By Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond
(Clarion Herald – 5/22/10 – English; 6/5/10 – Spanish)
You have authorized a special collection to be taken up at churches throughout the Archdiocese of New Orleans for the purpose of helping families affected by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. What will the money be used for?
The money will be used for direct assistance to the people most in need. Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans already has helped more than 1,000 people by providing food, direct assistance, crisis counseling and case management, but we know the needs are going to increase. Our Catholic community always has been extremely generous in helping others whenever the need is great, and this certainly is the case now. Some people might wonder why we didn’t take up a special collection sooner. We could have, but we really wanted to evaluate what the specific needs were. We’ve also asked other people besides parishioners to make donations to this effort.
What sites for relief services have the archdiocese established?
Catholic Charities and Second Harvest Food Bank have set up three sites at St. Bernard Church in St. Bernard, St. Thomas Church in Pointe a la Hache and St. Patrick Church in Port Sulphur. Mary Queen of Vietnam Church also has hosted seminars for the Vietnamese fishermen. We’ve had incredible leadership not only from Catholic Charities and Second Harvest but also from the pastors whose people have been most affected: Father John Arnone at St. Bernard, Father Joseph Man Tran at St. Thomas, Father Gerry Stapleton at St. Patrick, Father Vien The Nguyen at Mary Queen of Vietnam and Father John Ryan at St. Anthony in Lafitte. Our gratitude goes out to them and their staffs for being pastorally sensitive and for standing by their people. This environmental crisis calls for prayer. We are on the front lines offering food, counseling, case management and whatever else we can to the fishing families, but also we want to offer them our spiritual support.
What are your thoughts right now on the oil spill?
One of the difficult things to assess is the effect on the coast. I believe it is a miracle thus far that more of the oil has not washed ashore and gotten into the marshes. That easily could have happened in the last three weeks. So many of us have been asking God to preserve our coastline. For the most part, with some exceptions, the wind shifts have been to our advantage and not to our disadvantage. And so, once again, I ask people to continue to pray to God and to ask Mary, under the title of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, to pray for us and with us that we will be spared this great tragedy.
Have you spoken with civil authorities?
Our staff has been in touch daily with the civil parish presidents and I have visited and spoken with St. Bernard President Craig Taffaro and Plaquemines President Billy Nungesser. They know we stand ready to help in any way we can.
Some have suggested that the oil below the surface is almost like a Godzilla, lurking and ready to be washed ashore in the next tropical storm or hurricane.
The uncertainty has everyone on edge. In uncertain times, we are called to put our trust in God and to know that God walks with us in the darkest times as well as in the brightest times. It’s never easy to say, “Let’s wait and see.” Those of us who are simply watching the news at night and getting reports about the spill are affected in one way. I cannot imagine what it is like for those families who have to deal with the prospect of putting their lives on hold. They realize that if the oil does come ashore, the destruction could affect many future generations. Some have suggested this calamity could be as bad as Katrina.
So, keep praying?
We need to pray – and take care of our neighbor. Those who miss the special collection at their parish can give directly to our relief efforts at www.ccano.org.
Archbishop Aymond welcomes questions from readers. Please e-mail questions to clarionherald@clarionherald.org.
Tags: Archbishop Gregory Aymond, catholic charities, clarion herald, oil spill aid, oil spill relief