Rebuilding Haiti rests on ‘3 solid pillars,’ says Pope

January 12, 2015

Marking the fifth anniversary of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Pope Francis told Haiti’s bishops and leaders of Catholic charities that “humanitarian and pastoral activities are not in competition with one another, but rather are complementary.”

The work of reconstruction “rests on three solid pillars: the human person, ecclesial communion, and the local Church,” he said on January 10 to participants in a conference organized by the Pontifical Council Cor Unum and the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

“There can be no true rebuilding of a country without also rebuilding each person in his or her totality,” Pope Francis said. “This means ensuring that the material needs of every person in Haiti be met, and that they be able to be free, to assume their responsibilities and to further their own spiritual and religious lives. The human person has a transcendent dimension, and the Church first of all cannot neglect this dimension, which finds its fulfillment in the encounter with God.”

“The witness of evangelical charity is effective when it is sustained by personal relationship with Jesus in prayer, in listening to the word of God, and in the reception of the sacraments,” he noted toward the conclusion of his talk. “This is the true ‘strength’ of the local Church.”

 

---

For all current news, visit our News home page.

---

 
Further information:

• Udienza ai partecipanti all’Incontro promosso dal Pontificio Consiglio "Cor Unum" e dalla Pontificia Commissione per l’America Latina nel quinto anniversario del terremoto ad Haïti (scroll down for English)
• 2010 Haiti earthquake (Wikipedia)
• Pope Francis: People Must Be at The Center of the Church’s Activity in Haiti (Vatican Radio)