Catholic Transcript Online

Earthquake in Haiti

The earthquake in Haiti has shaken the people of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere to their roots. The continuing nightmares are real. Deaths approach the hundreds of thousands, the numbers of homeless people are multiples of those figures, and the infrastructure of the capital city of Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas is all but destroyed.

The aftershocks of the earthquake extend from Haiti to countries all over the world. People are responding to this unspeakable cataclysm. In our Archdiocese, I have asked every one of our 213 parishes to take up a special collection for the victims. We are forwarding these funds to Catholic Relief Services, which is distinguished for its relief and recovery programs across the planet. Catholic Relief Services has been in Haiti for 55 years. They have 300 people providing services there.

I am grateful also to the many volunteers from our Archdiocese who have been assisting part-time in Haiti for years and who plan on carrying on their work.

In this extensive effort, we join with the other 195 dioceses in the United States in meeting the challenges. We pray that with proper strategies, planning, and hard work, now and for a committed future, the people of Haiti may reach a stability they have not known before.

Archbishop’s Annual Appeal

Once again, therefore, our people in the Archdiocese respond to real needs. Your unfailing support for the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal is more than convincing evidence of that phenomenon. The results of the 2009 Appeal are complete. Pledges totaled $9,324,978. Cash received came to $9,290,497, which is 99.6 percent of the pledges made. That is convincing proof of how seriously you regard the Appeal and your pledges to it. The cash received was $35,682 less than that of 2008, an amazing accomplishment in a year of severe financial crisis and meltdown.

In this “Year for Priests,” marking the 150th anniversary of the death of Saint John Vianney, the Curé of Ars and patron saint of priests, it is inspiring once again to note the generosity of the priests of the Archdiocese. From their personal resources, the priests made an average gift of $1,146, up from their average gift last year of $991. They do not want notice of this, but I believe it is important to be reminded again of their exemplary leadership. They advocate for the Appeal and they support their commitment with inspiring personal dedication.

The financial figures are important, but we all know that the services they enable are the substance of the Appeal. In December 2009, we were able to complete Cathedral Green, converting the long-closed St. Joseph’s Cathedral School into 28 apartments of supportive affordable housing. The women and their children have moved in and life is moving along beautifully. We have indicated from the beginning that when the Catholic Church does housing, it is never merely construction. We address the integrity of the people to be served and provide the educational, social, medical, and pastoral dimensions which are necessary. The people coming to Cathedral Green, for example, had very little by way of furniture. When the parishioners of Assumption Parish in Woodbridge heard about this, under the leadership of Father Gene Gianelli, the Pastor, they took up a special collection to provide the furniture. As reported in the January issue of The Catholic Transcript, wives of deacons gathered at Saint Aedan’s Parish in New Haven and Our Lady of Pompeii Parish in East Haven and made quilts for the families. The quilts were distributed at a special dinner sponsored by Catholic Charities in the community room of Cathedral Green. A special card inside each quilt underscored the theme of community: “The quilt makes us family, enfolds us in warmth and comfort.” Parishioners of the Cathedral and alumni of the former school are providing services for the children. The story goes on.

The Malta medical van continues to be a priority for the 2010 Appeal. Doctors, nurses, and social workers volunteer their work to serve people who do not have health insurance. Currently, they serve one day a week in the Hartford parishes of St. Peter, St. Augustine, Sacred Heart, and St. Joseph’s Cathedral. At this point, they have served more than 12,400 people, and the number continues to rise dramatically. We are delighted to report that a Malta van will begin services in Waterbury at the beginning of March. The plans are for it also to serve eventually in four parishes: Sacred Heart, St. Francis Xavier, St. Margaret, and St. Stanislaus. Again, the only requirement to receive services is that the person, of whatever religious background, have no health insurance.

Because of our respect for the confidentiality of the people involved, we do not narrate the details of the service. One situation can be shared anonymously. Last year at this time, a woman came with her baby, two days old, for help. When she was asked her address, she said she had no address, that she was living in a car. She was given medical services and Catholic Charities was contacted to provide housing and other help for her and her infant. The temperature that evening was 2 degrees above zero.

Again, we are deeply grateful for all providing these services and for you for providing the financial resources necessary for the acutely needed programs.

We began a program in last year’s Appeal, and we must continue it this year: the Emergency Assistance Fund. It combines extraordinary strength in our Archdiocese: our parishes and Catholic Charities. If a person is in need of help for food, clothing, utilities, rental, car repair (for work), or medical prescriptions, he or she may make a request of the local pastor. If the pastor sees the situation as worthy, he can make the reference to one of our Catholic Charities agencies spread throughout the Archdiocese. More than 500 referrals have been made; more than 400 requests have been met, in whole or in part. There is accountability in the process. After the meeting with the person in need has been concluded, Catholic Charities writes to the pastor and the client to inform them of the assistance that has been granted. The requests have been increasing in recent months. Real needs continue to call for our response.

The Appeal is the hallmark of generosity in the Archdiocese. It funds the basic programs of the Archdiocese: Catholic schools, religious education programs, vicariate outreach programs across the Archdiocese, expanding costs of seminarians (the number of whom is rapidly and happily growing), retired priests, etc. The Sisters of the Archdiocese are supported through an annual collection in all the parishes.

Various people have mentioned to me that there is a rebirth, a renaissance going on in the Archdiocese. You are that rebirth, that renaissance, that renewal. People also tell me that they give to the Appeal in order to thank God for His grace in our lives. You do so most effectively, recognizing that without God’s blessings, we could all be in a position of serious need. For this reason we have as the theme of our Appeal, “Returning the Lord’s Goodness.”

Be sure of my heartfelt gratitude for the wonderful ways you do that in prayer and in action.