office for Social Communications – CEI