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CV NEWS FEED // The United States Conference for Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is calling on all Catholics to reflect God’s love by supporting the poor and struggling this Lenten season according to a March 5 USCCB press release.
“As Catholics in a global Church,” Bishop Elias Zaidan, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on International Justice and Peace said in the press release, “we witness to the power of God’s love through our presence and assistance to those who are vulnerable.”
Bishop Zaidan emphasized the need to support families living with limited access to medical care and those without basic necessities in times of need.
“We know that each child who is hungry and each mother and father who struggle to care for their family is precious in the eyes of God,” Bishop Zaidan said, “and is a neighbor in need of our loving care.”
Bishop Zaidan urged Catholics to support programs in Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the official overseas relief and development agency of the USCCB. He noted that the faithful can support the CRS Rice Bowl, an effort to fight food insecurity and malnutrition.
Bishop Zaidan also encouraged the faithful to prayerfully adhere to Pope Francis’ call to be neighbors without borders through various acts of charity.
“Let us respond to the invitation of Pope Francis, champion of the poor, for whose speedy recovery we continue to pray,” he concluded. “Inspired by his call to be ‘neighbors without borders’, may we pray, fast, abstain, and give alms, that all who are precious in God’s eyes may have what they need to not only survive, but also thrive.”
