NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- After his Angelus audience on Sunday, November 8, Pope John Paul II made an appeal for a "generous" worldwide response to the needs of people he Central America who are suffering in the wake of a devastating hurricane there. He also renewed his calls for peace in the world, especially in Congo and in the Middle East.

      After speaking of the natural disaster that struck Honduras and Nicaragua, the Pope told his audience, "While raising my prayer to God for the numerous victims, I renew my invitation to generosity toward the survivors, who are now confronting enormous problems."

      "Alas there are other sad events, caused this time by the violence of men, which threaten to undo the efforts of those who hope for a better world," the Holy Father continued. He mentioned the recent bombing in Jerusalem, evidently intended to set back the peace process. "The best remedy against such terrorism," the Pope said, "is the application of the peace accords."

      Finally, the Holy Father mentioned new armed attacks in regions of Congo. These new military advances, he said, "leave the local populations in a climate of total insecurity, causing damage to our religious personnel and the works of the Catholic Church."

      Meanwhile in Miami, native Nicaraguans who are now living in the United States have organized a series of fundraising efforts to help their former countrymen recover from the damages caused by hurricane Mitch.

      Especially in Miami, the activity among Nicaraguan groups has been particularly intense during the past week, since news reports carried a dramatic story of suffering in the Central American nation. Parish halls have been converted into warehouses, storing supplies for shipment to Nicaragua. The city's harbors have been busy day and night, as supplies come in from other cities, or head out for Managua.

      The organization Nicaraguan Brotherhood said that government aid would not be enough to help the hurricane victims, and so "we are working, community to community, to make sure they really get what they need." Setting aside the political differences between many exiles and the government in Managua, those involved in the fundraising efforts see their work as a service to their former neighbors. As one volunteer pointed out simply: "First and foremost, we are all Nicaraguans."