Japanese Church helping tsunami and nuclear crisis victims

(March 22, 2011) The Church in Japan continues to work hard to help the victims of the country’s tsunami and nuclear crisis. Missionary priest Fr David Uribe told AsiaNews that in many parishes in the Tokyo archdiocese, the faithful have organised special collections of first aid items, especially blankets. He said these are destined for the prefectures affected by the tsunami , where the number of dead now stands at around 18,000. He said the diocese of Saitama, which borders with Fukushima Prefecture, set up a special centre in the city of Mito to help the thousands of people displaced by radioactive nuclear leaks. He added that Catholics living in cities south of Tokyo are helping out as well, opening their doors to foreigners and Japanese families, who left the capital fearing radiations. Fr Uribe noted that the diocese of Sendai, worst hit by the tsunami, has not yet been able to contact most of the parishes under its jurisdiction. However, emergency teams have reopened many roads and communication links to the prefectures located northeast of Sendai. But non-residents are still not allowed to travel there.
Archbishop Peter Okada Takeo of Tokyo on Sunday, urged the Japanese and foreigners who left the country not to be afraid, but pray instead for Japan. In a message, the prelate expressed his spiritual closeness to all those in difficulty. In the meantime, the World Bank has issued a statement, estimating that reconstruction costs could be as high as 330 billion dollars.