T H E S A L E S I A N B U L L E T I N • Y E A R 1 1 8 • I S S U E 1 • S P R I N G 2 0 1 0DON BOSCO
T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R T H E S A L E S I A N F A M I L Y
DON BOSCO TODAY
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Editorial >>
This Issue of Don Bosco Today is devoted mainly
to Haiti.
Decades of poverty, environmental degradation,
violence and instability left Haiti as one of the
poorest countries in the world – 80 per cent of
Haitians lived under the poverty line. On 12th
January 2010 the earthquake in Haiti caused
massive devastation and loss. The media
coverage at the time brought graphic scenes of the tragedy into our
own homes. People from all over the world sent in donations, our own
provincial appeal has already realised £60,000.
A crisis, such as this earthquake, forces us to examine the priorities in
our lives and, as Salesians, it makes us evaluate the essential elements
of our work for young people. When everything has been taken away
from young people, what can we offer them, how can we help them? The
articles in this issue are by Salesians and Salesian Sisters who were in
Haiti, at the time, or soon after the earthquake. There is quite a detailed
account of the visit to Haiti of our Rector Major, Fr Chávez. On the 25th of
January I received a reflection on the question many people were asking,
Where was God when the earthquake hit Haiti? It was written by Fr Ronald
Rolheiser, a well-known writer. I was impressed by his words and asked
him for permission to publish them.
We cannot begin to imagine the trauma experienced by the young people
of Haiti. However the following was posted on the internet by a Haitian
schoolgirl just after the earthquake:
Yesterday I received a tweet asking me details on what I saw…
I saw my school; three stories high, become a two metre-high pile of
debris.
I saw people running in the streets, praying, but the ground continued
shaking from time to time, and their prayers didn’t stop.
I saw a lady on a motorcycle; she had a little girl leaning on her, with
her face covered. The lady said she didn’t know where to take the child
because the hospital was totally destroyed.
I saw people running covered in dust, running from their houses which
had fallen down.
I saw a refugee camps, as they are on TV, people praying, people alive
but not really…
I saw a baby half dead, covered in Band-Aids.
I saw over a hundred people in three little tents, and thousands on the
ground outside.
I saw a friend, at the cemetery, burying his little cousin.
I saw a pickup truck filled with corpses.
I saw my teacher walking to the cemetery behind the car where his wife’s
dead body was.
There are now thousands of young people in Haiti, who have seen similar
things. We have fed them, clothed them, housed them; now we need to
educate them with loving kindness, and bring hope to Haiti.
Tony Bailey SDB
a.bailey@salesians.org.uk
Contents
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ARTWORK
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CHILDREN’S PAGE
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PHOTOS
ANS ROMA
WEBSITES WORTH VISITING
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www.don-bosco-publications.co.uk
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www.sdb.org/ANS
Salesian Sisters in Rome
www.cgfmanet.org
Salesian Sisters in the UK
www.salesiansistersuk.com
Salesian Youth Ministry
www.salesianyouthministry.com
Don Bosco Youth Net
www.donboscoyouth.net
Bosconet
www.bosconet.aust.com
Youth Outreach
www.youthoutreach.org.hk
4-5 The early days
The Salesians began working
in Haiti in 1936 and just
ten years later, Bro Hubert
Sanon was the first professed
Haitian Salesian Brother.
6-7 Life is born amid the
rubble
The testimony of Sister Vilma
Tallone FMA.
8 The Rector Major’s
appeal
A request for donations to the
Haiti appeal.
9-12 Bosco Bear
Dancing on Ice
Plus . . . Winners from the
Autumn 2009 competition
13 Haiti remembers
The terrible earthquake
which occurred on the
12th January changed the
face of Haiti forever.
14-15 Giving hope to Haiti
Joy and sorrow, dismay
and hope marked the
first day of the visit of Fr
Pascual Chávez to Haiti.
16-17 Haiti and the
Theodicy Question
Where is God in the
countless tragedies that
happen in our world?
18 Sister Hilary RIP
(1943-2010)
19 Father Michael RIP
1929 – 2009
4
6
13
14
168
4 DONBOSCOTODAY DONBOSCOTODAY 5
The Salesians began working in
Haiti in 1936 and just ten years
later, Bro Hubert Sanon was the
first professed Haitian Salesian
Brother. Since then Salesian
work in Haiti developed under
the difficult circumstances of
that country. >>
Until the earthquake the Salesians ran some of the finest
educational and social work institutions in Haiti. The first
sad news we received from Haiti, Brother Hubert Sanon
had died in the earthquake, at the age eighty five. But two
hundred youngsters were also in the building and many
of these were feared dead. Two young Salesians were
at the University at the time and had not been located.
Sister Elizabeth Corsino, from the Salesian Sisters
community of Barahona in the Dominican Republic,
together with Sister Angela Michelon went to Port-au-
Prince during the early days. When they arrived in the
Haitian capital, the scene that opened before their eyes
was truly dramatic. They reached the house of the Sisters
and saw that they were preparing food for the local people
and for the resident children entrusted to them. The
Salesian Sisters, who were in Port-au-Prince, could not
get any news about their own families. Communication
was impossible. The Sisters and children were sleeping
in the open; the children on makeshift bedding, the
Sisters on chairs, ready to help the homeless who might
arrive during the night. Meanwhile the Salesian Sisters of
Santo Domingo were organizing a campaign to bring in
light mattresses. The Sisters, though they had very little
sleep themselves, were taking in nearby families for the
night so that all could sleep safely and that no one would
remain alone. Four of the seven sisters had stayed in the
Pétion-Ville community, which was the house hardest hit
by the earthquake; the elderly had been transferred to
the provincial house, which was more secure.
The section of the provincial house where the residents
lived had completely collapsed, and the 40 girls, who
normally lived there, were with the others in the open
air. Sister Elizabeth said, The Sisters feel they have the
strong protection of Mary Help of Christians, their faith
and serenity is so evident. Even though they are fearful
that the tremors might continue, they still have hope.
They are seeking to give this hope to others. We will
probably have to raze the house, but the sisters and the
students are all right. During our return trip, we saw lines
of people who were looking for their loved ones or who
were moving to leave the city. On their faces I saw dignity
in their suffering. The suffering faces that I saw were
also faces of hope. Even our sisters carry sorrow in their
hearts, but they succeed in showing that they have hope
and share the few possessions that they have. There is
fear of rioting and problems, but there is hope that the
international organizations that are arriving on the island
can support the people with their help. A great problem is
the crowds of people at the border with Santo Domingo,
where people are trying to escape.
The situation at ENAM (École Nationale des Arte et
Métiers) remains disastrous. With no heavy-lifting
equipment available, no international teams are able to
gain access to either the living or the dead under the
rubble. The area has also been subject to looting. Huge
support is coming in from around the Salesian world.
Even some of the tiniest Salesian presences in mission
areas have wanted to do their bit, with what little they
have. We know that some 200 (it will be impossible for
a long time to come to know a real figure) of students
between the ages of 5-17 have perished or at least are
missing presumed dead at ENAM, the School of Arts
and Trades, right in the heart of the city. Those who died
and whose bodies have been located at these places,
including Salesian Brother Sanon, have been buried in a
common grave near the school. Among the ruins, pages
from exercise books still drift in the warm breeze. Chairs,
coloured pencils, school reports all lay scattered in the
dust and rubble left by the earthquake.
Our limited facilities are housing 3,500 refugees and
emergency plans are already in place for the thousands
of others seeking our help. An eleven-truck Salesian
relief convoy, escorted by troops from the Dominican
Republic, has already reached Port-au-Prince. Fr Mark
Hyde, Director of Salesian Missions in New Rochelle,
USA, is currently in Port-au-Prince. News is reaching
us, of various other initiatives from other NGOs which are
either Salesian or directly connected.
The early days after the earthquake
Before the Earthquake
After the Earthquake
Among the ruins, pages from exercise
books still drift in the warm breeze.
Chairs, coloured pencils, school reports
all lay scattered in the dust and rubble
left by the earthquake.
6 DONBOSCOTODAY DONBOSCOTODAY 7
construction and probably the Sisters’ house. At least
600 people are living there in tents; among them is the
parish priest. The garden serves as his parish office
and this is also the distribution centre for a very poor
neighbourhood. In this area food distribution is not
available from the relief organizations; therefore it is
carried out only because of the ingenuity of Sister Silvia,
who puts pressure on the authorities so as to be able to
feed the people. The Sisters’ tent is in the middle of the
other tents, says Sister Silvia, as a sign of solidarity.
Approximately 600 families have found a space in the
courtyard of our community at Cité militaire, where the
buildings are fairly good, but the new classrooms, being
built, did not survive the quake and are crumbling. Given
the position of the house and the availability of rooms, it
has become a collection centre for the aid sent directly
from the Sisters, especially from Santo Domingo but also
from Puerto Rico and then sorted in our communities and
in those of the Salesians. The community of Cité soleil,
in a very difficult slum neighbourhood, has no place
to accept anyone, except families in very great need,
because the school buildings constitute a danger. Petion
Ville (a suburb of Port-au-Prince) was hardest hit with the
collapse of the Sisters’ house and the great damage
suffered in the large school for 2000 students and it
must be demolished. Three Sisters were in the house
when the earthquake struck, among whom was Sister
Mathilde, who although wounded, was saved, thanks
to two young men from the school who courageously
leaped into the debris to help her to escape. Groups of
children, teachers and other Sisters were still in school,
but miraculously escaped from the falling debris.
