Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Catholic News

Home

Home
Catholic
Religion News
Corpus Christi bishop: remember those who can’t flee Hurricane Harvey

Corpus Christi bishop: remember those who can’t flee Hurricane Harvey

Last updated on: August 25, 2017 at 10:35 pm by CNA Daily News

Corpus Christi bishop: remember those who can’t flee Hurricane Harvey 2017-08-25T22:35:00+00:00 CNA Daily News

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Corpus Christi, Texas, Aug 25, 2017 / 04:35 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- As Hurricane Harvey approached, the Bishop of Corpus Christi was preparing to ride out the storm. He urged the country to remember that many people are forced to stay, especially the poorest.

“We have among us those who are not able to leave the city. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to stay as well: to be here present,” Bishop Michael Mulvey told CNA Aug. 25, encouraging everyone to help them as much as possible.

Ahead of the hurricane’s landfall, he reported the Friday morning winds were gradually strengthening and the storm surge was already approaching the nearby pier.

“The tide is rising. It’s pretty eerie. But the full effect is not here yet, of course,” the bishop reported.

The hurricane is expected to make landfall near Corpus Christi early Saturday as a Category 3 hurricane or stronger. The National Weather Service predicts sustained winds of at least 110 miles per hour.

The storm will likely stall over Texas, dropping up to 35 inches of rain in parts of the state, the New York Times reports. Heavy flooding is expected.

Bishop Mulvey has sent out a message to the faithful, saying he was praying for them. He will spend the storm at his home in an inner room, joined by the diocese’s vicar general and vocation director.

“We’re right on the bay. We’re on the front lines,” the bishop said. “We’ll have to put the shutters down, so we probably won’t be able to see anything when it hits the hardest. We probably won’t have any electricity. We’ll be making a rotation on the watch. I don’t know if anybody is going to sleep anyway.”

He predicted the three clerics would just spend time visiting and praying.

“We’ll pray the rosary a few times,” he said. “We’ll pray especially for the people in this city and those in the path along the way up the Gulf Coast.”

For Bishop Mulvey, leaving the city was technically an option. He was due to arrive back in town after travels on Wednesday.

“I definitely wanted to be here,” he said. “I was due back anyway, but I’m certainly not going to turn around and go somewhere else.”

Voicing gratitude for police, medical personnel and other first responders working during the storms, he advised the faithful to follow the instructions of civil authorities and to “stay together, and pray.”

They should think on the many Gospel passages about the waters, like Christ calming troubled seas. The bishop encouraged Catholics to have “that same faith that Peter had” during the storms.

Among residents who have left town is the Corpus Christi diocese’s chancellor, Benedict Nguyen. He and his wife have five children, age 10-21, one of whom is studying in Kansas.

“We assessed the situation, boarded up our house, and decided it would be best to go stay with the family a little bit,” Nguyen told CNA from Kansas. “Just wait it out.”

The diocese has been preparing for days in a very stressful situation.

“I think the most troubling thing is just the unpredictability of it,” Nguyen continued. “We’re not sure how expensive the damage will be. We know there will be some power outages, possibly some property damage, and of course it’s not just the chancery office itself but all of the parishes.”

“We have 70 parishes and 30 missions we have to think about also,” he said, reporting that the chancery office itself is just two blocks from the bay.

“We’re up on a little bit of a hill, on a high point right behind the cathedral,” he said. “Our cathedral looks out towards downtown corpus Christi. Beyond that is the bay.”

The storm protocols involve various planning for parish communications, data backups, keeping in touch with staff, and preservation of the diocesan archives. Individual parish churches have their own response plans.

“The first thing is always to keep God in mind, to pray. Family comes first, people come first. Things can always be replaced,” the chancellor said.

At the same time, the diocese was aware of the need to take care for its patrimony.

Among the groups aiding victims of the storm is Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. It plans to meet emergency needs for shelter, food and medication for those who lose everything in the storm.

Due to predictions of flooding, the agency has closed its offices through Monday. However, it is running a flood relief hotline at 713-874-6664.

Previous Post

August 25, 2017

India's president praises Church for assistance to the poor

Next Post

August 26, 2017 European basilicas amp up security after recent terror attacks

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Americas Asia - Pacific Europe Middle East - Africa Uncategorized US Vatican

Select a Month November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who prophesied about the birth of Jesus in the Old Testament?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Daniel Jeremiah Isaiah Ezekiel