Pope calls for generous aid to those hit by flooding in Central Europe

(August 12, 2010) Pope Benedict XVI urged people to offer needed and generous aid to those hit by massive flooding in central Europe. Torrential rains, which led to swollen rivers and breached dams across Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic, left at least 11 people dead and damaged hundreds of homes and businesses, including the 775-year-old Cistercian monastery of St. Marienthal in eastern Germany. More than 1,000 people were evacuated when rivers burst their banks and rose in some places to levels 15 feet above the normal. As the waters began receding August 10, the massive cleanup and repair operations began. During his general audience August 11, the pope said he prayed that God would give victims "the strength to bear the adversity and would encourage the hearts of people of good will to offer generous and effective aid." The pope made the appeal in Polish after speaking with an estimated 3,000 pilgrims gathered in the courtyard of the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo.