Holy poverty can help the poverty of hell

January is Poverty Awareness Month. To help raise awareness among Catholics of poverty and its underlying issues, USCCB has updated its website, www.PovertyUSA.org, and launched a Spanish counterpart, www.PobrezaUSA.org. Our blog is also running a series of posts by guest bloggers reflecting on poverty in our country and the world today. Today’s post is by Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas

Poverty is a virtue but also a sad state of suffering and want.

Christ calls us to be poor and said of Himself: “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests: but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head.” Christ invites us, in imitation of Him, to renounce worldly possessions and let go of things we feel we need to embrace a life of simplicity. Yet while poverty is a virtue to be embraced, it also can mean living in less than human circumstances, bereft of basic life necessities.

Since becoming chair of the board of Catholic Relief Services and as bishop of Tucson along the Arizona/Mexico border, I have come face to face with dire poverty. Lack of food and safe water, lack of shelter and health care, no opportunity to provide a livelihood for oneself or one's family is the daily struggle and preoccupation of people as close to us as Mexico and as far away from us as Myanmar. Such poverty exists even in our own country. Tucson, where I live, is the sixth poorest metropolitan area in the United States.

Recently I was in Mexicali in the State of Baja California in Mexico where a major earthquake two years ago destroyed countless homes. Families were in makeshift shelters, scrambling daily to find enough food to survive. Our diocese and the Diocese of San Diego are building five homes for displaced families, a mere drop in the ocean of need of families there. During our visit, mothers begged us to help them rebuild their families’ lives. The need is intense and the resources limited.

On a visit to Haiti, a beautiful but desperately poor country, I saw people rummaging for food in garbage piles, searching for a drink of water in polluted streams, seeking a way to make a living. It tears at the heart to see human beings forced to live without dignity in such desperate situations.

People in Myanmar try to eke out a living in rural areas with only the basics needed to survive. Poverty cannot take joy out of a person, but it makes for a tough life. I left the visit there impressed by the goodness and hospitality of a people who have only the barest of necessities.

Poverty persists around the world even in this Third Millennium, a modern era when we have made technological advances and enjoy many blessings. Sadly inequality of resources and opportunities characterizes our advanced society.

As people of faith in this Year of Faith we are called to have hearts that sense where love is needed and to respond. We are moved to share what we have, to advocate on behalf of those in desperate need. We must stand in solidarity with the poor of the world. We must realize Christ's charge to care for the weakest. We must seek to bring human dignity to those forgotten or ignored.

Faced with the pervasive poverty in our world, it seems some people couldn’t care less. But it cannot be that way for us who long to be disciples of Christ. We need to become aware of need and respond to that need.

If we embrace the Gospel call to be poor in spirit, we come to see what we have as blessings from God to be shared not hoarded. We come to realize that true joy is not found in what we own but in who we are. If we are disciples of Christ seeking to live as he lived, we must stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters most in need.

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Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Arizona, is chairman of Catholic Relief Services.

Partnership for Church Reconstruction in Haiti, fully functional and gaining steam

Today we mark the second anniversary of the earthquake that devastated Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, and other surrounding areas, leaving behind unthinkable destruction and tremendous suffering. As we remember the victims and renew our commitment not to forget the survivors of this tragedy, it is worth noting that the implementation of the Partnership for Church Reconstruction in Haiti (PROCHE) is now fully underway. The first projects are being executed and will be soon followed by others. Momentum is building and we can anticipate much progress in 2012.

Just in the past two months PROCHE’s construction unit office (known as UOC) has processed 50 project applications and submitted 20 of them to PROCHE’s Executive Committee for review and funding recommendation. Of these, ten are currently moving forward with design and eventual construction. In November 2011, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) approved funding for the design phase of three of those projects. Additional projects are now under consideration.

In September 2010, the Church in Haiti and sister churches, as well as donor organizations including the USCCB, agreed to create PROCHE, an entity within the Haitian bishops’ conference that would ensure all construction projects would meet requisite quality requirements. These requirements include seismic and cyclonic design criteria—as well as guarantee accountability of all disbursed funds. A construction unit was to be established with technical and accounting staff, providing PROCHE with the means to accomplish its reconstruction mission.

In November 2011, 14 months after the historic partnership was created, this vision became a reality when the UOC became functional with six technical and support staff working in a fully operational office in Port-au-Prince. This is the result of significant investments made by all the partners involved. But much remains to be done, and all of PROCHE’s partners continue their commitment to making sure that soon the Church in Haiti can see many churches, schools and convents rebuilt. Numerous plans of eventual construction projects are now being finalized so that construction can begin.

Why We Must Not Give Up on Haiti

Our guest blogger today is Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, chairman of the USCCB's Haiti Advisory Group. Forupdates on the Catholic Church's outreach to Haiti, visit www.usccb.org/haiti.

