By Brian Dryden, Canadian Catholic News
{Ottawa –CCN] – Canadians and the Catholic Church in Canada has always been there for the people of Lebanon in times of need, says the Montreal-based Maronite Catholic Bishop Paul-Marwan Tabet.
And in the coming weeks as the Lebanese people overcome the aftermath of a tragic deadly explosion, he expects Canadian Catholics and Canada as a whole will continue to provide spiritual and financial support in times of crisis as they have always done.
“The Catholic Church in Canada has never not been there for the people of Lebanon, it has never shied away from helping the people of Lebanon,” Bishop Tabet told the Canadian Catholic News just days after a devastating explosion in that country killed more than 160 people, maimed thousands and severely damaged and destroyed the homes of tens of thousands of people in and around the City of Beirut.
Through its membership in the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, Development and Peace will be participating in the Humanitarian Coalition appeal to support people of Lebanon through this crisis. The government of Canada will match every dollar donated by individuals to the Humanitarian Coalition and its members between August 4 and August 24, up to a maximum of $2 million. Donations to Development and Peace marked for the Beirut explosion emergency response will be matched. Online Donations LINK
Development and Peace / Caritas Canada emergency response in Lebanon: ARTICLE
The repercussions of the explosion, which is believed to have been caused on Aug. 4 when more than 2,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate being stored at the port in Beirut ignited, prompted the Lebanese govern to resign on August 10 amid the unrest unleased in the country after the tragic explosion which, as of Aug. 10, had claimed 163 lives and injured more than 6,000 people.
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement of support after the tragedy addressed to the Maronite Catholic community’s spiritual leaders that pledged solidarity with the Lebanese people.
“We have seen the images of its aftermath and we are heartbroken by the devastation that it has wrought on the Lebanese people,” the CCCB statement said.
“We, the Catholic Bishops of Canada, your brothers in faith, stand in prayerful solidarity with you and your people as the rescue and recovery efforts continue. On this Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, we pray that your suffering be transformed by the Light of Christ so that you, and the resilient and courageous people of Lebanon, are comforted by His sure and abiding love,” the CCCB said.
According to Statistics Canada, the majority of Canadians of Lebanese origin are Christian and in 2001 42 per cent of the Lebanese community in Canada indicated that they were Catholic.
The primarily-Lebanese Marionite Catholics, which have parishes across Canada with the majority being in Ontario and Quebec, are part of a rite of the Catholic Church that recognizes and follows the dictates of the Vatican and the Pope. There has always been a supporting relationship between Canada’s Catholic Church and Maronite Catholics, Bishop Tabet said.
That support has been expressed directly by a number of Canadian Catholic Bishops since the Aug. 4 explosions, some of whom have visited Lebanon in recent years, and Bishop Tabet said the Archdiocese of Montreal has pledged that funds raised during collections the first two weekends of August will go towards Lebanon relief efforts.
Montreal Archbishop Christian Lepine, who is a personal friend of Bishop Tabet, expressed “shock” in a letter about the devastation that has been inflicted on the Lebanese people.
“I wish to express, on my behalf and on behalf of all the faithful of the Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal, our deepest sympathy,” Archbishop Lepine said.
“We are all in shock at the scale of the tragedy that affects thousands of people, the city, all of Lebanon and the Lebanese Diaspora throughout the world.
We grieve with you in your immense sorrow and assure you of our prayers and solidarity,” he said. “I petition Divine Providence to watch over the Lebanese people and to bring them the needed comfort and support through this ordeal, which only adds to the other issues that threaten security and peace.”
The Canadian government has pledged about $5 million in support for the people of Lebanon, about half of that being on a one-to-one donation matching funds basis.
At this point financial support for the people of Lebanon is being directed towards the Red Cross through numerous fundraising campaigns around the world, said Bishop Tabet.
In Canada, the Catholic Church’s international development arm, Development and Peace, is call calling on Canadians to donate to the cause through its membership in Caritas Internalis.
“Our partners on the ground are already working to assess the situation and help those impacted by this disaster,” a Development and Peace statement said.
“The disaster is unimaginable. We are facing a real human and humanitarian disaster,” said Fadi Daou, president and CEO of Adyan, which is a Development and Peace partner in that part of the world.
At the community level for Canadians of Lebanese background, Bishop Tabet said the first priority is to raise funds quickly and aid on its way so the focus has been on supporting Lebanon’s Red Cross.
“At the community level we have been campaigning on behalf of the Red Cross, but more needs to be done and we will be launching a campaign to support all the families who are now in need, who will need food, shelter, medicine,” Bishop Tabet said of what he expects to be a relief effort that will continue for months.
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