Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has asked bishops around the country to prayerfully consider taking up a collection to support humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza.
“The situation in Gaza and across the Middle East cries out for the assistance of the Catholic community of the United States,” Archbishop Broglio wrote in a letter to U.S. bishops, according to an Aug. 20 press release from the USCCB.
Archbishop Broglio specifically asked for special collections to support Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) as they work to aid those affected by the ongoing war in Gaza.
More than 2 million people are now living in an area of Gaza less than 17 square miles, and emergency rooms are overwhelmed trying to deal with the inflow of malnourished people, according to the CRS webpage on the organization’s work in Gaza.
“Our Church mourns the terrible suffering of Christians and other innocent victims of violence in Gaza and surrounding areas who are struggling to survive, protect their children, and live with dignity in dire conditions,” Archbishop Broglio wrote in his letter, according to the USCCB. “The Holy Father continues to call for a cease fire and for aid to enter the territory, noting with great sorrow that ‘Gaza is starving.’”
Pope Leo XIV has called for Aug. 22 to be a day of prayer and fasting for peace around the world.
“I invite all the faithful to devote the day of 22 August to fasting and prayer, imploring the Lord to grant us peace and justice, and to dry the tears of those who suffer as a result of the ongoing armed conflicts,” he said, as CatholicVote previously reported. “Mary, Queen of Peace, intercede so that peoples may find the path to peace.”
Organizations and countries working to help those suffering in Gaza have struggled to bring much-needed supplies. A number of trucks carrying provisions have either been turned away at the border by Israeli officials or looted by criminals wishing to sell the materials often for exorbitant prices, as CatholicVote has previously reported. Israel has also destroyed significant amounts of food and supplies already in Gaza, as when the Israeli army reportedly bombed a warehouse with more than 4,000 cans of baby formula.
Archbishop Broglio advised those bishops wishing to take up special collections to do so as soon as possible.