Special Collection for Hurricane Recovery August 26-27

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has scheduled a special collection in all Catholic parishes in the U.S. for next week-end, August 26-27, 2006, to collect funds that are greatly needed to rebuild churches, schools and other buildings owned by the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of New Orleans and the Diocese of Biloxi, which were badly damaged last year in Hurricane Katrina.  An announcement on the USCCB website is here.

In the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Archbishop Hughes reportedly has estimated $52 million in uninsured flood damage on buildings they would like to open now, and another $70 million in uninsured flood damage affects buildings that cannot be opened yet.  In the Diocese of Biloxi, Bishop Rodi reportedly has stated that 428 out of their 433 Church-owned structures were destroyed or severely damaged, and the uninsured loss is about $35 million.

Please keep these needs in prayer and also remember to bring a contribution to Mass with you next week-end, August 26-27, to help replace and repair Catholic church buildings damaged and destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

For anyone reading this outside of the U.S. who wants to send a donation, it is possible to donate by credit card to the Archdiocese of New Orleans Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund at its website. (Please be cautious to double-check that you have accessed the proper webpage before you enter a credit card number or any personal information, as there are always fraudulent solicitations for this sort of thing.)  It is also possible to mail a check to the archdiocese at the following address:

Archdiocese of New Orleans
Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund
P.O. Box 715024
Columbus, OH 43271-5024
U.S.A.

The Diocese of Biloxi website also allows online donations and offers an e-mail address to send other offers of assistance and inquiries. 

In related news, a few weeks ago, the Catholic Herald reported that Catholic Charities in Louisiana and Mississippi still needs volunteers to help clean up and repair homes damaged or destroyed in Hurricane Katrina one year ago.  Some of the residents are still living in tents and trailers waiting for aid.

Also, Catholic News Service had a recent article concerning Providence Community Housing, a Catholic organization assisting those in need of housing in the hurricane area.

This past Tuesday, August 16, a judge held that wind-driven water damage is not covered under standard homeowners insurance, answering one of the coverage issues raised by Katrina victims concerning their insurance coverage.  Other cases are still pending concerning coverage issues.  Meanwhile, as insurance carriers consider anticipated future risks when they set premiums and  make decisions about which risks to exclude on new policies, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Bianco has raised concerns about keeping the major insurance carriers in the state despite the risk of future hurricanes.  Carriers have said that they want to continue to write insurance in the Gulf Coast states, and that stricter building codes in those states may further that effort to keep insurance at affordable rates for risks that are covered by standard policies.

Thus, Catholic parishioners and other residents who did not have flood insurance sufficient to cover their losses are also facing financial hardships at the same time as so many Catholic churches and schools are facing uninsured losses and costs that exceed the amount of coverage.  Stronger building codes will likely increase the costs of repairs and rebuilding, but will also result in more stable buildings that will fare better in future storms.

Accordingly, Catholic parishes and also individual parishioners in the Hurricane Katrina area are still in need of assistance and prayer.