The Catholic Weekly 19 July 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 7 19, July, 2020 Shift the paradigm Schools that are an extension of your family Redfield College Boys Years 2-12 855 Old Northern Rd, Dural NSW 2158 02 9651 4066 Montgrove College Infants Girls & Boys K to Year 1 Girls Year 2 to Year 12 140 Bringelly Rd, Orchard Hills NSW 2748 02 4736 5977 Wollemi College Boys Year 2 to Year 12 4 Gipps St, Werrington NSW 2747 02 9833 0499 Tangara School for Girls Infants Girls & Boys Reception to Year 1 Girls Year 2 to Year 12 77-97 Franklin Rd, Cherrybrook NSW 2126 02 9680 4844 ades of corruption and mis- management by the political elite. The cost price of every- day essentials in the stricken country has risen exponen- tially. The country’s Christian authorities have accused po- litical leaders of plunging the Maronites launch appeal MARONITES IN Austral- ia have launched an appeal to help their counterparts in Lebanon suffering its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay and the Maronites on Mission charity this week an- nounced the Lebanon Wheat Appeal aimed at providing free grain to desperate farm- ers in Lebanon. They are asking for tax-de- ductible donations, with $50 enough to provide 50kg of grain with a potential yield of 1000kg of wheat. The appeal ends on 31 August and is being run in collaboration with pontifical charity Caritas Lebanon and Solidarity Lebanon. “Our beloved Lebanon is going through the most dan- gerous and difficult crisis in modern history,” said Bishop Tarabay. “A decades-long political crisis caused by serious cor- ruption, lack of accounta- bility and negligence in the operation of government de- partments and other public institutions, has culminated a serious financial crisis striking at the ability of the Lebanese to provide for themselves and their families.” Lebanon has seen its na- tional currency lose 80 per cent of its value against the US dollar, a majority currency also used in the country, since nationwide protests erupted last October opposing dec- nation into economic ruin and potential famine. The country’s top Catholic cleric, Cardinal Bechara Rai, Maronite patriarch, lambast- ed the politicians’ handling of the economic crisis in a hom- ily on 5 July. He urged President Michel Aoun to take swift action on much-needed reform saying that politicians “do not have the courage nor the freedom to meet and find ways out of the suffering”. He warned this was de- priving the country of help it needs from potential foreign donors, including France and the United States, which say Lebanon must fix state waste and corruption before aid is released. Government talks with the International Monetary Fund were put on hold on 3 July after a dispute between pol- iticians and the central bank over the scale of losses in the financial system and the start of reforms to address the root causes of Lebanon’s econom- ic crisis. The IMF has required re- forms in the system for an initial $10 billion bailout loan which would keep the dire economy afloat. In March, Lebanon for the first time de- faulted on its foreign debt. Analysts warn that if the government runs out of dol- lars it has been spending to subsidise bread, medicine and fuel, and without foreign aid to help, Lebanon could face mass hunger. For details on the appeal seemaronitesonmission.com ¾ ¾ Marilyn Rodrigues and CNS A woman drys clothes at her home in a poor section of Tripoli. PHOTO: CNS/MOHAMED AZAKIR, REUTERS In brief Aid body warns of starvation A CATHOLIC aid worker has warned of a humani- tarian catastrophe in Bur- kina Faso, with over 2 mil- lion facing starvation in the face of Islamist attacks and poor harvests. “People have been unable to cultivate their lands, so there’ve been no harvests, and this has all impacted on national production,” said Father Constantin Sere, Caritas Burkina Faso director. “The weather and cli- mate have also been poor, especially in the north. Given the fear continually incited by armed conflict, our country faces disas- ter.” Fr Sere launched an emergency aid appeal via the Vatican-based Caritas Internationalis. He said up to 1million people had been displaced in one of the world’s most rapidly evolving crises, with 2.2 million facing hunger during the coming wet season, a threefold in- crease since 2019. – CNS NEWS