c. 2005 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) The spiritual devastation in the wake of the south Asia tsunami is as much a challenge for victims as their physical needs, a high-ranking American cardinal said Wednesday (Jan. 12).

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington, D.C., speaking by phone during a visit to Colombo, Sri Lanka, asked Americans of all faiths for their prayers for the tsunami victims as well as long-term financial support.

McCarrick said he has tried to bring a message of hope to Sri Lankans, who have been told by some religious leaders that the tsunami was an act of God as a punishment for sins. McCarrick dismissed such teachings.

“The trauma is so great that it’s going to be hard for people to say, `I forgive.’ It makes it hard for people to say, `Why did God do this?’ They’re hurting so much.

“But Christians realize that God never does anything to hurt us, that there’s a God who loves them, and they should not look at this terrible natural disaster as a sign that God does not love them. For every one who was taken away, God has a plan.”

But prayers alone aren’t enough, the cardinal said. Victims need economic help.

“The healing of the trauma will take place in a more profound way if that healing is helped by the restoration of the economy, of the houses,” McCarrick said. “They have to go hand in hand, they can’t go one without the other.”

McCarrick met with Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga on Wednesday during a five-day tour of the ravaged island nation, where some 30,000 people were killed in the tsunami sparked by the Dec. 26 earthquake.

The visit was coordinated by Catholic Relief Services, the official humanitarian arm for U.S. Catholics, which has pledged $25 million in tsunami relief. McCarrick is scheduled to return to Washington on Friday.

On Thursday, McCarrick will fly by helicopter to the devastated eastern coastline of the country, which sustained the most damage from the tsunami.

McCarrick, who has a longtime interest in international and human rights issues, said he was struck by the devastation along the coastline, where railroad tracks were “twisted like a piece of spaghetti,” but was moved by the outpouring of aid from the impoverished country.

“You have people who are already poor making themselves poorer to take care of these poorest of the poor,” McCarrick said.

McCarrick is one of the highest ranking U.S. religious leaders to visit the region. Others, including evangelist Franklin Graham, head of North Carolina-based Samaritan’s Purse, have plans to travel to Southeast Asia soon.

McCarrick appealed for Americans to send money to disaster relief agencies, but said long-term needs such as permanent housing will emerge after the initial medical, recovery and shelter needs have been met.

“Money is the most important thing because money buys medicines and money builds houses and money repairs boats,” he said, adding that prayers for the victims are perhaps even more important.

MO/PH END ECKSTROM