The American Catholic Church can’t seem to get its charitable arms around the people who are suffering the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. While the international arm of the American Catholic Church is already using recent donations for Cuban and Haitian relief efforts after hurricane Sandy through its website, www.crs.org, there is no Catholic national site to receive donations for this American tragedy.
The national office of Catholic Charities which represents agencies tasked with assisting needy people within dioceses, does not at this point accept on-line donations to help those on the east coast who need food, fresh water, housing, clothing and other forms of assistance. To its credit, the national office of the Knights of Columbus has opened a donation tab on its web site specifically for aid to Sandy’s victims. You can donate there.
Someday soon the American Catholic Church ought to start a national office of relief to collect donations and respond in a hurry when floods, hurricanes, fires and other disasters occur in our country.
Some dioceses, including New York and Boston are having special collections for the victims of Hurricane Sandy on the first weekend in November. Donations can be sent through their web sites.