25/12/2004

Catholics in Rome issue guide for needy

ROME -- A community of socially active Catholics this week issued a guide to Rome for homeless people.

The guide offers instruction to the needy on where they can eat, sleep and shower free of charge.

The Community of Sant'Egidio presented the guide to the homeless as a Christmas present.

The community, an organization of socially active Catholic laity is also a leading provider of food, shelter and legal aid to those in need.

The organization has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The community served meals to 10,000 people in its canteen during 2004 and to a total of 130,000 since it opened in 1988. It also distributes food and clothing at 75 locations and directly to people living on the street.

Today, volunteers are offering lunch, complete with wine and presents, to 5,000 people -- migrants, the elderly, the disabled and the destitute -- at 31 locations in and around the city, including the 12th-century Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.

On New Year's Eve, there will be a gala dinner for the needy with gospel singing and fireworks in Rome's ultramodern new Auditorium.

And on New Year's Day, when the Catholic Church observes World Day of Peace, it will lead a "March for Peace on Earth" from Rome's historic center to St. Peter's Square.

The 175-page handbook, "Where to Eat, Sleep and Wash in Rome," is now in its 15th annual edition and has served as a model for similar guides to Florence and Genoa in Italy, Barcelona in Spain and Paris.

The sturdy, pocket-sized guide and an accompanying plasticized map pinpoint 750 centers of assistance in the Italian capital.

In addition to sources of food, shelter and hygiene, the guide lists sources of medical care, language courses, employment centers and where to find a telephone in an emergency.

"The idea is solely to humanize a big city," said Sant'Egidio spokesman Mario Marazziti.

Peggy Polk