Church in Venezuela to ‘remain at the side of the suffering’ following earthquakes

One month after the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela, the Catholic Church is focused on “remaining at the side of the suffering,” according to Father Ricardo Guillén, episcopal vicar for pastoral ministry of the Archdiocese of Caracas.

In an interview with the archdiocesan press office, the priest explained how “physical presence, active listening, and organized charity” have been the cornerstones of the Church’s response to the tragedy, which claimed the lives of thousands of people and severely affected tens of thousands more.

“Our immediate priority was to be present where the suffering was most acute; we showed up and shared close up with the vulnerability of our people,” he said.

From the very first hours following the earthquakes, he continued, the Church understood that this accompaniment “could not take place from a distance” but rather “required being physically present in the places of greatest uncertainty to support those who had lost everything.”

“For this reason, we deployed directly to the areas most critical to the emergency,” he added. Consecrated personnel and lay volunteers assessed the scale of the disaster, offering special support to people at the…