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COURTESY
ORLANDO | As phone communication to Haiti remains nearly impossible in the wake of a massive earthquake and aftershocks, parishes in the Orlando Diocese that have ties to missions in Haiti continue to pray and wait for news about the communities to which they are committed.
“You just get the operator,” said a frustrated Kenneth Ferling, a volunteer with the Haiti ministries at St. Margaret Mary Parish in Winter Park, which has a sister parish south of Port-au-Prince. “‘The lines to the country you are trying to reach are all full.’ I’m trying every two hours to get through.”
“We think (the priests) might be dead,” said Mary Ann Loafman, who with her husband, Jim, coordinates the Hearts out to Haiti mission efforts at Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Indialantic. The Loafmans visit Haiti every three months to check on events in three villages that they and others at the parish support. “Maybe I’m wrong. Nobody can get on the phone. So we got together and prayed.” MORE...
ORLANDO | When it comes to aid for Haiti, Bishop Thomas Wenski wants Catholics in the Diocese of Orlando to know that the local commitment to the Caribbean nation is for the long haul.
“We are committed. They are part of our family,” said Bishop Wenski. “We are in it with them, and we are at the early stages of this crisis. The Church is always going to be there, and it is always going to keep (Haiti) on its radar screen.”
Catholics contributed generously to a special collection taken up in parishes around the Orlando Diocese over the weekends of Jan. 16-17 and 23-24, although a specific amount raised is not known at this time. These funds will go to directly support relief and recovery efforts in Haiti through Catholic Relief Services, which has constructed aid and medical camps that attract up to 50,000 a day. CRS has operated in Haiti for more than 50 years and has a permanent staff of 300 there. MORE...
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Getting a LEG up
Faith formation program encompasses four areas of the Catholic faith
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