The Catholic Church is at the forefront of efforts to help victims of the earthquake that struck one of the densest Christian islands of Indonesia. The Indonesian island of Flores was recently struck by a severe earthquake that registered at 7.7 on the Richter scale. The August 15 earthquake caused at least 70 deaths, injured …
Tag archives: Earthquake
Colombia: ACN Visits Earthquake-Stricken Dioceses
A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck large parts of western and central Colombia on Monday, August 10. The epicentre was recorded in the municipality of San José del Palmar, in the department of Chocó. According to the latest official report, the emergency has left 265 people dead, 3,494 injured, and 496 missing. The earthquake affected over 53,000 …
Continue reading “Colombia: ACN Visits Earthquake-Stricken Dioceses”
Earthquake in Colombia: Church assessing needs for emergency aid
A devastating 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck much of western and central Colombia on Monday. While authorities assess the scale of the emergency, the Catholic Church is already accompanying affected communities and gathering information to gauge the most urgent needs. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is in direct contact with the bishops of dioceses …
Continue reading “Earthquake in Colombia: Church assessing needs for emergency aid”
Venezuela: A Church and country in mourning
Venezuela is in mourning. Pain is everywhere, and the Church is often the only source of hope. “Feelings are very mixed. We are here to accompany, to counsel, and to support those who have suffered human losses, but also the many who have lost their jobs. We commend ourselves to the Lord, asking him to …
Continue reading “Venezuela: A Church and country in mourning”
Venezuela: Religious sisters stand in solidarity with earthquake victims
The superior general of the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master, who was due to return to Rome, speaks movingly about the faith displayed by the people amid the tragedy. The double earthquake that struck Venezuela on June 24, claiming more than 3,000 lives and affecting thousands of families, has mobilized the Church throughout the …
Continue reading “Venezuela: Religious sisters stand in solidarity with earthquake victims”
“The priority now is to rebuild lives,” says archbishop of Caracas
Archbishop Raúl Biord of Caracas, Venezuela, says that the Church is accompanying the victims of the earthquakes while rescue efforts continue. As search and rescue efforts continue, following the devastating earthquakes that shook Venezuela, the Church has begun to deal with the great challenge of accompanying a deeply traumatized population. “For those who survived, it …
Continue reading ““The priority now is to rebuild lives,” says archbishop of Caracas”
Venezuela: ACN allocates $150,000 to support Church response to earthquakes
Priests celebrate Mass in the street as churches become shelters following deadly earthquakes As rescue teams continue to search for survivors under the rubble following the devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24, the Catholic Church remains at the centre of the emergency response, opening its doors to those who have lost everything, while …
Continue reading “Venezuela: ACN allocates $150,000 to support Church response to earthquakes”
“Just like St. Peter, I was freed by a ‘miraculous earthquake,’” says Pakistani Christian
Shagufta Kausar was sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy and spent over eight years in prison. She recently shared her story at the launching of the Religious Freedom in the World Report, in Rome. In the summer of 2013, a mob broke into the simple house where Shagufta Kausar lived with her paralyzed husband, Shafqat …
ACN – Earthquake in Syria: More than $1.82 million of funding
Speaking one year after the terrible earthquake that affected Syria and Turkey, Xavier Stephen Bisits, ACN’s head of section for Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt, summed up the impact of the natural disaster: “February 6 was a turning point in the life of most families in Northern Syria. I will never forget the scenes in the …
Continue reading “ACN – Earthquake in Syria: More than $1.82 million of funding”
Syria: “The situation is intolerable”
On the first anniversary of the earthquake, a bishop in Aleppo calls for an end to sanctions and appeals to people not to forget the country. The Armenian Orthodox bishop of Aleppo in Syria, Magar Ashkarian, has called for an end to the sanctions imposed on Syria, saying “most people are leaving the country in …