America's Largest Catholic Newspaper
As the Church of the Philippines buries the dead and helps survivors of Typhoon Haiyan rebuild their shattered lives, the archdiocese will take up a second collection on their behalf at weekend Masses Nov. 16-17 and pray a novena through Nov. 19.
Cardinal Dolan, as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, assured the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines of the prayers of the bishops and Catholic faithful of the United States.
“We join in your call for a Novena of Prayer and Charity from November 11 to 19 and bless you for your efforts to promote calm and peace despite the ravages of the storm,” Cardinal Dolan wrote in a Nov. 12 letter to Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu.
“Your appeal to the strong Filipino soul is a rallying cry for faith in God, for as you said, ‘No calamity or natural devastation can quench the fire of our hope.’”
The USCCB will sponsor a special collection during the next few weeks to aid in emergency relief and recovery needs of Typhoon Haiyan. The collection will also be used to support long-term needs, including rebuilding Church structures affected by the widespread destruction.
In a Nov. 11 letter to all U.S. bishops, Cardinal Dolan wrote: “The Church mourns the terrible suffering of our brothers and sisters affected by this powerful storm. To complicate this situation, Typhoon Haiyan follows on the heels of a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in the same region just a month ago. Citizens in this Pacific Island country are already displaced and have been hurt even more. The local government and church institutions cannot manage the magnitude of this disaster on their own. Those affected need our help.”
Pope Francis, during the Angelus with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square Nov. 10, prayed for the estimated more than 10,000 people killed and others affected by Super Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated parts of the central Philippines and surrounding region Nov. 8.
He asked the tens of thousands of people gathered in the square to join him in a moment of silent prayer “for these brothers and sisters and let’s try also to make our concrete help reach them.”
In response to the tragedy, Pope Francis made an initial donation of $150,000 for the relief efforts through the Pontifical Council Cor Unum.
The money, sent through the local churches hardest hit by the storm, was earmarked to support “assistance for the displaced and those impacted by the flooding,” the Vatican said in a written statement.
The pope also sent a telegram to Philippine President Benigno Aquino saying he was “deeply pained by the destruction and loss of human lives.”
In the message, he also encouraged civil authorities and rescue workers in their efforts and prayed that God would offer “the nation strength and consolation.”
Caritas Internationalis, the Vatican-based confederation of humanitarian agencies of the Catholic Church, reported Nov. 11 that more than 9.5 million people are in need of aid and 600,000 people have been forced from their homes.
Representatives from Caritas Philippines and the U.S. bishops’ Catholic Relief Services reached Leyte by boat Nov. 10 to assess the most urgent needs, Caritas reported.
Father Edwin Gariguez, executive secretary of Caritas Philippines, said: “The casualties are increasing day by day. There are dead bodies everywhere. People are traumatized. The most urgent needs are for food and water.”
Caritas and CRS said the most urgent priorities were emergency shelter, water and sanitation, household items such as blankets, kitchen and cookware, potable water and toilets.
“We really need all the help we can get,” Father Gariguez said. “This is a catastrophe.”
The United Nations announced Nov. 12 of its appeal for about $300 million to support crisis management efforts of the Philippine government.
Valerie Amos, U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, called the situation a “major emergency,” saying it was at the “very top” of the U.N.’s scale for measuring the severity of various crises.
With the Philippines being met with several disasters this year, including an earthquake in October and Typhoon Usagi, another Category 5 storm, in September, Manila Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle put out a prayer for calamities Nov. 12.
The 10 lines asks for peace to those who have died, help for those who need it and that people be spared from natural disasters and devastations. —CNS
Christie L. Chicoine contributed to this report.
