Apostolic
Nuncio to Philippines remembers destructive 2013 typhoon
(Vatican Radio) The Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines,
Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto, says he is looking forward to welcoming Pope Francis
upon his arrival in Manila 15 January. He says the archipelago, Asia's
biggest Catholic nation, is still attempting to rebuild after the devastation
caused by Typhoon Haiyan (or Yolanda) in November 2013. 7,300 people
were either confirmed dead or missing and tens of thousands of homes,
businesses, healthcare facilities and schools were damaged or destroyed in the
wake of Haiyan.
The head of Vatican
Radio’s English Service, Sean Patrick Lovett, spoke with Archbishop Pinto about
his visit to one of the hardest hit areas, Tacloban, for Christmas that year -
just weeks after the deadly storm.
“I saw destruction everywhere but people were ready to start
again with their faith…” says the Archbishop.
The nuncio agrees that
many Filipinos feel that their faith is stronger than a typhoon though it was
put to the ultimate test in Tacloban, the “ground zero” of the
storm. “Thousands of people lost everything.”
He adds that while
many international aid agencies had set up operations to assist the local
population and were greatly appreciated, the local community was not ready to
give up, saying ‘we do what we can.’ “Because reconstructing thousands
and thousands of homes will take 9-10 years,” admits the nuncio. “It is not
easy because even the place is not easy to reach. “
Archbishop Pinto
describes how two statues, of St. Joseph and of the Virgin Mary, were found
standing upright, and intact, amid the typhoon’s debris. The local
archbishop, he notes, went down into the destroyed chapel and risking his life,
dug out the tabernacle containing the Eucharist. He recounts how the
archbishop then gave the tabernacle a new home in his own house by constructing
a temporary chapel with left-over materials like stones and wood.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét