Earthquake victims receive hygiene kits and tarps from Catholic Relief Service workers in Les Cayes, Haiti, Aug. 24. CRS staffers are operating under tarps at a parking lot near their operations center in Les Cayes following damage to their offices. (CNS photo/Godchild Regis, CRS)
OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
“In recent hours a strong earthquake has occurred in Haiti, causing numerous deaths, injuries and extensive material damage. I wish to express my closeness to those dear people who have been hard hit by the earthquake. As I raise my prayers to the Lord for the victims, I address a word of encouragement to the survivors, desiring that the international community will take a shared interest in them. May the solidarity of all alleviate the consequences of the tragedy.” (Pope Francis, Aug. 15, 2021)
On the Feast of the Assumption after his Angeles prayer from St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis invoked Our Lady’s protection by asking the crowd to offer a Hail Mary for all those suffering from the deadly earthquake that struck Haiti on August 14. More than 2,200 people have died from the 7.2 magnitude quake, which injured 12,000 others and destroying upwards of 53,000 homes and affecting more than 500,000 people.
Two weeks later, the pope backed up his words by approving an emergency contribution of $235,000 to assist victims of the tragedy as “an immediate expression of spiritual closeness and paternal encouragement” for the Haitian people. The money will be distributed in collaboration with the Vatican’s Dicastery for Integral Human Development and the Vatican nuncio in Haiti to assist those most affected by the earthquake in this impoverished nation. It will add to the aid also being sent from the Catholic Church throughout the world, thanks to efforts led by bishops’ conferences and numerous charitable organizations.
Here in Hawaii
Here in Hawaii, Bishop Larry Silva is leading an effort to support Haitian victims by soliciting donations to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Emergency Disaster Fund. He tasked Deacon Keith Cabiles, the chancellor of the Diocese of Honolulu, to spread the word to all parishes through the eNews, the diocese’s weekly digital newsletter, and the “Prayer and Aid for Haiti” ads published in the Hawaii Catholic Herald.
Deacon Cabiles also wrote to all pastors, asking them to help: “Dear Pastors, as you have read in the news, the people of Haiti have recently suffered two consecutive natural disasters that have caused 2,000 deaths and unimaginable suffering. In response to Haiti’s urgent time of need, the USCCB is asking for an emergency appeal for the Bishops’ Emergency Disaster Fund for those in Haiti most in need of immediate help … We pray to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, patroness of Haiti to intercede for us that all suffering in Haiti get the aid they need.”
The money collected may be handled the same way as other second collections and sent directly to the Diocesan Finance Office. Parishioners may also donate online at catholichawaii.org./support-relief. Please contact Deacon Cabiles with any questions. This fund will support aid organizations such as Catholic Relief Services, which have a long history of effectively working in Haiti, especially in the aftermath of natural disasters. This aid will complement the funds coming from Pope Francis and the Vatican.
This is not the first time for papal focus on Haiti, a country that is still recovering from the 2010 earthquake that killed 200,000 people. In 2015, Pope Francis convened a special conference on Haiti to mark the fifth anniversary of the deadly disaster.
This year, in his Easter “Urbi et Orbi” message on April 4, our Holy Father singled out Haiti for special mention: “‘The poor of every kind must begin once more to hope.’ St. John Paul II spoke these same words during his visit to Haiti. It is precisely to the beloved Haitian people that my thoughts turn in these days. I urge them not to be overwhelmed by difficulties, but to look to the future with confidence and hope.”
Pope Francis closed his appeal with these prayerful words. “Let us keep these folks in mind. And my thoughts turn especially to you, my dear Haitian brothers and sisters. I am close to you and I want a definitive resolution to your problems. I am praying for this, dear Haitian brothers and sisters.”
Let us continue to ask our Mother Mary intercession’s for the hope and healing of our sisters and brothers in Haiti while we give what we can to assist the disaster aid effort.
Mahalo,
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
