On the following Sunday, some women went to the cave to attend the body. Neither the man, nor Death was inside, Father Brendan said.
“Since that Sunday, all who look at Death through the eyes of faith now look at it differently,” he said. “They know that love is life, and Death is the doorway to eternal life.”
Following the Mass, Francois told The Catholic Key that the situation in Haiti one year later is just as desperate as it was a year ago, despite a massive outpouring of support from around the world.
Hundreds of thousands are homeless, living in tent cities or in shelters built of whatever material they can find. Preventable diseases are rampant, Francois said, and there is virtually no government infrastructure to direct relief efforts.
“We failed to take advantage of this moment to unite the country and to use the ‘reset’ button to build something better,” Francois said. “Because of the lack of leadership, the humanitarian efforts around the world have had little effect. People are still fighting to survive.”
Francois said that Haiti’s problem isn’t just poverty.
“It is a matter of trust and leadership,” he said. “That is why we turn to the church. The church doesn’t have to do business as usual. We need to put faith in action, and we believe we can go through this and progress.
“We need your help, but nothing replaces your prayer to give strength to men, women and children, who are living everyday in uncertainty,” he said.
Vesnel Francois has co-founded the Lambdi Group to help parishes in the United States directly assist parishes in Haiti and provide other relief to Haiti. He can be contacted at lambigroup@yahoo.com.
Printed with permission from The Catholic Key, newspaper for the Diocese of Kansas City, Mo.