ACN praises bishop who set up refugee lifeline

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Food distribution to the Syrian refugees during the corona times under strict hygiene conditions: Food distribution at St-Georges Haouch Al Omara. (Lately, due to the high demand on the free hot meals served at Saint John the Merciful Table, and to prevent gathering of large groups of people, some of the meals were prepared at Saint John the Merciful table and taken to St-Georges Church At Haouch al Omara to be distributed to the people living in Haouch Al Omara and the nearby.)
LEBANON / ZAHLEH-MLC 19/00035
Humanitarian Feeding program „Saint John the Merciful Table” for Syrian refugees and others in Zahle area and Bekaa Valley (03/ 2019 – 03/ 2020)
LEBANON / ZAHLEH-MLC 20/00058 ID: 2001204
” Saint John the Merciful Table” for Syrian refugees and others in Zahle area and Bekaa Valley (03/ 2020- 02/ 2021)

By John Newton A CATHOLIC charity has offered a heartfelt tribute of thanks on the retirement of a Lebanese bishop who has spearheaded an aid programme that has come to the rescue of thousands of refugees fleeing the Syrian conflict.

Neville Kyrke-Smith, national director of Aid to the Church in Need (UK), praised initiatives set up by Lebanon’s Melkite Greek-Catholic Archbishop Issam John Darwish of Zahle and the Bekaa, who worked with the charity to provide support for Christian refugees who received no help from the UN.

Mr Kyrke-Smith, who visited the projects in Lebanon said: “Seeing the projects first hand you could tell the real difference they make to the families who fled the war in Syria.

“It was a privilege to be with Archbishop Darwish – standing with him in the Bekaa Valley, meeting with refugees and helping serve food to Syrian Christian refugees and others.”

Zahle’s Melkite Church began helping just 18 families shortly after the war began but they quickly found themselves providing aid for hundreds of families.

Speaking to ACN last year, Archbishop Darwish said: “Our Archdiocese in Zahle and the Bekaa for Greek Melkite Catholics had the leading role in helping the displaced Syrians.

“We have supported and helped them since the beginning of their displacement to Lebanon until today, especially the Christian refugees, who were and still are invisible to all European and international communities, because they live [outside] camps.

“So they are always neglected in terms of support or help.

“The number of displaced Christian families was more than 2,000 families, among which 800 families are in our region.”

Church help for refugees included rent, clothes and food.

In 2015 the Melkite diocese set up the Saint John the Merciful Table to provide regular hot meals for both refugees and the poor.

Named after the seventh-century Saint John the Merciful, the ACN-backed restaurant had to close because of coronavirus restrictions, so it introduced a socially distanced take-away service, which now provides more than 1,400 meals every day.

Archbishop Darwish told ACN: “Saint John the Merciful Table has never stopped providing free hot meals to the needy people.

“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic we directly put in place a plan that allows the people to get their meals without risking their safety.”

Paying tribute to the prelate’s work, Mr Kyrke-Smith added: “Archbishop Darwish is a shepherd caring for his flock, which has been much added to by the refugees, teaching the Faith and inspiring hope.

“He is also a negotiator amongst the politicians and businessmen of Lebanon, helping to ensure help reaches those in such need.

“He has been a pivotal and vital partner for ACN over the years – and a dear friend of ours and of all in need.”

 

Editor’s Notes

 

 www.acnuk.org 

Aid to the Church in Need is a Pontifical Foundation directly under the Holy See. As a Catholic charity, ACN supports the faithful wherever they are persecuted, oppressed or in need through information, prayer, and action.

Undertaking thousands of projects every year, the charity provides emergency support for people experiencing persecution, transport for clergy and lay Church workers, Child’s Bibles, media and evangelisation projects, churches, Mass stipends and other support for priests and nuns and training for seminarians.

 Aid to the Church in Need UK is a registered charity in England and Wales (1097984) and Scotland (SC040748). ACN’s UK office is in Sutton, Surrey and there is a Scottish office in Motherwell, near Glasgow and another office based in Lancaster that covers the North-West.

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Melkite Greek Catholic Archbishop Issam John Darwish of Furzol Zahle and the Bekka