Faisalabad (AsiaNews) – The help given by Christians from Pakistan's poorest suburbs to Kashmir quake victims is "moving, admirable and very useful", said Mgr Joseph Coutts. The Faisalabad bishop and national Caritas director told AsiaNews about the "procession" he saw queuing up today outside the Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul.

Parishioners from diverse churches in the poorest areas of the diocese gave food and quilts for their co-nationals who were victims of the 8 October quake. "They even gave money in a magnificent example of how poor people can be generous, even with the little they have".

Faisalabad is the second diocese of the country with some 150,000 Catholics; "Parishes, schools, youth groups, NGOs and religious orders have responded with great enthusiasm and generosity to our appeal to gather funds and useful items for quake survivors."

Then there is the work of the Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by the Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. "The sisters are taking care of the wounded in the Holy Family hospital of Rawalpindi and since last week they have sent another three sisters to be part of this group," continued the bishop.

The Dominicans of the convent of Santa Maria of Sahiwal – 400 km south-west of Faisalabad – collected a supply of different items and "they asked me to distribute them. This is because the Human Development Net, a Catholic organisation has launched a collection of all manner of items: now there is a room in the cathedral which looks like a storeroom."

In this way, donors know that what is given will be distributed "as quickly as possible and to those in most need".