Please Support our Brothers and Sisters in Haiti During Their Time of Need

On the afternoon of Tuesday, January 12th, Haiti was shaken by the largest earthquake that has ever been recorded in the area. The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 and was centered about 10 miles west of Port-au-Prince, with a very destructive superficial depth of only 5 miles according to the U.S. Geological Survey. 

Many homes and buildings, including a hospital and the national palace and cathedral have collapsed. Thousands have lost their lives, including the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, Serge Miot. Together, with the rest of the Catholic Church, we pray:

God of all creation, as we weep with our family in Haiti, console us.
In this time of crisis, open our eyes to look beyond the disaster
to see Christ in our brothers and sisters in Haiti, as Christ sees us.
Be with all creation; strengthen us in solidarity with those living and working in Haiti.
All creation returns to you in mourning and your grace guides our efforts to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, comfort the grieving and stand for justice.
With your mercy, sustain us at this time as we continue to work for peace and justice.
Amen.

The Catholic community in the United States is reaching out to our brothers and sisters in Haiti in significant and immediate ways. Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the official international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic Church, is mounting a major emergency response to this disaster and has made an initial commitment of 5 million dollars for immediate use in the relief effort. 

Donate to Catholic Relief Services by clicking here, or by calling 1-877-HELP-CRS, or by sending a check to Catholic Relief Services, P.O. Box 17090, Baltimore, MD 21203-7090. In the memo portion of your check, please write:  Haiti Earthquake.

Parishes across the country were urged by Cardinal Francis George, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Archbishop Timothy Dolan, chair of the CRS board, to take up a special collection the weekend of January 16-17, 2010 for the humanitarian efforts in Haiti.

These funds will be used to support the efforts of the USCCB and CRS as they respond to immediate emergency needs for such necessities as water, food, shelter and medical care, as well as to the long term need to rebuild after widespread destruction, and to the pastoral and reconstruction needs of the Church in Haiti.

On January 23-24, many dioceses are scheduled to take up the Collection for the Church in Latin America. This Collection is vitally important for our ability to respond to the pastoral needs of the Church in Haiti and other parts of Latin America in the weeks and months ahead. Please support both of these expressions of our solidarity and loving support for our brothers and sisters in Haiti.