Moral authority needed in Haiti

The Vatican's diplomatic representative to Haiti,  Archbishop Nuncio Bernardito Auza called on volunteers serving in quake-torn Haiti to use the "moral authority" of the Catholic Church to distribute aid arriving for victims, and not to be hampered by logistical complications and lack of security.

"The Church must trust her moral authority in this task," said Archbishop Auza.

"Together with Catholic Relief Services (CRS), we have set up 12 aid distribution stations. We cannot wait to have sufficient security in order to distribute (the aid), so we must make use of the moral authority we have as part of the Church of Christ."

Additionally, the charity "Aid to the Church in Need" announced that it is sending $100,000 to help more than 200 impoverished seminarians in Haiti after their college collapsed in the earthquake. It follows a desperate appeal from Archbishop Louis Kébreau of Cap-Haïtien and chairman of the Haiti Catholic Bishops' Conference.

Bishop Chibly Langlois of Fort-Liberté told Aid to the Church in Need that he had sent a mission to Port-au-Prince to collect 16 diocesan seminarians, all of whom survived the earthquake.

"One of the seminarians spent two-and-a-half days under the rubble. Another was injured. Three others received shocks and need special care. I have sent two to the Dominican Republic for check-ups and treatment impossible to get in Fort-Liberté."

Rescuers have also found the body of Vicar General Charles Benoit beneath the ruins of the Port-au-Prince Cathedral. He was discovered with his hands around a reliquary which contained a Host inside.