Mass offerings help 14 Melkite priests of Tyre stay with their flock

Fourteen priests of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Tyre are able to continue their ministry in south Lebanon thanks to Mass stipends offered by benefactors through Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the pontifical charity said.

ACN says the economic crisis, inflation and war have pushed many families into poverty and forced others from their homes, while priests in the south accompany the displaced, celebrate the Eucharist and comfort the grieving. "Your generous support sustains me despite the serious economic difficulties our country is going through," one of the priests, Father Antoine, wrote to the foundation.

Archbishop Georges Iskandar of Tyre said his archeparchy, "though wounded, remains standing", convinced that prayer opens paths where human circumstances seem to close every door.

For Lebanon's Christians in the south, priests who stay are a sign that the Church has not abandoned its people.