EUROPE/SWITZERLAND - Catholic Bishops support special collection on Sunday 13 January to assist needy mothers and families

Bern (Agenzia Fides) - The Catholic Bishops of Switzerland have asked Catholics to give generously to a special collection to be taken at Masses on Sunday 13 January to support two initiatives to help needy expectant mothers and families: Mother and Child Solidarity Fund SOFO and SOS Future Mothers. A Bishops' Conference statement said that although Switzerland is a rich country, “the gap between rich and poor is every wider and about 250,000 children grow up in families in a precarious financial situation”. “Even a small donation can help these families, or encourage a young mother in difficulty to see her pregnancy not as a threat but as a gift” the Bishops affirm. Acknowledging the importance of these two initiatives, “Mother and Child Solidarity Fund SOFO, started by the Swiss Catholic Women's Association and the organisation SOS Future Mothers, the Bishop fully support a special collection to be taken throughout the country on the second Sunday in January. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 8/1/2008; righe 24, parole 311)