Holy See on Sustainable Development

"Human beings, in fact, come first. We need to be reminded of this"

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, JUNE 14, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is the text of a position paper from the permanent observer mission of the Holy See to the United Nations for the UN conference on sustainable development that is under way in Rio de Janeiro through Friday.
* * *
1.    INTRODUCTION
    The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, represents an important step in a process which has contributed significantly to a better understanding of the concept of sustainable development and the interplay of the three acknowledged pillars of this concept: economic growth, environmental protection and the promotion of social welfare. The process, initiated at Stockholm in 1972, had two of its high points at Rio de Janeiro in 1992, with the so-called “Earth Summit”, and at Johannesburg in 2002.
    As part of this process, a unanimous consensus has emerged that protecting the environment means improving peoples’ lives and, vice versa, that environmental degradation and underdevelopment are closely interdependent issues needing to be approached together, responsibly and in a spirit of solidarity.
    At all these international occasions the Holy See has made its presence felt less by proposing specific technical solutions to the various issues under discussion as part of the effort to attain a correct process of sustainable development, than by its insistence that issues affecting the human dignity of individuals and peoples cannot be reduced to “technical” problems: the process of development cannot be left to purely technical solutions, for in this way it would lack ethical direction. The search for solutions to these issues cannot be separated from our understanding of human beings.
    Human beings, in fact, come first. We need to be reminded of this. At the centre of sustainable development is the human person. The human person, to whom the good stewardship of nature is entrusted, cannot be dominated by technology and become its object. A realization of this fact must lead States to reflect together on the short and medium term future of our planet, recognizing their responsibility for the life of each person and for the technologies which can help to improve its quality. Adopting and promoting in every situation a way of life which respects the dignity of each human being, and supporting research and the utilization of energy sources and technologies capable of safeguarding the patrimony of creation without proving dangerous for human beings: these need to be political and economic priorities. In this sense, our approach to nature clearly needs to be reviewed, for nature is the setting in which human beings are born and interact: it is their “home”.
    A changed mentality in this area and the duties which it would entail ought to make it possible quickly to discover an art of living together, one which respects that covenant between human beings and nature without which the human family risks dying out. This calls for serious reflection and the proposal of clear and sustainable solutions: a reflection which must not be muddied by blind partisan political, economic or ideological interests which shortsightedly put particular interests above solidarity. While it is true that technology has brought about more rapid globalization, the primacy of the human being over technology must be reaffirmed, for without this we risk existential confusion and the loss of life’s meaning. The fact that technology outstrips all else frequently means that reflection on why we do things systematically yields to the pressure of how we do things, leaving no time for patient discernment. It is urgent, then, to find a way of combining technical know-how with a solid ethical approach based on the dignity of the human person. (1)
    Along these lines, it must be emphasized that the dignity of the human person is closely linked to the right to development, the right to a healthy environment and the right to peace. These three rights shed light on how individuals, society and the environment are interrelated. This in turn results in a heightened sense of responsibility on the part of every human being for himself, for others, for creation and, ultimately, before God. Such responsibility calls for a careful analysis of the impact and consequences of our actions, with particular concern for the poor and for future generations.
2.    THE CENTRALITY OF HUMAN BEINGS IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
    It is therefore essential to base the reflection of Rio+20 on the first principle of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, adopted at the Rio de Janeiro Conference of June 1992, which acknowledges the centrality of the human being and declares that “human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature”.
    To put the welfare of human beings at the centre of concern for sustainable development is actually the surest way to attain such development and to help protect creation; as noted above, this results in a heightened sense of responsibility on the part of individuals for one another, for natural resources and for their wise use.
    Moreover, taking the centrality of the human person as a starting point helps to avoid the risks associated with adopting a reductionist and sterile neo-Malthusian approach which views human beings as an obstacle to sustainable development. There is no conflict between human beings and their environment, but rather a stable and inseparable covenant in which the environment conditions the life and development of human beings, while they in turn perfect and ennoble the environment by their creative, productive and responsible labour. It is this covenant which needs to be reinforced; a covenant which respects the dignity of the human being from his or her conception. Here too it is proper to reaffirm that the expression “gender equality” means the equal dignity of both men and women.
3.    THE NEED FOR A PROFOUND AND FARSIGHTED REVIEW OF DEVELOPMENT
    In the last four decades significant changes have occurred in the international community. We need but think of the extraordinary progress made in technical and scientific knowledge, which has found application in strategic sectors of the economy and society like transportation, energy and communications. This extraordinary progress coexists however with the deviations and dramatic problems of development encountered by many countries, as well as the economic and financial crisis experienced by much of present-day society. These problems increasingly challenge the international community to a continued and deepened reflection on the meaning of the economy and its goals, as well as to a profound and farsighted review of the current model of development so as to correct its dysfunctions. Indeed, it is demanded by the earth’s state of ecological health, and above all by the cultural and moral crisis of humanity, the symptoms of which have been evident for some time throughout the world. (2)
    On the basis of these premises, the Holy See wishes, in the context of the Rio+20 process, to examine certain particular issues which have clear ethical and social repercussions for humanity as a whole.
    First, the definition of a new model of development, to which Rio+20 seeks to contribute, must be completely anchored in, and permeated by, those principles which are the basis for the effective protection of human dignity. These principles are fundamental for the correct implementation of a development marked by special concern for persons who are in most vulnerable situations, and thus they guarantee respect for the centrality of the human person. These principles call for:
•    responsibility, even when changes must be made to patterns of production and consumption in order to ensure that they reflect an appropriate lifestyle;
•    promoting and sharing in the common good;
•    access to primary goods, included such essential and fundamental goods as nutrition, education, security, peace and health; in this last case, it must always be noted that the right to health stems from the right to life: abortion and contraception are gravely opposed to life and can never be health issues. Health is about care and not mere services: this commodification of health care places technical concerns ahead of human concerns;
•    a universal solidarity capable of acknowledging the unity of the human family;
•    the protection of creation which in turn is linked to inter-generational equity; moreover, inter-generational solidarity requires taking into account the ability of future generations to discharge developmental burdens;
•    intra-generational equity, which is closely linked to social justice;
•    the universal destination not only of goods, but also of the fruits of human enterprise.
    These principles should be the glue holding together the shared vision which will light up the path of Rio+20 and post-Rio+20. For its part, Rio+20 could contribute significantly to the definition of a new model of development, to the extent that the discussions at the Conference serve to construct that model on the basis of the principles mentioned above.
4.    THE PRINCIPLE OF SUBSIDIARITY AND THE ROLE OF THE FAMILY
    Another fundamental principle is that of subsidiarity, as a consolidation of that international governance of sustainable developmentwhich is one of the principal subjects to be discussed at Rio+20. Nowadays the principle of subsidiarity, also in the international community, is increasingly considered a means of regulating social relations and thus concomitant with the definition of rules and institutional forms. A correct subsidiarity can enable public powers, from the local level to the highest international instances, to operate effectively for the enhancement of each person, the protection of resources and the promotion of the common good. Nonetheless, theprinciple of subsidiarity must be closely linked to the principle of solidarity and vice versa. For if subsidiarity without solidarity lapses into social privatism, it is likewise true that solidarity without subsidiarity lapses into a welfare mentality which is demeaning to those in need. (3)  This must be all the more clearly evident in reflections of an international character such as those of Rio+20, where the implementation of these two principles must result in the adoption of mechanisms aimed at combating the current inequities between and within States, and thus favouring the transfer of suitable technologies to the local level, the promotion of a more equitable and inclusive global market, respect for commitments made to provide aid for development, and finding new and innovative financial instruments which would put human dignity, the common good and the protection of creation at the centre of economic life.
    In the context of applying the principle of subsidiarity, it is also important to acknowledge and enhance the role of the family, the basic cell of our human society and “the natural and the fundamental group unit of society”, as mentioned in Art. 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In addition, it is the principle of subsidiarity’s last line of defence against totalitarianism. For it is in the family that the fundamental process of education and growth begins for every person, so that the principles mentioned above can be assimilated and passed on to future generations. For that matter, it is within the family that we receive our first, decisive notions about truth and goodness, where we learn what it means to love and to be loved, and so, in concrete, what it means to be a person. (4)
    Discussions on the international framework for sustainable development should therefore be grounded in a principle of subsidiarity which would fully enhance the role of the family, together with the principle of solidarity; they should include the fundamental concepts of respect for human dignity and the centrality of human beings.
5    SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AS PART OF INTEGRAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
    A third issue to which the Holy See wishes to draw attention in the framework of the Rio+20 process is the linkage between sustainable development and integral human development. Together with material and social welfare, consideration must also be given to the ethical and spiritual values which guide and give meaning to economic decisions and consequently to technological progress,inasmuch as every economic decision has a moral consequence. The technical economic sphere is neither ethically neutral, nor by nature inhuman and antisocial. It pertains to human activity and, precisely as human, needs to be ethically structured and institutionalized. (5)
    Certainly this presents a complex challenge, yet emphasis must be placed on the importance of passing from a merely economic concept of development to a model of development that is integrally human in all its aspects: economic, social and environmental, (6) and based on the dignity of each person.
    This means further anchoring the three pillars of sustainable development in an ethical vision based precisely on human dignity. The challenge can be met concretely by launching the process of determining a series of sustainable development goals through the promotion of innovative efforts to fine-tune older and newer indicators of development in the short and medium term. These indicators should be capable of effectively verifying improvement or deterioration not only in the economic, social and environmental aspects of sustainable development, but also in its ethical aspects, taking into consideration resources and needs, and access to goods and services, be they material or immaterial.
6.    THE GREEN ECONOMY AND INTEGRAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
    A fourth area of interest for the Holy See has to do with the green economy. As the debate which took place during the preparatory meetings for Rio+20 made clear, a great number of concerns exist about the transition to the “green economy”. This concept, which has yet to be clearly defined, has the potential to make an important contribution to the cause of peace and international solidarity. It is nonetheless essential that it be applied in an inclusive manner, directing it clearly to the promotion of the common good and the elimination of poverty on the local level, an element essential to the attainment of sustainable development. Care must also be taken lest the green economy give rise to new ways of “conditioning” commerce and international aid, and thus become a latent form of “green protectionism”. It is also important for the green economy to be principally focused on integral human development. From this standpoint, and in the light of the identification of suitable patterns of consumption and production, the green economy can become a significant tool for promoting decent work and prove capable of fostering an economic growth which respects not only the environment but also the dignity of the human person.
    The Holy See trusts that the outcome of Rio+20 will not only be successful but also, and above all, innovative and farsighted. In this way it will contribute to the material and spiritual welfare of every individual, family and community.
ENDNOTES
1.  Cf. POPE BENEDICT XVI, Address at the Collective Presentation of Credential Letters by Several Ambassadors (9 June 2011).
2.  Cf. BENEDICT XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, 32.
3.  Cf. ibid., 58.
4.  Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 39.
5.  Cf. BENEDICT XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, 36 and 37.
6.  Cf. Angelus Message of JOHN PAUL II for 25 August 2002, the Sunday before the opening of the Johannesburg Summit.

