Tomorrow, January 10, there will be a special meeting focusing on Haiti held in the Saint Pius X Palace room in the Vatican. The focus of this meeting will be The communion of the Church: memory and hope for Haiti five years after the earthquake. This conference, organized by the Pontifical Council Cor Unum and by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, in collaboration with the bishops of Haiti, is taking place as a result of the desire of the Holy Father in order to keep attention focused on a country which still suffers as a result of the consequences of that catastrophe and also to reaffirm the Church's closeness to the Haitian people in the current phase of reconstruction. Above all, this will be an occasion to take stock of the assistance which has been focused on that country and to analyze the results of the implementation of projects put into place from 2010 to the present day.
Representatives of the Holy See, the local Haitian church and various Episcopal Conferences will take part in this gathering, as well as workers with Catholic charity organizations, religious organizations and diplomatic representatives accredited to the Holy See.
At 9:00am tomorrow, following a word of welcome which will be offered by Cardinal Marc Ouellet, President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, and the introductory report which will be presented by Cardinal Robert Sarah, who as President of Cor Unum until the end of 2014, was responsible for apportioning the assistance provided by the Holy Father for the local Church on the island, the first part of the conference will be dedicated to A comprehensive look at the process of physical and spiritual reconstruction. For this part of the meeting, Cardinal Chibly Langlois, Bishop of Les Cayes and President of the Haitian Episcopal Conference; His Excellency, Thomas Gerard Wenski, Archbishop of Maimi; Mister Alberto Piatti, President of the AVSI Foundation (Associazione Voluntari Solidarietà Internationale), which is overseeing the charitable work on the island; and Mister Eduardo Marques de Almeida, former representative of the Inter-American Development Bank of Haiti will all contribute reports. At 11:30am, the delegates will also be welcomed in audience by Pope Francis at the Apostolic Palace.
In the afternoon, there will be time for testimonials about the many projects taking place in the context of reconstruction: those who are in attendance will be able to share experiences of international cooperation following the earthquake and will have a chance for collective discussion and questioning regarding the criteria for setting priorities for the future. At the end of the day's work, Monsignor Giampietro Dal Toso, Secretary of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum will present a concluding synthesis which will highlight the problems which still need to be solved and the prospects for dealing with these challenges in the future. At 6:30pm, in the church of Santa Maria in Traspontina, the Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin will preside over a Eucharistic celebration to close the day's activities.
In January 2010, the island of Haiti was hit by an earthquake centred near the capital city, Port-au-Prince, which devastated the territory, leaving some 230,000 people dead. Estimates provided by the International Red Cross and the United Nations however, point out that nearly 3 million people were actually affected by the earthquake which destroyed most of the infrastructure including thousands of homes and all of the island's hospitals.
Representatives of the Holy See, the local Haitian church and various Episcopal Conferences will take part in this gathering, as well as workers with Catholic charity organizations, religious organizations and diplomatic representatives accredited to the Holy See.
At 9:00am tomorrow, following a word of welcome which will be offered by Cardinal Marc Ouellet, President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, and the introductory report which will be presented by Cardinal Robert Sarah, who as President of Cor Unum until the end of 2014, was responsible for apportioning the assistance provided by the Holy Father for the local Church on the island, the first part of the conference will be dedicated to A comprehensive look at the process of physical and spiritual reconstruction. For this part of the meeting, Cardinal Chibly Langlois, Bishop of Les Cayes and President of the Haitian Episcopal Conference; His Excellency, Thomas Gerard Wenski, Archbishop of Maimi; Mister Alberto Piatti, President of the AVSI Foundation (Associazione Voluntari Solidarietà Internationale), which is overseeing the charitable work on the island; and Mister Eduardo Marques de Almeida, former representative of the Inter-American Development Bank of Haiti will all contribute reports. At 11:30am, the delegates will also be welcomed in audience by Pope Francis at the Apostolic Palace.
In the afternoon, there will be time for testimonials about the many projects taking place in the context of reconstruction: those who are in attendance will be able to share experiences of international cooperation following the earthquake and will have a chance for collective discussion and questioning regarding the criteria for setting priorities for the future. At the end of the day's work, Monsignor Giampietro Dal Toso, Secretary of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum will present a concluding synthesis which will highlight the problems which still need to be solved and the prospects for dealing with these challenges in the future. At 6:30pm, in the church of Santa Maria in Traspontina, the Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin will preside over a Eucharistic celebration to close the day's activities.
In January 2010, the island of Haiti was hit by an earthquake centred near the capital city, Port-au-Prince, which devastated the territory, leaving some 230,000 people dead. Estimates provided by the International Red Cross and the United Nations however, point out that nearly 3 million people were actually affected by the earthquake which destroyed most of the infrastructure including thousands of homes and all of the island's hospitals.
No comments:
Post a Comment