Bishop Donald Kettler is asking every parish of the St. Cloud Diocese to take a special collection on a weekend in October that works best for that parish to assist victims of Hurricane Florence in North and South Carolina.
This emergency collection will be forwarded to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and be used to support the humanitarian efforts of Catholic Charities USA and Catholic Relief Services to provide pastoral and rebuilding support to impacted dioceses.
“We offer our prayers to families who have lost loved ones or are among those injured,” wrote Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in a letter to his fellow bishops. “As is often the case, the poor are the hardest hit by these conditions, but many will have immense unmet needs.
“Given the patterns of recent years, it is reasonable to expect much more unpredictable weather and an increasing number of natural disasters,” the cardinal added. “In anticipation of more disasters awaiting us this year, I ask that we make a special appeal for the ongoing disasters of 2018 and that we each take up the collection as soon as possible so that those most in need can receive assistance quickly.”