REGION’S BISHOPS EXPRESS CONCERN OVER IMMIGRANTS DEATHS, CALL GOVERNMENTS TO ACTION

WASHINGTON— Catholic bishops of the North and Central American region and the Caribbean, who are in charge of the pastoral care of migrants, gathered in San Jose, Costa Rica, June 1-3, 2011. A joint declaration after the meeting was made public June 30. The prelates, representing the bishops’ conferences of the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panamá, Honduras and Guatemala, as well as CELAM (Council of Bishops’ Conferences of Latin America) and CARITAS International gathered to express solidarity and concern over the plight of immigrants in the Hemisphere. They were joined by religious and lay experts on issues of migration.
“We continue to witness great suffering among migrants in our countries and regions, who are the victims of exploitation and abuse from various elements of society (public officials, unscrupulous employers and criminal organizations),” the bishops of the region said in their statement. “We again call upon our governments to take responsibility for the legal protection of migrants, including those searching for work, asylum-seekers, refugees, and victims of human trafficking. We ask for special protection for families, women and children.”
At the meeting, the bishops reflected on a variety of issues, including the increased violence against and kidnapping of migrants by organized crime, the increase in deportations between the United States and Mexico, the tragedy of human trafficking, growing economic inequality, the effects of globalization and the increasing threats to agents of the Pastoral Care of Migrants. They also urged continued support for the recovery of Haiti from the January 2010 earthquake, including putting a stop to deportations of Haitians in irregular situation within their countries.
The bishops made an appeal to their respective governments to change or abolish, “those laws that cause the separation of migrant families, arbitrary detention and threats to life”.
Bishop Anthony B. Taylor, of Little Rock, Arkansas, represented the U.S. bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services at the meeting.
Full text of the joint statement, including participating bishops, can be found at:
http://www.usccb.org/mrs/regional-consultation-on-migration-2011.pdf.

A Spanish version is also posted: http://www.usccb.org/mrs/regional-consultation-on-migration-2011-espanol.pdf

Caritas Internationalis General Assembly: Curia Officials Address Meeting

And Father Cantalamessa Reflects on Gift Before Duty

ROME, MAY 27, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal Peter Turkson, Cardinal Robert Sarah and Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa were among those addressing the Caritas general assembly meeting in Rome this week, illustrating various facets of the Christian call to love.

Speaking on the opening day of the assembly, Cardinal Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, recalled the Gospel account of the Good Samaritan, describing it as the earliest and greatest field report of Caritas in action.

The 62-year-old Ghana native outlined for the assembly the necessary requirements for the work of Caritas to succeed.

Firstly, the Church’s charitable organizations, from the local to the international level, must make a strong effort to provide the resources and personnel required, he said. Secondly, those caring for the needy should be professionally competent and committed to care. But thirdly, and most importantly, the cardinal emphasized, Caritas personnel need humanity, heartfelt concern, and "a formation of the heart."

"The program of the Good Samaritan, the program of Jesus," Cardinal Turkson explained, "is a heart which sees."

