Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Buenos Aires (Agenzia Fides) - All the parishes, chapels, schools and Catholic institutions in the country, like all men of good will belonging to any religious denomination, are called to show their solidarity, to reflect and pray to share the pain of the inhabitants of Patagonia, that have suffered adverse effects of the eruption of the Puyehue volcano, in Chile. This is the appeal launched by the National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) in Argentina, father Osvaldo Pablo Leone, who has issued a statement, also sent to Fides, calling to offer prayers for the locals this weekend, Saturday 18 and Sunday, June 19. "The accumulation of ashes in the south of our country because of the eruption of the Puyehue volcano, in Chile, has put the region into a state of emergency which has caused extensive damage. We are worried about the pain and anguish of so many brothers and sisters in Argentina", writes the National Director of the PMS.
Father Leone points out that "the Lord will never abandon us, although we abandon Him, sometimes we let our excessive ambitions get the better of us", then he adds: "We hope that the ashes are not just a problem that disturbs our peace, but these difficult situations must help us go to Him, we ask God that the presence of the ashes does not eliminate the possibility to see his presence in our lives". "We live in days of uncertainty – concludes father Leo - in which the southern provinces of Argentina, represented by thousands of true faces, are suffering and need to mobilize, while at the same time, demonstrate their solidarity with each other ... The earth, in this part of the planet, is crying once again, warning man of the consequences that await him when nature is destroyed, God's creation. " (EC) (Agenzia Fides 17/06/2011)
