The Catholic Church of Algeria announced on Tuesday, with “regret”, the cessation of Caritas activities from October 1, by order of the authorities of Algiers.
In a press release, Mgr Jean-Paul Vesco, Archbishop of Algiers, and Mgr Paul Desfarges, his predecessor and the current president of the Diocesan Association of Algeria (ADA), evoke the “complete and definitive closure” of the “service social assistance” of the Catholic Church, called “Caritas Algeria”, and this “from October 1, 2022”.
This aid service, which has existed since 1962 in this North African country, comes under the ADA, which recalls that it is “an association under Algerian law approved by the State”.
“Naturally, the Catholic Church remains faithful to its charitable mission in the service of fraternity with all men of good will”, also notes the Catholic Church, which “wants to thank all the people who have contributed over the years, and in different ways, to bring this work to life”.
In sixty years of existence, Caritas Algeria has been at the service of “the most vulnerable and the Algerian people”, most (97%) being of the Muslim faith. The service also took care of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa trying to reach Europe, particularly providing assistance to sick people and minors.
If the Algerian authorities have not given clear reasons justifying the closure of Caritas, some religious leaders believe that the services provided to migrants could be one of the reasons.
The Archbishop of Algiers recognizes that “it is (…) a difficult decision to close a charitable service”. But “we did not want to get into a conflict with the authorities at all and therefore we took the decision to permanently close the Caritas service”, he said.
By OMA Newsletter N° 877 of 09/29/2022
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
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