"The turning-point," he said, "is found in compassion, it is the experience of 'suffer with,' just as mercy, misericordia, also is both divine and human."

Just as Jesus instructed the lawyer who first heard the parable of the Samaritan, we too must "Go and do the same" by carrying out Jesus' mission, the Vatican official affirmed.

Beautiful witness

The president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the Holy See office that coordinates Catholic charitable organizations including Caritas, continued with this theme in his address Monday.

Cardinal Robert Sarah, another Curial official from Africa, spoke of the witness of Caritas as a counter to the "humanism without God [that] seems to have become an integral and lasting part of the prevailing culture," and the "silent apostasy" spoken of so often by Benedict XVI.

"Since the beginning of his papacy," the 65-year-old Guinea native told the participants, "Pope Benedict XVI has considered this 'religious indifference' and 'silent apostasy' as the major challenge the Church has to take up today in her relations with the modern world."

"Therefore," Cardinal Sarah continued, "he is more determined than ever to make our minds more aware and our faith more visible and more active, in order to show the world that the Church's mission is deeply rooted in faith in God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit."

Caritas is a visible manifestation of that faith, the cardinal declared. "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

But, he asked, "how can we help faithful laypeople and religious engaged on the front lines of emergency situations ... to know how to 'say' every day, in a credible way, the freshness of the evangelical proclamation in what they are and what they do?"

"All those calling themselves disciples of Christ won't find a neutral space in the work of serving other people," the cardinal answered, "or even less a hindrance to this unique Love, but rather will be able to see within it a concrete fulfillment of their personal encounter with Jesus, and the spread of their faith and love for God."

The cardinal concluded by describing Benedict XVI's encyclical "Deus Caritas Est" as the "reference and guidance document for all the charitable activities of the Catholic Church today."

In the encyclical, the Holy Father points out that the source of charity is God, whose incarnated Son reveals the charity of the Father. The Church's sole mission, Cardinal Sarah elaborated, is to continue the mission of Jesus.

"The Church makes the light of her faith shine before us so that we may see her good works and glorify God," he said. "The witness of charity, the privileged way of the Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus, takes place through the shining of the beauty of the heart in the actions of Christ's disciples inwardly transfigured by the Spirit."

Loving first

The preacher of the Pontifical Household offered another reflection: Christians do not set out telling others what they must do to be saved, as with other faiths, but rather by proclaiming "what God has done for them."

"Gift," he observed, "comes before duty."

The Capuchin addressed the assembly on different meanings of the expression "love of God."

One meaning speaks of the "duty" to love God, another of the love "of" God.

"The most important thing, when speaking of the love of God, is not, therefore, that man loves God, but that God loves man and that He loved him 'first,'" said the preacher.

This knowledge of the primacy of God's love for us, the principle of Christian charity, affects the way we Christians carry out our "duty" to love our neighbor.

Father Cantalamessa offered the assembly a theological reflection on the relationship between the Gospel and the social sphere in order to better understand the task of those who work in Caritas Internationalis.

"It is not only to let the poor hear the voice of the Church," Father Cantalamessa explained, "but also [to] make the voice of the poor heard in the Church."

"The first thing to do in relation to the poor is to break through the double glazing, to overcome our indifference and insensitivity," he said. "We need to let our defenses down and be overwhelmed by a healthy anxiety in face of the fearful misery there is in the world."

One of the priority tasks of Caritas, the priest continued, "is to remind us all of this call to conversion, and to be ruthless in breaking through the security of our 'double glazing.'"

Charity workers are only able to fully realize that job if they love from the heart, the preacher reminded, or, as St. Paul says, "Let love be genuine!"

"The first 'charity' we are called upon to give to our neighbor, even when distributing food and medicines," Father Cantalamessa told the Caritas representatives, "is to transmit to them the love of God. This is impossible, unless we ourselves are filled with that love, or at least strive to grow in it. The fundamental vocation of a Caritas worker is no different from that of any other Christian: a vocation to holiness!"

Cardinal to Aid Workers: God's Moment Is Now

Urges Participation in the New Evangelization
CZESTOCHOWA, Poland, DEC. 1, 2010 ( Zenit.org ).- Now is the time for a new evangelization, for God's moment to reach out to all people through his Church, says Cardinal Antonio Cañizares.

The prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments affirmed this at a spiritual exercises retreat organized by the Pontifical Council Cor Unum for diocesan leaders of Caritas and other ecclesial agencies throughout Europe.

The retreat, which began Monday and ends Friday, is taking place at the Marian shrine of Jasna Gora in Czestochowa, Poland, on the theme, "Here I Am."

In his talk, the cardinal said, "In our days we see a powerful request for evangelization; the cry is raised: 'Help us!'"

"Evangelization is possible," he added, "it is urgent, and God asking for it."

"It is God's moment," the prelate affirmed, "the hour of the new evangelization, the time of a missionary Church that proclaims and attests that God is Love."

He continued: "This is what is most urgent.

"It is about a new evangelization in a pagan world, which has distanced itself from God and does not even pose the question to itself.

"It is urgent to evangelize. This is our future. This is God's great appeal to the Church of our time."

The Lord's mandate

Cardinal Cañizares affirmed that "the truth of evangelization, the sign that the Lord's mandate to evangelize is being carried out, which Andrew and the Apostles obeyed and which we are called to follow, is the great sign of charity, which is the dimension of a Christian's life and the indispensable pillar that supports the Church."

He added that this is "the sign of the Messiah, Savior and hope of humanity, which men, sinners and poor, sick and destroyed are awaiting, so that the poor are evangelized."

The prelate noted, "It is the great sign that the Kingdom of God is near to us, from whom we received the good news of the Kingdom of God, which is rooted in us: God's love reigns in our hearts."

He continued, "This is, hence, the true sign that makes the Gospel credible: charity, precisely this, the love that we are called to bear one another as Christ has loved us, a living and effective love, practical and concrete toward our brothers, above all toward those who are in conditions of greater poverty and need."

"From this all will know that we are his disciples: by loving one another as he loves us and with his same love," the cardinal affirmed.

He explained that "the charity that the Spirit realizes in us points us to the practice of an active and concrete love toward every human being."

Cardinal Cañizares stated that "it is urgent and imperative" to have a charity that "must also, necessarily, be a service to culture, to politics, to the economy and to the family, so that the fundamental principles on which the destiny of humanity depends are respected, in which its inviolable dignity is at stake, as well as its fundamental and inalienable rights."

He asserted, "This dimension of charity is an inseparable component of evangelization."

--- --- ---

On ZENIT's Web page:

Full text: www.zenit.org/article-31124?l=english

Pakistan’s bishops call for Christian solidarity in the face of floods

JOINT APPEAL OF THE CATHOLIC BISHOPS OF PAKISTAN

FOR DISASTER RELIEF ACTION

Our country is facing the biggest natural disaster in its history. The super floods of the mighty River Indus have brought death and wide spread destruction – over 15 million people have been affected and lakhs of homes have been washed away by the raging waters. We stand in solidarity with those who have suffered in this national tragedy.

