Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Women pray during Mass at the Maronite Catholic Cathedral of the Resurrection in Beirut in this CNS file photo. (CNS photo/Dalia Khamissy) 

BEIRUT (CNS) -- Lebanon's Maronite Catholic Church is drawing up a comprehensive social assistance and food aid plan to help needy families as more Lebanese slide into poverty amid the country's financial collapse.

The initiative, announced May 6 by Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, Maronite patriarch, will be based on an inventory of needs carried out by its dioceses, religious orders and Caritas Lebanon. It will include "every family that suffers from a lack of a breadwinner" so as "not to fall prey to hunger, despair and death," Cardinal Rai said from Bkerke, the patriarchal seat north of Beirut.

Lebanon's economic crisis further deteriorated after nationwide protests against a corrupt political class erupted in October 2019. Since then, banks have limited withdrawals, and the local currency -- pegged to the dollar at a fixed, unchanged rate since 1997 -- has shed more than half its value. Inflation has climbed to more than 50%.

Nearly 50% of Lebanese are living below the poverty line, and unemployment has reached 35% of the working population, according to the government. Many of those who still are employed have seen their salaries slashed in half.

Job losses and economic hardship were further exacerbated by Lebanon's lockdown measures to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fresh waves of protests have erupted recently despite the lockdowns as the country's currency plummeted.

The church, Cardinal Rai said, now has a "heavy-duty" role toward the poor and the needy, "whose number is increasing due to the economic and financial crisis and suffocating living, the random and exploitative rise in the prices of goods, and the low purchasing value of the Lebanese pound and because of the paralysis that the coronavirus has inflicted on all of us."

Pointing to its renowned social service, particularly reflected in educational, hospital, social and humanitarian institutions, Cardinal Rai said the Maronite Church in Lebanon helps more than 33,400 people.

The Lebanese government -- formed in January -- approved an economic rescue plan April 30.

Cardinal Rai noted that the May 6 Bkerke meeting to plan the aid initiative coincided with a meeting at the presidential palace to study the rescue plan.

"We hope for the success of both the state and the church, for the greater common good and the well-being of citizens, each in their sector of activity and their means," he concluded.

Separately, on May 6, Lebanon's interior minister announced the partial reopening of churches for Sunday Masses and mosques for Friday prayers to welcome their faithful "at 30% of their maximum capacity," as part of the government's plan for the reopening of the country during the worldwide pandemic.

Lebanon has recorded 784 cases of coronavirus, with 25 deaths, as of May 7. Those include 34 new cases of the virus, 33 of whom are Lebanese who were who returned from abroad.

We don’t have comments turned on everywhere anymore. We have recently relaunched the commenting experience at America and are aiming for a more focused commenting experience with better moderation by opening comments on a select number of articles each day.

But we still want your feedback. You can join the conversation about this article with us in social media on Twitter or Facebook, or in one of our Facebook discussion groups for various topics.

Or send us feedback on this article with one of the options below:

We welcome and read all letters to the editor but, due to the volume received, cannot guarantee a response.

In order to be considered for publication, letters should be brief (around 200 words or less) and include the author’s name and geographic location. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

We open comments only on select articles so that we can provide a focused and well-moderated discussion on interesting topics. If you think this article provides the opportunity for such a discussion, please let us know what you'd like to talk about, or what interesting question you think readers might want to respond to.

If we decide to open comments on this article, we will email you to let you know.

If you have a message for the author, we will do our best to pass it along. Note that if the article is from a wire service such as Catholic News Service, Religion News Service, or the Associated Press, we will not have direct contact information for the author. We cannot guarantee a response from any author.

We welcome any information that will help us improve the factual accuracy of this piece. Thank you.

Please consult our Contact Us page for other options to reach us.

City and state/province, or if outside Canada or the U.S., city and country. 
When you click submit, this article page will reload. You should see a message at the top of the reloaded page confirming that your feedback has been received.

The latest from america

A Homily for the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, by Father Terrance Klein
Terrance KleinNovember 06, 2024
A man carries a Hezbollah flag as he walks on the rubble of his destroyed apartment following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Joseph Hazboun, CNEWA’s regional director in Jerusalem, described expanding difficulties for the Christian Arab community on the West Bank but added that nothing, of course, compared to the complete humanitarian breakdown being experienced in Gaza.
Kevin ClarkeNovember 06, 2024
This election highlights the deep divisions in American society. But perhaps the strange working of mercy and providence is evident even there, keeping us attentive to the need for conversion and reconciliation.
Sam Sawyer, S.J.November 06, 2024
Kamala Harris did worse with women, Hispanics and young people than did the Democratic candidates in the last two presidential election.
Thomas J. ReeseNovember 06, 2024