<\/p>\n
We’re all askingthe theodicy question. How could one -even person of solid faith in Providence–not\u00a0ask why natural evil happens and why God permits it. In a recent interview\u00a0Zenit asked the head of the Papal Charitable office, <\/i>Cor Unum<\/a><\/strong>, Josef Cardinal\u00a0Cordes, about the Haitian earthquake. As a first glance at the matter the Cardinal names something important, namely, if you claim to understand God, then your claim has nothing to do with the personal God of Christianity and that the Christian continues to believe God’s goodness in the face of suffering. Hard ideas to grasp. BUT it is a beginning.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n ZENIT:<\/b> How much does people’s faith help\u00a0them through a catastrophe such as this?<\/span><\/p>\n Cardinal Cordes:<\/b> The faith of the\u00a0people who have suffered in this disaster will play a critical role in not only Our Pontifical Council Cor Unum had\u00a0already planned that the next meeting of the Populorum Progressio Foundation\u00a0<\/i>would take place in Santo Domingo this coming July. The foundation, established\u00a0by Pope John Paul II, is to help the indigenous peoples of the Latin American\u00a0and Caribbean countries. In the past, we have given much help to Haiti and we\u00a0shall continue to do so. Of course, our spiritual closeness is of primary\u00a0importance. We shall be certain to celebrate the Holy Eucharist on that occasion\u00a0with bishops coming from different countries of Latin America and the\u00a0Caribbean.<\/span><\/p>\n Without faith, this tragedy would turn into a complete disaster.\u00a0That is why it will be essential for our brothers and sisters to pray together;\u00a0experience Christians worldwide sharing their burdens as members of God’s\u00a0family; know the compassion of our Holy Father. All these become sources of\u00a0hope and energy. In His first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est<\/i>, Pope\u00a0Benedict invites us to recall “St. Augustine who gives us faith’s answer\u00a0to our sufferings: ‘Si comprehendis, non est Deus’ — ‘if you understand him,\u00a0he is not God.'” The Holy Father adds: “Even in their bewilderment\u00a0and failure to understand the world around them, Christians continue to believe\u00a0in the ‘goodness and loving kindness of God’<\/b> (Titus 3:4)” (No. 38).<\/span><\/p>\n ZENIT:\u00a0<\/b>Will good come from this tragedy?<\/span><\/p>\n Cardinal Cordes:<\/b> This is a disaster that has\u00a0caused immense loss of life and suffering. Many years will be needed for the\u00a0nation to be rebuilt physically and the people to recover in their spirits. For\u00a0this reason, the Church must remain present even as others move away.<\/span><\/p>\n But\u00a0already we see good rising from the ruins. The eyes of the world are being open\u00a0to the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, whose long suffering was all\u00a0but forgotten. This tragedy shows that we depend on each other and must care\u00a0for our suffering brothers and sisters, just as we did during the Tsunami and\u00a0Hurricane Katrina. So we must ensure that the necessary assistance now being\u00a0shown to Haiti continues in the long-term, for example through setting up\u00a0better local Caritas structures and links with government development We are witnessing and\u00a0hearing of many selfless and heroic acts made to save lives and to rescue those\u00a0in danger.\u00a0 There are still thousands of others, who, coming from all over\u00a0the world and without any accolades, are dedicating themselves to helping\u00a0whoever is in need. People are being moved to give of themselves spiritually\u00a0and materially to help the poor and suffering. In the coming days and weeks, I\u00a0am convinced that we shall encounter in the midst of this catastrophe many\u00a0examples of goodness.<\/span><\/p>\n Above all, it is with trustworthy hope in the Crucified\u00a0and Risen Lord Jesus that Christians face the present<\/span>. In his encyclical Spe Salvi<\/i>, Pope Benedict speaks of the sufferings of this moment\u00a0being borne through hope in the future. It is not that Christians know the\u00a0details of what awaits them, but they know in general terms that their life\u00a0will not end in emptiness: “Only when the future is certain as a positive\u00a0reality does it become possible to live the present as well” (Spe Salvi<\/i>, 2).<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We’re all askingthe theodicy question. How could one -even person of solid faith in Providence–not\u00a0ask why natural evil happens and why God permits it. In a recent interview\u00a0Zenit asked the head of the Papal Charitable office, Cor Unum, Josef Cardinal\u00a0Cordes, about the Haitian earthquake. As a first glance at the matter the Cardinal names something … Continue reading Disaster in Haiti: where is God in this mess?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[1768,2290,32043,2236],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25258"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25258"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33665,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25258\/revisions\/33665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nbringing relief to their physical injuries and losses, but also in addressing\u00a0the spiritual dimension and meaning to be found in such a catastrophe. In\u00a0visiting disaster areas before and talking with survivors, many express their\u00a0gratitude to God for sparing their lives and for the generous outpouring of\u00a0assistance made available to them by family, friends, neighbors, and Churches\u00a0worldwide. Because of the large Catholic population (80% of Haitians are\u00a0Catholics), faith and the concrete presence\/witness of the Church will have a\u00a0very important role in the present tragedy.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nministries of wealthier countries and help agencies.<\/span><\/p>\n