VATICAN CITY (CNS): “The United States must not be abandoned” as it continues to recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina and begins to grapple with the poverty revealed by the disaster, said a special papal envoy.
President of the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum”, Archbishop Paul Cordes, said after a four-day visit to affected areas in Louisiana and Mississippi that he was afraid “the superpower may isolate itself and stay isolated” in the wake of the natural disaster.
As a sign of his personal solidarity, Pope Benedict XVI sent Archbishop Cordes to the United States from September 10-14 to meet with victims of the hurricane and with Church and government officials.
In an interview with Vatican Radio on September 17, the archbishop said while he had seen “terrible scenes” during his visit he had also witnessed “gestures of great humanity”.
He said many people had been shocked by the discovery of poverty in the country – a poverty, he said, that in some places was “shameful in rich America”.
Archbishop Cordes said members of the Church had a duty to not abandon those in need in the United States.