The Provincial House held firm, though some sections
will need repairs. It has become a real point of reference
not only for the people of the neighbourhood who profit
from the distributions organized by the Sisters, but also
for the Sisters of other congregations. A Sister who
had been imprisoned in the rubble and was seriously
wounded was welcomed into our house and cared for.
I have been in Haiti since February
4th and thanks to the help of Sister
Marie Claire, provincial of Haiti,
I have been able to travel across
the city of Port-au-Prince in all
directions at several times. We say
travel across the city, but in reality,
it is a mass of ruins everywhere. >>
On the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, in Thorland, we have
two houses, one of which is the novitiate. There were
once 48 schools in this area, today only four are useable,
among which is our own. Going along the streets, we
meet a multitude of tired, nervous people, who move like
a river in search of food, trying to locate the place of
distribution, keeping their eyes fixed on the trucks that
could be transporting food and supplies. There is a real
struggle for survival, because the help arriving is infinitely
inferior to the need and distribution is not well organized.
Tent cities have grown up spontaneously in the few
available spaces: squares, gardens, courtyards, and
they give the impression of refugee camps after a mass
exodus. Practically no one sleeps in a house; after 7 pm
it becomes impossible to circulate through the streets
because the people set up their tents there: sheets and
covers of every kind. I travelled with an anguished heart,
often in silence. At every corner there are signs of the
drama. We go up a side street, opened only a few days
ago: all the houses have collapsed. I listen to Sister
Marie Claire who observes: There are still people buried
here, there was once a certain religious community in this
area, there used to be a church here. Wealthy homes,
palaces and hovels, all are now levelled and there are no
more differences. Those who had more have, in general,
lost more. The poor dare to crawl over the heaps of
ruins, some to recover pieces of metal from crumbled
columns, material, the remains of mattresses, some,
perhaps, looking for hidden treasures, but no one takes
the trouble to protect their mouth or their hands.
Our houses, that have the space and are not in danger
of collapsing, welcome thousands of people. There are
7000 at Thorland, but in the evening at least a thousand
more slip between the tents and sleep on the grass.
Everyone says that it is the best organized tent city in the
area. The strong hand of Sister Annecy and the other
Sisters organise the interminable line of people, where
cleanliness is perfect and one doesn’t smell the stench,
despite the mass of humanity living with few sanitary
facilities.
Thank God, our two houses and the large primary and
secondary school did not suffer damages and perhaps
will be able to open the doors not only to our students but
to others. In the house nearby, the Salesians welcome
about 5000 refugees and have two clinics. Sadly, their
houses have been ruined and therefore organization is
more difficult.
The house of Mary Help of Christians, our first house
in Port-au-Prince that recently celebrated 75 years of
foundation, has been badly damaged with the loss of
the large chapel, a classroom block, a building under
Life is born amid the rubble
The testimony of Sister Vilma Tallone FMA
The Cathedral
These are signs of life that continue, like the red
flowers that spring up in the rubble, flowers of the
colour of blood because Haiti is living its Good Friday
now, but knows how to await its Resurrection.
8 DONBOSCOTODAY DONBOSCOTODAY 9
The Rector Major appeals to all Salesians
Dear Salesians >>
I know that over these days all of you have followed the
great drama of Haiti attentively and with compassion.
The earthquake on the 12th January was inconceivably
powerful and has sown death and destruction. There are
very many amongst the dead, millions without a home
and we can add to that the complete destabilisation
of a country which already lacked real structures of
Government. For us Salesians, the most serious losses
are, obviously, the loss of human life: the lives of so
many of our young people, of children (around 500) and
of three of our confreres.
The earthquake has destroyed practically all of our works
in Port-au-Prince. The Provincial House was seriously
damaged and is uninhabitable for all practical purposes.
The Technical School, ENAM, has been totally destroyed.
The Petites Ecoles of Fr Bohnen has collapsed. The
Lakay Street Childrens’ Home has been destroyed. The
Postnovitiate and Study Centre (of Philosophy, also for
other Congregations) is completely uninhabitable and
must be razed to the ground. The Thorland Centre has
been half destroyed: the areas which accommodated the
confreres and youth groups has collapsed. The school
at Petion Ville is seriously damaged. We need to add to
this the damage sustained by the houses belonging to
the Salesian Sisters.
Our confreres in Haiti have been sorely tried, and
undoubtedly they are looking to us. They are calling
for the help and support which will allow Don Bosco
to continue his work in this country and which will give
them, too, a sign of hope for continuing their journey
as Salesians. For days now they have been living in the
open, along with thousands of other people. We are
extremely grateful to the Santo Domingo Province which
has proven itself a good neighbour and has arranged for
timely distribution of food and prime necessities, and by
bringing over a confrere who was seriously injured.
