Pope picks Caritas Somalia as recipient of Holy Thursday collection

Published: 2007-04-04

ROME (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI has earmarked the money to be collected during his Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday for Caritas Somalia's medical operations. The Mass to be celebrated at the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome is the only papal Mass with a collection; all the money goes to a cause chosen by the pope. Caritas Somalia is the local affiliate of Caritas Internationalis, an international network of Catholic relief, development and social service agencies. Bishop Giorgio Bertin of Djibouti, who is also the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Mogadishu, Somalia, said in a statement April 2 that it was comforting to know the pope had chosen the medical dispensary in Baidoa as the recipient. "We see this as a sign of the Holy Father's concern for the people of Somalia, for the poor, the voiceless, and recognition of those who have given their lives during these 20 years of war for the poor and for peace," Bishop Bertin said.

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