EUROPE/SPAIN - “Believers and non consider the Catholic Church “the voice of human rights”: Spanish branch of Aid to the Church in Need mission in Eritrea

Madrid (Fides Service) - One of many projects undertaken to mark the 60th anniversary of the foundation the Catholic aid agency Aid to the Church in Need ACN is a project to assist Eritrean Christians proposed by ACN Spain. The project “Supporting Catholic schools and health-centres in Eritrea” was presented at a fund raising event in Madrid on 23 March
The goal is to help “98 Catholic schools with 22,466 pupils, 30 Catholic clinics and healthcare centres, which assist an average 130,000 patients a year”.
Amparo Llobet, responsible for institutional relations ACN Spain has just returned from Eritrea, “the fifth poorest country on the world”, where he went to see for himself the situation of the Christian communities which ACN Spain is helping.
In this poor African country although Catholics are only 3% of the population, all the people, believers and non, see the local Church as the “voice of human rights”, but ACN humanitarian work is somewhat hampered by government restrictions.
A church building project, included in a programme funded by ACN, cannot go ahead because construction of private buildings is banned. However, despite the difficulties the local Christians are strong in faith and hope. (AP) (26/3/2007 Agenzia Fides; Righe:22; Parole:224)