This letter of mine is intended to be a heartfelt and, at
the same time, strong appeal for solidarity from around
the Salesian Congregation. As everyone tends to a
sick member in the family, we too, moved by immense
compassion would like to take on the burden of this
extraordinary need and come to the practical help for
this small Vice Province now so severely tried.
I would like to tell you of my joy at seeing that our poorest
provinces (from Africa, Asia and the Americas) have
been those to respond fastest and most spontaneously
to this appeal for solidarity.
So I am inviting all Provinces and Salesian Houses
around the world to send significant help for our confreres
in a state of absolute need. After the initial emergency
(food, water, temporary arrangements…) we need
to think of a rebuilding plan which will require a lot of
energy and resources. So I am turning to you and even
more insistently, to provinces with greater resources. In
Don Bosco’s name I assure you that the Lord will bless
this act of charity of yours. Be generous, then, even if it
means that some particular project needs to be put on
hold for a while!
My dear confreres, our Father Don Bosco, I believe, would
put his trust in us at this time to be radical and have total
trust in Providence. This is why, in Don Bosco’s name,
I make this request on behalf of our poorest brothers!
They will be grateful for whatever you can do. May God
bless you.
Fr Pascual Chávez SDB (Rector Major)
Bosco Bear
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The Bear Facts
Hello Children,
Winter is almost over but we had lots
of “winter fun” as well as one or two
accidents here in Darkwood Forest.
We’ve been skating on Lake Glass, sledging
in the park and snowballing at school: one
snowball hit Mr. Owl, the Head Teacher. Harold
Hare threw it but don’t tell anyone; it’s a secret!
He ran off extremely quickly! Molly Magpie went
skiing in Switzerland, high up in the Alps. She
thinks she’s practising for the Winter Olympics!
I got a Christmas card from my Uncle Polo, the Polar Bear. He lives in Canada.
He’s out every day catching salmon which he eats for dinner…..and tea…..and, er,
breakfast as well, actually!
We’ve been doing some lessons in First-Aid at school and they’ve been very useful.
Cate Cat came off a sledge and cut her head. We’d been taught to fold a clean cloth
and press it down on the cut to slow the bleeding. Rio wrote her a poem to make her
feel better:
‘Cate fell off a sled,
And her head bled,
So she went to bed.’
I’m not sure it helped a lot.
COMPETITION RESULT:
Autumn 2009
The words in the Discovering Africa competition were:
Desert; Kenya; Tribe(s); Nile; Equator; Hot/Heat;
Jungle; Snake; Lion; Spear; Safari; Accra; Hut;
Coconut and Tanzania.
The winning entries came from
Hannah Siney from Wigan and John Greene from Glastonbury.
MY DONATION TO THE HAITI APPEAL
Please find enclosed my donation of
Name
Address
Post code
Tel Fax
Email
Registered Charity No. 233779 Charity Registered in Scotland No. SC039294
Cheques made payable
to SDB TRUSTEES
To donate by credit or debit card
please phone 01204 308811
Please send me a Gift Aid form
I am happy for my donation to
be acknowledged by email
Rome 18th January 2010
DONBOSCOTODAY 11
RESCUE:
“Leave the ice!” Bosco ordered
the others. “Don’t go near Rio or
you’ll fall in too. Graham; run as
fast as you can and buy a rope
from Mrs Job’s shop.” Graham
set off like Usain Bolt.
“Help. Help.” Rio was
frightened. “I’m c-c-c-cold.”
“Hang in there Rio,” urged
Bosco. “One minute and we’ll get
you out.”
Graham hurtled back; Bosco threw
the rope: Rio caught it. All of the friends held on to each
other and, slowly, pulled Rio out of the icy water, across
the frozen lake, and onto the bank. Well rescued!
ICE CREAM:
“We must keep him warm,” said Molly.
‘Nurse’ Suzi shot off for a towel, some dry
clothes and a blanket. Bosco ran home and
made some hot soup.
“What did you think when you fell through
the ice?” asked Molly.
“Ice cream,” replied Rio.
“Pardon?”
said Molly.
“Even you
can’t have been
thinking of food when you were
nearly drowning!”
“No, no. Not ‘ice cream’.
I thought if I scream the
others will save me!”
Everyone now realised
that ‘Dancing on Ice’ was
not a good idea at all.
SNOW GOOD:
It was a cold winter’s morning.
Bosco Bear peeped out of his
cave; “F-f-f-freezing Februarys,” he
shivered.
Suddenly he heard singing:
‘Oh what a beautiful morning,
Oh what a beautiful day……….’
Molly Magpie, Suzi Squirrel, Graham
Greyhound and Rio Rabbit were coming up the road, wrapped in winter woollies.
“We’re going skating,” said Graham. “Shake a leg Bosco!”
“Snow good,” commented Bosco.
