An un-odd couple

Again this week, The Evangelist features on its front page an article about the deepening connection between the Albany Diocese and victims of Hurricane Katrina. (We have done several such stories since last fall; they can be searched for at www.evangelist.org.)

It seems, at first glance, to be an odd couple: northern Catholics linking to Gulf Coast people who experienced one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history. But a longer look reveals that the relation is not odd at all; it is an example of Catholics carrying out Jesus' command that we see Him in the lost, sorrowful and forgotten.

The primary bond is being cemented by diocesan Catholic Charities, whose staff members have several times taken their expertise from here to there, where pressing needs have arisen among survivors.

Bishop Howard J. Hubbard has also tied the two areas together in his role as head of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), which dispenses funds to help the poor help themselves. He recently toured a devastated neighborhood, met with people giving aid and talked to those on the receiving end.

Undergirding the efforts of Catholic Charities and the CCHD is the generosity of Catholics. The Charities staff could not go south unless Catholics here donated annually to the Bishop's Appeal; the Bishop would not have any CCHD funds to dispense if Catholics were not selfless in giving to its annual national collection.

For Americans, the world's devastation seems to occur most often "over there:" earthquakes in South America, for example, or tsunamis in the Indian Ocean. On those occasions, Catholics can most practically assist by donating money. With Hurricane Katrina, the damage happened inside the U.S., and the relief took on an additional form: people bringing counsel, comfort, guidance and aid to people in an extraordinarily distressing situation.

The Albany Diocese -- in the staff of Catholic Charities, the Bishop and ordinary Catholics -- has much to be proud of in bringing hope to a region where it is in short supply.

(2/23/06) [[In-content Ad]]