What is our Christian response in the face of such an enormous disaster? We are followers and disciples of Jesus Christ. He taught us that love is the most important commandment. “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). To live as a Christian means to stand up and actively promote love, mercy and compassion, especially for those who are hungry and in extreme need.

In this critical moment of national tragedy, it is our Christian duty to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Muslim and Hindu brethren and face the common calamity with courage and determination. We your religious leaders want to mobilize our limited resources in doing what we can to alleviate the sufferings of the many displaced persons.

We Bishops appeal to all our members to come forward and help the flood-hit people with cooked foods or dry rations, and also provide tents for shelter and medicines against cholera and other diseases. Our youth are urged to serve as volunteers in relief camps.

We also call for a Day of Prayer on Tuesday, 24th August 2010 in all churches in the country. If possible a Holy Hour of Adoration could be arranged when Christians will pray earnestly that the Almighty Provider may have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and failures and save us from further harm and destruction. We also instruct the priests to recite every day the special prayer in the daily missal “in time of storms and floods”.

In this dark moment we must not lose hope but put our full trust in God who reminds us “Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be afraid, for I am your God “(Isaias 41:10)

This appeal is to be read out in all the churches on Sunday, 22nd August 2010.

In the end we invoke our solemn Episcopal blessing upon our beloved motherland and wish it peace, unity and prosperity.

Your devoted Shepherds in Christ,

† Lawrence Saldanha

President, Pakistan Catholic Bishops Conference &

The Catholic Bishops of Pakistan


Please consider to the Pakistan relief effort by giving to Catholic Relief Services

Caritas Aids 20 Million Pakistani Flood Victims

Appeals for Emergency Relief as Disaster Worsens

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, AUG. 17, 2010 (Zenit.org).- An estimated 20 million Pakistanis have been affected by the worst flooding in that region in 80 years. Caritas is appealing for aid from the international community.

The death count is already at 2,000, and it is expected to rise after aid workers are able to access and assess the damage in remote villages of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon visited the region on Sunday and stated that it is the worst disaster he has ever seen.

Flooding from heavy monsoon rains that began in July has stricken one fifth of the country's land. Thousands have been injured, and millions have lost their homes, food stores, and livelihoods.

On Sunday, 20% of the requested $460 million needed for initial emergency relief had been raised.

Caritas is among those groups appealing for aid for the Pakistani people.

Anila Gill, national executive secretary of Caritas Pakistan, stated, "The priority is to ensure people have food, water, shelter and medical help."

She continued: "There are so many people who are in grave difficulty.

"It's such a traumatic situation for those who have lost everything and who have to rely on others even for a drink of water."

Outbreak

The lack of clean drinking water has led to an outbreak of gastroenteritis, diarrhea, and other diseases. On Saturday, the first case of cholera was reported.

Caritas is working to distribute food, provide clean water, shelter and hygiene facilities.

As well, the aid agency is putting together a plan to help reconstruct infrastructure such as roads and bridges, which were already weakened by conflict in that region and were swept away by the floods. In this way, aid workers will be able to access remote villages.

Caritas medical camps are preparing to provide emergency medical treatment, immunization and vaccination services to some 8,000 people for the prevention of epidemic waterborne diseases.

The aid agency is also paying particular attention to helping vulnerable women and children affected by the disaster to protect them from falling victim to crime.

More flooding is expected as rains continue in that region, giving a greater urgency to the relief workers.

--- --- ---

On the Net:

Caritas: Caritas.org

Caritas: Food Crisis Is Urgent for G-8, G-20

ROME, JUNE 24, 2010 ( Zenit.org ).- The international Caritas aid agency says world leaders meeting this weekend in Canada must focus on the rising food crisis.

In a statement released Wednesday, Caritas affirmed the urgency of the food crisis, and urged the Group of Eight and Group of 20 representatives to tackle the problem when they meet this Friday through Sunday.

"Decades of misguided economic and agricultural policies have finally become too much for farmers and people around the world to withstand," the Caritas statement affirmed. "A record 1 billion people are now chronically hungry. One in every seven does not have the food needed for basic life."

The aid organization asserted that the G-8 and G-20 countries, with their developed and emerging economies, "must reverse global food policies by supporting small-scale, sustainable agriculture in developing countries, over industrial agriculture."

"We need more aid, better spent. And we need to see effective action on climate change," affirmed Michael Casey, Caritas Canada’s executive director.

Food security is expected to be further impacted by climate change.

Caritas called on rich countries to commit an additional U.S. $195 billion in public financing per year by 2020 to support poor countries in their adaptation to climate change and to develop sustainably.

Caritas: Remember Women Refugees

Says International Community Can Do Better
ROME, JUNE 18, 2010 ( Zenit.org ).- When World Refugee Day is marked this Sunday, the Caritas aid organization hopes the plight of the 3 million women refugees on the planet is given due attention.

"Women refugees are particularly vulnerable to human rights abuses in cases where they’ve been forced to leave their homes for long-standing periods. Caritas says the international community can do better in protecting them from violence," a communiqué from the agency announced today.

Caritas' director of policy, Martina Liebsch, affirmed that the international community must "show the political will" to ensure the protection guaranteed in international treaties.

According to the aid agency, there are some 10 million refugees in the world today, two-thirds of whom are in crises that have lasted five years or longer. Women make up 49% percent of the refugee population.

“Women can become victims of violence in these [refugee] camps,” said Liebsch. “They are more vulnerable to attacks as they frequently have to leave the camps for basic supplies for their families, such as firewood and water.”

Caritas called not only for better security in camps, but also for better mechanisms for women to report violence and have access to legal proceedings.

“Supporting livelihood programs for women is a key factor,” Liebsch proposed. “By giving a woman the ability to provide for herself and her family in a secure environment, they will not be forced to take risks by going outside camp.”

But she added: "The best way to provide security is to resolve crises themselves so refugees can return home."

African Food Crisis Leaves 10 Million Hungry

Caritas: Delay in Aid Costs Lives

NIAMEY, Niger, JUNE 16, 2010 ( Zenit.org ).- Caritas is calling for international aid to abate a food crisis in the Sahel region of West Africa, where 10 million people are facing hunger.

Niger is the worst hit with 8 million people at risk, Caritas reported today, although there are also food shortages in Chad, Mali and Burkina Faso.

Raymond Yoro, secretary general of Caritas Niger, called for immediate help, affirming, "It's not too late to avert a tragedy."

"We are facing a potential child survival emergency in Niger," he said, as "378,000 children are at risk of severe acute malnutrition and a further 1.2 million are at risk of moderate malnutrition."

The crisis, resulting from irregular rainfall, crop deficits, rising food prices and chronic poverty, is "much worse" than the last food shortage in 2005, the aid agency reported.

"The lesson then was that delays in aid cost lives," Yoro lamented. "Yet despite raising the alarm in December 2009, donors have been slow to provide funding."

The agency stated that people have been experiencing severe food shortages for six months already, and are now selling off livestock, eating wild foods, taking children out of school and abandoning their homes in a search for food.

