Brian R Corbin's Reflections on Religion and Life

Living Your Faith as Citizens and Leaders in Politics, Culture, Society and Business

September 10, 2008 • 12:08 am 0

Pope Asks for Help for Haiti

Benedict XVI Asks Help for Haiti

Island Plastered by Fourth Storm

CAGLIARI, Sardinia, ( Zenit.org ).- Benedict XVI is expressing his spiritual closeness to suffering Haitians, who have been plastered by four storms that have ravaged the island in a span of 25 days.

The Pope mentioned Haiti on Sunday before praying the midday Angelus during his pastoral visit to Sardinia, a semi-autonomous Italian island located in the Mediterranean Sea.

“Under Mary’s gaze,” he said, “I wish to remember the dear people of Haiti, harshly tried in past days in the wake of no less than three hurricanes. I pray for the victims, unfortunately numerous, and for the homeless. I am close to the whole nation and I hope that it will receive as soon as possible the necessary aid.”

Since the Pope spoke of the nation, Hurricane Ike blasted it today, taking at least another 61 lives.

Caritas Internationalis reported that 600,000 Haitians are in need of aid and the AFP news agency informed today that some 600 people have died on the island as the result of the four storms.

“The situation in Haiti is desperate,” Caritas Haiti Director-General Père Serge Chadic said. “These storms have left people with nothing. We need outside help.

“The people are in need of food, shelter and water. In a country already wracked by conflict and food riots, we’re appealing to the outside world for support.”

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and the storms have left the destitute even more desperate. The island was the scene of food riots in April that resulted in the firing of the prime minister.

Filed under: Caritas, Papal Teachings

September 3, 2008 • 11:36 pm 0

UN Leader Invites Cardinal to Meeting on Poverty

Caritas President to Urge Better Cooperation

NEW YORK, SEPT. 3, 2008 ( Zenit.org ).- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon invited the president of Caritatis Internationalis to attend a high-level meeting on how to better overcome the global scourge of poverty.
Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga will attend the Sept. 25 High-level Event on the Millennium Development Goals as a representative of civil society.

The development goals aim to significantly reduce global poverty, but progress on them is increasingly off schedule for the target year of 2015.

Caritas reported that at the halfway point in 2008, with current projections, targets will be missed in some countries by over 100 years.

“I welcome the U.N.’s initiative to put the Millennium Development Goals back on track,” Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga said. “The MDGs are a useful catalyst in ending the scandal of poverty but currently risk becoming victims of inaction. Failure to meet these targets in a world of such wealth is unthinkable, yet will happen unless we take the right steps now.”

The U.N. event will be a forum for world leaders to review progress, identify gaps, and commit to concrete efforts, resources and mechanisms.

According to the cardinal, action from the United Nations cannot come fast enough.

“Eleven million children die each year in poverty from preventable causes,” he said. “That’s 77 million children who will die over the next seven years from now to 2015 because of our failure to act today.”

Part of the problem, according to Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga, is lack of cooperation with faith-based organizations.

“We need to bridge the gap between those with the financial assets and those with the physical and human resources on the ground,” the prelate said. “Churches and faith-based organizations like Caritas are overlooked as a way to deliver development.

“A third of all children under five in developing countries are severely stunted because of hunger, and world leaders are committed to doing something about it. The Church runs over 60,000 schools for 5.8 million infants and 90,000 primary schools for 28 million pupils. They could help feed the hungry with the right support. That is the partnership needed to save lives.”

Filed under: Caritas, Social Justice

September 2, 2008 • 12:49 am 0

Catholic Charities USA: Hurricane Relief Efforts/Call for Donations

Charity Responding to Hurricane Gustav

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, SEPT. 1, 2008 ( Zenit.org ).- As Hurricane Gutav batters the Gulf Coast, Catholic Charities USA stands ready to respond with humanitarian relief.

The storm hit the coast of Louisiana today as a Category 2 storm. The 110 mph winds and torrential rains generated by Gustav have left more than 1 million without power in the region.

