The scope of Hurricane Ian’s destruction in Florida is only starting to be realized tonight.
President Joe Biden said he expects a “substantial loss of life.”
And, Catholic Charities USA say they have response teams in place ready to face the devastation.
By Rhina Guidos
WASHINGTON (CNS) — It’s too early to tell the extent of Hurricane Ian’s damage in the Catholic dioceses of Venice and St. Petersburg or the rest of the Sunshine State for that matter, but President Joe Biden in a Sept. 29 news conference said it is likely to rank as “one of the deadliest hurricanes in Florida history.”
“The numbers … are still unclear, but we’re hearing early reports of what may be substantial loss of life,” the president said.
No fatalities were reported early Sept. 29, but authorities were just beginning a search and rescue efforts, which were hampered by debris strewn on roads and bridges damaged by Ian’s 155 mph winds when it lashed Florida Sept. 28 and 29.
“We know many families, many, many, are hurting today and our entire country hurts with them,” Biden said during the news conference at the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Washington.
He promised to visit at a future date so as not to disturb initial rescue efforts but pledged financial help from the federal government to help Florida recover.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a Sept. 29 news conference in Tallahassee said the impact of Hurricane Ian in his state is historic. He reported that upward of 2 million people were without electricity in the state.
“The damage that was done has been historic and this is just off initial assessments. … We’ve never seen a flood event like this. We’ve never seen a storm surge of this magnitude,” he said.
Organizations such as Catholic Charities USA said they have their response teams in place to deal with the aftermath of the massive Category 4 storm that lashed western and central Florida.
Even in a state used to powerful storms, Ian’s destruction managed to shock, leaving mementos of its might in the form of cars battered by winds and water, left floating in flooded city streets next to uprooted trees and parts of roofs torn from buildings in the cities of Fort Myers, Tampa and Punta Gorda.
Part of a bridge that connected Sanibel Island to the mainland of Florida collapsed.
In a series of updates for the Tampa Bay Times, reporter Zachary T. Sampson wrote Sept. 29: “In Fort Myers Beach, emergency officials expect to find bodies in the rubble. They know people did not all heed the evacuation orders.”
Dioceses in the affected areas closed their churches, schools and other gathering centers. The Diocese of Venice posted a video of the Servant Sisters of the Virgin of Matara Sept. 28 as volunteers helped board up windows at St. Michael Church in Wauchula in the northern part of the diocese.
There were no updates on social media or on the websites of those dioceses early Sept. 29.
Bishop Gregory L. Parkes of St. Petersburg, which includes Tampa, and Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice had asked for prayers, knowing their diocesan territories were in the crosshairs of the storm.
Some other U.S. bishops kept an eye on the hurricane and offered solidarity with the people of Florida.
“We pray for all people in Florida, especially for people’s lives affected,” wrote Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio on Twitter just before the hurricane made landfall. “May you, Lord, be their strength! We do not control everything.”
More than 2 million were still without electricity as the hurricane, downgraded to a tropical storm early Sept. 29, headed north toward Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Family members desperately posted on Twitter asking for updates on conditions in places such as Venice, close to where the storm made landfall and where many remain without communication.
Authorities began to survey the damage early Sept. 29, looking for those who had not managed to leave before the hurricane hit. They asked those who stayed in their homes to remain indoors as officials were conducting water rescues but still struggling to make their way amid debris and remaining flooding and wind.
Catholic Charities USA said in a statement that its disaster response teams “have a long history of mobilizing quickly to meet the needs of those affected by catastrophic events in the U.S. and its territories.”
The organization encouraged donations at https://ccusa.online/Ian for efforts to help those dealing with the storm’s destruction.
DeSantis said Sept. 28 that recovery efforts need financial assistance, and asked people to refrain from sending items, such as clothes, to Florida and send economic help or volunteer instead.
He also said he asked Biden for a major disaster declaration for the federal government to pay for recovery efforts in the state, which the president responded to by stating in his news conference that the government would help Florida.
