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News #152
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ASIA Church Pools Resources To Aid Tsunami Victims Posted: 30th December 2004
BANGKOK (UCAN): Local Churches across Asia are responding with aid, funds and prayers in the wake of the earthquake and tsunamis that devastated coastal areas in south and southeast Asia.
Father Ambroise also is slated to visit Thailand and, with local Church officials, plan ways to reach relief to hard-hit villages on Thailand's western coast, which is dotted with island resorts where many perished. Foreigners reportedly account for half the casualties. Myanmar and Bangladesh were not as seriously affected. Compared to elsewhere, damage in these countries is minor, Father Ambroise said, so Church organizations in these places would plan their own relief measures. Local Churches and Caritas units in parts of Asia not directly affected by the disaster have made initial responses aimed at disaster relief. UCA News spoke to officials in those places. In China, Beifang Jinde Catholic Social Service Centre, a Church-run charity based in Shijiazhuang, 350 kilometers southwest of Beijing, will donate US$6,000 through Caritas Asia, Father John Baptist Zhang Shijiang said Dec. 28 from his office at the center. "This is the first time that the center is making donations outside China," the director added. Although the amount is small, he said, it represents the care and concern of the Catholics in mainland China and solidarity with Caritas Asia and the peoples of the affected countries. In his letter dated Dec. 27 to Father Ambroise, Father Zhang noted that China is still a developing country and the Church there a small, minority community, so his center could not make a large contribution. Since Dec. 27 Beifang Jinde, which previously sent donations out of the mainland only once, for people affected by the Taiwan earthquake in 1999, has appealed for all Catholics in China to show compassion for those affected in South and Southeast Asia.
In a notice issued the same day, the diocesan chancery office directed that collections during Masses Jan. 1-2 be reserved for emergency relief efforts and that parishes provide a special donation box for collecting relief funds outside Mass until Jan. 7. Bishop Zen had already asked local people, through a Dec. 27 radio program, to pray for those affected and extend helping hands to them. "While enjoying a joyful Christmas here, we have heard unfortunate news about tens of thousands having died in the earthquake and tsunami." He urged local Catholics and local people to assist and donate money through charity organizations, to "offer our love so that we can have a meaningful Christmas."
In Macau, Caritas Macau set up bank accounts for local donations on Dec. 28. Further fundraising is under discussion, according to Hui Vai-ieng, secretary of the agency's head office. Bishop Jose Lai Hung-seng of Macau said he would contact all parish priests and urge them to encourage parishioners to donate. In Taiwan, Sister Emma Lee Ling-ling, Caritas Taiwan executive secretary, reported Dec. 28 that her agency had appealed to Taiwan's episcopal conference and local dioceses for relief aid. In South Korea, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea and individual dioceses are asking Catholics to donate for relief assistance through Sunday Mass collections. Meanwhile, the conference issued a condolence message on Dec. 28 to affected families and decided to donate US$50,000. According to a conference official, US$20,000 will be sent for relief efforts in Sri Lanka and US$10,000 each for efforts in India, Indonesia and Thailand. Archbishop Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk of Seoul archdiocese issued a separate urgent appeal the same day asking Seoul Catholics to offer help. The archdiocese decided to make a donation of US$30,000 for Sri Lanka. Coadjutor Bishop Lazarus You Heung-sik of Taejon issued an official letter to all priests in his diocese asking them to encourage parishioners to donate through Sunday Mass collections. Caritas Coreana has used all its funds allocated for 2004 but would solicit private donations through appeals in Church media, according to Alex Lee Sang-joon, head of its department for international cooperation. In Japan, among the world's most earthquake-prone countries, Caritas Japan donated 10 million yen (about US$100,000) through Caritas Internationalis, according to Nosaka Hideo, the general director. He said from Tokyo that on Dec. 27, Caritas Japan also launched a fund-raising drive by all 16 of its diocesan units to aid those hit by the disaster.
Japan suffered its worst earthquake in a decade two months ago, when a magnitude 6.8 tremor rocked the northern Japanese region of Niigata, killing 40 people and injuring more than 2,700.
Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales of Manila also announced that his archdiocese would set aside a portion of its Sunday Mass collections for disaster relief.
The bishop also appealed for prayers at Mass for the souls of those killed by the tsunamis and for their surviving family members, as well as for those who were injured. Article Source: UCANEWS |
Asia with all countries from disaster
