“Let us not abandon them”: Card. Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, used these words to appeal, through SIR news agency, to the generosity of the faithful in the Collection for the Holy Land that the universal Church traditionally holds on Good Friday. A few days ago, as is customary every year, the prefect sent a letter, on behalf of Pope Francis, to all the bishops of the Catholic Church, inviting them to raise awareness of the Collection among the faithful. In the text of the letter, Card. Sandri refers to “thousands of our brothers and sisters living in the Holy Land and the Middle East, who are deprived of everything, at times even of their own human dignity, whose outcry continues to reach us, heart-breaking us and inviting us to embrace them through Christian charity, a sure source of hope”. “Let us not leave our Christian brothers and sisters who are experiencing a tragic situation in the Middle East, especially in Syria and Iraq, alone”, Card. Sandri appealed. Every day, we who live in freedom and security receive tragic news of innocent victims, including children, of bombing and violence. We are called to think about what we can do to be present and give relief to these suffering brothers and sisters of ours through our generous contribution”. A concrete way, for the prefect, is for us to contribute to the Good Friday Collection. “Let us participate with generosity and humility, offering what we can. This is the most generous donation, pleasing to God’s eyes”. The cardinal also addressed a special appeal “to my dear Italian brothers and sisters, who are always so generous with Jesus’ land. During my visits to the Holy Land, I see many pilgrimages from Italian dioceses. They are a further sign, alongside the collection, of our closeness and support to our brothers and sisters who are there. My appeal also wants to echo the visit by CEI President, Card. Gualtiero Bassetti, to Lebanon (15-17 March). Dear Italians – Card. Sandri concluded – we trust so much in your generosity, compassion, and in the pain that our hearts experience every time we see so much distress in our Christian brothers and sisters in the Holy Land”. The cardinal also issued a recommendation that all appeals “for specific beneficial aims in the Holy Land may not divert resources from the Collection with which the Franciscan Custody carries out its mission in response to the Pope’s call”.