Pope Francis, in his message for the Second World day for the Poor, said, “I hope that this Day will encourage greater attention to the needs of the least and the marginalised”.
Every year, the Advent Campaign Against Hunger And Disease organised by the Centre for Social Action of the Archdiocese of Bombay (Mumbai), is a way of drawing our attention, and focusing our love and concern towards the poor. The theme chosen this year is Connecting Communities Promoting Livelihoods through which we seek to create linkages between the urban consumer communities and the rural producer communities.
We have been training several vulnerable communities to revive their traditional livelihoods, explore alternate livelihood options, and provide employability skills development facilities to the youth. We are also working on connecting various urban communities and corporates to provide marketing as well as employment opportunities for the marginalised.
I whole heartedly endorse and bless this Campaign. I urge the faithful of our Archdiocese to continue our tradition of generosity and concern for the poor. You may donate online at www.csamumbai.in or send your Cheques / drafts favouring Centre for Social Action, to Eucharistic Congress Building No. III, 5 Convent Street, Mumbai 400 001. Those contributing Rs. 10,000/- and above are requested to send us their PAN no. Donations made to this cause are eligible for exemption under section 80G of the Income Tax Act.
The contents of this Official are to be made known to our faithful on the Sundays of Advent through appropriate announcements, posting it on your notice board as well as on your parish / institution website. Also, kindly ensure effective distribution of the donation envelopes to the faithful. I recommend that you appeal to children and youth to make a sacrifice during the advent season and save part of their pocket money to contribute for this cause.
My personal thanks to you for your efforts in this Campaign to make ours a more humane world and the Church a more Christ-like Church. May God bless the Archdiocese of Bombay abundantly.
+Oswald Cardinal Gracias Archbishop of Bombay