HOLY FATHER'S SOLIDARITY WITH HURRICANE VICTIMS

VATICAN CITY, SEP 10, 2005 (VIS) - Archbishop Paul Josef Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, has travelled to the U.S.A., bearing testimony of Benedict XVI's solidarity, and offering concrete assistance to the people affected by Hurricane Katrina, which recently struck the south of the country, especially the area of New Orleans.

  Today, the Holy Father's envoy is due to meet Bishop Robert Muench of Baton Rouge, and Fr. Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities U.S.A. Tomorrow, Mass will be celebrated in the cathedral of Baton Rouge in memory of the victims of the hurricane, as well as that of all victims of violence on the 4th anniversary of September 11, 2001. In the afternoon, the Holy See delegation - which also includes Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick, archbishop of Washington, U.S.A. - will hold talks with the bishops of the area and with the governor of the State of Louisiana, before visiting those displaced by the catastrophe who have taken refuge in Baton Rouge.

  On Monday, September 12, the delegation will visit Biloxi, while on Tuesday Archbishop Cordes will travel to Washington to meet the federal authorities. The delegation will return to the Vatican on September 14.

  "The papal envoy's mission," says a Cor Unum communique, "apart from bringing a sign of Benedict XVI's spiritual and material closeness, also aims to encourage the Catholic institutions involved in relief efforts during the emergency, to contribute to promoting and preparing the way for reconstruction."
CON-CU/HURRICANE KATRINA/CORDES                VIS 20050912 (260)