The Portuguese branch of Caritas, in the run-up to Christmas 2006, is about to launch the "10 million stars a gesture for peace" campaign, at a press conference due to take place tomorrow, November 28th, in Lisbon. "In the attempt to fight the consumer trends that distort the true meaning of the Christmas festivities", explains Caritas to the agency Ecclesia, "all of the Portuguese population, regardless of their religious or political beliefs, must be motivated to buy a candle (to be lit on December 6th at a public event, and on 24th at home) as a symbol of the shared wish of achieving peace in the world". 30% of the raised money will be used to fund a project of the Brazilian branch of Caritas, aimed "at the needs and emergencies of needy old people”. The remaining 70% will be given to the diocesan branches of Caritas to support further initiatives aimed "at raising the awareness of the national population on the importance of the values of peace, solidarity and social reconciliation”.
