Sisters from the 16 religious communities active in the nation are allowed to work in hospitals.
The apostolic vicar of Tripoli, Bishop Giovanni Martinelli, who gives regular reports through the Italian media, says many of the sisters are still working but some have been sent to their home countries because work has become “precarious.”
Hospitals are busier than ever with the injuries of protests, but the sisters have pledged to stay as long as they can.
A Feb. 26 note from the Apostolic Nunciature of Malta and Libya to the news agency Fides emphasized the appreciation of Libyans for the work of the Church in the nation. Libyans have made “concrete gestures of solidarity and protection” towards them in recent days, they said.
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St. Francis Catholic Church in Tripoli is quieter than usual these days. Many of its members have fled, been evacuated or are staying at home. Some have taken refuge in the church itself.
Fr. Ferrugia said they are not involved in the protests as they are all from foreign nations. For the last two days, he said, “there is a certain normality in the city.”
People have lined up at banks to receive the 500 dinars (just over $400) the government is paying out to all individuals. Shops are re-opening, normal traffic is returning.
He noted a lack of armed police or military vehicles in the streets. “In the evenings there is a strange silence all around and no sign of protest,” the priest said in the early afternoon of Feb. 28.
The Church is spending this time “in prayer and in solidarity with those who are left here and the locals who are living very difficult and sad moments,” he said.
Much has changed in the Church since Feb. 16, when the uprising began. No one showed up for Mass on Friday, Feb. 25, for example. “Usually it is a real joy on Friday mornings with the songs and fervent prayer of our people,” said Fr. Farrugia.
The Church is concerned about the situation for the immigrants from Sub-Saharan Africa that remain in the country. “We are mainly worried for hundreds of Eritreans who are stranded here and no one cares for their evacuation,” he said.
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Bishop Martinelli made an appeal for the nearly 2,000 Eritreans who have sought help from the Church in recent days. He told Fides on Feb. 28, “It pains our hearts because we cannot do anything for them.”
He said that there is no one thinking of them. “We try to help them in any way we can, contributing to the rent of their houses,” said the bishop. What they need, however, is a way out and a place to go, he urged.
Of the hundreds of immigrants the Vicariate of Tripoli has registered for evacuation, so far just 54 individuals will be evacuated to Italy.
They are also doing what they can to provide financial help to all Catholics and locals, but they are rapidly running out of basic necessities. International donations are being collected through Caritas Libya, particularly to keep immigrant assistance going.
Caritas Internationalis estimated that 1.5 million sub-Saharan immigrants were living in Libya before the conflict. Tens of thousands have reportedly fled, but many remain in hiding across Libya as the unrest continues.
Fr. Ferrugia suggested that the protests are founded on just principles.