The wound of Chernobyl

The third Sunday of March is celebrated as a National Day of Caritas by Catholics in Belarus. This tradition was launched by the Bishops’ Conference nine years ago to underline the importance of charitable activities on all levels of society. This year, the Catholic bishops have come up with a pastoral letter to mark the occasion, centred on love for God and love for our neighbour. Invitation to perform deeds of love. "What concrete actions should be taken to demonstrate love for our neighbour?" – ask the prelates in their message, pointing to the inspiration we can find in the Gospel. Those who perform deeds of love and mercy will go to eternal life, those who don’t, will go away to eternal punishment, recalling the words of Jesus. Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for and healing the sick, visiting those in prison is a vocation and obligation of the whole Church community, emphasize the bishops, quoting the encyclical "Deus Caritas Est" of Benedict XVI: "The Church’s charitable organizations, beginning with those of Caritas (at diocesan, national and international levels), ought to do everything in their power to provide the resources and above all the personnel needed for this work". Saints as an inspiration. In our efforts to help neighbours, the prelates invite Catholics to look for inspiration in the life and work of the saints: "We think of St. Martin of Tours, originally a soldier, then a monk and finally a bishop. He understood in full the words of Christ, concerning love for our neighbour by giving away all his possessions". St. Anthony represented an embodiment of this kind of service. Knowing God he felt the need to completely transform his life. The history of the Church as a whole provides innumerable examples of initiatives aimed at helping others and among its contemporary charitable actions, an important role is played by Caritas, gathering people who "for free, within the spirit of the Gospel, serve the poor, the ill, the prisoners", continues the message, affirming that "today – in times of economic and moral crisis – this invitation becomes even more urgent". The bishops invite the faithful to support activities of Caritas Belarus, explaining that the life and work of this institution depend on "generosity, charity and self-sacrifice of donors, benefactors and all believers". National Day of Caritas brings an opportunity to express gratitude to those who in whatever way participate in its work, including the volunteers who sacrifice their free time for others, concludes the message of the Bishops’ Conference of Belarus. 26 years after the nuclear disaster. The children of Chernobyl and families who still endure the effects of the nuclear disaster in 1986 are among the main concerns of Caritas Belarus, explains its director Viktar Haidukievich. The whole of 2011 was dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the catastrophe and each diocese implemented charitable activities according to its capacities. Help was directed essentially to those families whose members are suffering from oncological illnesses. Caritas Belarus also provides shelter and food for the needy; psychological support and counselling; home nursing services; fire prevention services for socially disadvantaged people; palliative care for children; food aid and hygiene parcels for the most vulnerable groups. A great deal of help has been offered by Caritas Belarus to aid the people hit by last winter’s extreme frosts and heavy snowfalls. According to the official statistics, more than 60 people died from cold and scores of others suffered from frostbite. The situation was critical especially outside Minsk, in small villages where many houses don’t have central heating and were cut off from the rest of world by snowdrifts. Caritas and other humanitarian organizations helped by bringing food and wood, trying to meet the basic needs especially of families with children and elderly people. Positive development of Caritas Belarus. At the end of January 2012, an International meeting of Caritas Belarus partners was held at the Johannes Rau International Centre for Education and Exchange in Minsk. The forum was dedicated to problems of volunteer work management. It started with a Mass in Minsk Cathedral, presided over by Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Minsk-Mogilev. He recalled that Caritas Belarus went through difficulties some time ago, but fortunately the situation today has improved: there are now four active diocesan Caritas and one national Caritas with many projects serving people in need. Children with disabilities and the elderly in rural areas are already benefitting from this positive development, with many constructive ideas for the future. Archbishop Kondrusiewicz emphasized that charitable work "should be of evangelical character" and thus an important step in the programme of new evangelization. "Among the many paths that lead people to perfection, one of the most important is that of merciful love", continued the archbishop, urging the faithful to commit themselves to selfless material and moral assistance to the helpless and the Church.