Bishop Dumas, Head of Caritas-Haiti, Speaks on Reconstruction, Faith Amidst Suffering

July 08, 2011 - 7:52 PDT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA ADVISORY

STEUBENVILLE, OH (July 8, 2011) - "This is the secret of God: When people have to struggle to affirm their faith, always faith is greater," said Bishop Pierre Dumas, head of Caritas-Haiti. "Sometimes, persecution, suffering, crosses are blessings--not sometimes, always."

Bishop Dumas, who oversees the Diocese of Anse-ŕ-Veau et Miragoâne in Haiti, was in Ohio this summer for "In God's Hands," the 36th annual Priests, Deacons, and Seminarians Conference at Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Responding to the Earthquake

As head of Caritas in Haiti, he led the Catholic Church's relief efforts in the wake of his country's devastating earthquake in January 2010. Having lost his infant niece and his brother-in-law, he said in an interview at the time, "For those of us left, at the moment there is only pain. This is a test for all of us. It won't last forever, but we have to live through this test with faith so we can come out at the other end more whole."

Now, over a year after the catastrophe, he speaks reflectively on the role of suffering in the Catholic faith. "Happy are those who are persecuted. They will receive a lot of recompense."

Of Caritas' relief efforts, he said, "In the first part of the [recovery,] Caritas was very present in the country, so we saw a lot of compliments, felicitations, congratulations, because without Caritas, [people said], they should've died.

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"What Caritas did, which made the difference for me, is the way that we accompanied people. We don't just do things to people, we stay with the people, we accompany people and experience with them what the life of the poor is."

Speaking to American readers, Bishop Dumas noted that Haiti is only 90 minutes from Miami and said, "Don't just give money, but have an interest in these people, for the brothers and sisters there." He called on concerned Americans to push the federal government to fulfill its pledges of aid. He said the Haitians are ready and willing to do the work necessary to rebuild their country and regain control of their destiny, but they need time and resources.

"Haiti should never become a kind of forgotten emergency. So that means people who are believers, people who believe in humanity, people who believe in the dignity of other people, [should] continue to accompany the Haitian people" through the recovery into a future of closer relationships as good neighbors.

An urgent need of the Church in Haiti after the earthquake, the bishop said, was for a new seminary to train priests. The previous major seminary was destroyed in the earthquake. The Church has purchased the land, he explained. Now it needs to build a "simple, modern" seminary.

Bishop Dumas said many sects came to Haiti to proselytize in the wake of the earthquake. He called for a "pastoral conversion" in the Church in Haiti to better respond to the people and their needs. "We've got to accompany the people, to pray with the people, to organize the people in small communities, communities of prayer, communities to listen for the Gospel of Jesus, and community where people feel themselves like brothers and sisters. This is the way," he said, to rebuild the Catholic Church in Haiti.

Coming to Steubenville

Bishop Dumas came to Franciscan University's Priests, Deacons, and Seminarians Retreat because one of the deacons for his diocese, Louis Merosne MA '07, told the bishop about his experiences as a student at Franciscan University. "We discovered that this man was full of the Holy Spirit, full of wisdom. We tried to understand better where this man received such formation and education."

Along with Merosne, Bishop Dumas brought the rectors of his cathedral and co-cathedral for "time for ourselves. We pray, we share experiences with others. We come like pilgrims to the essential things of our faith, of our commitment."

We're Back - Greatest Meat on Earth

Bishop Dumas believes the five-day retreat at Franciscan University will help him form a better presbyterate in his diocese. Quoting Blessed Mother Teresa, the bishop said, "When you take during the day one hour of adoration, that can make the work for the poor better," and explained that he hoped for the same thing for his diocese from the retreat. "After this experience of prayer life, of sharing, of taking time before God, of experiencing what God's mercy is in our lives, I'm sure we will do better things.

"As president of national Caritas, I think we need to give signs of God's mercy to the people."

ADDENDUM: For more on Caritas's efforts in Haiti, see http://www.caritas.org/worldmap/latin_america/haiti.html.

Deacon Louis Merosne is one of the founders of an orphanage in Haiti. To donate to Mission: Haiti, see http://www.mwts.org/missionhaiti/Get_Involved_Donate.html.

Contact

Franciscan University of Steubenville
http://www.franciscan.edu/NewsandEvents/
OH, 43952 US
Tom Sofio - Associate Director of Public Relations,

Keywords

haiti, caritas, bishop pierre dumas, franciscan university, steubenville, hope, earthquake, suffer

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Catholic Organizations

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