Yoro called for immediate donations as well as "hunger safety nets, strengthened early warning systems, and climate change adaptation programs to avoid future food crises."

Niger has only half of the amount of resources needed to feed the hungry, and is still short $50 million. As well, the country's health system, which runs free malnutrition treatment programs, is almost bankrupt.

Caritas has been running a campaign since May to collect $3.5 million in order to provide 246,000 households with food, seeds, and other aid, and 17,000 children, pregnant women and new mothers with special care.

For more information, visit http://www.catholiccharitiesyoungstown.org/ccdoy-disaster-response.html

Pope to Charity Workers: Unite Action With Prayer

Calls for New Generation of Servant Leaders
FATIMA, Portugal, MAY 13, 2010 ( Zenit.org ).- Benedict XVI is urging charity workers to combine their action with prayer, and to keep their Catholic identity strong despite cultural pressures.

The Pope stated this today in Fatima at a meeting with people involved in charity organizations and social work. The event was part of the third day of the Pontiff's four-day visit to Portugal.

Often, he said, "it is not easy to arrive at a satisfactory synthesis between spiritual life and apostolic activity."

"The pressure exerted by the prevailing culture, which constantly holds up a lifestyle based on the law of the stronger, on easy and attractive gain, ends up influencing our ways of thinking, our projects and the goals of our service, and risks emptying them of the motivation of faith and Christian hope which had originally inspired them," the Holy Father acknowledged.

As well, he continued, the "many pressing requests which we receive for support and assistance from the poor and marginalized of society impel us to look for solutions which correspond to the logic of efficiency, quantifiable effects and publicity."

Nonetheless, Benedict XVI stated, the synthesis of prayer and action is "absolutely necessary."

He underlined the need for Catholic workers to hold fast to their identity, and ensure "that Christian charitable activity is granted autonomy and independence from politics and ideologies even while cooperating with state agencies in the pursuit of common goals."

"The services you provide, and your educational and charitable activities, must all be crowned by projects of freedom whose goal is human promotion and universal fraternity," the Pope stated.

United

"Yours is a variety of faces," he noted, yet all united "in concern for social issues and, above all, in showing compassion to the poor, the infirm, prisoners, the lonely and abandoned, the disabled, children and the elderly, migrants, the unemployed and all those who experience needs which compromise personal dignity and freedom."

The Pontiff expressed appreciation for "all those social and pastoral initiatives aimed at combating the socio-economic and cultural mechanisms which lead to abortion, and are openly concerned to defend life and to promote the reconciliation and healing of those harmed by the tragedy of abortion."

He continued: "Initiatives aimed at protecting the essential and primary values of life, beginning at conception, and of the family based on the indissoluble marriage between a man and a woman, help to respond to some of today's most insidious and dangerous threats to the common good.

"Such initiatives represent, alongside numerous other forms of commitment, essential elements in the building of the civilization of love."

"In its social and political dimension, this service of charity is the proper realm of the lay faithful," the Holy Father affirmed, "who are called to organically promote justice and the common good, and to configure social life correctly."

He noted that "a new generation of servant leaders needs to be trained" for future work.

Benedict XVI affirmed that "anyone who learns from the God who is Love will inevitably be a person for others."

--- --- ---

On ZENIT's Web page:

Full text: http://zenit.org/article-29245?l=english

CARITAS: LET HAITIAN PEOPLE HELP REBUILD

ZE10033007 - 2010-03-30
Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-28805?l=english


Calls for Protection of Women and Children

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, MARCH 30, 2010 (Zenit.org).- In anticipation of an international donors' conference at the United Nations in New York, Caritas is requesting that the Haitians be allowed to participate in their country's reconstruction.

Representatives of several countries and aid organizations will gather Wednesday to discuss the topic of Haiti's reconstruction, over two months after the Jan. 12 earthquake destroyed Port-au-Prince.

In a press release today, Caritas called for a "reconstruction agenda based on the participation of Haitian civil society" and the involvement of the people in the plans.

The president of Caritas Haiti, Bishop Pierre Dumas, said: "All the aspects of health, environment, education, job creation and the development of the local production need to be taken into account.

"A 'revive package' needs to be created."

The agency is requesting "quick effective solutions to the human suffering being experienced today."

"Makeshifts camps need improvements in shelter, sanitation, and law and order," it asserted. "There must be support for outlying areas to encourage people to find more suitable places to live."

"Informed consent is key," the statement added.

Nationwide renewal

Caritas noted that the reconstruction plans should be developed to "renew the whole country."

"Chronic food insecurity must be addressed by investing in economic growth, a green energy policy, livelihoods, small scale farming, and in combating environmental degradation and deforestation," it pointed out.

The agency underlined the protection of the rights of women and children as "a priority in the fragile post-disaster environment."

It added, "Their advancement and protection must be at the center of reconstruction plans."

To date, Caritas has distributed some $12 million of donations to aid the people.

This money has been used to give health care, including hospital care and kits, to 1.16 million people. Some 1.55 million people have received hot meals and regular food supplies.

Shelter kits and tents were distributed to 900,000 quake survivors, and clean water or hygiene kits were given to 200,000 Haitians.

The agency also gave specific support to 13,000 of the more vulnerable Haitians, including children, the elderly and disabled.

Caritas Launches Zero Poverty Campaign

Envisions World Where No One Is Homeless
BRUSSELS, Belgium, JAN. 27, 2010 ( Zenit.org ).- Caritas is launching a campaign in conjunction with the 2010 European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion.

The Zero Poverty campaign was launched by the aid agency today at the European Parliament in Brussels.

The presentation was given to the by Erny Gillen, president of Caritas Europa and representatives of Caritas Italy, Paolo Pezzana and Patrizia Cappelletti.

They presented the campaign's vision "of a different world, in which no one is forced to live on the streets or dies prematurely because they cannot afford health care."

"Poverty is a scandal," Caritas Europa affirmed in a press release today, and is "unacceptable in the 21st century."

Also for this European Year, Caritas published a Poverty Paper, in which it stated that this social ill is more than a lack of financial resources.

Poverty is a "lack of well-being," the communiqué stated. "Naturally, a lack of basic means is an extremely common cause of emotional and psychological distress."

In that sense, the agency called for the support and strengthening of the "three traditional sources of social welfare: the labor market, the family, and the welfare state."

In this way, it added, "the poor and socially excluded can become truly self-sufficient and restore the dignity that has been robbed from them by the stigma of poverty."

"Society has to tackle poverty's root causes rather than merely respond to its consequences," the Caritas statement affirmed.

It continued, "If the fight against poverty and social exclusion is to be sustained, more emphasis must be placed on what policies can do to prevent the spiral of poverty from taking place, particularly in the early stages of an individual's life."

The agency is sponsoring a petition to lobby national governments in Europe and supranational institutions for certain actions in the fight against poverty.

This Petition Against Poverty calls for four steps: "End child poverty by guaranteeing allowances for every child in Europe, regardless of the status of their parents; secure a minimum standard of social security for all; guarantee universal health care and strengthen the welfare state; take active steps to ensure decent jobs with decent wages."

