Franciscans in the Holy Land ask for urgent help for Syrian families




April 22, 2013. (Romereports.com) The Custodian of the Holy Land, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, sent an urgent message asking for emergency donations to help support Syrian families. The ongoing violence is escalating among rival groups, and already hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes.

One year since the civil war started, Syrian families lack food or work because all industries have been destroyed. This past week, renewed fighting southwest of Damascus killed more than 550 people, mostly women and children.

The Custodians of the Holy Land are active in many Syrian cities like Damascus, Aleppo, Latakia and Orontes.

Inside the Franciscan convents, medical dispensaries have turned into shelters for anyone, without religious or ethnic affiliations. They've received Alawite and Sunni Muslims, Christians, as well as injured government and rebel troops.

For this reason, the Custodians of the Holy Land ask for direct assistance to help keep up their charity works inside Franciscan convents in Syria.

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