Pope Benedict invokes
'a future for Haiti'
Grief-stricken Haitians gathered yesterday for the funeral of Archbishop Joseph Miot of Port au Prince and his vicar, both of whom were killed in the earthquake and were found in the rubble of Haiti's cathedral. Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York City was among the prelates who came to Haiti for the rites.
The Vatican released the texts of the letters written by the Holy Father to the President of Haiti and the president of the Haitian bishops conference last week, immediately after the catastrophic earthquake that levelled the capital Port au Prince, killed at least 200,000 and left two million homeless.
To His Excellency
Monsieur René Préval
President of the Republic of Haiti
Having learned with the greatest sorrow of the earthquake which tragically struck your dear land, I wish to assure Your Excellency of my profound sympathy and my fervent prayers for all the persons touched by this terrible catastrophe.
I ask God to welcome to the peace of his Kingdom all those who died in the earthquake and to give comfort to their families who have mostly been unable to give a worthy funeral for their dear departed.
I also pray that the spirit of solidarity may dwell in all hearts, and that calm may be kept on the streets so that the generous aid coming from other countries may bring relief to all and assurance to the persons who now lack everything that the entire international community will take concrete care of them.
I sincerely appreciate the involvement of all, Haitians and foreigners, who often at the risk of their own lives, have put all their efforts to find and help survivors, and I thank them from the heart for all their work.
I wish to assure Your Excellency that the Catholic Church, through its institutions, beyond the great emotion of the event, will be at the side of all those who are suffering under this trial, and that as far as it can, it will help them to recover their chances for a future that is open.
As a token of my affection for everyone, I impart with all my heart to the entire suffering people of Haiti a special Apostolic Blessing.
From the Vatican
16 January 2010
To Louis Kébreau
Archbishop of Cap-Haitien
and President of the
Episcopal Conference of Haiti
Having learned with the greatest sorrow of the earthquake which has just struck so hard the capital of your country, I wish to assure you, as well as all the faithful of the Church in Haiti, of my great spiritual closeness and my fervent prayers for all the persons affected by this catastrophe.
I ask God to welcome in peace to his Kingdom all those who died in teh earthquake, particularly Mons. Joseph Serge Miot, Archbishop of Port au Prince, who shared the fate of so many of his flock, among them priests, consecrated persons and seminarians.
In these dark hours, I call on Our Lady of Perpetual Help to be the Mother of Tenderness who will guide hearts so that solidarity may overcome feelings of isolation and each-man-for-himself.
I welcome the very prompt mobilization of the international community, unanimously moved by the fate of Haitians, and of the entire Church which, through its institutions, will not fail to bring its contribution to emergency responses and to the patient reconstruction of the devastated zones.
As a token of affection and spiritual comfort, I impart with all my heart to all the pastors and faithful of the Church in Haiti who are under severe trial a special Apostolic Blessing.
From the Vatican
16 January 2010
Hundreds gather in Port-au-Prince
to bury archbishop killed in quake
By Scott Wilson
January 23, 2010
PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI -- Hundreds of the capital's Catholic faithful gathered Saturday to bury Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot, killed with scores of parishioners when the Jan. 12 earthquake broke apart the cathedral where he worked and prayed.
For the service, wooden pews from the ruined church, where countless bodies remain entombed beneath pale pink rubble and shattered stained glass, were set out in the broad courtyard in front of the cathedral.
Amid blooming oleander bushes and the occasional pop of gunfire from the volatile business district nearby, politicians and diplomats, seminarians and novices prayed, sang and remembered Miot and Bishop Charles Benoit, the city's vicar general, who was also crushed to death in the quake. His body lay in a white casket, topped with a spray of bright flowers, next to the one holding the archbishop.
"If Monsignor Miot were alive, he would tell us to have courage, to be strong in starting over," said Marie-Andre Baril, 53, a bank teller whose home was destroyed in the quake.
"With my faith, I hope to have what he would want us to have. I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying here." The devout Catholic population of this city has lost the head of its church, a vivid example of one of the quake's cruelest outcomes. Many of those killed were the very people who, in times of tragedy, would be sought out for solace and explanation.
The Haitian government Saturday placed the death toll from the 7.0-magnitude quake at 111,000 and rising, the vast majority of the victims from the capital, where up to a third of the country's people once lived.
And Saturday, a day after the government called off the search for survivors, another was found.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 18/02/2010 09:32]