Saturday 16 January 2010

Religious Responses to Haiti Disaster

The despicable response of the US televangelist Pat Robertson is hardly worth giving wider publicity, but he was the first off the mark.

The Archbishop of York John Sentamu interviewed on the Today programme on Thursday 14 January criticised Robertson, but also said that he himself "has nothing to say that makes sense of the horror" in #Haiti.

In the Thought for the Day on Friday Giles Fraser of St Paul's Cathedral could likewise offer no theological explanation other than to pray. Here is an alternative interpretation of his thoughts.

At the end of the Today programme on Saturday a sensible response from a humanist was at last broadcast in the form of an interview with A. C. Grayling.

A correspondent on the NSS Newsline, Michael Green writes:
A little advice for those who want to donate in aid of victims of the Haiti earthquake but want to avoid giving money to a faith-based organisation – don't give through the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC). Of the thirteen members of DEC, 5 are faith-based: CAFOD (Catholic), Christian Aid, Islamic Relief, Tearfund (Christian) and World Vision (Christian). Instead, give directly to one of the other 8 or, indeed, to any other secular emergency relief charity which works or will work in Haiti.

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