In response to the decision of the churches of all Christian denominations in Kenya to call their congregations together on Sunday to pray for peace and reconciliation following a week of violence, Bishop John Kirby has called for prayers for peace to be included in liturgies in Ireland this Sunday in solidarity with the people of Kenya. Bishop Kirby praised the efforts of the Catholic Church in Kenya in responding to the crisis. He said, “Of the estimated 167,000 displaced from their homes, nearly one-third are now being cared for in Catholic Parishes.”
“For our own part,” he continued, “Trócaire is responding to the crisis initially with a shipment of 42 metric tonnes of foodstuffs for displaced families in Eldoret, the scene of the horrific killing of thirty people in a church on New Year's Day.”
Trócaire is a member of the Caritas International Emergency Response Team, which will be making assessments of the humanitarian need in various parts of the country in the coming days. Caritas International is a world-wide organisation of Catholic relief agencies, of which Trócaire is a member.
The Bishop continued, “While other parts of Africa can be more synonymous in our minds with fear and violence, Kenya has a recent history of democracy and calm. The people of Kenya are deserving of our solidarity this weekend after horrendous violence that many thought their country was immune from.”
The Bishop concluded: “This week's fighting was shocking and entirely unjustified and there is an urgent need for political dialogue to end what began as a political problem. Trócaire utterly condemns the violence, and asks that all Irish people keep the Kenyan people in their thoughts and prayers on Sunday.” +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Disclaimer
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