Bulgaria: 3 days of prayer for end to suicides

April 09, 2013

Following at least seven suicides in protest against poverty and corruption, President Rosen Plevneliev of Bulgaria has declared three days of prayer “for an end to the suicides and for passing through the crisis with patience and dignity.”

“Bulgarians must not fall victim of hopelessness,” said Patriarch Neophyte, who became head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in February. He asked the faithful not to commit suicide “under any circumstances.”

Catholics, Protestants, Jews, and Muslims in the southeastern European nation have joined in the prayers for an end to suicide.

The nation of seven million is 1% Catholic.

 

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Further information:

• Bulgaria prays for hope (Vatican Radio)
• Sixth man sets himself on fire in Bulgarian poverty protest (Reuters)