Catholics Asked To Open Wallets, Hearts For Harvey Storm Victims
DETROIT (WWJ) - Area Catholics are doing their part to help victims of tropical storm Harvey.
Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron tells WWJ they are asking the faithful to open their wallets along with their hearts.
"The hurricane victims, certainly all of us united in prayer for them," Vigneron told WWJ's Vickie Thomas. "We're creating opportunities where through the parishes, people can make contributions that will be sent down there. So, we all very much need to be in solidarity with them. It's a terrible experience, clearly, and out hearts go out to all of those who are victims of the storm and the flood."
Those wanting to contribute can make a donation online to Catholic Charities USA, a national organization that offers support to member agencies, provides disaster relief, and promotes poverty-reduction.
At least 18 people have been killed by Harvey since Friday, when it made landfall in Texas as a Category 4 hurricane. Harvey has since weakened to a tropical storm, dropping record amounts of rain on Houston and the surrounding area. It made landfall for a second time early Wednesday, coming to shore in southwest Louisiana and bringing with it a heavy dose of rain that is forecast to spread further north as the day progresses, perhaps as far as Missouri, Tennessee and Arkansas.
More than 13,000 people have been rescued in the Houston area and other parts of Southeast Texas since Harvey inundated the region with torrential rain. More than 17,000 people have sought refuge in Texas shelters, according to the American Red Cross.
Authorities expected the human toll to continue to mount, both in deaths and in the tens of thousands of people made homeless by the catastrophic storm that is now the heaviest tropical downpour in U.S. history.
© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.