The agency aims to obtain 1 million signatures from citizens of a variety of member states.

It noted the hope that this year will challenge many people and institutions to "look at poverty through new eyes."

Caritas called for "everybody who cares about combating poverty" to make a stand that "will get people talking, thinking and acting."

To this end, it is offering concrete actions against poverty on its campaign Web site.

"Poverty is everybody's concern," the communiqué stated. "Act now for a better future!"

--- --- ---

On the Net:

Zero Poverty Campaign: www.zeropoverty.org

Caritas Aid Pours in to Haiti

Real Strength Is Network of Parishes, Says Director
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, JAN. 18, 2010 ( Zenit.org ).- Aid from the Church continues pouring into Haiti, where rescue workers are still finding scattered survivors under the rubble from Tuesday's 7.0 earthquake.

As the catastrophe nears its week anniversary, the network of Caritas Internationalis has been able to begin meeting some of the vast needs. Rescuers from Caritas found three victims alive on Saturday, another three on Sunday.

The estimated number of casualties is now at 200,000, though the majority of victims' bodies are still trapped beneath the chaos of fallen buildings.

Caritas organizations are running two mobile operating rooms and working on six mobile clinics. They've sent thousands of blankets, tents, water cans and purification tablets. Twenty trucks of aid arrived in Port-au-Prince on Sunday.

An emergency clinic is being flown in from Holland, complete with a surgeon and six technical staff for installing water purifying installations and seven water purifying installations.

Thirty-four tons of aid will be flown into Haiti from Germany on Tuesday.

"The real strength of Caritas is its network of parishes that gives us direct contact with communities and a point from which we can provide help," said Alistair Dutton, Humanitarian Director for Caritas Internationalis, who is leading the international coordination of the Caritas aid agencies response from Port-au-Prince.

Distribution

But one problem is getting aid in; another is getting it into the hands of hungry, thirsty Haitians.

Up to three million people are in need of help.

Caritas communications officer Michelle Hough recorded in her blog from Haiti on Sunday the difficulties simply getting from one place to another.

"We travel with a Caritas assessment team to Petit Goave, a small town 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Port-au-Prince in the afternoon," she wrote. "It takes us over two hours. In some places the road has massive holes and cracks. It’s tough going in a jeep, I can’t imagine how aid trucks will manage."

Hough noted how the media have made much of insecurity on the island: "As for insecurity, apart from the gunshots last night there has been no indication of violence. Looking at the faces of the people in Port-au-Prince, they are in shock and haven’t even begun to come to terms with what has happened."

NOTE: Please visit Catholic Relief Services for more information

Interview with Vatican Official All Eyes on Haiti

All Eyes on Haiti
Interview With Cardinal Cordes of Cor Unum
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 16, 2010 ( Zenit.org ).- As disaster strikes Haiti, the eyes of the world are being directed toward the poorest country of the Western world, whose long suffering has long been forgotten, says Cardinal Josef Cordes.

The president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum spoke with ZENIT about the aftermath of the 7.0-magnitude quake that hit the country Tuesday, and destroyed its capital of Port-au-Prince.

In this interview the cardinal discusses the damage done to the country, as well as what will be needed to help Haiti in the days, months and years ahead.

ZENIT: What do you know about the damage of the earthquake?

Cardinal Cordes: Initial communication was difficult, but we are beginning to receive reports from Catholic agencies working directly on the scene, such as Catholic Relief Services (the international relief and development agency of the U.S. bishops), national Caritas representatives being sent to Haiti by their bishops, Cross International Catholic Outreach, St. Vincent de Paul Confederation.

Certain facts are known through the media (loss of life, homes, etc). More specifically for us, it was the apostolic nuncio in Santo Domingo who had the first contact via e-mail with Archbishop Bernardito Auza, apostolic nuncio in Haiti. Archbishop Auza is informing us about the losses to the Church, both in terms of life and structural damage. The archbishop of Port-au-Prince, Joseph Serge-Miot, whom he described as "good" and "always smiling," was killed as he was thrown from his balcony by the force of the earthquake. Other priests, religious and at least nine seminarians have been buried under the rubble. The cathedral, chancery, and all of the parish churches have been destroyed. Archbishop Auza is visiting Catholic and other establishments, many of them ruined, to express the closeness of the Church and Holy Father.

ZENIT: What is the immediate need?

Cardinal Cordes: Every natural catastrophe is unique, but our long experience of previous disasters (e.g. Tsunami, Katrina) shows two distinct phases:

-- Short-term: manpower is needed to save lives, provide the basic necessities (water, food, shelter, prevention of disease), restore order;

-- Long-term: reconstruction, offering spiritual and psychological help, especially when media attention fades away.

Benedict XVI has called on all people of good will to be generous and concrete in their response in order to meet the immediate needs of our suffering brothers and sisters in Haiti (General Audience, Jan. 13, 2010). It is important that we are giving tangible help through the charitable agencies of the Catholic Church. Much is being organized and encouraged in this regard throughout the world.

For example, the episcopal conference of Italy has set Jan. 24 as a day of prayer and charity for the people of Haiti. The national embassies to the Holy See are organizing the sacrifice of the Holy Mass to be offered for our suffering brothers and sisters. We must remember to intercede through prayer and not only money for the suffering of Haiti.

ZENIT: What is being done concretely by the Holy See/Pontifical Council Cor Unum?

Cardinal Cordes: In his appeal for assistance, Benedict XVI asked specifically that the Catholic Church mobilize herself at once through her charitable institutions. Several Catholic organizations have already begun working, offering especially personnel with expertise at this stage (e.g. the national Caritas of Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, France, Austria, the Order of Malta). Cross International Catholic Outreach is at work through its office in Port-au-Prince. We are receiving daily updates from them all.

Whenever a situation like this arises, it is the custom for one agency to coordinate relief efforts. To this end, in the hours following the earthquake, our Pontifical Council was in direct contact with Catholic Relief Services. We asked that it coordinate the response at this stage in view of the 300 plus staff it has in Haiti, its long history of over 50 years in the country, as well as its expertise in dealing with similar disasters worldwide and its resources. The President of CRS has assured us: "We stand committed and ready to inform and coordinate the response of the Church in whatever way possible so that her response may be an effective sign of God's love."

We know from the apostolic nuncio in Haiti that meetings are taking place with CRS and Caritas Haiti at the Nunciature in Port-au-Prince in order that the urgent local needs are addressed. It is essential that the local Church be heard. To this end, we are pleased that those Haitian bishops, who have been able to travel, have been present at these meetings.

ZENIT: How much does people's faith help them through a catastrophe such as this?

Cardinal Cordes: The faith of the people who have suffered in this disaster will play a critical role in not only bringing relief to their physical injuries and losses, but also in addressing the spiritual dimension and meaning to be found in such a catastrophe. In visiting disaster areas before and talking with survivors, many express their gratitude to God for sparing their lives and for the generous outpouring of assistance made available to them by family, friends, neighbors, and Churches worldwide. Because of the large Catholic population (80% of Haitians are Catholics), faith and the concrete presence/witness of the Church will have a very important role in the present tragedy.

