Algarve Bishop concerned over social drama

“The news that I’m getting is that the very high level of unemployment is reflected in the number of calls for help – namely with paying rent, gas, electricity bills, and for medication and bank payments”, D. Manuel Quintas told Lusa news agency last Saturday, in Loulé.

To combat the difficulties, the diocese has set up a social fund, funded in part by the clerics’ own salaries, but which the bishop accepts “is a drop in the ocean” when compared to the severity of the crisis.

“All sorts of dramas come knocking at our door – whether to do with the institutions that we have in our parish, the old people’s homes, or the crèches. Couples frequently appear, unable to pay monthly (childcare) dues”.

The Algarve’s level of unemployment is the highest in the country, and has already topped 14 per cent.