Cardinal Zenari writes to thank Catholics for the 200 million euro they raised for Syrian Hospitals.

By John Waters

The Apostolic Nuncio to Syria, Cardinal Mario Zenari, has written a formal thank you letter to the church in Hungary.

The Catholic Bishops conference of Hungary organized a donation campaign, in collaboration with the Caritas Syria and AVSI foundation agencies. Over 200 million euros were raised in Hungary and have been used to support the Syrian Open Hospital initiative. The initiative began in 2016 and aims to ensure free access to hospital for some of the poorest Syrian citizens. At present, the initiative supports 3 hospital in the country. Two are located in Damascus while the third is in Aleppo. Already, over 30,000 people have received treatment as a result of the initiatives.

The Syrian Civil war began in 2011, as part of the Arab Spring movement.

Cardinal Zenari emphasized the serious nature of the ongoing conflict in Syria, noting that “The bloody conflict, the 9-year-long destruction, the death and the endless rows of refugee camps are not over yet. Just think about the bombing and the daily attacks in the North-West and the situation which remains uncertain in the North-Eastern part of the country.”

He went on say that he finds it comforting that brave people of good will follow the example of Veronica, Simon of Cyrene and the Good Samaritan and help the persecuted get to safety.

Cardinal Zenari has been Nuncio to Syria since 2008. Pope Francis named him a Cardinal in 2016, in recognition his work for, what the Pope termed “the beloved and martyred Syria.”