After the storm, local Catholic Charities throughout the region plan to open community resource sites. The bulk distribution sites will offer water, basic food essentials, cleanup supplies, personal care kits, and other items to meet the communities’ recovery needs.

In addition, teams will be deployed into the affected areas to make damage assessments and identify unmet needs in the communities. These assessments will help Catholic Charities determine how best to tailor their response efforts in the days, weeks and months to come.

Kim Burgo, senior director of disaster response for Catholic Charities USA, stated, “Using our experience from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we stand ready to respond to Gustav with speed, reliability, and a long-term commitment to helping the impacted region recover.”

For local information on how you can donate to these efforts, contact Brian Corbin or visit the Diocese of Youngstown Catholic Charities webpage.

Filed under: Caritas, Catholic Charities USA

September 1, 2008 • 6:55 pm 0

Caritas Aiding Flood Victims in India

2.5 Million Homeless, Towns Cutoff

MADHEPURA, India, AUG. 31, 2008 ( Zenit.org ).- Caritas India is responding to the immediate needs of rescue and evacuation as entire villages are being cutoff by flooding in India’s planes.

The charity reported Friday that more than 2.5 million people have been evacuated from their homes in India as flooding devastated central and northern parts of Bihar after the Koshi River breached its banks.

The Koshi is over 15 kilometers (9 miles) wide in places and is still expanding. The affected districts are Supaul, Saharsa, Khagaria, Araria, Madhepura, Katihar and Purnea.

Caritas partners are in the region assessing the damage. They say thousands of people are stranded on the roadside, where the land is high. Transport and communication is impossible in many areas.

Caritas India says the immediate need will be rescue and evacuation as villages are being cut off. There is also a need for food aid, medical assistance and supply of tarpaulins.

Caritas India reported Friday upon visiting Madhepura: “The situation is grim and it appears to be getting out of control. Madhepura has a total population of about 1,400,000.

“Now the government is in the process of evacuating nearly 1,300,000 as the water level is rising above danger mark in most of the villages.

“We can see endless lines of people and cattle moving on the road for several kilometers. The situation is becoming worse today as there is heavy rain and the only road to the entire area is already breaching and will be cut off within the next few hours. The entire area will be cut off.”

Caritas reported that the Indian government is using airdrops and boats to reach those stranded by rising waters, but many areas still remain cutoff.

Filed under: Caritas

August 29, 2008 • 12:26 am 0

Catholic Charities: US Has Too Many Poor

Census Shows More People Living in Poverty

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, AUG. 28, 2008 ( Zenit.org ).- The president of Catholic Charities USA said it is “unacceptable” that there are 37.3 million poor people in a nation as prosperous as the United States.

Father Larry Snyder said this in response to statistics released Tuesday by the United States Census Bureau, which revealed that 800,000 more people are living in poverty in the United States this year.

“It is unacceptable that in a nation that is as prosperous as ours that 37.3 million people, including 13.3 million children, continue to live in poverty,” Father Snyder said. “At 12.5%, the poverty rate indicates that reducing poverty is not a priority for this nation.”
The priest said his organization and its member agencies serve nearly 8 million needy people a year.

“The poverty rate is not just another economic statistic,” he said. “This unacceptable figure represents the millions of families we see each and every day who are struggling just to make ends meet.”

Father Snyder affirmed that the downturn in the U.S. economy has worsened the situation.

“Across our nation, Catholic Charities agencies are seeing more and more people having to choose between putting food on the table, paying their utility bills, or making their rent or mortgage payments,” he said. “Needing help with food, rent, clothing and prescriptions are all symptoms of much larger problems facing the poor and vulnerable in America, such as low wages and the lack of affordable housing and health care.”

The charity organization has launched a campaign to cut the poverty rate in half by 2020. They are urging Americans to demand that their political representatives make poverty a priority.

“In this election year, candidates for public office — especially our presidential candidates — must move from rhetoric to action and propose comprehensive plans to address the needs of more than 37 million people living in poverty in the United States over the next decade,” Father Synder said. “We call on all Americans to ask their candidates, ‘If elected, what will you do to address poverty?'”

Filed under: Caritas, Catholic Charities USA

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