One year ago, the worse single urban catastrophe in modern history befell Haiti, the poorest nation in our hemisphere. Goudou-goudou, the Creole word for the January 12, 2010 earthquake, took some 300,000 lives and cost billions in destroyed property and infrastructure.

In the immediate aftermath of the region’s biggest disaster in 200 years, the island nation avoided the expected outbreak of disease and social disorder. Yet, by the end of 2010 the Haitian people ended with both - a still uncontained cholera epidemic that has claimed more than 2,000 lives and wide-spread civil disorder due to uncertainties from the elections. It seems as though, a year later, Haiti is getting worse, not better.

With such results, it would be easy to throw up our hands in despair. But it would not be in the long-term interests of the United States to begin minimizing Haiti out of frustration with a weak government and an absence of progress in its recovery. Such a policy would have long-term adverse consequences throughout the region.
What we need to do is reconsider what needs to be accomplished to make Haiti a functioning country again. While the earthquake has created new challenges, it has also laid bare for all to see those that have piled up over a very long time. This explains why there is so little evidence of Haiti rising from the dust and ashes of the earthquake one year ago.

The goudou-goudou was more than just a natural disaster - stronger quakes hit Chile and New Zealand in the same year with less destruction and loss of human life. What brought Haiti to its knees was not so much the shifting of its tectonic plates but Haiti’s grinding poverty-an issue never fully addressed by its government and the international community---which has limited its ability to easily recover from an event of this magnitude.

Notwithstanding the immediate need to rebuild infrastructure and meet the basic survival needs of the Haitian people, a clear, long-term commitment to Haiti’s economic and political development is needed. As usual, the United States must take leadership in this effort.

To start, the new Congress should re-introduce legislation similar to the Haiti Empowerment, Assistance and Rebuilding Act (HR 6021) in the previous Congress. Such legislation would provide a framework to guide long term assistance to Haiti. At the same time, it would encourage both the Haitian government and civil society to look beyond immediate needs and plan for the future.

Any assistance plan must be accompanied by a new and strengthened U.S. resolve to hold Haitians (and their foreign partners) in both the public and private sector accountable, while at the same time training them in democratic governance. U.S. policy should be guided by a mix of generosity and hard-nosed realism, forcing the Haitian political class to reduce corruption and govern transparently.

In addition, U.S. migration policies toward Haiti should reflect the dire situation on the ground, not compound it. As a start, the Administration should use its humanitarian parole policy to bring into the United States the immediate family members of Haitians medically evacuated after the earthquake. In addition, another 55,000 Haitians who have already been approved to enter the United States to join family members could be allowed to enter as they await their priority date. Temporary Protected Status (TPS) should be extended to Haitians who arrived in the United States in the chaotic months aftermath of the earthquake. As a result of these straightforward policies, remittances to the country, so desperate for income generation and economic activity, would be strengthened.

What the United States should not do is to cause more harm by resuming deportations to Haiti, a move being considered by Administration officials and already being decried by human rights organizations. The Haitian government at this time does not have the capacity to accept and accommodate deportees, especially ones with criminal records. The United States also should pressure neighboring countries, such as the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic, to cease their deportations.

As we have learned the hard way, recovery from natural disasters has been slow even in the resource-rich United States. It took years for Florida to recover from Hurricane Andrew and five years later New Orleans is still struggling to overcome the impact of Katrina. It is no wonder that a third world country near our doorstep is still reeling from its own catastrophe.

We cannot walk away from Haiti-a neighboring country of nine million people only 800 miles away from the United States. We must work with the new Haitian government to not only rebuild the national infrastructure, but also to rebuild a sense of national identity and unity. This will not be an easy road, but it is the only path forward.

The Displaced of Haiti: Long-Term Challenges and Needed Solutions

The Committee on Migration of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will publish September 27, the document "The Displaced of Haiti: Long-Term Challenges and Needed Solutions," a report on a recent mission to Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas to study the situation of Haitians displaced by the January earthquake.

A link to the report will be provided through this blog on that day. Members of the news media also are invited to participate in a telephonic briefing on this topic with Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, as well as CLINIC and USCCB staff who participated in the mission. (Members of the media call 202-541-3200 for additional info.)

“It is clear that efforts to clean up and recover from the earthquake are progressing slowly,” said Archbishop Wenski. “However, the international community must remain steadfast in working with the Haitian government to reconstruct the country and strengthen its institutions. The survival and long-term future of the Haitian people are at stake,” said Archbishop Wenski upon returning from the fact-finding mission.

Following the January 12 earthquake in Haiti, tens of thousands of Haitians were forced from their homes and out onto the streets. While the international community provided a great deal of help in this time of crisis, including the distribution of daily necessities and the construction of tent camps, challenges continued to surface in the following months.

