Dolan to Haiti

Whispers in the Loggia reports:

Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York and Chairman of the Board of Catholic Relief Services, will attend the funeral Mass for Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot, Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, who was killed in last week’s catastrophic earthquake. The funeral will be held on Saturday, January 23, 2010 in the plaza in front of the demolished Cathedral.

Because he is the Chairman of CRS, the Archbishop was asked to attend the funeral by the Papal Ambassador to Haiti, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, and the surviving bishops of Haiti. While in Haiti, the Archbishop will also take the opportunity to offer support to CRS workers already working in Haiti and assess the progress of relief efforts being undertaken by CRS so as to help determine how the Church in the United States can best respond.

Prayers for NY's Archbishop as he heads off to mourn the death of Archbishop Miot and to access the needs of the country. I was struck by the fact that the funeral will be in the plaza in front of the demolished Cathedral. That has to be a tough place to witness to this man's life. The Cathedral's collapse along with the city's speaks to the need for public worship and gathering. This was where everyone came to pray--indeed why should that change now?

A church is never marked by a building itself, but rather by what it is that the church inspires the community to be. In this case, scenes from this funeral should be a remarkable symbol of the faith of the Haitian people. Don't miss it.