Caritas Lebanon organized a press conference at its headquarters to launch the annual 2023 campaign under the slogan “We Will Remain… With Your Support”. The press conference was held by Caritas Lebanon President Father Michel Abboud, General Supervisor Archbishop Antoine Bou Najem, Minister of Information Dr. Ziad Makary, Head of the Lebanese Catholic Media Center Father Abdo Abou Kassem and Head of the Communications Department Mr. Mazen Moussawer in the presence of, the Head of the Labora Association Father Tony Khadra, the President of the Lebanese Press Syndicate Aouni Al Kaaki, the representative of the Head of the Editors Syndicate Joseph Al-Qusaifi Journalist Joseph Mahfoud, General Manager of the Ministry of Information Dr. Hassan Falha, the Head of the National Audiovisual Council of Lebanon Dr. Abdul Hadi Mahfouz, as well as, various representatives of both local and Arab media organizations in addition to members of Caritas Lebanon.
Head of the Lebanese Catholic Media Center Father Abdo Abou Kassem
The conference began with a speech by Father Abdo Abou Kassem in which he stressed that “Caritas Lebanon is a symbol of breakthrough with everything it has been doing in social work and those who carry the weight of her name are the embodiment of warriors marching alongside the weak and the abandoned and addressing the wealthy and affluent by saying: open your doors and hearts to the works of goodwill and support Caritas.”
General Supervisor Archbishop Antoine Bou Najem
On the other hand, the Archbishop Antoine Bou Najem stated that “Caritas over the past 50 years has never stopped embracing humanity and that is the secret to its success. It responds to every call for help without fail. The services that it has are many that cater to the people’s various needs such as: health, social, developmental, providing financial support for hospital services etc… Caritas is here to stay and it will remain and continue with its mission to bridge the gap between the needy and the sponsors.”
Minister of Information Dr. Ziad Makary
The minister of information Dr. Ziad Makary in a statement declared that “If Caritas is the one that offers a helping hand feeding the hungry, then the media will be the voice of Caritas thus intertwining and becoming one to form a single message. Caritas helps everyone regardless of age, gender, race, religion or political views with the aim of serving humanity with a heart filled with love. The same can be said for the media who addresses all people without discrimination with the purpose of delivering the news professionally and objectively. I wish politics was the same as Caritas, giving and never asking for anything in return while taking inspiration from the media with the utmost truth and fairness instead of dragging everything and everyone around it. Politics is the reason why we seek our media’s help to justify the necessary and divert it back to its rightful path.”
Caritas Lebanon President Father Michel Abboud
Father Michel Abboud thanked everyone who stood by Caritas expressing that “We stand by everyone in need and tell you thank you in the name of every poor family hardened by the weight of life leaving only the children behind doing what they can to survive and feed their younger siblings. It was Caritas that was their safe haven and we helped them just like you helped us. Thank you in the name of every single mother who is struggling after the death of her husband and finding shelter in Caritas at a time when a father’s warmth is no longer there. For what was once lost, is found again. Thank you in the name of the teachers who are the sole providers of their families trying to survive the economic crisis and combing through the piles of garbage in search of a single crumb that can satisfy the aching pains of hunger because they were too ashamed to come to us and ask for help. How then can they seek help for their students if they themselves need help. We got to know them and stood by them providing assistance with the reinforcements given to us. Thank you in the name of all those who endured the pain and suffering for weeks and months for the sole reason because they were unable to afford going to a hospital until we were able to admit them to the hospital and take away their pain with the aid given to us. Our words to them were: “Pray for the people who supported you”.
Father Michel Abboud then acknowledged the “chief sectors, its volunteers, its youth, and Caritas Lebanon family because together we remain. We endure and go on and help all who come seeking shelter. This is possible only because of the generous people who have given back to Caritas. We remain with your support. You will find us on the streets through our volunteers and our youth who give their adolescence to spread goodwill and love. You will find us in restaurants and in public places and we ask for your assistance and support and appreciate every single person who asks for our help and was helped. You can go to our website www.caritas.org.lb to read all about us and our mission. You can also contribute on our website wherever you are anywhere in the world by clicking the DONATE button.”
Head of the Communications Department Mr. Mazen Moussawer
To conclude, the head of the communications department Mr. Mazen Moussawer gave an illustrated explanation about the painting that captures the essence of Caritas done by Lebanese graffiti artists which will be auctioned off and all of the proceeds will go to support the work of Caritas. He then showed the link on the website caritas.org.lb/graffiti where the painting will be shown inviting everyone to click on the link and read about the painting in detail.
The conference concluded with the 35th video story from the 50 stories that Caritas has launched during its golden jubilee.