VATICAN: Catholic charity mourns ‘messenger of dialogue, encounter and mercy’

The head of a Catholic charity supporting persecuted Christians has described the late Pope Francis as “the pontiff for the people on the edges of society and a tireless fighter for religious freedom and oppressed Christians”.

Regina Lynch, Executive President at Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) (International), said: “We trust that we now have another advocate in heaven for our work.”

She added that Pope Francis had voiced his support for the charity’s mission on a number of occasions, thanking ACN and its “benefactors very much for all that we do for the Christians in the Middle East, and worldwide”.

She explained that the late pope repeatedly expressed his solidarity with persecuted and other suffering Christians in countries like Iraq, Syria and Nigeria.

Pope Francis supported medical assistance for Iraq’s displaced Christians with a personal gift, and in 2017 he signed a donated Lamborghini which was then auctioned, with a third of the proceeds going towards ACN projects in Iraq.

In March 2021, at the height of the COVID pandemic, he visited Iraq, meeting victims of Daesh (ISIS) violence in Mosul, Qaraqosh (Baghdeda) in the Nineveh Plains, where ACN was helping Christian communities return following the extremist violence.

In 2018, during a Sunday Angelus at St Peter’s Square, he lit a candle made by ACN project partners in Syria, saying: “May these flames of hope drive out the darkness of war.”

The late pontiff also met with victims of the terrorist group Boko Haram from Nigeria and supported their trauma care.

Ms Lynch said: “In countless speeches, Pope Francis took a stance for persecuted Christians, for human rights and religious freedom.

“Each of these statements, each prayer, each attentive gesture comforted our project partners and gave them back their dignity. For this we are eternally grateful.”

She added: “May God reward him for his faithful service.

“We will continue the mission of Pope Francis, who on his travels often put the ‘people of the margins’ in the centre…”

She concluded: “As a pontifical foundation we make ourselves available to the future Holy Father, as we have done since the beginning of our work.”

Dr Caroline Hull, National Director at ACN (UK), said: “At this time of great sadness as we mourn the loss of our Holy Father, I join with you and all of us at ACN (UK) in giving thanks for the life, faith and witness of Pope Francis.

“We pray for the repose of his soul. May he be welcomed into the arms of his loving and merciful Father whom he has served so faithfully.”