August 22, 2021 - "Haiti Earthquake"

On Saturday, August 14, 2021, Haiti suffered a 7.2-magnitude earthquake.  As of late Sunday, August 15, 2021, nearly 1,300 people have been killed, more than 5,700 people are injured, and more than 30,250 needed shelter as a result of the earthquake, which affected the southwestern part of the country, particularly the Dioceses of Jérémie, Les Cayes, and Anse-à-Veau Mirogoane.
 
In an interview on Sunday, August 15, Bishop Joseph Gontrand Décoste, SJ of Jérémie, noted the shock of the people at the destruction caused by the earthquake, which damaged several homes, churches, and even the Cathedral—all of which will have to be repaired or rebuilt.  Bishop Décoste also remarked that many of the people are forced to stay under the trees or in open areas to protect them from the aftershocks that trail the earthquake.
 
Father Pierre Jeanot, Pastor of the Conversion of Saint Paul Parish in Léon, Haiti, wrote to Dan Cardile and other members of our parish Haiti Committee that the building housing their secondary school (which our parish has largely subsidized) has sustained some serious cracks as a result of the earthquake.  One of the houses in Léon collapsed killing a child who was inside the house at the time the earthquake struck.  Father Jeanot was grateful that the church building, under repair since it was destroyed in the earthquake in 2010, fortunately was not damaged in Saturday’s earthquake.
 
Fonie Pierre, a public health professional who heads operations in Haiti for the U.S. based Catholic Relief Services and who lives in Les Cayes, Haiti’s third-largest city and one of the hardest hit by the 7.2 earthquake, reports that she and her daughter fled their home during the earthquake and have joined neighbors in living outdoors for the foreseeable future.
 
Ms Pierre also reported that the local hospital in Les Cayes does not have capacity to receive so many injured people, while other medical centers in the south are trying to offer help “but it is difficult for them to find materials, doctors, nurses, and human resources to manage this situation.”
 
Relief workers report that the August 14 earthquake might not be as catastrophic as the 2010 quake that was closer to the capital, but recovery will be complicated because the quake came after the assassination of Haiti’s president last month, an economic and ongoing political crisis, the coronavirus pandemic, and an active storm season currently underway.
 
Let me close this column with a statement released by Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on August 14, 2021:

 “On behalf of the bishops of the United States, I wish to express my heartfelt prayers for the people of Haiti who are mourning the loss of loved ones and are suffering from the destruction caused by the earthquake that took place this morning.  We offer our prayers to Archbishop Launay Saturné, president of the bishops’ conference in Haiti, and to all those who tirelessly serve the faith communities in Haiti.  We stand in solidarity with the Church in Haiti in offering our prayers, in a particular way this weekend as we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin.
 
“In these moments of continued trial, may you feel the comfort. compassion, and embrace of our Blessed Mother.  Our Lady of Perpetual Help, patroness of Haiti, intercede for us!
 
“Catholics and all people of good will may assist in the relief work by contacting Catholic Relief Services.  I am grateful to all who can support the relief effort of our brothers and sisters in Haiti.”
 
Until next week,
Fr. John