“Yes. Snow is very good,” replied Graham, cheerfully.
“No, no. I said it’s no good,” chattered Bosco!
“I’ve been watching Dancing on Ice,” said Rio, “and
I think I could do it. Torvill and Dean aren’t that
good. I could jump up; do 3 twists in mid-air and
land on one leg.”
Rio’s friends laughed. “We’ll get an ambulance
ready,” said Molly.
A TRIPLE SPIN:
The dazzling mirror of Lake Glass was
completely frozen over. It looked like an ice-rink.
“I got some new red skates for Christmas,” boasted
Rio. “If you all hold hands and skate round behind me
we’ll be fine.”
“Is the ice thick enough?” wondered
Bosco. He wasn’t sure at all.
Off they went. It was good fun, whizzing along
and trying to do a ‘figure of eight’.
“Now for my triple spin!” announced Rio.
He set off on his own; went faster and
faster; leapt in the air; twisted round;
landed and …….fell through the ice!
“Aaaaagh,” screamed Rio! “HEL-L-L-L-L-P!”
DANCING ON ICE
10 DONBOSCOTODAY
DONBOSCOTODAY 13
SAFETY FIRST
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12 DONBOSCOTODAY
12th February - Haiti Remembers
You must look after your amazing body. It carries
you around!
In the time it takes you to read the words Safety
First, about 300 million cells in your body have died and have been replaced by
new ones. Wow!
It’s very important for children to play out. Bumps and bruises will always
happen, but if you think about what you’re going to do it’s possible to have
adventures to enjoy new experiences, to be more independent AND to be safe
at the same time.
Here are my top safety tips:
• Try to stay cool if you see an accident, but get adult help, as quickly as
possible. It is always the best thing to do.
• Keep off ice. Don’t risk getting hurt yourself! That won’t help anyone.
• Be very careful in the kitchen. This is where 9 out of 10 accidents happen at
home.
• Be mega-careful of boiling water, hot ovens and sharp knives.
• Protect younger children who don’t see danger.
• Don’t mess about when crossing roads. Some children think it’s cool to walk
slowly across a road even if a car is coming. IT’S NOT!
• Be careful near water. Even those who can swim sometimes get into
difficulties.
• But you must have fun. You should play out, run around, go cycling, go to
swimming pools and do lots of other activities: and, at the same time, keep
yourself safe.
COMPETITION:
“YOU’RE A POET AND YOU DON’T KNOW IT!”
Perhaps you can write a better poem than Rio’s? I’m sure you can. Write a
poem, of no more than 12 lines, about WINTER.
Name Age
Address
Please send to Don Bosco Publications:
Thornleigh House, Sharples Park, Bolton BL1 6PQ
The terrible earthquake
which occurred on the 12th
January changed the face
of Haiti forever and took
over 200,000 lives. >>
30 days after the earthquake on the 12th February, a day
of mourning was observed, a day of fasting and prayer
for the victims. It was promoted by the Government
and supported by various religious and civic bodies.
Life in the devastated city came to a stand-still. Even
the local markets, set up after the quake and with very
few provisions, were deserted.
People dressed in white congregated near the churches
which were unfit to enter. A Mass was celebrated in
the square near the devastated cathedral. Hymns and
prayers filled the streets and in some places drowned
out all other city noises. At the end, with great dignity,
the people who were fortunate still to have a home
went home, others returned to their tents, if they had
been lucky enough to get one, or in the poorer districts
to the remaining hovels.
From above, Port-au-Prince seems a city like so many
others. Closer to the ground one begins to make out
the grey piles of rubble and the multi-coloured official
tent-sites or those improvised with any kind of material
available.
The removal of the rubble is still progressing, and will
certainly require much more time. The ruins of houses,
government buildings, and monuments all seem to tell
their own story of suffering, sorrow and the agony of
those who have found death under them, or have lost
loved ones because of them or have seen destroyed
with them what little they had. Countless stories are
told of those who by chance, coincidence or good
fortune died or survived.
A large city, a huge tragedy, an impressive rescue
and relief operation which, in spite of the commitment
and non-stop work of those engaged, does not seem
to have reached all the corners of Port-au-Prince. A
country which seemed not to notice the recent global
economic crisis - only because it had been living with
it for years!
Haiti ought to be at the heart of the world for a long
time! Perhaps the other countries, especially those
in the developed west, should stop every 12th day
of the month to remember these people.
Should you wish to make a donation please use the
form on page 8.
A Mass was celebrated
in the square near the
devastated cathedral.
14 DONBOSCOTODAY DONBOSCOTODAY 15
Giving Hope to Haiti
an oil painting. It was here that the Rector Major met an
Italian delegation led by Naval Captain Gianluigi Reversi,
Commander of the aircraft carrier Cavour from the Italian
contingent in Haiti. The spokesman of the press office
of the group said, We wanted to work with the Salesians
because we have seen, also here, their commitment to
the young and to the poor.
