ROME – On Sunday, December 1, all the churches in Italy had a national collection, requested by the Italian Bishops’ Conference, in support of the Philippines, devastated by typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda).
On this occasion, the religious television program, A Sua Immagine (In his Image), dedicated an entire episode to help the Filipino population. The host of this TV program (produced by RAI) is Rosario Carello, a Pauline Cooperator and a journalist. In the live report from the Philippines, he had a special interviewer, Sr. Rose Agtarap, a Daughter of St. Paul. Sr. Rose offered an overview of the catastrophe that violently hit this country about a month ago; she did not speak only of death and destruction, but also of hope and great human solidarity.
We want to report some points from the interview with Sr. Rose: “The four sisters of the community of Tacloban are well, thanks be to God. However, there was damage to our house, book center and the equipment for our radio and television apostolate. We offered hospitality to our lay collaborators who work with us and who had lost their homes. We shared with them, and with other people in need, all the food that we had. Before the typhoon, a benefactor had given us 50 kilos of rice. Afterwards, the Pauline seminarians as well as the diocesan seminarians brought us water and other necessities that we shared with the other families.
We even distributed all the candles that we had in the book center because we still do not have electricity. To wash ourselves, we gather rainwater, and for sleeping, we use and share the only small dry area in the house. Help arrived even from the poorest people. Prisoners fasted for three days so that they could help the survivors with the money obtained through their sacrifices. And the children who beg gave away everything they had received. Anyway, providence was not lacking, thanks also to the help received, including what the Holy Father sent to our country.”