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Catholic Church will always stand alongside Haitians — Pope Benedict XVI telegrams Haitian president
Pope Benedict invoked the Blessed Mother as Our Lady of Perpetual Hope; expressed solidarity with the Haitian people in the aftermath of their serious series of earthquakes; pledged his prayers and the Church's continued support for relief efforts; praised the ongoing international response to the tragedy; calls for continued efforts to rescue survivors; and prays for a spirit of calm, consolation, and solidarity to enter the hearts of all involved in Haiti. The Holy Father did so in telegrams sent to the Haitian president and the Archbishop president of the Episcopal Conference of Haiti.
VATICAN CITY, 23 JAN 2010 (VIS - Vatican Information Service) - Made public today were two telegrams sent by the Holy Father on 16 January to Rene Preval, president of the Republic of Haiti, and to Archbishop Louis Kebreau S.D.B. of Cap-Haitien and president of the Episcopal Conference of Haiti, for the earthquake which devastated the country on 12 January, killing and injuring hundreds of thousands of people.
Benedict XVI tells President Preval of his "profound sadness" at the tragic event and assures him of his "fervent prayers for all the people affected by this dreadful catastrophe. I also pray", the Pope continues, "that a spirit of solidarity may enter people's hearts and that calm may reign in the streets, so that the generous aid arriving from all countries may bring comfort to everyone, and that people who have today lost everything may be consoled by knowing that the international community is truly concerned about them".
The Holy Father expresses his appreciation for "the commitment shown by both Haitians and foreigners, sometimes at risk of their own lives, to do everything in their power to search for and rescue survivors". And he assures the president that the Catholic Church, "through her institutions, will remain - and not only in these moments of great commotion - alongside the people who have been so sorely tried by this tragedy, and will, to the limit of her powers, help them regain the chance to build a better future".
In his telegram to Archbishop Kebreau, the Pope mentions the tragic death in the earthquake of Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot of Port-au-Prince, and of many faithful, priests and consecrated people. "At this sad hour", he writes, "I invoke Our Lady of Perpetual Help that she may become 'Mother of tenderness', and that solidarity may triumph over isolation and individualism in people's hearts".
The also Pope praises "the rapid mobilisation of the international community, collectively touched by the fate of Haitians", and reaffirms that, through her institutions, the Church "will not cease to make her contribution to the emergency efforts and to the patient reconstruction of devastated areas".
TGR/HAITI EARTHQUAKE/PREVAL KEBREAU VIS 100125 (360)
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Keywords: Haiti, Pope Benedict XVI Message, Catholic Media, Vatican Information Service
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