LES CAYES, Haiti, JAN. 26, 2010 (Zenit.org).- A bishop from Haiti is affirming that the catastrophic earthquake that leveled the capital this month is not some sort of divine punishment.
«God has not done this to torture us,» Bishop Guy Poulard of Les Cayes wrote in a statement.
Pointing to the assurance of God’s love found in Scripture, the prelate said, «Our current desolation is not the result of a curse from God.»
«Science shows us that nature has laws by which it is organized — these are beyond anything human intelligence can do to overcome them,» he explained.
Bishop Poulard praised the relief effort and reflected on the road ahead: «The way is long, it will be difficult.
«We need the prayer — much prayer: not prayers that accuse God of punishing our faults; nor religious services that profit from the misery of our people to increase the size of congregations; not the sort of worship that maintains fear, but the prayer of a child to his father, a prayer clarifying, and revealing, what we must do.»
Meanwhile, Caritas reported that its organizations — including U.S.-based Catholic Relief Services, which the Vatican asked to spearhead the Church’s aid in Haiti — have begun to deliver almost 100 tons of food to Port-au-Prince to feed at least 50,000 people in one of the city’s biggest camps, Petionville Club.
«There is a long way to go,» a Caritas statement acknowledged, «but the distribution at Petionville is a significant stone in large ocean of need.»