Following the lead of the American bishops, Bishop Larry Silva wrote to all Hawaii pastors and priest parish administrators on Aug. 28, asking them to take up a special collection before the end of October for “Christians and others suffering persecution in the Middle East.”
“Pope Francis recently wrote to the Secretary of the United Nations decrying how, in the Middle East, ‘Christians and other religious minorities have been forced to flee from their homes and witness the destruction of their places of worship,’” the bishop wrote.
“U.S. Catholic Bishops are expressing their solidarity with Christians and others suffering persecution in the Middle East by taking up a special collection to assist them,” he said.
“Proceeds from the collection will support immediate humanitarian and pastoral needs, as well as the cost of long-term reconstruction,” Bishop Silva said.
The money will be sent to Catholic Relief Services and other Catholic agencies working in partnership with the local church in the Middle East “to meet the most urgent humanitarian needs facing the people in Iraq, Gaza, Syria and surrounding countries where refugees have fled.”
“Our Christian brothers and sisters and other innocent victims of the violence in the Middle East urgently need the assistance of the Catholic community of Hawaii,” Bishop Silva said. “Mahalo for responding to Jesus’ suffering today by your financial support and for your continued prayers for the victims of this crisis.”
