TruthBook Religious News Blog

And yet, the Haitians praise God
Monday January 18, 2010
Categories: Religion

The other night, a day after the Haiti earthquake, ABC News ended its evening broadcast with video of destitute and shell-shocked Haitians standing in the street, singing alleluia. It was a stunning sight. Last night on Fox, Geraldo Rivera reported on a Fox crew that had gone out in search of an orphanage rumored to have been repeatedly assaulted by looters, who stole what little the poor children had. The crew was having trouble finding the place, until they heard the sound of children singing hymns. The footage Fox broadcasted of these children was absolutely heartbreaking (and Fox reported receiving a call from Colorado viewers offering to adopt the kids). This morning, the New York Times reports on how Haitians have responded to the catastrophe by turning to God. Excerpt:

Five days after Haiti's devastating earthquake, an evangelical pastor in a frayed polo shirt, his church crushed but his spirit vibrant, sounded a siren to summon the newly homeless residents of a tent city to an urgent Sunday prayer service.

Voice scratchy, eyes bloodshot, arms raised to the sky, the Rev. Joseph Lejeune urged the hungry, injured and grieving Haitians who gathered round to close their eyes and elevate their beings up and out of the fetid Champ de Mars square where they now scrambled to survive.

"Think of our new village here as the home of Jesus Christ, not the scene of a disaster," he called out over a loudspeaker. "Life is not a disaster. Life is joy! You don't have food? Nourish yourself with the Lord. You don't have water? Drink in the spirit."

And drink they did, singing, swaying, chanting and holding their noses to block out the acrid stench of the bodies in a collapsed school nearby. Military helicopters buzzed overhead, and the faithful reached toward them and beyond, escaping for a couple of hours from the grim patch of concrete where they sought shelter under sheets slung over poles.

In varying versions, this scene repeated itself throughout the Haitian capital on Sunday. With many of their churches flattened and their priests and pastors killed, Haitians desperate for aid and comfort beseeched God to ease their grief. Carrying Bibles, they traversed the dusty, rubble-filled streets searching for solace at scattered prayer gatherings. The churches, usually filled with passionate parishioners on a Sunday morning, stood empty if they stood at all.

Please click on "external source" to access the entire article.

Labels: church, God, grief, Haiti Earthquake, Haitians, Steven Pinker

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Monday, January 18, 2010

Searching among a Haitian cathedral's ruins

The collapse of Notre Dame Cathedral in Port-au-Prince struck at the heart of a religiously fervent people.

By Tracy Wilkinson
January 16, 2010

Reporting from Port-Au-Prince, Haiti - The woman wailed outside the ruins of the Notre Dame Cathedral of Port-au-Prince, the iconic Roman Catholic church that symbolized Haiti's religious fervor.

"This is what God did!" she cried Friday morning. "See what God can do!"

Tuesday's earthquake brought down the roof of the enormous pink-and-cream church, filling the apse and nave with tons of rubble. The quake punched out its vivid stained glass windows, twisted its wrought-iron fencing and sliced brick walls like cake. The western steeple, which had soared more than 100 feet, toppled onto parishioners praying at an outdoor shrine to St. Emmanuel. Flies buzzed around the pile of copper, plaster and felled columns.

The senior Catholic figure in the country, Msgr. Joseph Serge Miot, was killed in the magnitude 7.0 earthquake. As many as 100 priests were still missing, sacristan Jean Claude Augustin said.

By the cathedral's ruins lay a small blue copy of the New Testament. Sheet music for Christian hymns was scattered through the street.

Haiti is, officially, predominantly Catholic, with some Protestant faiths. But across the board is an underlying belief in, or respect for, voodoo and other indigenous traditions, which are often mixed in with those religious practices.

Former Haitian President Bertrand Aristide was at one time wildly popular in part for his blend of superstitious spirituality, social activism and Catholic faith.

Many have turned to God for an explanation of this catastrophe visited upon Haiti. Tens of thousands of people have been spending the nights in the streets, singing hymns and calling out the Gospel.

Dudu Orelian, whose brother and nephew were killed, stood outside the cathedral.

"God is angry at the world," Orelian said.

Jack Fisner, a Haitian seminarian who lives in the Dominican Republic, came to Port-au-Prince to begin coordinating aid and prepare a report for the pope.

"This has been a terrible blow to the church and the people," Fisner said. "You have to question your faith, but hopefully not lose it."

Please click on "external source" for the rest of the article.

Labels: Catholicism, God, Haiti Earthquake, superstition, Tracy Wilkinson, voodoo

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Friday, January 15, 2010

Brazilian 'Mother Teresa' killed in quake

January 14, 2010

(CNN) -- Zilda Arns Neumann, a Brazilian doctor and care worker dedicated to helping the people of Haiti, was among those who died in Tuesday's devastating earthquake. She was 75.

Brazilians were shocked at the loss of Arns, who founded a well-known charity in Haiti called Children's Pastoral. It specialized in providing education and aid to children, pregnant women, and families.

The Nobel Peace Prize nominee was back in the country attending a religion conference and teaching classes to motivate leaders and volunteers of her organization, according to a statement on the Children's Pastoral Web site.

For her work in Haiti, Arns earned comparisons to India's Mother Teresa, according to local media.

Labels: Children's Pastoral, Haiti Earthquake, Zilda Arns Neumann