(Vatican Radio) A senior Caritas official who’s just returned from the Syrian city of Aleppo says the devastation and humanitarian crisis there are “beyond human imagination” with many areas in the east looking as though they had been hit by a nuclear bomb. Patrick Nicholson is the head of Communications for Caritas Internationalis and has just returned from a visit to the war-ravaged city. In an interview with Susy Hodges he described the scenes, especially in eastern Aleppo, as “post-apocalyptic” because of the extent of the destruction and shared with her a shocking story of how he discovered 6 young children, including a baby, living on their own amidst the rubble of their bombed-out house.Listen to Patrick Nicholson of Caritas Internationalis: Caritas and other aid agencies are continuing to sound the alarm about the desperate humanitarian crisis in the Syrian city of Aleppo that’s been one of the main battlegrounds in the nation&rsq...
(Vatican Radio) A senior Caritas official who’s just returned from the Syrian city of Aleppo says the devastation and humanitarian crisis there are “beyond human imagination” with many areas in the east looking as though they had been hit by a nuclear bomb. Patrick Nicholson is the head of Communications for Caritas Internationalis and has just returned from a visit to the war-ravaged city. In an interview with Susy Hodges he described the scenes, especially in eastern Aleppo, as “post-apocalyptic” because of the extent of the destruction and shared with her a shocking story of how he discovered 6 young children, including a baby, living on their own amidst the rubble of their bombed-out house.
Listen to Patrick Nicholson of Caritas Internationalis:
Caritas and other aid agencies are continuing to sound the alarm about the desperate humanitarian crisis in the Syrian city of Aleppo that’s been one of the main battlegrounds in the nation’s civil war. Nearly 1.8 million people across the city do not have access to water supplies whilst in eastern Aleppo that was previously held by rebels until December, the overall situation is considerably worse with little food, no electricity or heating and whole areas reduced to rubble by the ferocity of the fighting.
Nicholson has witnessed the aftermath of many natural disasters like the 2006 Tsunami and a number of earthquakes but told us the scale of the damage and destruction he saw in Aleppo, especially the east of the city, was “the worst” he had ever seen. Describing the devastation there as “bleak” and “beyond human imagination” he said many of the city’s residents lack the basic essentials to survive like food, clean water, heating, proper shelter, access to medical care and desperately need humanitarian aid. Whilst carrying out house-to-house visits in eastern Aleppo with other Caritas staff, Nicholson recounted how they discovered a family of 6 young children ranging in age from 12 years old to only 9 months who were living on their own, without their parents, amidst the rubble of their bombed-out house.
Nicholson said it was “a miracle” the baby in particular had managed to survive in what he called this “horrific situation” for such a vulnerable group of youngsters. That same morning they came across another group of 3 children living on their own in similar circumstances and warn there is the risk that many young children are being forced to fend for themselves amidst the rubble of their damaged houses in eastern Aleppo. Despite this incredibly “bleak” situation, Nicholson said he was inspired by the dedication of so many people in Aleppo who are striving to provide help to those who have nothing and promote a climate of peace and reconciliation in this city that became a leading symbol of the bitterness and brutality of Syria’s civil war.
Pope Francis waves while traveling by boat in Venice, Italy, for a meeting with young people at the Basilica della Madonna della Salute on April 28, 2024. Earlier in the day he met with inmates at a women's prison. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).Pope Francis opened his one-day visit to Venice on Sunday morning with a meeting with female inmates where he reaffirmed the importance of fraternity and human dignity, noting that prison can be a place of new beginnings. "A stay in prison can mark the beginning of something new, through the rediscovery of the unsuspected beauty in us and in others, as symbolized by the artistic event you are hosting and the project to which you actively contribute," the pope said to the female inmates gathered in the intimate courtyard of the Women's Prison on the Island of Giudecca. Pope Francis left the Vatican by helicopter at approximately 6:30 in the mo...
Pope Francis prays in front of the tomb of St. Mark the Evangelist inside St. Mark's Basilica in Venice on April 28, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 09:35 am (CNA).Pope Francis had a full slate of events Sunday during his day trip to Venice, a trip that tied together a message of unity and fraternity with the artistic patrimony of a city that has been a privileged place of encounter across the centuries. "Faith in Jesus, the bond with him, does not imprison our freedom. On the contrary, it opens us to receive the sap of God's love, which multiplies our joy, takes care of us like a skilled vintner, and brings forth shoots even when the soil of our life becomes arid," the pope said to over 10,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Mark's Square. Framing his homily during the Mass on the theme of unity, one of the central points articulated throughout several audiences spread across the morning, Pope Francis reminded Christians: "Remaining ...
Prayer house at San Simeone, Italy, September 2012. / Credit: Courtesy of Ricostruttori nella preghieraRome, Italy, Apr 28, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Across Italy there are houses of prayer run by the Ricostruttori (Reconstructors) community, a Catholic movement dedicated to people who are far from the Church but attracted to spirituality, particularly Eastern meditation and Buddhist practices. The Reconstructors was founded in 1978 by Jesuit Father Gian Vittorio Cappelletto. "During the postconciliar period, the Church was faced with the need for new forms of evangelization and apostolate, to reach out to people who were drifting away," Don Roberto Rondanina, priest and superior of the Ricostruttori, explained to CNA. "It was a time when Eastern meditation, Hinduism, Buddhism, the New Age ... were beginning to spread in Europe." "Father Cappelletto, who lived in Turin, sought to understand the meaning of this 'flight to the East' and felt the need to find new forms of sp...