BRISBANE’S archdiocesan director of fundraising has described “an unprecedented and overwhelming response” from schools, parishes and the clergy to the Victorian bushfire disaster.
Lindsay Stokes said that in his 10 years of involvement in fundraising for the archdiocese he had never seen people so interested, committed and “generally proactive” in their inquiries about how they could help people as they have been for those in the bushfire-ravaged southern communities.
“Australia has never before seen a catastrophe of this magnitude and this has been reflected in people’s responses from the outset,” Mr Stokes told The Catholic Leader.
Mr Stokes said the already generous response would be further assisted by Archbishop John Bathersby’s Catholic Emergency Relief Appeal which would be promoted throughout parishes in the archdiocese at Masses this weekend.
Today’s appeal will coincide with a National Day of Mourning announced by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to honour all who have lost their lives in the fires.
Stuartholme School development director Graham Thomson said the response of the school community to the tragedy had been “nothing short of magnificent”.
Assisi College at Coomera will hold a “haircutathon” next Saturday (February 28) at the Oxenford Youth Centre, with local hairdressers donating their time and expertise to raise funds.
Among other schools also responding are Lourdes Hill College, Hawthorn, the new St Benedict’s School at Mango Hill and Iona College, Wynnum, which have already raised more than $20,000 from gold-coin donations.
The death toll from the February 7 Black Saturday bushfires which swept through rural Victoria stood at 189 last Tuesday, with scores more deaths expected to be confirmed as investigators continued to search through the devastated areas.
A large number of fires continued to threaten rural communities throughout Victoria with more than 3000 firefighters from throughout Australia and overseas now involved.
Meanwhile, St Mary’s community at Kinglake, whose burnt-out church featured on the cover of last weekend’s Catholic Leader, has announced it will celebrate Sunday Mass as usual.
Last Monday, February 16, Melbourne’s Archbishop Denis Hart appointed Hoppers Crossing parish priest Fr Greg Bourke to the position of bushfire recovery chaplain.
Today a community memorial service will be held in Melbourne at 11am at Rod Laver Arena as part of the National Day of Mourning to give Victorians and Australians an opportunity to come together to mourn those who have perished in the fires.
Pope Benedict XVI, the week after the fires, told Australia’s new ambassador to the Vatican Tim Fischer of his sadness for the victims.
The Pontiff asked Mr Fischer, the former federal National Party Leader, to send his condolences “to the grieving individuals and families”.
