Pope Francis has sent Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, the prefect of the Dicastery for Eastern Churches, to bring his “closeness” to the people of Turkey and Syria.
Over five days, 17-21 February, the archbishop will travel to the region struck by a devastating earthquake on 6 February, whose death toll now exceeds 40,000.
He will meet survivors in Aleppo, visiting relief relief centres and a mosque which has sheltered victims, and hold meetings with local Catholic and Orthodox bishops, Muslim leaders, and members of charitable organisations and orders supporting the relief effort.
These include Caritas Syria, Aid to the Church in Need (CAN), the Jesuit Refugee Service and the Sisters of Charity.
Gugerotti will also celebrate Mass in Aleppo’s Latin-rite parish and take part in the divine liturgy in the Greek Melkite cathedral.
On 20 February, he will meet both Catholic and non-Catholic patriarchs and bishops in Damascus, and then travel to Istanbul where he will meet bishops and Caritas directors coordinating the response to the earthquake.
In a statement, the dicastery said that Archbishop Gugerotti’s presence would be “combined with the desire to encourage all those who are working to deal with the emergency, and at the same time the need to establish a better coordination of initiatives and project preparation”.
ACN’s head of projects in Syria and Lebanon, Xavier Bisits, has said that there are “almost no signs of an international response” in Aleppo.
“Many people are in despair,” he said. “After 12 years of war, COVID sanctions and the collapse of the currency, this latest disaster is more than many people can bear.”
The earthquake’s worst effects were in southern Turkey and north-western Syria, where large areas are held by Syrian rebels.
While allies of the Syrian regime – including Russia and Iran – have rapidly delivered aid supplies to government-controlled areas, UN aid convoys did not reach the region until 14 February.
The humanitarian crisis in southern Turkey has been made particularly acute by its large number of refugees from Syria’s 12-year civil war.
The apostolic nuncio to Syria, Cardinal Mario Zenari, has visited the worst-affected regions in the country, which he described as “a sea of pain”.
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