In Cuba, where Ian wreaked havoc Sept. 27 before heading to Florida, the diocese most affected posted Sept. 28 on Facebook photos of widespread damage, destroyed crops, torn roofs and collapsed buildings in Pinar del Rio, where children were helping with cleanup efforts at Catholic churches.
News agency EFE said three fatalities were reported on the island as of Sept. 29 and Cuba remains largely without electricity. Its tobacco crop, famous for the island’s cigars, has been damaged.
“The images are devastating. A people mired in misery and despair now face the onslaught of a natural phenomenon of great magnitude,” said a post on the Facebook page of the Diocese of Pinar del Rio, where the hurricane made landfall. “Hurricane Ian has destroyed homes, crops, (government centers, etc.) but it has also sown sadness and desolation.”
The post said cisterns were damaged, along with windows and roofs, and personal property in many homes. What precious little people had has been taken, the post said, adding that “in the midst of it all, there is sadness and worry about a very uncertain future.”
“This is how the Diocese of Pinar del Río is today,” the post said, but added that “in the midst of this reality, the church wants to be present to tell us that we are not alone, that God has not abandoned us.”
In Bahrain, Christians make up about 14% of the majority-Muslim country’s overall population. Joining Currents News to talk more about the Holy Father’s planned trip is Elise Allen, senior correspondent for Crux.
Ian is no longer a hurricane this morning but is still very much a threat to Florida. It’s now a tropical storm after slamming Florida’s southwest coast with 155 mile per hour winds and record-breaking storm surge. Now, central Florida and the east coast are in Ian’s path.
By Jessica Easthope
Bottle rings, fishing line and plastic bags, Mary Beth Artz knows picking up trash in Prospect Park is a matter of life or death, especially for Evan. Evan’s not a person, he’s a swan, one of the many Mary Beth and her teams of volunteers watch over and protect.
“Since the pandemic it seems like there are a lot more people out, a lot more trash and we just need to learn how to share the space with our wildlife,” Mary Beth said.
She’s a licensed wildlife rehabilitator and a founding member of both “W.I.L.D. for Prospect Park” and the “Swan Squad,” they rescue the birds that call the lake home. They’ve made 31 rescues this year alone.
Mary Beth and other volunteers like Sarah Wagner, have the same goal – keeping the animals safe, but over the years they’ve grown to have much more in common.
“We’re almost like a family now, each of us empower the other,” said Mary Beth.
“To have these relationships is really what’s sustaining, and those relationships are with each other as volunteers, with the park, the trees, the animals,” Sarah said.
And it’s not all about the rescue. Part of Mary Beth’s mission is to educate people on the wildlife in Prospect Park, when you see the swans pick at themselves, they’re taking oil from an oil gland in the back of their bodies and rubbing it all over their feathers, it’s how they stay waterproof.
“We’re passing it along, the more people that know, the better off we’ll all be, the wildlife and the people,” said Mary Beth.
Mary Beth says she’s constantly reminded of her Catholic faith when she’s in the park, and in her element.
“St. Francis is my patron saint, and I just feel that we need to be better stewards of the wildlife we’ve been given that share this planet with us,” she said.
If she has one message, it’s you don’t have to rescue birds to save them – all you need to do is take more out than you came in with.
Florida is getting battered by Hurricane Ian. The governor is warning residents to hunker down as the state’s Catholic community continues to pray.
The Vatican confirmed the Holy Father will travel to the kingdom of Bahrain in November.
We’ll have the story of the Swan Squad. This group of volunteers picks up trash and saves the wildlife in Prospect Park.
By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican confirmed that Pope Francis intends to visit the Middle Eastern country of Bahrain Nov. 3-6.
The trip would make him the first pope to visit the archipelago nation in the Persian Gulf.
“Accepting the invitation of the civil and ecclesial authorities, Pope Francis will make the announced apostolic journey,” visiting the capital of Manama and the city of Awali, said Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, in a written statement Sept. 28.
