ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO| FC Standing in front of a mural depicting Cuban priest Father Felix Varela, an exile who ministered to Irish immigrants in New York in the 1800s, Archbishop John C. Favalora speaks to the media Sept. 8. He announced that a special collection will be taken up in all Archdiocese of Miami parishes the weekend of Sept. 28 to help victims of hurricanes Fay, Gustav, Hannah and Ike in Cuba and Haiti.

Calling it a “moral duty,” Archbishop John C. Favalora exhorted all Catholics “and people of good will” to send money, food and aid to the victims of hurricanes Gustav and Ike in the Caribbean.

Every parish in the archdiocese will hold a special collection the weekend of Sept. 28 whose proceeds will be distributed directly to the bishops of the affected dioceses, Archbishop Favalora said at a press conference Sept. 8.

In advance of that collection, the archbishop authorized a $50,000 donation from the Archdiocese of Miami to the bishops in Cuba and the bishops in Haiti.

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami also continues to collect donations to fund relief efforts by Caritas in the affected nations: Haiti, Cuba, the Turks and Caicos, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas and Jamaica.

Among the worst off: Haiti, where hundreds died as a result of the rains from tropical storm Hannah and hurricanes Gustav and Ike, all of which hit the island over a period of less than two weeks; and Cuba, whose western provinces were ravaged by Hurricane Gustav less than a week before Ike entered from the east as a category 4 storm, traversing the length of the island before entering the Gulf of Mexico.

In Miami, the skies were cloudy-white and the breezes stiff as the archbishop spoke, a reminder that Ike had not finished his romp through Cuba as the press conference was taking place.

Joining the archbishop in his appeal were some of the archdiocese’s Haitian and Cuban priests and Miami’s retired Auxiliary Bishop Agustín Román.

“The flood was very high in Haiti. A lot of houses got wiped out,” said Father Reginald Jean-Mary, who had been in Haiti after Gustav hit but before Ike struck.

“There is no way that people can travel from one region to another” to seek food or shelter, he said, noting that the bridges had fallen and the roads were impassable.

“It was even difficult for the prime minister of Haiti to get to Gonaives,” said Father Jean-Mary, who will be hosting three nights of prayer in his parish, Notre Dame d’Haiti in Miami, to remember those who died in the hurricanes. The prayers will conclude with a Mass Sept. 12 at 7 p.m.

“The whole country has been affected. It’s not only Gonaives,” said Msgr. Jean Pierre, pastor of St. James Parish in Miami, who had just spoken to the bishop of Port-au-Prince.
“All the things that people need to survive have been lost,” including crops, farm animals and homes.

Four predominantly Haitian parishes will serve as collection centers for donated goods for Haiti. The goods will be shipped through Food for the Poor, a Deerfield Beach-based Christian relief agency that will deliver them directly to Caritas in Haiti.

“We need rice, beans, cooking oil, flour, sugar, building materials,” Msgr. Pierre said. “We need money. We need food,” he repeated in Spanish.

“Every (Cuban) diocese right now is going to be affected by this hurricane,” said Father Jose Espino, the archdiocese’s liaison to Caritas Cuba. “We are calling on everybody to help.”

Father Espino, who spent five years in Cuba on loan from the archdiocese, tried to assuage the fears of Cuban exiles that the aid sent would be confiscated by the Cuban government.

“We guarantee that the aid will reach the people of Cuba,” he said, noting that Caritas is not a government agency but a grass-roots organization.

“Every parish has Caritas representatives. I am a witness that this (direct aid to the people) is possible,” Father Espino said.

He noted the coincidence that Sept. 8 is the feast of Our Lady of Charity, patroness of Cuba, and Hurricane Ike entered Cuba through the Bay of Nipe, the same waters in which an image of Our Lady of Charity first appeared nearly 400 years ago to three fishermen caught in a violent storm.

They attributed their survival to her intercession, and devotion to Our Lady of Charity quickly spread throughout the island.

“I pray that the charity of the church in Miami will also go from one end of the island to the other,” Father Espino said. “We cannot say we are devoted to Our Lady of Charity if we don’t practice charity.”

Asked by a reporter why people here should help the people in the Caribbean, Msgr. Pierre put it simply: “In thanksgiving to God because we have been spared.”

At the end of his prepared statement, Archbishop Favalora also called on President Bush, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and Florida’s congressional representatives “to work to make sure that the Haitian people can avail themselves of temporary protected status.”

“It would be inhumane” to send them back now, he added. “If we do, we are sending them back to starvation and certain death.”

		WHERE TO GIVE • Catholic Charities, with a notation in the memo line designating the donation for hurricane relief. Checks should be mailed to: Catholic Charities Storm Aid, 9401 Biscayne Blvd., Miami Shores, FL 33138. Or online at: www.ccadm.org, click on Donate Now, and designate the amount to be contributed and the donation option. For information call 305-762-3040 or e-mail rdesroches@ccadm.org. • Food (powdered milk, boxed milk, cooking oil, body soap, laundry detergent, beans, grains, lentils, clorox, chlorine, rice in plastic bags and baby food) WILL ONLY be accepted at these locations: St. James Parish Hall, 540 N.W. 132 St., N. Miami, Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.; Holy Family, 14500 N.E. 11 Ave., Miami, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.; Notre Dame d'Haiti Mission, 110 N.E. 62 St., Miami, Monday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; St. Joseph Haitian Mission, 1210 N.W. Sixth Ave.,Pompano Beach, Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday, 9-noon. • Convent of the Daughters of Charity, 500 N.W. 63 Ave., Miami is collecting and will send directly to Cuba: canned food (vegetables, meats, fish, oils, pasta meals); dairy (powdered milk, canned milk); grains (dry beans of all types, ground corn meal, rice).