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Diocesan Church Diocesan Official Appointments Diocesan Pastoral Council Highlights Restoring the trust - Diocese of New Ulm responds to requests made by Charter
Parish Life CCHD thanks diocese for generous contribution
Social Concerns Did our children's future fall with the towers?
Education Founder of Opus Dei to be canonized by Pope John Paul II Catholic school principals/teachers gather to prepare for new school year Calling all youth grades 7-9 - Junior High Festival promises fun! CCW recognition Sunday is October 13 2002 NCCW General Assembly convenes in Miami this past September Mass Times service no longer a toll-free number
Worship & Spiritual Life
Calendar October Formation & Education Calendar
Catholic Trends |
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Diocese of New Ulm - October 2002 Mission parish of the Diocese of New Ulm affected by Msgr. Greg Schaffer On Thursday, September 12, 2002, at 9:00 p.m., a wall of water, mud, and rocks as small as marbles to as large as trucks, roared through the housing area of the small community of El Porvenir, San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala. Forty of the seventy houses were simply swept away. The clap-board and corn-stock structures provided no protection to the families inside. Thirty-five people of all ages were swept to their death in the rushing water, flowing mud, and tumbling rocks of the mountain land-slide. By 9:20 p.m. the first call for help came to the San Lucas Toliman mission parish. Within minutes, four drivers with their pick-ups were on their way to El Porvenir with volunteers for immediate help. It was a struggle to wade through the sliding mud, but the helpers were able to get to the injured and transport them to the parish clinic where staff were on hand to receive the eighteen seriously injured. Four of these people had to be taken to the national hospital in Solola for surgery to set severely broken bones. The other fourteen suffered serious cuts, bruises, and lacerations, but were able to be cared for at the parish clinic. Search for the missing began immediately and continued until the pain-filled task was completed on the following Monday. Bishop Raul Antonio Martinez from the Diocese of Solola celebrated the funeral Mass for twenty-three of the victims on Saturday, September 14, in San Lucas Toliman in the town meeting hall - a larger space than the church. Two hundred fifty people had to be relocated to temporary shelters. There has been an outpour of help from all over Guatemala. Surrounding communities and parishes have donated food, blankets, and clothing by the pick-up load. Caritas de Guatemala, Ministry of Agriculture, the municipality of San Lucas Toliman, CNEP (emergency institution of the Guatemalan government), and groups from the parish of San Lucas Toliman have also given assistance and donated supplies. Emergency Services by the Bomberos of Patulul, Santiago Atitlan, and other communities have assisted with the injured and helped search for victims and casualties. The Guatemalan military also came to help with all areas of work during this emergency. Rotary Clubs from all over Guatemala keep coming in with food, household utensils, and building supplies. Individuals both local and from as far away as Guatemala City have come forth with not only food and supplies, but also with funds to help to purchase medicine and care for the multiple immediate needs. El Porvenir is a new community. For years, the area was a coffee plantation and the people were plantation workers. On March 2, 2001, the coffee plantation was purchased from the third generation owner and turned over to the people - those who had worked the plantation for generations. It was a moment of joy, jubilation, and hope for all of the families now beginning to become a community of independent farmers. We must now begin the next step. We must rebuild lives that have been shattered by a natural disaster. There are questions to be answered to ensure that such a disaster does not repeat itself. Questions such as: Where did all that mud come from and why such force? Are the people able to move back to the same area or is it best to rebuild in an area nearby? We have a formidable task before us but I am confident that the people of El Porvenir can do it. Msgr. Greg Schaffer is a priest of the Diocese of New Ulm and has been Pastor at San Lucas Toliman Mission Parish for the last 40 years.
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