Head of Subcommittee for Church in Latin America Makes Plea for Solidarity with the Church in Haiti

WASHINGTON—The head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Subcommittee for the Church in Latin America, Archbishop José H. Gomez of San Antonio, TX, sent a letter January 22 to all U.S. bishops urging Catholics to donate to the Collection for the Church in Latin America. The collection is set to be taken up over the next few weekends in most dioceses, in solidarity with the tremendous losses the Church in Haiti has undergone.

It goes without saying that after the immediate humanitarian response begins to take hold, equipping the local Church in Haiti will be a significant and long-term project,” said Archbishop Gomez. “The reported tragic loss of so many priests, sisters, seminarians and laity is irreplaceable.”

This is not the first time the Collection for Latin America has been called upon to help the Church rebuild infrastructure and provide other material needs when disaster has struck. In September of 2009, the Subcommittee awarded $100,000 to the Church in El Salvador after mudslides there. Previous grants have included major contributions to Cuba after hurricanes Gustav and Ike in September 2008. A $300,000 grant was awarded to the two Peruvian dioceses hit by serious damage after the 2007 earthquake in that country.

Grants for Church reconstruction are an essential part of the Subcommittee’s assistance to the Church in the region because “the bishops faced with such terrible destruction have almost nowhere else to turn,” said Archbishop Gomez in his letter.

Archbishop Gomez made clear that “the Collection itself will continue to respond to the requests that come from all Churches in the Latin America and the Caribbean,” but said that “the
beleaguered Church in Haiti will remain a primary focus of our work in the months and years to come.”

At the request of the papal nuncio in Haiti, one of the firsts grants to assist in the pastoral needs of the Church in Haiti centers on repairing the Catholic radio station in Port-au-Prince.

Many Catholic U.S. dioceses are scheduled to take up the Collection for the Church in Latin America the weekend of January 23-24, although some may choose to hold it at a different time.

Full text of Archbishop Gomez’s letter follows.

January 22, 2010


Your Eminence/Excellency: On behalf of the Subcommittee for the Church in Latin America, I would like to thank you for the ongoing prayers and support being extended to our brothers and sisters in Haiti at this very difficult time.

Last week, our Conference President Cardinal Francis George, OMI and the President of Catholic Relief Services, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, called for a special collection in response to the needs of Haiti. As they explained, the funds sent to CRS will be “used to support the efforts of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Relief Services, the official international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic Church, as they respond to immediate emergency needs for such necessities as water, food, shelter and medical care, as well as to the long term need to rebuild after widespread destruction, and to the pastoral and reconstruction needs of the Church in Haiti.”

This coming weekend, January 23-24, many dioceses are scheduled to take up the Collection for the Church in Latin America. As Cardinal George and Archbishop Dolan also wrote last week: “This Collection is vitally important for our ability to respond to the pastoral needs of the Church in Haiti and other parts of Latin America in the weeks and months ahead.”

As many of you know, the Collection has been called upon repeatedly over the years to help the Church rebuild infrastructure and other materiel when disaster has struck. The Subcommittee awarded $100,000 to the Church in El Salvador after the mudslides in September of last year. Previous grants have included major contributions to Cuba after hurricanes Gustav and Ike in September 2008. $300,000 was awarded to the two Peruvian dioceses hit by serious damage after the 2007 earthquake in that country. While an exception to the Subcommittee’s general grant criteria, grants for Church reconstruction are an essential part of the Subcommittee’s assistance to the Church in the region for the simple reason that the bishops faced with such terrible destruction have almost nowhere else to turn. Civil authorities and government assistance will not generally stretch to the repair and reconstruction of chapels, temples and other essential parochial structures.

It goes without saying that after the immediate humanitarian response begins to take hold, equipping the local Church in Haiti will be a significant and long-term project. Of course the reported tragic loss of so many priests, sisters, seminarians and laity is irreplaceable. Regarding
the physical damage, the Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti, Archbishop Barney Auza, has communicated that “tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars” will be required to help the Church rebuild its infrastructure in Haiti. As just an example of the damage, the Nuncio tells us of the following:

total destruction of the cathedral of Port-au-Prince

total destruction of the cathedral of Jacmel

at least 5 other major churches

many smaller ones

2 major seminaries

many convents and schools

the Catholic radio station.



Assessing the needs as the country rebuilds will, itself, be a long process. As an immediate step, we will attempt to find ways to repair the Catholic radio station in Port-au-Prince, according to the Nuncio’s request. In addition, the Subcommittee has designated $250,000 of Collection funds as an initial contribution to the needs of the Church there.

While the Collection itself will continue to respond to the requests that come from all Churches in the Latin America and the Caribbean, it is clear that the beleaguered Church in Haiti will remain a primary focus of our work in the months and years to come.

Thank you all for you support for the Collection. Many parishes and dioceses have special relationships with communities in Latin America and especially in Haiti. Such bonds of solidarity are a concrete expression of the ecclesial communion which makes us the one Body of Christ. I would ask, however, that each (Arch)diocese consider the Collection for the Church in Latin America as an effective way of expressing the support of the entire Church in the United States to the our neediest brother and sisters.

With prayers for the suffering Church in Haiti at this difficult time, I remain

Gratefully Yours in Christ,

Most Rev. José H. Gomez, S.T.D.
Chairman, USCCB Subcommittee on the
Church in Latin America


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Keywords: Haiti, Latin America, Collection for the Church in Latin America, National Collections, Archbishop José Gomez