Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Concepcion (Agenzia Fides) – The Church in Chile continues the distribution of humanitarian aid to families affected by the earthquake that destroyed part of the country last February 27. A note from the Bishops' Conference stresses that "although the majority of contributions come from Caritas Chile and the various dioceses, we have also received specific help from different parishes and religious institutions."
The aid of the Church is particularly needed in the city of Concepcion, where Archbishop Ricardo Ezzati has established his operations center in the Bethany House of Formation, and has organized a working group led by Auxiliary Bishop Pedro Ossandón Buljevic along with professionals from the team of the Social Pastoral Commission, assigning them the task of coordinating the actions of the diocesan Church in response to this emergency. According to the bishops' statement, until now the dioceses that have been in contact and have sent or will send aid are: Santiago, Chillán, Los Angeles, Temuco, Villarrica, Valdivia, and Aysen.
A testimony of this aid can be seen in the case of the Parish of Santa Elena, in the Andes area of the Archdiocese of Santiago. Andrés Ossandón speaks on behalf of the community: "I come representing the parish priest, Father Luis Antonio Diaz, and the entire community, especially young people, who are very well organized, led by Joaquín Castillo Vial. Young people from universities and colleges in the area managed to collect about 4.5 tons of food, bedding, and clothing, mainly through their network of Facebook, internet, e-mail....They are very happy to be helping you and want to come into the area to work as volunteers." (CE) (Agenzia Fides 10/03/2010)
