U.S. church can help Haiti after floods, says official

Published: 2004-06-10

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The director of the U.S. bishops' Secretariat for the Church in Latin America said the U.S. church can help Haiti rebuild its society after the deadly floods that hit in late May. Daniel Lizarraga, who arrived in Haiti May 24, the day the heavy rains started, told Catholic News Service that the floods have devastated a country that was already stretched beyond its capacity. "There's the poverty, the political situation and now you have this natural catastrophe; those are all key issues to contend with, and this is a country that doesn't have the full capacity to deal with this," he said. Lizarraga, who met with six of Haiti's nine bishops on the trip, said the Haitian bishops were grateful for the aid received from Catholic Relief Services and from U.S. parishes that have twinning programs with Haitian communities. He said twinning programs and other special collections on behalf of the Haitian church would go a long way in helping Haiti recover from its latest disaster.

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