COVENANT SOLIDARITY •
Pope Francis made an urgent appeal during his greeting after the Angelus on 15 August, remembering the people of Haiti who were terribly affected by an earthquake, and united himself to the unanimous concern for the situation in Afghanistan, imploring for an end to the clamour of weapons. —
I join in the unanimous concern for the situation in Afghanistan. I ask all of you to pray with me to the God of peace so that the clamour of weapons might cease and solutions can be found at the table of dialogue. Only thus can the battered population of that country – men, women, elderly and children – return to their own homes, and live in peace and security, in total mutual respect.
In the past few hours, a strong earthquake occurred in Haiti, provoking numerous deaths, wounding many, and causing extensive material damage. I want to express my closeness to the dear people hard hit by the earthquake. While I lift up my prayer to the Lord for the victims, I extend my word of encouragement to the survivors, hoping that the interest of the international community to help might move toward them. May the solidarity of all alleviate the consequences of the tragedy! Let us pray together to the Madonna for Haiti. Hail Mary…
Let us pray for Haiti, let us pray for Afghanisant, in covenant solidarity.
Original: Spanish. Translation: Sarah-Leah Pimentel, South Africa with text from www.vatican.va
