The bishop’s letter will appear in Friday’s Catholic Free Press and is as follows:
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Last Tuesday's earthquake in Haiti, which measured 7.0 on the Richter scale, unleashed tremendous damage and a staggering loss of life. The death toll is significant and is expected to rise considerably as many people remain missing. Estimates of property losses in this poorest country in the Western Hemisphere will be substantial. At least three million people will be affected due to property damage and the loss of critical infrastructure.
In the immediate hours following the initial quake more than two dozen after-shocks occurred, further extending the damage. As you know, Haiti shelters a population that experiences hunger and neglect even in normal times.
Many of the survivors of this disaster have lost everything that they owned. Many remote towns and villages have been either severely or totally destroyed. Neither the Haitian government nor the people will be able to mount a substantive relief effort. The Haitian people will need a great deal of international support to rebuild their villages and their lives.
I am asking all of our parishes to take a special collection for Relief in Haiti at the Lord's Day Masses this weekend. I encourage you to be generous in offering assistance to our brothers and sisters in Haiti. Your generosity in responding to the needs of those who have suffered so many losses will truly help the people of Haiti at this difficult time.
Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic community. Its mission is to alleviate suffering and provide assistance to people in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. Its programs touch more than 100 million lives.
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