Washington cardinal to visit tsunami-affected areas in Sri Lanka

Published: 2005-01-05

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington said he was traveling to tsunami-affected areas of Sri Lanka to "express solidarity" with victims and survivors. The cardinal left for Africa and Asia Jan. 3 with a delegation of officials that included Ken Hackett, president of Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. bishops' international relief and development agency. More than 150,000 people in 12 countries were killed in the Dec. 26 tsunamis, triggered by a magnitude 9 earthquake deep in the Indian Ocean. "(We) want to express the solidarity of the church in the United States and of our own country," the cardinal said hours before leaving on a long-scheduled visit to South Africa. He will travel to Sri Lanka from South Africa, where he was to take a first-hand look at CRS AIDS programs.

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