Caritas aid agency provides relief to typhoon-wrecked Philippines

Manila, Philippines, Nov 11, 2013 / 05:30 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In the devastating wake of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, Caritas, a relief agency of the Church, has rushed to support victims through the distribution of food and first aid materials. 

“The devastation is awful and the situation is outrageously bad at the moment,” said Gilda Avedillo, program officer for Caritas Manila’s disaster risk reduction and management program.

Avedillo told CNA on Nov. 11 that basic food items, as well as non-food items such as clothing and medicine, are on “priority” rush and that “efforts are underway for speedy distribution.”

On Nov. 8, one of the strongest storms in recorded history, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Yolanda, struck the island nation with sustained winds of 147 miles per hour and gusts as strong as 170 miles per hour, the BBC reported.

The strong winds led to flash flooding and landslides, and destroyed many homes and other buildings. Some areas saw 45-foot waves and more than 15 inches of rain.

The typhoon mowed down buildings, trees and crops, with flood waters washing away entire towns. Tacloban, one of worst-hit cities, has a number of large ships run ashore by the storm.

Some 10,000 people are believed to have died from the storm, with 600,000 displaced. More than nine million are affected, lacking shelter, food, or potable water.

Caritas' relief efforts are being conducted through volunteers with both diocesan and parish teams.

Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu encouraged his people, highlighting their faith in the midst of trials.

“No typhoon or flood can diminish the strength of Filipino soul,” he said, nor can it “quench the fire of our hope.”

The Filipino bishops' conference declared a nationwide novena of prayer from Nov. 11-19 for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan, as well as of the earthquake that struck the central Philippines last month.

While Caritas' 150 volunteers in Manila are packing, collecting, and coordinating the relief efforts, victims' needs are “increasingly demanding,” as many people have lost their belongings, Avedillo said.

According to the Diocese of San Jose de Antique, 60 percent of houses in the Antique province are completely or partially damaged, and power is unavailable.

A survivor, Rosette Bernardo, told CNA that her family's crops and plantation were “destroyed completely,” but thanked God that her family members had been rescued and were safe.

Avedillo said several challenges lay ahead for relief efforts, the roads in some areas have been destroyed or blocked, and electricity and communication systems have been cut off.

Other challenges are health related, with improper sanitation increasing the risk of “spread of epidemics” with contamination, diarrhea and infestation of mosquitoes.

“It is sad that there have been reported instances of people mobbing, rioting and looting shops and shopping centers due to hunger and an inadequate supply of food,” said Avedillo.

The U.S. has sent 90 Marines and Navy servicemen to assist in relief efforts, as well as supplies of food, water, and materials for shelter and hygiene.

On Nov. 11, the storm made landfall in northern Vietnam, with sustained winds of up to 85 miles per hour, and it is moving in the direction of southern China.

On Sunday, Pope Francis sent Filipinos a message of prayer and encouragement, saying at his Angelus address, “I want to assure the people of the Philippines and of that region who were struck by the terrible typhoon of my closeness.”

“Let us pray a moment in silence, to the Madonna, for these our brothers and sisters,” he exhorted, and “let us try also to reach out to them with practical help.”

Catholic principal says Quebec rule prohibits teaching faith

Quebec City, Canada, Nov 4, 2013 / 12:20 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The province of Quebec is moving towards a “closed secularism” that will harm the ability to teach Catholicism in high schools, says a principal leading a legal challenge against regulations of religion classes.

Paul Donovan, principal of Montreal’s Loyola High School, said he has no problem promoting pluralism in a province-mandated religion and ethics class, but he objects to provincial rules that bar explanations for religious belief.

“We just want to teach it from a Catholic point of view,” he told Canada’s National Post. “Quebec wants us to keep any explanation out of why people believe what they believe. You are supposed to say this is what they believe and that’s it.”

“The government requires that when you’re dealing with other religions that the teacher in the classroom completely disassociates himself from any religious perspective or religious value. So we can never say, 'As Catholics, we see this…'”

The Quebec government wants the course to be taught without regard to any religion, even in Catholic schools, a requirement Loyola High School is challenging in court.

A Quebec Superior Court sided with the school in 2010, while in 2012 an appeals court sided with the Quebecois government. The case goes to Canada’s Supreme Court next year.

