Prayers and collection for the Philippines

Intermountain Catholic

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My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

We are all deeply concerned about our brothers and sisters in the Philippines as they deal with the devastating Typhoon Haiyan, and an earlier 7.2 magnitude earthquake.

We bishops, who are meeting in Baltimore, are encouraging that a collection be taken up to assist those who are dealing with these two tragedies. Parishes throughout the United States are encouraged to have this collection this coming weekend, Nov. 16-17.

Bishop Gerald Kicanas, chairman of Catholic Relief Services; and Dr. Carolyn Woo, the CRS president, have informed us that the estimate of the reported death toll of 10,000 people killed by the typhoon is, sadly, a low one. More than 9.5 million people have been affected. CRS is aiming to serve 100,000 families immediately and is sending teams immediately to the Philippines.

These teams will have to be completely self-sufficient because there is no infrastructure on which they can rely.  At present, the most important needs are emergency shelters, hygiene kits and cash to provide the Filipino people with income as they help with the removal of debris and other necessary tasks.  

The next step is the recovery stage, which involves rebuilding houses and sanitation systems as well as the restoration of livelihoods. CRS executives are leaving in the next few days to meet with the bishops of the Philippines  to assure them of our solidarity with them and the people of the islands.  

As you know, CRS is highly esteemed throughout the world as a relief agency. It has consistently maintained low operating costs and sends emergency funds directly to the people for whom they are intended.

I would also like to bring up two relevant points. First of all, at our meeting of the CRS Board of Directors last Saturday night, it was stressed that money collected for the Philippines will be used for immediate assistance and for ongoing rebuilding needs as described above. At times, some have criticized relief agencies for not spending the money collected all at once. This is actually intentional because funds are needed for long-term rebuilding.

Thank you so much for all you do in the service of the Church. I am deeply grateful to you all. Please continue to pray for those who are suffering so much because of the natural disasters that have taken place in the Philippines in the past few weeks.

Yours in the Lord,

Bishop John C. Wester