Since the Salesian parish of Cité Soleil, has been
rendered unfit for use by the earthquake, the reception
camps were set up at Drouillard, and the headquarters
of the Vice Province were visited next. In spite of the pain
in seeing how deep the wounds suffered by the Salesian
centres, Fr Chávez never failed to bring hope and a spirit
of optimism. Fr Ducange, who on the 30th January was
installed as the new Superior of the Vice Province of
Haiti, often repeated, We are very pleased with the visit of
the Rector Major and we are conscious of the closeness
of the whole Congregation. This encourages us to go
ahead and to overcome all the difficulties!
Early in the afternoon Fr Chávez walked through the
streets to see the places in the city most affected by
the earthquake. Looking at the ruins of the Cathedral,
he said to those with him: God is walking through these
streets telling us that he is on the side of those who are
suffering, those still under the rubble, those who have
seen reduced to dust the little they had managed to
achieve in their whole lives.
The last stop was Fleuriot, the post-novitiate house of
formation for various religious orders present in Haiti, it
was completely out of action. We must rebuild for the
formation of our Salesians and in order to continue to
offer this service of formation to the local church, was the
encouraging proposal of the Rector Major.
Joy and sorrow, dismay and
hope marked the first day of
the visit of Fr Pascual Chávez
to Haiti. To the Salesians
and the youngsters he said,
Our purpose is, first of all, to
give hope to Haiti. >>
The Rector Major had arrived in the evening of
11th February at the airport in Santo Domingo. He
was welcomed by the Provincial of the Dominican
Republic, Fr Vichtor Pichardo who, on the 12th
February, accompanied the Rector Major to the
capital of Haiti in a helicopter. Thirty days after the
earthquake, the ninth successor of Don Bosco,
arriving at Port-au-Prince, saw from above the vast
areas of devastation.
The helicopter landed in the grounds of the Embassy
of the Dominican Republic, the embassy itself had
been ruined by the earthquake. He was met by the new
superior, Fr Sylvain Ducange, as well as the Provincial
of the Salesian Sisters in Haiti, Sister Marie Claire.
The Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Haiti,
who introduced himself as a Salesian past pupil, also
accompanied them.
The first stop was at Pétion Ville. Here the youngsters
welcomed Fr Chávez with joyful songs and a traditional
dance. Fr Ducange said, in his welcoming address, As
sons of Don Bosco, cheerfulness is our attitude, and we
are moved by a spirit of optimism as we believe in the
re-birth of Haitian people and in the re-founding of the
Salesian charism in our country. In his reply, the Rector
Major once again expressed how he himself and the
whole Salesian Family were close to them, full of hope:
Before thinking of re-building the walls it is necessary to
give hope to the people and to the young.
He then visited the Salesian places most affected by the
earthquake, both regarding the buildings and the loss of
life. Accompanying the group was Fr Mark Hyde, from
the New Rochelle Salesian Missions Office, who had
already been in Haiti for several days coordinating relief
efforts. At the Ecole Nationale des Arts et Métiers (ENAM),
they visited the various halls of the school and noting
the damage and destruction, the Rector Major stopped
for a few moments of silent prayer at the place where
12 Salesian pupils were buried. Much greater and much
deeper was his emotion in front of the piles of rubble
which still cover the bodies of about 150 youngsters.
The silence in the courtyard filled with rubble made more
heart-rending the exclamation: How is it possible! Young
people just starting out on life! The Rector Major spoke to
the Italian civil defence and fire service workers who are
removing the debris of ENAM, stressing the significance
and the sacred character of the place.
However, life has not stopped in ENAM. The youngsters
and the staff welcomed Fr Chávez in a short ceremony
with songs and an address. We must now look to the
future; it is up to you to give hope to Haiti, the Rector Major
told them. At the end, the youngsters gave Fr Chávez
Much greater and much deeper was
his emotion in front of the piles of
rubble which still cover the bodies
of about 150 youngsters. The
silence in the courtyard filled with
rubble made more heart-rending
the exclamation: How is it possible!
Young people just starting out on
life!
DONBOSCOTODAY 17 16 DONBOSCOTODAY
Haiti and the Theodicy Question
So the people went to Shiloh, and brought with
them the arc of the covenant of the Lord of hosts,
who is enthroned on the cherubim. The two sons of
Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the Ark
of the Covenant. When the Ark of the Covenant of
the Lord was brought into the camp, all Israel gave
a mighty shout, so that the whole earth resounded.
And with that faith and confidence, Israel marched
into battle, but Israel was defeated, and everyone
fled, each to his own house. There was a great
slaughter and thirty thousand of her foot-soldiers
fell. The arc of the covenant was captured; and
the two sons of Eli died.