Donovan said that under the present regulations, if a student asks questions about a Catholic perspective during the religion and ethics class, a Catholic school teacher is not allowed to answer.

“The government wants statements about religious belief to be absolute. They’re not to be argued. They cannot be seen as rational,” he said.

“In Catholicism … reason is the first step to faith. So we are not allowed to be who we are.”

He questioned whether a school course taught in this way could improve religious literacy, because “nothing is really being explained.”

The high school principal noted that the course has to be taught regardless of whether or not an institution receives state funds.

Donovan said the case could reflect future action under Quebec’s proposed Charter of Values, which would ban the wearing of religious symbols in public buildings and add other requirements to provincial law.

He said he favors an “open secularism,” in which the government has no preference for any religious or non-religious view. In this society, “all ideas and beliefs can develop and grow.”

However, in his view Quebec is moving toward a “closed” secularism in which government actively tries to secularize society and religion moves “out of the public square altogether.”

Donovan told the National Post that this attitude promotes the view that those with a religious outlook “can’t serve the common good.”

Iranian prison transfer endangers pastor's life, supporters warn

Washington D.C., Nov 10, 2013 / 04:27 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Iranian authorities have reportedly transferred imprisoned U.S. citizen Saeed Abedini to a dangerous prison, prompting concern from human rights groups and calls for U.S. leaders to secure the Christian pastor’s safety.

“Pastor Saeed is now in one of the most dangerous wards of Rajai Shahr Prison – where violent prisoners are held, those who are imprisoned for murder and rape,” Jordan Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice said Nov. 4.

“The transfer to this prison is a deeply disturbing development and can only be viewed as a move that puts Pastor Saeed’s life directly at risk,” he added. “This new and extremely dangerous development requires the full attention and focus of President Obama. He must speak out now – directly and forcefully – to save Pastor Saeed’s life.”

Abedini was imprisoned in September 2012 on charges of threatening national security, but human rights groups contend that his Christian faith is the real motive for his eight-year sentence.

He was raised Muslim in Iran and converted to Christianity in 2000. He married a U.S. citizen and became a U.S. citizen himself in 2010.

After his conversion, Abedini worked with house churches throughout Iran until 2009. Although the churches are technically legal, the government raised objections to his work. Since 2009, the pastor has worked only with non-religious orphanages in the country. He was arrested during a trip to visit these orphanages last fall.

Family members confirmed that the pastor was recently moved from Tehran’s Evin Prison to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj.

In 2005, Dutch diplomat Loes Bijnen described the prison as a place of “severe punishment” where “nuisance” political prisoners are sent. He said these prisoners have to share cells with dangerous criminals who “don’t hesitate to attack their cell mates.”

“They have nothing to lose: many of them are condemned to death anyway. Murders or unexplained deaths are a regular occurrence,” he said.

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Virginia) said he was “deeply troubled” by the transfer of the pastor.

“With this development – a development without explanation or notice – Pastor Abedini’s life is further endangered,” he said Nov. 6 in a statement. “Time is of the essence. President Obama and Secretary Kerry must again engage at the highest levels and press in clear and unequivocal terms for the immediate and unconditional release of this innocent man.”

“Tehran brutally represses its own people, especially religious minorities including Christians and Baha’is. America always has an obligation to stand with those whose voices have been silenced wherever they may be,” said the congressman, who has written a report on religious freedom in the Middle East and south central Asia.

During a phone call with Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani in September 2013, U.S. President Barack Obama reportedly urged the pastor’s release.

Pastor Abedini’s wife, Naghmeh Abedini, voiced deep concern.

“The news of Saeed’s transfer to this prison is most difficult to bear. I am devastated and I do not know what to tell my children. I am more concerned now about his safety than at any other time during his imprisonment,” she told the American Center for Law and Justice Nov. 5.

“He is truly defenseless in this prison – defenseless from the abuse and violence of other prisoners,  defenseless from a radical government that continues to violate his rights.”

His wife said she is strengthened by her prayers and grateful for the support for her husband and their family.

The American Center for Law and Justice, which is representing the pastor's wife, is calling for continued prayers, as well as efforts to raise awareness of Abedini's plight through social media and an online petition.