CBCP sending copies of the Bible, rosaries to ‘Yolanda’ survivors

WHILE many in Tacloban City are raiding warehouses and stores in search of food, many others, like 69-year-old Elly Tingson, patiently wait for a ride out of the city at the Tacloban airport. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is sending several copies of the Bible and rosaries to Tacloban and nearby provinces to fill the spiritual necessities of those affected by supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name Haiyan).

According to the CBCP, the Episcopal Commission for the Biblical Apostolate (ECBA) will be sending 1,000 copies of the Bible to help strengthen the faith of the typhoon victims.

On the other hand, the prayer support network of the pro-life movement Rosary for Life donated to the CBCP an initial 3,000 rosaries for Tacloban to help uplift the spiritual morale of the devastated people in the city.

“We know that through prayers somehow we will survive as a people and persevere in life. The primacy of the spiritual dimension in our lives must be emphasized to our people. We, of course know that the physical necessities of life are important but also important is the spiritual side of the people in this recent calamity. We are making these rosaries available to people to help them pray in this time of trial and tragedy,” said William Lorenzo, the communication officer of Rosaries for Life, in a statement.

Lorenzo said they would visit the affected areas to help rehabilitate the Catholic spirituality of the people of Tacloban.

He added that rosaries would also be sent to Samar, another province badly affected by the supertyphoon.

Meanwhile, Dr. Natividad Pagadut, ECBA’s executive secretary, believes that the distribution of the Bible should be coupled with formation and counseling of the people in order to guide them on how to use it.

“We hope that the Bible would help the victims recover from the tragedy, strengthen their faith, and improve as persons,” she said.

“It is best to couple it with formation, counseling and to guide them on what to read in the Bible during this time. With this, they will be consoled, challenged, they will gain hope to move on, and get up from this terrible experience,” Pagadut said.

The biblical apostolate also gave 100 copies of children’s Bible for kids to read to help them get up from the devastating experience.

RELATED STORIES:

‘Yolanda’ death toll now over 4,000

‘Yolanda’ revives compensation row at UN climate talks

CNN, BBC, int’l media slam Aquino for ‘disorganized’ Yolanda aid response