(Vatican Radio) The first funerals of Mexico’s truck tragedy which killed 27 pilgrims, have been taking place.
Pope Francis has sent his condolences after the tragedy on Wednesday in the town of Mazapil.
In a telegram to the Bishop of Zacatecas, Sigifredo Noriega Barceló, Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said Pope Francis was “greatly saddened” when he learned the news of the tragic accident, and “offers prayers for the eternal repose of those who died.”
43 people remain hospitalized. Ten of these are in serious condition while one is critical.
Listen to the report by James Blears :
The accident happened on Wednesday in the town of Mazapil in the Northern State of Zacatecas, and already some of its victims have been buried, following harrowing funerals.
Authorities say that the brakes of a truck carrying building materials failed and it ploughed into a procession of pilgrims.
They were celebrating the day of their patrón saint Jesús of Nazarath.
The out of control truck crushed scores of devout people, and hit the Wall of a building ripping and scoring its plaster and brickwork, ending up on its side.
The driver fled the scene of horror and carnage and is still being sought. Only when he’s found, arrested and questioned can the full extent of what’s happened… and why become plain.
The injured are being treated in hospitals in the cities of Saltillo and Concepción de Oro.
State and Federal Authories are combining to help as well as try to confort the families of the dead and the injured.
An investigation is underway into what led up to this unprecidented tragedy which will forever overshadow Mazapil’s most cherished and devout day of the year.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis will be visiting Cuba and the United States from September 19th to the 28th. The final stop of his trip will be the World Meeting of Families, which will take place in Philadelphia.
Cardinal William Levada is the Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and served as the Archbishop of San Francisco, California, from 1995 to 2005.
He spoke to Vatican Radio about the upcoming papal visit.
Listen:
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent his condolences after the tragedy on Wednesday in the town of Mazapil, Mexico, where a truck with defective brakes hit a religious procession, killing 27 people, and injuring hundreds of others.
In a telegram to the Bishop of Zacatecas, Sigifredo Noriega Barceló, the Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said Pope Francis was “greatly saddened” when he learned the news of the tragic accident, and “offers prayers for the eternal repose of those who died.”
“In addition,” the telegram continues, “The Holy Father offers his own condolences to the families of the deceased, along with words of comfort, closeness, and wishes for a speedy recovery to those injured, and, at the same time, he cordially imparts his Apostolic Blessing as a sign of hope in the Risen Lord.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) U.S. Catholic leaders have called on Congress to ensure that the federal minimum wage is raised to “improve the financial security of millions of American families”. In a letter, dated July 28th, Bishop Thomas Wenski, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, and Sr Donna Markham, President of Catholic Charities USA, note that a full-time worker, currently earning the federal minimum wage, “does not make enough to raise a child free from poverty”.
As pastors and service providers, they say they see how each year “it becomes more difficult for low-wage workers to make ends meet”. Quoting from Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Centesimus Annus , they stress that society and the State must guarantee wage levels “adequate for the maintenance of the worker and his family”, as well as ensuring “adequate legislative measures” to stop exploitation of the most vulnerable. Protecting low-wage workers and promoting their ability to form and nurture families, the two Catholic leaders insist, are shared responsibilities and critical to building a more equitable society
Please find below the full text of the letter from Sr Donna Markham and Bishop Thomas Wenski
July 28, 2015
Dear Representative/Senator:
On behalf of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Charities USA, we write to lift up the struggles of low-wage workers and their families. We urge you to advance legislation and policies that would ensure fair and just wages for all workers, and in doing so improve the financial security of millions of American families.
An economy thrives only when it is centered on the dignity and well-being of the workers and families in it. As pastors and service providers, we see every day the consequences when society fails to honor this priority. A full-year, full-time worker earning the federal minimum wage does not make enough to raise a child free from poverty. Because the federal minimum wage is a static number and does not change, each year it becomes more difficult for low-wage workers to make ends meet. This leads to increased demand for Charities’ services and reliance on the social safety net to make ends meet. Indeed, recent research suggests that about three-fourths (73 percent) of those who receive public benefits come from working families, meaning they or a family member is employed.
Saint John Paul II pointed out, “society and the State must ensure wage levels adequate for the maintenance of the worker and his family, including a certain amount for savings. This requires a continuous effort to improve workers’ training and capability so that their work will be more skilled and productive, as well as careful controls and adequate legislative measures to block shameful forms of exploitation, especially to the disadvantage of the most vulnerable workers. . . (Centesimus Annus, no. 15).
Protecting low-wage workers and promoting their ability to form and nurture families are shared responsibilities and critical to building a more equitable society. One way Congress can contribute to this shared work of promoting the common good is by ensuring the federal minimum wage promotes family formation and stability.
Sincerely,
Most Reverend Thomas G. Wenski
Chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development
Sister Donna Markham, OP, Ph.D.
President of Catholic Charities USA
(from Vatican Radio)…
Vatican City, 31 July 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father’s universal prayer intention for August is: “That volunteers may give themselves generously to the service of the needy”. His intention for evangelisation is: “That setting aside our very selves we may learn to be neighbours to those who find themselves on the margins of human life and society”….