By now you’ve probably heard about the devestating earthquake that hit Haiti last night. A quake with the magnitude of 7.0 would be destructive anywhere, but it is proving to be nothing short of catastrophic for the third world country and its capitol of Port-au-Prince that is enduring utterly tragic loss of life, with some reportedly still stuck in the rubble.
Catholic Relief Services was among the first on the ground to respond.
Karel Zelenka, a Catholic Relief Services representative in Port-au-Prince, told U.S. colleagues before phone service failed that “there must be thousands of people dead,” a spokeswoman for the aid group told The Associated Press.
Fox News also reports that Haiti’s Archbishop was killed in the quake, and that hundreds of religious were trapped in the rubble.
The body of Msgr. Joseph Serge Miot, 65, was found under the rubble of the archdiocese, and may be one of only hundreds of victims trapped in the ruins of Church buildings on the island.
The apostolic nuncio in Haiti, Msgr. Bernardito Auza, said that the cathedral and all the major churches and seminaries in Port-au-Prince
were leveled by the most powerful temblor to strike the island in two centuries. Hundreds of seminarians and priests were trapped in the rubble, he told Vatican Radio.
Pope Benedict XVI has enlisted the worldwide network of Catholic Charities to offer help to the Haitians. Watch the video of his Papal Address, calling for solidarity with the victims:
And President Obama addressed the nation this morning to promise the United States’ full support in relief aid to the Haitians who are “no strangers to hardship and suffering”
Catholic Online also reminds us that
Many Catholic parishes in the United States have “twinned” with parishes in Haiti and taken a personal concern for assisting the Haitian people, many of whom are Catholics. Calls for prayer have gone out around the Nation and throughout the world.
We at the St. Michael Society urge all our members to join us in lifting up our Haitian brothers and sisters in prayer, asking the Lord to send them healing, hope and courage in a time of tremendous strife and to bless and help the relief crew workers and empower them to save as many lives as possible in the rescue efforts.
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
If you would like to help assist the victims of the Haiti earthquake and all of workers on the ground, please 1) pray 2) donate. Two Catholic organizations you can donate to are:
CRS has launched a major aid operation to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake. The CRS team in Haiti is in place to distribute emergency relief.
Caritas Haiti
Caritas Internationalis, the Vatican-based umbrella organization for Catholic charities, said it was mobilizing to provide immediate assistance to Haiti. On Jan. 13 it had already assembled an emergency relief team to fly to Haiti to assist Caritas members already working in the country.
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