The focus of the visit will be the “Bahrain Forum for Dialogue: East and West for Human Coexistence.” Details of the trip were to be published later.
The new Our Lady of Arabia Cathedral was consecrated in December in Awali, which lies 16 miles south of Manama. It is now the largest cathedral in the Persian Gulf region. Previously, Bahrain only had one church in the capital, Manama, and a chapel in the suburbs to serve the country’s more than 90,000 Catholics.
Bahrain, a tiny, predominantly Muslim, island nation — smaller in area than London — and a key U.S. ally in the Persian Gulf, built the new church in response to the Gulf region’s increasing Catholic population, now estimated at 2.5 million. The cathedral seats 2,300 worshippers and serves the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia, which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and formally, Saudi Arabia.
Catholics in Bahrain hail mainly from the Philippines, India and Sri Lanka. South Americans, Europeans and Arabs from the Levant region account for the rest of the island’s Christian population.
Father Saji Thomas, cathedral project leader and parish priest, told reporters in December that the cathedral was “a model of religious harmony, a sign of the tolerance of the kingdom of Bahrain and a great example of peaceful coexistence to the world.” The land was donated by Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa nine years ago.
The king had invited Pope Francis to visit, underlining the importance placed on interfaith dialogue and understanding among different cultures and civilizations. The king also endorsed the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, signed in Abu Dhabi Feb. 4, 2019, by Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmad el-Tayeb, grand imam of Al-Azhar in Egypt.
The monster storm was packing winds of around 155 miles per hour as it made landfall in Florida on Wednesday – and time is up for residents in low-lying areas to evacuate.
Prospect Park is home to hundreds of species of birds, but those that live in the lake are especially susceptible to the dangers of fishing and litter.
That’s why volunteers like Mary Beth Artz are dedicated to protecting them.
Mary Beth has built a community around caring for these swans, geese, and ducks.
Her two groups, Wild for Prospect Park and Swan Squad, check in on the animals daily and have made more than 31 rescues this year alone.
On Wednesday, September 28 at 7:00pm on NET-TV, Currents News will feature Mary Beth’s story and how her mission to care for God’s creatures has evolved over the years.
By Jessica Easthope
Ileana Tavarez’s day starts with a drive from her home in Williamsburg to East New York. There, she unbuckles three car seats to take her kids all under the age of three to daycare. And after a few kisses goodbye – she’s off to work as the administrative assistant to the Vicar General for the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Ileana is part of the more than 70 percent of mothers with kids under the age of 18 in the country’s workforce.
“I wake up and I tell myself you have to do this for them and once you see their little faces in the morning you’re like yeah it’s worth it,” said Ileana.
Ileana’s a single mom and the main provider for her kids. Her flexible workplace knowing her kids are the priority has made it possible for her to have it all, career and family.
“They expect you to take care of your kid first and everything else comes second, I’m very happy with them here at the Diocese,” she said.
During the pandemic’s “Great Resignation” 4.4 million Americans left the workforce. Among them – mothers who cited the financial burden of childcare, the gender pay gap and lack of breastfeeding accommodation.
“I feel like there are a lot of other jobs who don’t see it that way that women are needed and that mothers specifically are needed in their place of work and they are,” Ileana said.
For Ileana, working for the church has shed light on how much needs to change. For the last 70 years birth rates have decreased worldwide with a total 50 percent decline. Pope Francis said the alarming reality many women face is that their jobs will be in jeopardy or they won’t be able to continue working after they give birth. The holy father said the solution is a more supportive and tolerant environment.
“Not a lot of jobs are flexible and I’m sure there are a lot of women struggling but with Pope Francis encouraging people, it makes me feel like someone is listening to us, to our cries, saying help because we need to work,” she said.
Ileana feels empowered in both of her roles. And wants her example to do just that for others.
“I think I’m being a role model to mothers who think it’s not possible, I hope I am,” she said. “It’s hard but it’s doable.”
When she’s at work she’s able to be laser focused, and every minute is another one closer to when her next job as a mom begins.