One doesn’t have to strain the imagination to write a
haunting parallel:
So the people of Haiti practised their Christian faith
with piety and confidence. They went to their churches,
received the Eucharist, and lit vigil candles to their God.
And they trusted that their God would protect them. But
there came a great earthquake. Hundreds of thousands
of its people died, its great buildings were all levelled, all
its churches were destroyed, its beloved cathedral fell to
the ground, and the Archbishop was killed.
So where was God in all of this?
The Book of Samuel doesn’t try to write an apologetics
to explain what happened that day when a people who
had just celebrated its faith and confidence in God were
utterly crushed in battle. It doesn’t try to explain where
God was when this happened. It simply continues to tell
its story and, eventually, we see how God redeems a
tragedy from which he didn’t rescue its victims. It also
makes clear that God was with the people of Israel, even
as they were being routed.
Jesus gives us essentially the same perspective: When
his friend, Lazarus, lay dying, he didn’t rush to his side to
rescue him. He waited until Lazarus was dead and only
then went to his home. He was met there by the sisters
of Lazarus, Martha and Mary, who each asked him the
painful question: Where were you when our brother was
dying? Why didn’t you come and cure him?
Jesus, for his part, doesn’t meet their question head-
on. Instead he simply asks: Where have you put him?
They answer: Come, we’ll show you! They take him to
the grave and when Jesus sees the tomb and drinks in
their grief, he sits down and begins to cry. He enters and
shares their grief. Only afterwards does he raise up the
body of his dead friend.
Where was God when the
earthquake hit Haiti?
He was weeping with its people, grieving
outside its mass graves, sitting in sadness
beside its collapsed buildings. He was
there, though he provided no Hollywood or
Superman-type rescue. Moreover we can
be sure he will redeem what was lost. In
God’s time, eventually, not a single life or
single dream that died in Haiti will remain
unredeemed. In the end, all will be well and
all will be well and every manner of being
will be well.
Ronald Rolheiser OMI
12th February 2010 – Fr Pascual Chávez praying at
the grave of 12 Salesian students, - victims of the
earthquake.
“So where was God in all of this?”Where is God in the countless
tragedies that happen in our
world? Where is God when bad
things happen to good people?
Where was God during the
holocaust? These are timeless
questions and, taken together,
constitute what is often called the
theodicy question, the question of
God and human suffering.
Every so often this question hits us with a particular
poignancy, as it did recently with the earthquake in
Haiti. More than one hundred thousand people died,
thousands were injured, hundreds of thousands were
made homeless, thousands more faced the possibility
of disease from lack of proper water, food, housing,
and hygiene, its capital city was almost completely
destroyed, and virtually everyone in the country lost
loved ones. And all of this happened to one of the
poorest nations in the world - and to a people who
have a deep faith in God.
Where is God in all this? How does one find a
faith perspective within which to understand
this? Not easily.
When we search scripture for answers, we find that
neither the Jewish scriptures nor Jesus try to tackle
the question philosophically, namely, in the type of
way that Christian and Jewish apologetic writers have
tried to answer it. Scripture and Jesus, instead, do two
things: First, they place suffering and tragedy into a
larger perspective within which God is understood
more as redeeming suffering rather than as rescuing
us from it. Second, they assure us that God is with us,
a fellow-sufferer, in any tragedy.
For example, anyone who follows the daily readings
for the Church’s liturgy, cannot have failed to notice,
that on the very day after the earthquake, there was a
haunting parallel between what happened in Haiti and
what was described in that day’s first reading taken
from the Book of Samuel. Here is an excerpt from the
liturgy the day after the earthquake:
18 DONBOSCOTODAY DONBOSCOTODAY 19
Sister Hilary Terrett FMA Fr Michael Power SDB
Michael was baptised in St
Joseph’s church in Glasgow. He
was professed as a Salesian in
1949. Michael studied Theology in
Melchet Court, Hampshire. During
his studies for the priesthood there
were some dark clouds looming and
times of great sorrow.
First, he lost his mother; then within a short space of
time, also his father. After that second loss, an uncle of
Michael told him that he would take the place of his father,
and his home would be Michael’s home. But in a third,
bitter blow, this uncle also died. It’s a tribute to the depth
of his faith and his courage that he could come back yet
again, resume his studies, and find peace of mind. He
was ordained to the priesthood in 1959. After ordination
Michael went to Farnborough where he remained for 10
years before taking up his first major post as Rector at
Shrigley from 1970 to 1976. Michael eventually came
to Scotland for two years, to promote vocations and
renew contacts with Salesian Cooperators. During this
time he told me he visited an area of Glasgow called
Easterhouse, and he said with great emphasis: That’s
where we Salesians ought to be. It would be ten years
before his words became a reality.
