SUDAN HORRORS: Can you spare a prayer?

As the plea from Pope John Paul II on page 1 and the column on this page make clear, there is a horrific crisis going on in Sudan right now. Sudan is not the only place in the world facing such horrors, terrors and nightmares, but its situation is long-standing and particularly gruesome.

But what can a Catholic in the Albany Diocese do about refugees and victims of violence in a country half-a-world away? We can do more than we think.

Through donations to Catholic Relief Services, we can supply aid to those suffering in refugee camps. CRS is the overseas aid arm of us American Catholics, our way of reaching people in dire circumstances who are thousands of miles away from our direct assistance.

We can also keep Sudan and places like it in mind as we ponder our votes this November, not only for president but also for federal, state and local offices. Considerations of many issues go into our final decisions in the voting booth; we need to make sure that places like Sudan are among the issues we weigh.

Finally, we can add the people of Sudan to our personal, family and parish prayers. Something as massively wrong as the crisis in Sudan cannot be resolved without turning to God for personal, national and international guidance.

(Donations can be sent to Catholic Relief Services at 209 W. Fayette St., Baltimore, MD 21201. Also, visit http://www.catholicrelief.org.

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