Our Pontifical Council Cor Unum had already planned that the next meeting of the Populorum Progressio Foundation would take place in Santo Domingo this coming July. The foundation, established by Pope John Paul II, is to help the indigenous peoples of the Latin American and Caribbean countries. In the past, we have given much help to Haiti and we shall continue to do so. Of course, our spiritual closeness is of primary importance. We shall be certain to celebrate the Holy Eucharist on that occasion with bishops coming from different countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Without faith, this tragedy would turn into a complete disaster. That is why it will be essential for our brothers and sisters to pray together; experience Christians worldwide sharing their burdens as members of God's family; know the compassion of our Holy Father. All these become sources of hope and energy. In His first encyclical, "Deus Caritas Est," Pope Benedict invites us to recall "St. Augustine who gives us faith's answer to our sufferings: 'Si comprehendis, non est Deus' -- 'if you understand him, he is not God.'" The Holy Father adds: "Even in their bewilderment and failure to understand the world around them, Christians continue to believe in the 'goodness and loving kindness of God' (Titus 3:4)" (No. 38).

ZENIT: Will good come from this tragedy?

Cardinal Cordes: This is a disaster that has caused immense loss of life and suffering. Many years will be needed for the nation to be rebuilt physically and the people to recover in their spirits. For this reason, the Church must remain present even as others move away.

But already we see good rising from the ruins. The eyes of the world are being open to the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, whose long suffering was all but forgotten. This tragedy shows that we depend on each other and must care for our suffering brothers and sisters, just as we did during the Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. So we must ensure that the necessary assistance now being shown to Haiti continues in the long-term, for example through setting up better local Caritas structures and links with government development ministries of wealthier countries and help agencies.

We are witnessing and hearing of many selfless and heroic acts made to save lives and to rescue those in danger. There are still thousands of others, who, coming from all over the world and without any accolades, are dedicating themselves to helping whoever is in need. People are being moved to give of themselves spiritually and materially to help the poor and suffering. In the coming days and weeks, I am convinced that we shall encounter in the midst of this catastrophe many examples of goodness.

Above all, it is with trustworthy hope in the Crucified and Risen Lord Jesus that Christians face the present. In his encyclical "Spe Salvi," Pope Benedict speaks of the sufferings of this moment being borne through hope in the future. It is not that Christians know the details of what awaits them, but they know in general terms that their life will not end in emptiness: "Only when the future is certain as a positive reality does it become possible to live the present as well" (Spe Salvi No. 2).

Caritas Plans Climate Change Campaign

Prepares to Bring Lobbyists to Copenhagen
VATICAN CITY, DEC. 1, 2009 ( Zenit.org ).- Caritas is joining with other humanitarian organizations to bring bishops and representatives from 25 countries to Copenhagen, Denmark, for an upcoming U.N. meeting on climate change.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will meet Monday to begin a two-week conference in Copenhagen.

In a press release today, Caritas reported that it plans to send representatives to "urge world leaders for climate justice," and campaign for a new deal "that puts the needs of the poor first."

The aid agency is working with CIDSE, which represents some 180 Catholic agencies, to bring representatives from: Mexico, Zambia, South Africa, North America, the Pacific Islands, Mozambique, Kenya and Europe.

Lesley-Anne Knight, secretary-general of Caritas, who will be present in Copenhagen, stated, "World leaders must agree to legally binding commitments to cutting greenhouse gases and to paying for the damage that climate change is having on poor communities."

She continued: "They must set a new vision with a shared responsibility to the Earth.

"We must all live more sustainable less excessive consumerist lifestyles. This will be painful, but not as painful as doing nothing."

"The outcome of Copenhagen must be part of a new global ethic that reconnects us to nature," Knight said, "otherwise it will have failed."

The network of aid organizations is calling for a "fair, effective and binding agreement" that is "legally binding and enforceable."

This agreement, the Caritas communiqué asserted, should include the commitment of developed countries to some $198 billion "additional public financing per year by 2020" to "support developing countries to adapt to the impacts of climate change and to develop sustainably."

It also called for an agreement including a commitment to keep global warming and emissions down

What Aid From 1 Country Means for Caritas

Victims of Natural Disasters Receive Assistance

ROME, OCT. 13, 2009 ( Zenit.org ).- Some 300,000 people affected by natural disasters that have in the last two weeks devastated regions of Asia and the Pacific are receiving humanitarian aid through the Caritas network.

Local Caritas agencies in Sumatra, Cambodia, India, the Philippines and Samoa are implementing in their respective countries the emergency plans devised to identify the most urgent needs of the victims and the most vulnerable areas.

In general, the priorities of those affected are similar: urgent food and health aid, drinking water, household goods, warm clothing, building materials and psychological-social support for victims.

In Sumatra, Caritas Indonesia (KARINA) is helping 7,500 households (some 40,000 people) in the areas most scourged by the earthquake of last Sept. 30. A Joint Caritas Response Team, specialized in emergencies, is working in the districts of Padang and Pariaman, where they have identified priority areas in the towns of Sungai Sariak and Lurah Ampalu.

In addition to these victims, the Caritas team is also helping 10,000 victims in parishes in the city of Padang. The total estimated cost of the first phase of the emergency plan of Caritas Indonesia is €235,000 ($348,510).

Among the ongoing emergencies in Asia, the one affecting the southern Indian states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, due to the heavy rains of the last few weeks, has the greatest number of victims. Around 18 million people are affected and 2.5 million have been displaced, while 250,000 homes have been destroyed.

Caritas India has responded to this emergency with a plan valued at €1.5 million ($2.2 million), with which humanitarian aid will be given over the next three months to a population of 35,500 families (some 200,000 people) in more than 700 localities of nine districts.

The activities included in this emergency plan include the urgent distribution of water and food and the furnishing of family allotments of hygiene products, as well as the distribution of household goods, clothes and blankets.

In Samoa, where the tidal wave of Sept. 28 left thousands of people homeless, Caritas has prepared an emergency response plan amounting to an initial value of €145,000 ($215,000) to help the most affected communities.

Caritas Samoa, which has the support of experts from Caritas Australia, reported that in addition to the distribution of basic aid to the victims, in this first phase of the emergency they are giving priority to the psychological-social support of those affected, the recovery of educational activities and the delivery of temporary shelters.

For their part, Caritas of the Philippines and Cambodia continues to implement their respective plans in response to the emergency caused in both countries by Typhoon Ketsana. Whereas in the Philippines, the Caritas network plans to assist a population of 50,000 victims over the next three months, in Cambodia the population being assisted numbers 13,000 people.

All these emergencies are being supported financially by Caritas Spain, which over the past two weeks has approved allocations amounting to €50,000 for the appeal made by Caritas India, €100,000 for the emergency in Sumatra, €50,000 for Cambodia, €20,000 for Samoa and €100,000 for the Philippines.

Caritas Rushes Aid to Philippines

MANILA, Philippines, SEPT. 29, 2009 ( Zenit.org ).- Caritas is responding to the worst flood the Philippines has seen in 50 years, which killed some 250 people Saturday and displaced hundreds of thousands more.

