Press reports have indicated that the Catholic Church in Lebanon has pledged to restore 200 houses in stricken Beirut.
In spite of the mammoth destruction that plagued Beirut on August 4, such a piece of news brings a sigh of relief among several people of Beirut as well as among all peace lovers.
By doing so, the Catholic Church reveals to the entire world its devoted and strenuous efforts to alleviate the suffering of people and to help the needy in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Church as inspired by the words of Lord Jesus Christ:
Then he looked up at his disciples and said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.’(Luke 6:20-21 )
His Excellency Archbishop Georges Asadourian, Patriarchal Vicar of the Armenian Catholic Church spoke about the relief operation to the affected Beirut citizens and he revealed that the patriarchate took it upon itself to restore 200 houses of the diocese that were destroyed by the blast.
He said, "Since the beginning of the economic crisis, almost since last Christmas, we started offering a daily lunch for about 200 families. We cook and distribute the meals in Bourj Hammoud and the areas around it. We also distribute food rations, once a month to approximately 850 families. We lack medicines, especially in the exceptional circumstances imposed by the coronavirus pandemic and the elderly who do not have any financial support. This is where we find it important to intervene to provide treatment and sometimes we try to secure access to hospitals."
He also thanked God for His great blessing embodied by the solidarity between the Churches of Beirut and the Middle East Council of Churches, which was organized by creating an Ecumenical Committee for the relief of Beirut.
Furthermore, recent reports have circulated that the Custody of the Holy Land is currently offering more than 582 houses in Jerusalem inside and outside the Old City, as well as 72 houses in Bethlehem to Christian families, a step designed to provide accommodation for a total of about 2,050 people, and consequently to entrench the Christian presence in these two cities in the Holy Land, and to maintain the Christian presence in the Land of Lord Jesus.
These two reports are mere exemplary of the innumerable efforts undertaken by the Catholic Church in the service of humanity and in the dissemination Lord Jesus' love to the entire humanity.
Such reports are really encouraging as they place things on the right track. Such a step helps protect the Christian presence in the Holy Land and serves a necessity for keeping the Churches open and for enabling the Christians to flock to churches to receive the sacraments that ensure them a blessed life.
Providing housing to needy Christian families is a measure that needs to be supported and encouraged by all peace-loving countries and organizations. As this measure helps maintain the scent of incense in churches and in the streets of these cities, it also keeps Christians entrenched in the Holy Land joyfully receiving the Holy Communion from priests, the men of God who dedicate their lives to saving the souls of the faithful.
The world is blessed by the presence and mission of the Catholic Church whose support for the poor and the needy is infinite, as well as its efforts peace to restore to troubled parts of the world which is round-the-clock.
