source: radio veritas asia

The letter was received by Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler, Apostolic Vicar of Phnom Penh on March 8.

Thomas Heine-Geldern, Executive President of Aid to the Church in Need International, wrote, “your parishes have collected so selflessly and generously for their brothers and sisters in Syria, so afflicted by war and natural disaster.”

He assured them that “their signs of Christian love and solidarity are giving people hope where despair would otherwise prevail.”

The letter states that the fund will “go to supporting Christian families in Aleppo made homeless by the earthquake” and “to cover the costs of the rent payments for the provisional flats while their houses are uninhabitable.”

The letter in English was translated into Khmer and sent by bishop Olivier to those who donated money. “With the other 2 bishops in Cambodia, we would like to thank all the Catholics showed their love for Syria through donations,” the bishop said.

As Syria struggles with the war since 2021, people in the Syrian city of Aleppo were hit by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake on February 6 this year that killed thousands and injured and rendered homeless many more.

The bishops in Cambodia sent out letters to parishes to collect money offerings for Syria.