In just 12 hours, Tropical Storm Ketsana dumped a month's worth of rain on the city of 12 million people, submerging 80% of the capital.

Caritas will initially provide aid for a total of 10,000 families in the seriously affected areas.

Caritas Philippines Executive Director Sister Rosanne Mallillin called the situation "very challenging."

"Many of our local social actions centers are still unable to reach the worse-hit areas because of the debris and the flooding," she explained. "People are in need of food and clean water, as many of the water sources have been contaminated. We’re also sending cooking utensils, sleeping mats and bed sheets."

--- --- ---

On the Net:

Caritas: www.caritas.org/

Caritas President: We Can Transform Society

Caritas President: We Can Transform Society

Urges Aid Agencies to Be Expressions of God

ROME, APRIL 8, 2009 ( Zenit.org ).- Thanks to Jesus' resurrection, volunteers can transform society into "something better," says the president of Caritas Internationalis.

Cardinal Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga, the archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, said this in an Easter message to the global federation of aid organizations of the Catholic Church.

He told the aid organization that they should be "an expression and a sacrament of the redeeming love of God for the whole of humanity."

"I saw in a recent report" that "donations from some of our Caritas organizations have increased, instead of diminishing during the world economic crisis," explained the archbishop. "This is a sign that the risen Christ can engender more love than hatred in the world, more concern for one's needy neighbor than egoism and avarice."

"We must firmly believe that we can transform our society into something better. A better place to live in, a better place to work in and a better place to praise God," the cardinal continued.

The cardinal appealed to all Caritas collaborators to keep close to their heart "the victims of the earthquake in L'Aquila, Italy. May their suffering be transformed into the joy of the resurrected Lord."

The president of Caritas concluded: "My prayer for the Caritas community around the world is that we be an expression and a sacrament of the redeeming love of God for the whole of humanity."

Pope Sends Vatican Firemen for Earthquake Aid

Caritas Workers Bring Hope To Area of Grave Destruction

ROME, APRIL 7, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is sending aid to earthquake victims in the form of Vatican firemen, while Caritas workers move forward to assist the affected towns.

Eight rescue workers, sent by the Holy See with the express permission of the Pope, have been collaborating since Monday to help victims of the earthquake in the Abruzzo region, said the corps' commander, Domenico Giani, on Vatican Radio.

The earthquake, measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale, struck close to the city of L'Aquila, around 70 miles northeast of Rome. Officials report 228 dead, 15 people missing, and around 1,000 injured.

The official explained: "During the night, no sooner than the tragedy was known, I spoke with our superiors, with Bishop Renato Boccardo and Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, secretary and president respectively of the Governor's Office for Vatican City State. Then we informed the Holy Father, the Secretary of State and the whole Secretariat."

"It seemed to us obligatory, at this time of great sorrow, that a team of our firemen should be present to give a hand," he added, explaining that the Vatican security forces "are also prepared in this area of security and civil protection."

Team approach

The Vatican sent a structural engineer to the area, and an eight-member team, with resources for civil protection and aid for the population.

The team is working in collaboration with the Italian emergency services in one of the most affected areas, the village of Onna, where 41 of the 250 inhabitants perished.

Giani said, "They worked throughout the night, recovering bodies, but now they are dedicated above all to helping the population, recovering what can be salvaged and giving moral support."

"The Holy See," he added, "with its different structures -- Cor Unum, Caritas -- always takes aid in the name of the Holy Father, when there is an emergency." "In this case," he said, "in addition to material and economic aid, professional help has also been provided."

The engineer, Paolo De Angelis, explained on Vatican Radio that the situation "is disastrous" and that despite this, "solidarity between persons" is being manifested.

He continued: "We have been received very positively: this is the message we wished to bring, a message of solidarity which the population has fully welcomed.

"The present climate among the inhabitants is one of consternation. Here above all what people need is consolation, as they have been left without anything by the earthquake."

Grave destruction

Father Vittorio Nozza, the director of Caritas in Italy, told ZENIT that the earthquake's destruction has been very grave, and "not one single house was spared from demolition."

He arrived today to L'Aquila and met with the diocesan bishop, Archbishop Giuseppe Molinari, and with the regional director of Caritas, Alberto Conti.

He said Caritas is meeting with each of the parish priests of the area "to hear firsthand what the most urgent needs are."

They agreed "to divide the affected territory into seven areas to facilitate a homogeneous aid intervention." A coordination center for Italian and diocesan Caritas is to be established immediately which will work not only during this time of emergency but also in the long-term for the region's reconstruction.

They stated the goal to provide places of shelter for children, the elderly and the sick, so that adults can dedicate themselves to reorganizing their daily life.

The priest said: "There is much composure in the villages we have been to, but in places where they have lost one or more loved ones, the question is very strong: Where is God? We answer this question with prayer and our closeness."

Father Dionisio Rodriguez, local Caritas director and pastor in Paganica, a town close to L'Aquila, plans to celebrate Easter Sunday Mass on a sports field for the earthquake victims.

"Easter Sunday offers a sign of hope and optimism," he said, "People aren't feeling much joy at the moment, but Easter Sunday provides us with a sign of life and renewal."

Caritas Internationalis: Answer to the Crisis? Solidarity

Caritas President Points to "Occasion for Growth"

By Sergio Estrada

MEXICO CITY, FEB. 27, 2009 ( Zenit.org ).- Even if the financial crisis is spread throughout the world, this is no time for discouragement, says the leader of Caritas Internationalis.

Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga affirmed this at a conference this week in Mexico, sponsored by the Instituto Mexicana de Doctrina Social Cristiana (Mexican Institute of Christian Social Doctrine).

"The crisis is generalized but we must not be discouraged," the Honduran cardinal affirmed. "The Church isn't a dead organization and she responds in times of crisis. This time of scarcity is an occasion for growth, and solidarity is the solution."

Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga called the Incarnation a manifestation of solidarity. And, he said, the Christian should never take an attitude of "let he who can save himself." Instead the faithful must hear Christ's call to solidarity.

Contending that the crisis is not so much economic as ethical, he said that when the human being marginalizes ethics from life, crises flourish.

What is important, the prelate affirmed, is that society not fall into "Cain's syndrome," which is not to bother about others.

Instead, he encouraged, all must work against this situation as children of God and help one another, thereby avoiding related consequences of poverty, such as the spread of violence and organized crime.

Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga urged the creation of networks of solidarity and mentioned Caritas by way of example.

Helping neighbors

Today, a Knights of Columbus summit in New York City echoed the cardinal's invitation to solidarity. The conference was called "A Nation of Neighbors Helping Neighbors: A Summit on Volunteerism as a Response to the Economic Crisis."

A statement from the men's group cited the invitation of Supreme Knight Carl Anderson: "If greed -- one of the worst aspects of human nature -- helped push us into this crisis, then one of the best aspects of our nature -- generosity -- will be necessary to help pull us out of it."

The summit gathered representatives from about 40 organizations to focus on fostering volunteerism, as the recession has made needs more acute.