(07 Sept. 08 - RV) Pope Benedict XVI launched an appeal on behalf of the victims of
the series of storms that have battered and continue to batter the impoverished island
of Haiti.
Speaking before the Angelus prayer, the Holy Father said he is praying
for the "unfortunately numerous" victims and for the homeless.
The Pope said
he is near in spirit to the entire Caribbean nation and expressed hope that all necessary
aid reach the country as soon as possible.
Dozens of people have already been
killed by flooding this week in Haiti, and the approach of hurricane Ike is raising
fears of further devastation.
Pope Benedict made his appeal from the port city
of Cagliari on the Italian island of Sardinia, where he had just finished celebrating
Mass for well over 100 thousand Sardinian faithful.
The Holy Father had come
to Sardinia and Cagliari in order to rededicate the faithful of the island to Our
Lady of Bonaria, who, 100 years ago, was proclaimed chief patroness of the island.
In
his homily, the Pope prayed that, under the patronage and through the intercession
of Our Lady of Bonaria, the faithful be made capable of evangelizing the world of
work, the economy, and politics, saying the task requires a new generation of committed
Christian laypeople capable of meeting the challenge of sustainable development competently
and with moral rigor."
The Pope particularly recalled the unswerving dedication
to the true faith and the steadfast faithfulness to Peter’s successor that have always
characterized the Church on the island of Sardinia.
As a sign of appreciation
and gratitude, the Holy Father gave the Basilica the gift of the Golden Rose, a rare
and venerable sign of Papal favour, given in recognition for signal service to and
great faithfulness to the Apostolic See.
Sardinia has never been a land of
heresies, said Pope Benedict, recalling also how Sardinian faith did not come at the
tip of the conqueror’s sword, nor was it installed by foreign oppression: instead,
it grew from the ground, rising up from the blood of Sardinia’s many martyrs, who
converted the proud Sardinian spirit to Christ, through their acts of love toward
God and their fellows.