2 + Middlesbrough Diocesan Catholic Voice + March 2023
NEWS
Charity opens earthquake emergency fund Continued from Page 1 Carmelite Sister Arlene said her cloistered community has opened its doors to those in need. She said: “The families are afraid and they do not want to return to their houses, they are looking for a place to spend the night. “We have had five families come to us, and we are sheltering them. Other families are going to the schools or churches.” Father Emad Daher was one of two priests buried alive when a Melkite Greek-Catholic building collapsed. Archbishop Emeritus Jean-Clement Jeanbart narrowly escaped death when it fell. To contribute to the appeal, visit acnuk.org. •CAFOD is also appealing for urgent funds, having already sent £100,000 to the relief effort. See story below for more details.
People taking shelter in the Mekhitarist School, Aleppo after the earthquake – Photo © ACN
Responding to urgent needs around the world In the world of international development, our plans are constantly changed by unexpected events – as is the case now. While we were focusing on preparations for sharing our Lent Family Fast Day (Friday March 3), and recruiting for the Big Lent Walk, the devastating earthquake in Syria and Turkey struck. We have had to adapt our priorities to meet the urgent needs of those affected. It’s a delicate balancing act, as it all needs to happen at the same time. Our emergency response teams and partners
BISHOP TERRY'S MARCH ENGAGEMENTS 5
Celebrates Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral, Coulby Newham 10am 9 School Visitation to St Patrick’s Catholic College, Thornaby 9.30am 11-12 Parish Visitation to Christ the King and St Patrick’s, Thornaby All Day 12 Attends Golden Jubilee celebrations of Monsignor Ricardo Morgan 3pm 13 Attends meeting with directors general at Madonna House All Day 14 School Visitation to Christ the King Catholic Primary, Thornaby 9.30am 15 School Visitation to St Bernadette’s Catholic Primary, Nunthorpe 9.30am 16 School Visitation to St Patrick’s Catholic Primary, Thornaby 9.30am 18-19 Parish Visitation to St Bernadette’s, Nunthorpe All Day 21 Attends meeting of the Bishop’s Council, Middlesbrough 10.30am 24 Attends Bishop’s Study Day, York All Day 25 Attends the Lourdes Formation Day at Trinity College, Middlesbrough All Day 28 Attends meeting of the Trustee Board at the Curial Office, Middlesbrough 10.30am 29 Attends meeting of CSAN Board of Trustees, London 1pm 30-31 Attends Call to the North Retreat, Whalley Abbey, Clitheroe
on the ground begin by assessing urgent needs in the immediate aftermath of an emergency. These are the humanitarian needs for food, clean water, shelter, warm clothing and a safe place for people to go. It is especially hard when time is of the essence because of the risk of further events, such as aftershocks and unfavourable weather, and we have seen the freezing temperatures in media footage. Funds we receive from our Fast Day appeals go into our general funds and enable us to respond to emergencies immediately, as they occur. That enabled us to send £100,000 from the donations many of you contributed last year to our partners in the region in the days following the earthquake. Of course, that means we have to replenish the pot to fund our ongoing plans for programmes in other countries and to be in a position to respond to other emergencies that may arise. In all the years I have worked for CAFOD, I have been constantly amazed and humbled by the outpouring of generosity and the response of our Catholic communities to our appeals, both for our planned Fast Days and
the increasing number of emergencies that are happening. I want to thank you for everything you did in 2022, which was a tough year, and share the following information as a way of feeding back to you. The funds raised in parishes for Family Fast Days and emergency appeals were: •Lent: £1.04m (83% more than funds raised from the previous Lent collections in parishes) out of a total of £2.52m •Harvest (World Food Crisis): £733,793 (40% more than funds raised from the previous Harvest collections in parishes) out of a total of £1.42m •Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, started in Lent 2022: £861,481 (in parishes) out of a total of £3.65m •Pakistan Floods Appeal, started in September 2022: £252,536 (in parishes) out of a total of £1.07m •Advent: £22,700 out of a total of £340,000. In the financial year 2021/22, our volunteers helped enable giving from 1,716 parishes in England and Wales and 16,636 individuals gave to CAFOD for the first time out of a total of 87,000 individuals who made a
donation. In total, 817 schools and 1,000 organisations donated. During Lent 2022, people walked 700,000 kilometres against global hunger raising £350,000. We received very generous gifts in wills totalling £11m. In 21/22 we received a total income of £50.5m, of which £35.6m (70%) came from the Catholic community in England and Wales. It is this generosity and your partnership that enables the work CAFOD does on behalf of you all in the Catholic community in responding to the ever-increasing needs of people around the world. Thank you for everything you give, do and have done to support this vital work. I am acutely aware that this is also a time when costs are rising for people here at home and that many of you are also supporting people in need in our diocese too, which makes me incredibly humbled and very proud. Thank you and God bless you for your generosity and kindness. Carol Cross, Community Participation Coordinator, CAFOD in Middlesbrough