Louisiana, Mississippi Dioceses Devastated By Hurricane; Poorest Dioceses Hurt The Most

WASHINGTON (September 1, 2005)—Dioceses in Louisiana and Mississippi face unparalleled devastation from Hurricane Katrina, reports from bishops in several of the dioceses indicate.

The reports came in to the offices of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops shortly after USCCB officials e-mailed and faxed the bishops of Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama August 30 to advise them that USCCB president, Bishop William Skylstad of Spokane (WA), had called for a national collection and prayers in churches for those afflicted by the disastrous hurricane.

Some bishops in the affected regions could not be reached.

“All the bishops of the United States are concerned for the number of church personnel who are isolated, working under great adversity, and perhaps not even aware that the whole rest of the country is praying for them” Bishop Skylstad. “We don’t even know if all of them are safe.”

Bishops reporting to the USCCB indicated how much dioceses had been affected.
The Dioceses of Shreveport and Baton Rouge, which are just far enough north to have been spared from the storm, are working to accommodate those displaced from the stricken areas, reported Bishop William Friend of Shreveport.

Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes of New Orleans, who had to evacuate to Baton Rouge, reported from a parish there. He said that, assisted by Louisiana State Police, he has been going to visit shelters in the Baton Rouge, area which has taken in 100,000 people from the New Orleans area.

Bishop Thomas J. Rodi of Biloxi, Mississippi, reached the USCCB by cell phone and said 20 percent of the diocese’s churches and a third of its schools have been destroyed. Every rectory, school, convent and diocesan building sustained moderate to severe damage, he said. He was working from his office where there was no water or electricity.

Bishop Terry Steib of Memphis was stranded in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, his office said. He was safe, but his car was destroyed.

The USCCB is in constant contact with Catholic Charities USA, located in Alexandria, VA, which is working with Homeland Security and the local diocesan Catholic Charities organizations to move relief supplies and equipment into the areas which are accessible at this time.

Bishop Skylstad praised the response of Catholics to this tragedy and encouraged them to continue their prayers and donations for the people in these dioceses.

“Most of the dioceses are Home Mission dioceses, which struggle to survive under the best of conditions,” he said. “They are the least able to cope with this adversity.” Home Mission dioceses are those dioceses which can not operate solely on local donations and rely on the support of other dioceses to fund even basic pastoral life.

Vatican II Hurricane Destroys New Orleans

New Orleans
New Orleans in Flames
Once Catholic City Has Lost All of Its Catholic Organizational Support
And Sinks into the Barbarity of the Relativistic Vatican II Morality

New Orleans was once a Catholic city, founded in the French Catholic tradition. Looking at what has gone on there after the recent hurricane, one clearly sees that New Orleans is Catholic no longer. It has succumbed to anarchy and in the process is destroying itself.

One could only reflect on what would have happened if this hurricane had occurred before Vatican II. You may remember how it was then. Before Vatican II Mardi Gras was a joyful local festival the day before the Lenten fast began on Ash Wednesday. After Vatican II, Lent was essentially done away with, fasting was essentially done away with, and Mardi Gras became an anarchical party for sexual deviants. Before Vatican II people were encouraged individually to practice the Corporal Works of Mercy, not just blend irresponsibly into some liberalistic, secularized program of "Social Justice."

Some of the things that struck us as we watched coverage is that the once-great network of Catholic charity has been essentially dissolved by Newchurch. Newchurch can't get enough victims to become New Order presbyters to staff their churches. Nuns and brothers have essentially disappeared. There is no network of Catholic hospitals, homes for the elderly, houses for the poor. Once-Catholic hospitals that were proud to display the word Catholic in their name have been sold to secular interests to become merely "C, Inc."

The only religious presence seems to be the Salvation Army, which, in spite of the fact that it is Protestant, has had an unblemished record of scrupulous honesty. While the American Red Cross skims off large amounts of administrative fees and transfers donors' money into the Red Cross's own (often liberalistic) pet projects, the Salvation Army puts virtually every penny into its charitable work, and toward the purpose that its donors specify (and, yes, Catholics can morally donate to the charitable projects of Protestant organizations).

Before Vatican II, one could see the vast charitable resources of the Catholic Church swing into action. Bishop Sheen, who was in charge of such programs, would have personally walked the streets of New Orleans and publicized the plight of the city and its environs on his hugely popular radio and television programs. Priests, nuns, and brothers would be visible all over, aiding the afflicted. Traditional Catholic morality would have taught the people to help themselves and others in an orderly fashion. Instead, the television news portrays shrill people screaming, "Why doesn't the government help us?" Remember the old saying: "God helps those who help themselves."

Because of the moral corruption introduced into the Church and into society when Vatican II's relativistic morality spread, we now have the pitiful sight of a once-Catholic city sinking into barbarism, into rampant theft and murder. Even heroic physicians who are trying to get invalids to medical attention, are fired upon. And where are those bastions of the dedicated police, so often drawn from Catholic ranks? Half of them have quit. Morally, New Orleans has shot itself in the foot. Those who would be motivated to aid the city stay away because they are afraid of being shot at.

The incredible damage done by Vatican II to morality and the creation of the unCatholic Newchurch, which, from the pope on down, refuses to take strong action against immorality, is far more widespread than the destruction of the Holy Mass and Sacraments. Good Catholics, next time someone gives you a hard time about why you don't accept the Springtime of Vatican II and the Newchurch of Love, now you have a simple, two-word answer: "New Orleans."

Yes, that is the source,I to set things straight do not hold true to all the negative things on there against the Pope-for Our Lady of La Sallette asked ,that we pray for the Holy Father and he will have much to suffer.
Yet on all the things they print on the Vatican ll goings on in our supposed Catholic Churches-it sickens me...the Latin Tridentine Mass is the TRUE MASS and this too is what they hold to.
By the way,I do have a life and FR is a part of it,what was said is TRUE of NEW ORleans ...before Vatican ll make a mess and degraded and cast out all the reverence ect. that goes with being Catholic. Praying for all the poor victims-Hail MArys in abunbance. what a rosary being said at the time of that hurricane would have done! It is sooooo powerful!!!!! Do they know that???

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