From CNS, Staff and other sources
Southern U.S. Catholic dioceses are seeking aid for those shattered by the violent storms and devastating tornadoes that tore through their region in late April, killing more than 350 people. Officials from several dioceses are busy assessing damage to church buildings and schools. Catholic Charities USA is coordinating a response to the destruction. Birmingham’s Bishop Robert J. Baker toured tornado-ravaged areas in his diocese and comforted survivors of the devastating storms, but diocesan officials are still determining the extent of the damage. Spring storms of historic intensity ravaged communities broadly throughout the South and in Wisconsin and North Dakota, creating destruction in “unheard of proportions,” said the Rev. Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA.