May 25, 2011 / 03:37 am
In the aftermath of the deadly Sunday tornado in Joplin, Missouri, Bishop James V. Johnston of Springfield-Cape Girardeau tried to comfort survivors and expressed gratitude that more were not killed.
“We’re just encouraging survivors of the prayers and the support of the Body of Christ. We’re just trying to bring the charity of the Church to bear in the suffering of the people here. We’re just trying to reassure and comfort the people here right now, because there’s still just a lot of recovery to continue,” he told CNA from Joplin on May 24.
The bishop and Kyle Schott, executive director of the local Catholic Charities agency, surveyed the damage of the deadly tornado.
“It’s just so hard to fathom the destructive power of the storm,” the bishop said, describing the scale of the destruction as “mind-boggling.”