Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done

This is our Christmas tension: In the coming of Christ, the Kingdom of God is already here, but that reign is not yet here fully. This is why, while meditating on Christ's coming, we also must look at places where suffering from natural disasters, injustice and violence are obstacles to God's reign of forgiveness, love, justice and peace.

No doubt readers know about the trauma experienced by members of the armed forces involved in combat. But have readers thought about the relief workers who operate under those same conditions?

Patrick Johns was 25 when hired by Catholic Relief Services in the mid-1970s and assigned to war-torn Cambodia. Being targeted by rocket and artillery fire while CRS provided food, shelter and medicine for some 750,000 war refugees brought clarity to what he decided would be his life's work: relieving the suffering of the world's victims and being their voice.

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian organization of the U.S. Catholic community. After 35 years with CRS in assignments as varied as Madagascar, Thailand and the former Yugoslavia, Pat is still enthusiastic, describing his work as both challenging and fulfilling.

It was only five years ago when a tsunami struck communities bordering on the Indian Ocean, killing nearly 300,000 people. Pat provided overall leadership, direction and management of the CRS response in Aceh, a province of Indonesia, where the destruction was greatest.

Usually, CRS works with the local Catholic Church, but in this case there was none, so Pat opened communications with Muslim religious leaders and took them to see what CRS was doing to allay their fears of proselytization.

From a helicopter, Pat assessed the damage, which he compared to photos of the total devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the atomic bombings there. The destruction wasn't only physical, but also psychological as people lost their sense of safety. Pat described beginning the rehabilitation of a clinic by cleaning out debris and finding 60 bodies that had been swept in by the wave.

Following a natural or man-made disaster, CRS carries out an emergency phase of recovery, and then undertakes long-term efforts. In Aceh, the latter involved building up to 6,000 earthquake-resistant houses, out of 100,000 that were needed. Just getting the building materials from other parts of the country required logistical savvy.

Pat had another challenging assignment during the 1980s famine in Ethiopia. Rebels were fighting the incumbent dictator in the very region where food needed to get to over one million people in danger of starvation. As director of CRS operations in the country, Pat supervised the transfer of responsibility from CRS to the local Church, which moved the relief supplies into the rebel areas.

Even when landmines killed truck drivers, others came forward to replace them. This effort was the largest emergency and development endeavor in CRS history.

Pat commented on the four typhoons that struck the Philippines in October. Because they are in the path of these annual storms, evacuation plans prevent great loss of life. The destruction is usually the result of high wind speeds.

However, this time the amount of rainfall was devastating. In Manila, 14 inches fell in eight hours - the result, Pat believes, of global climate change.

His other assignments included Thailand, India and East Timor. Pat seeks to support people in their own development, not to do for them what they can do for themselves. For the second time in his career, he is now working at CRS headquarters, where he serves as director of the emergency response team.

The team consists of specialists in water and sanitation, shelter, finance and management, and health. They assist staff on the ground in crisis situations.

When asked about the happiest assignment of his career with CRS, Pat said that his time as country director in the Philippines allowed his Filipina wife, Cristina, to reconnect with her family and culture, and their son, Bryan, to become acquainted with this dimension of his ethnicity.

Many young adults search for the purpose and meaning in their lives. Patrick Johns' early discovery of his vocation has benefited millions of people in far-flung parts of our world.

Catholics can be proud to be represented by such a dedicated disciple of Christ whose love in action makes more real in our time the Reign of God.

(Sister Francine Dempsey, CSJ, and Barbara DiTommaso are members of the diocesan Commission on Peace and Justice.)

(To honor a loved one this Christmas by making a donation in his/her name to Catholic Relief Services, send checks to Catholic Charities, 40 N. Main Ave., Albany NY 12203-1481.)

(12-10-09)