Tent camps are not a permanent solution. It has become critical to build long term shelters so that the Haitian people can continue on with their lives. Clearing away the debris and rubble that was left in the aftermath of the earthquake is a constant struggle, but a crucial first step in reconstruction efforts that are ongoing.

Children in particular are at risk of being trafficked, both domestically and also to countries in the surrounding region. Confronting this threat head-on remains a primary challenge for the Haitian government, the Dominican Republic (Haiti’s next door neighbor) and for the international community as a whole.

The effects of the earthquake are not felt in Haiti alone, but have spilled over into the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, and surrounding countries. How are government officials from surrounding countries dealing with Haitians who are trying to start a new life? Will they put into place mechanisms that will help to integrate Haitians into their community or will they put into place policies that will further alienate them going forward?

Observations and recommendations moving forward will be published September 27 in "The Displaced of Haiti: Long-Term Challenges and Needed Solutions," a Report of the Committee on Migration of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“Cash-for-Work” programs helping Haitians get self sufficient

Guest blogger Todd Scribner, of USCCB Migration and Refugee Services, brings to our attention today the “Cash-for-Work” program that is helping people in Haiti to earn a living while preparing the country to live through the first rainy season after the earthquake:

The January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti left tens of thousands of people with next to nothing. Homes were destroyed, businesses closed and, worst of all, lives lost. In its immediate aftermath, hundreds of thousands of people in the Port-Au-Prince area were forced to move into tent camps set up throughout the city. Thanks to the dedication of organizations like Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the basic needs of people living in these camps were taken care of in the following months.

At the end of March, the Haitian government ended the general food distribution services in the camps, with the hope that Haitians living there would become more self sufficient. In response, and as a way to help achieve this objective, CRS and other organizations that were running camps around the city put into place a “Cash for Work” program. This program has provided some employment opportunities for people living in the camps in and around Port-Au-Prince.

Their aim was to give people more than just handouts; to offer an opportunity to make some money that could then be used as an investment in a small business of their own or to cover the cost of their daily necessities. Cash-for-work programs also provide residents an opportunity to reinvest in their own community and in doing so help the local economy. The jobs that people fill provide vital services for their neighborhood, including digging drainage channels to protect against flooding and ensuring that washrooms remain clean, so as to avoid the spread of disease.

Visit http://crs.org/haiti/rainy-season-prep/ to see a short video on the indispensible contribution that the cash-for-work program provides in preparing for and living through the rainy season in Haiti and the dangers of flooding that accompany it.

Heads Up: Haiti Report Coming

The U.S. bishops’ delegation that visited Haiti earlier this summer, led by Miami’s Archbishop Thomas Wenski and Brooklyn’s Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, will soon publish a report on their fact-finding mission along with several recommendations. Over the next few days, we will highlight some of the main findings ahead of the release. In the meantime we want to draw your attention to progress reports by some of the agencies involved in the visitation.

Though there are tremendous amounts of rubble still lying around in and around Port-au-Prince and the lack of heavy machinery available has slowed its removal considerably — sometimes to a frustrating point — the process of moving thousands of Haitians from tent camps to temporary housing certainly has begun. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) offers some pictures along with some first-hand accounts of the work accomplished in the last 6-7 months sprinkled with some interesting facts and financial stats.

The mission included staff representatives from Migration and Refugee Services and the Office of International Justice and Peace of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc (CLINIC), and Catholic Relief Services.

Father Juan Molina, Policy advisor for the International Peace and Justice Office, who travelled with the delegation, weighs in on our Haiti page on what he saw and heard the local people say about Haiti’s upcoming elections in November:

“The upcoming elections are important for the stability of a democratic government,” many people said, but it seems they want more than the power to vote. They want to create a future together. People want a transparent electoral process. But they also want to move beyond that to a process of dialogue that can help Haiti and its government find solutions to the challenges of good governance, development, and inclusion.

Read full article here.

More on Haiti’s recovery efforts and how Haitians are enduring soon. Stay tuned.

Where It Stands With Haiti

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has been overwhelmed with the outpouring of support from Catholics across the U.S. in response to the needs of earthquake survivors in Haiti. So far, the special collection from U.S. dioceses raised over $55 million for emergency help, and other contributions have brought in an additional $50 million. The USCCB Subcommittee for the Church in Latin America is partnering with CRS in the response. CRS is focusing now on rebuilding efforts —such as moving people from makeshift camps to temporary housing as the rainy station draws near— while the Bishops’ Advisory Group for Haiti of the Church in Latin America Committee will help rebuild the Church’s fabric and infrastructure in the Caribbean nation. This video shows how CRS put those donations to action in the days immediately following the quake.



For the latest updates on CRS’ relief efforts for survivors of the earthquake in Haiti, please visit CRS’ Haiti emergency landing page.