The sudden death of Fr Fairclough led to Michael
being called upon to take up his second major post
of responsibility, this time as Provincial Bursar. It was
a post he was to hold for eight years. Michael set up
a Finance Committee, and we are still benefiting from
their professional and practical advice; he also set up a
fund for the missions, and for the elderly Salesians. So
it’s thanks to his work that we now have two residences,
one in the north and the other in the south of England
for elderly Salesians. We have much reason then to be
grateful to Michael for this great work of administration.
Michael came back to Scotland in 1987, still nurturing
the dream he told me about nine years before, and so
a year later saw him as Parish Priest in St Benedict’s,
Easterhouse. For Michael, it was the beginning of parish
ministry that would go on for the next 21 years. Michael
brought into parish ministry not only the wealth of
experience acquired over the years, but more importantly
the fruit of his own deep, personal faith and closeness
to God. He brought his natural, easy manner of relating
to people, and a spirit of optimism and joy that must
have uplifted many hearts. Five parishes were blessed
with Michael’s presence and ministry: in addition to
St Benedict’s, they were St Mary Magdalene and St
Stephen’s in Mitchell’s Plain, South Africa, St Richards
in Liverpool, and finally the parish of St John Bosco in
Robertsham, near Johannesburg.
Fr Canice Dooley, who worked with Michael in his last
parish, said - Michael’s life gave great joy to so many. He
loved life and he knew how precious the gift of life is, and
he made it his business to honour other people’s lives, to
give them dignity and to uplift the lives of the many poor,
the marginalised, the elderly and sick, and in a special
way the young, to whom he gave the greater part of his
life of service as a Salesian. By his life, he proved that it is
possible to work, pray, play, minister, and serve, together,
in unity, in mutual respect - not just get along and put
up with each other, but to give witness to harmonious
community living.
A few hours before Michael died: when Fr Canice
anointed him, as the prayers ended Michael said: Now
I’m ready for the journey. Later, they prayed the Rosary,
and as they came to the end of the prayer Hail, Holy
Queen and said the words O clement, O loving, O sweet
Virgin Mary, Michael breathed his last. What a beautiful
moment to go to God – in the company of Mary, who had
been close to Michael all through his life.
Fr Robert Coupe SDB
In Don Bosco’s Letter from Rome it
is stated that the children must not
only be loved but that they must
know they are loved. It was this ability
to love and show that love to her
little pupils that made Sister Hilary
the gifted and successful Salesian
teacher that she was for over forty
years, teaching in the infant classes
at Chertsey, Farnborough, Colne
and Battersea.
Born in a London air-raid shelter during the War, it was
as a boarder with the FMA at Chertsey that she came to
know the Salesian spirit. Her school described her as
pleasant, good and prayerful child, always willing to help.
During school holidays, in fact, she would often give a
hand in the local London home of the Little Sisters of the
Poor as a Marian aide. It was to the FMA life, though,
that her thoughts turned and, while still at school, she
entered the aspirantate at Sandgates, Chertsey. Having
made her noviciate at Friar Park, Henley-on-Thames,
she took her first vows there in 1963.
A year later, Hilary began teacher training at Digby
Stuart College, Roehampton, in the infant/junior age
groups. There she developed what was to be a strength
throughout her life, her ability to relate in a friendly and
sympathetic way to the young. She was a capable and
conscientious teacher, with bright classrooms and well-
prepared lessons. A colleague remarked that it was,
above all, her gentleness and patience with the young,
particularly the special needs children that earned her the
love of the children themselves and the appreciation of
staff and parents who recognised her genuine desire to
help their children. One of the highlights of her teaching
career was receiving the Teacher of the Year award for
the south-east region in 1995.
Hilary will be remembered as a Salesian Sister who never
stinted herself in her dedication to the children under her
care; she taught all her life, retiring through ill health in
2004 but continuing to work with children in a voluntary
capacity until last summer, when the illness which had
dogged her for many years worsened, forcing her to
withdraw from her varied activities.
Over the years, she had been a committed Girl Guide
leader, a role she described as very exciting and
rewarding work, a parish catechist, a member of the
children’s liturgy team and a community bursar. In any
spare time she had, she enjoyed keeping up with the
latest trends in the Church, and the local community and
culture. To the end of her life, she maintained a sense of
childlike delight in God’s creation, particularly the birds
and fox cubs she observed in Battersea and Streatham.
She is mourned not only by her remaining brother, her
nieces and nephews, and her Sisters in the province,
particularly those of her community in Streatham, but
also by the friends she had made over the years. For
Hilary, friends were friends for life.
Although terminally ill, her death came suddenly on 5th
January this year.
May she now receive the reward of her labours – Well
done, good and faithful Hilary, enter into the joy of your
Lord.
Sister Mary Treacy FMA
(1943-2010)
1929 – 2009