For information on how to make donations to help rebuild the Church in Haiti and updates go to the Haiti page of the National Collections office of the U.S. Bishops.

What I Learned About Haiti Today

Staff at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) had the opportunity today to spend their lunch hour learning more about the human situation on the ground in Haiti and the work the Catholic Church is doing there following the devastating January 12 earthquake.

Msgr. David Malloy, General Secretary of the USCCB, Father Andrew Small, OMI, Director of the National Collection for the Church in Latin America, and Natalie Lummert, Associate Director for Children's Services for the USCCB's Migration and Refugee Services (MRS), all spoke to staff on the conditions currently facing the country, the Church and the people of Haiti.

Msgr. Malloy, who traveled to Haiti with Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, spoke of the excellent work of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) -- the humanitarian relief organization of the U.S. bishops -- in Haiti. Archbishop Dolan, who chairs the CRS board, represented the U.S. bishops at the funeral of Haitian Archbishop Joseph Miot and surveyed the work of CRS firsthand.

Helping to rebuild churches, seminaries and Catholic schools in Haiti will be partly the work of the National Collection for the Church in Latin America, and Bishop Thomas Wenski of Orlando, who chairs the collection's subcommittee, also traveled to Haiti for Archbishop Miot's funeral. He was accompanied by the USCCB's Father Andrew Small, who spoke to fellow USCCB staff about how it's even difficult to calculate the extent of the devastation in Haiti because completely accurate counts of schools, parish enrollment, etc. weren't kept even before the earthquake.

Father Small also shared some images of the devastation via Web videos shot as he and Bishop Wenski traveled through Haiti. He noted that conditions in Haiti (poverty, corruption, etc.) were so bad before the earthquake that the eventual goal isn't to rebuild Haiti exactly as it was, but to find a way to rebuild it so that it works.

Natalie Lummert of MRS addressed issues facing children in Haiti, particularly human trafficking, which she noted had been an issue prior to the earthquake, but was now even worse. She shared details about the MRS program for unaccompanied refugee minor program, which has been geared largely toward Haitians. She also mentioned that the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recently granted to Haiti by the Obama Administration is something the U.S. bishops have urged for years.

Other troubling details to emerge regarding Haiti included that gang activity is rampant in some areas, with Haitians being robbed of the food they receive from rescue workers. Additional aftershock tremors are expected for months, maybe even years, meaning the rebuilding process itself could be undone in a matter of minutes.

USCCB staff asked questions about issues including the relationship between Haiti and its neighbor, the Dominican Republic, how hurricane damage from the last decade has further complicated matters for Haitians, and whether or not Haitian seminarians might be able to study in the United States.

It was an informative lunch hour that on one hand made clear just how daunting and tangled so many of the challenges facing Haiti actually are. But it made equally clear the deep concern, and continual dedicated work of the Catholic Church to meet those challenges.

Communications Will Help Haiti Heal

One of the keys to rebuilding Haiti in the wake of the devastating January 12 earthquake will be communications. Its purpose would be to meet the spiritual needs of the people. Here, Father Andrew Small, OMI, director of the National Collection for the Church in Latin America at the USCCCB, explains:

One of the immediate concerns is the terrible sense of loss that people experience. Securing the basics for survival includes the sense of security for yourself and your family as you painfully piece life back together. Haitians have been in a similar place before, only not on such a massive scale.

Along with this loss comes a sense of isolation. On the first Sunday after the earthquake, we saw images of people attending mass amid the ruins of their former churches. They pray like the psalmist amid desolation and despair, turning to God as their only hope. Many Church personnel perished in the quake, dozens of priests and seminarians as well as many tens of religious sisters. Those left to tend to the spiritual needs of the people are themselves deeply traumatized not least by the loss of their chief pastor, Archbishop Serge Miot.

Contact and communication is vital at this stage. Coming together in prayer is a natural instinct for believers. One of the most reliable ways for Catholics in Haiti to stay in contact with each other and to received on-going faith formation was the network of Catholic radio stations operating in each diocese. The most developed was the Catholic station in Port-au-Prince, Radio Soleil. The transmitter, antenna and other equipment lie buried beneath the rubble. The station manager escaped miraculously. The local Church knows this vital means of communication needs to be reestablished so that people can stay connected to their church. The Director, Fr. Jean, was pulled from the rubble and remains injured. He gets about on crutches. However, they have begun to operate out of a van in the Petionville district - still too afraid to begin broadcasting from inside a building.

Other religious groups are already broadcasting, so the need to reach out to Catholics is an urgent one.

CLA has supported this effective form of communication in Haiti, helping to fund a specialist who could train local operators and technicians. We will immediately find ways to seek equipment in the Dominican Republic and have it sent to Port-au-Prince as soon as possible.

This is one of the many immediate pastoral needs that CLA will continue to monitor and respond to in a timely and effective way using our long-established connections with the local church.