An appeal to “prayer, word and action” is made by the Dutch bishops in their letter to parishes on the occasion of the feast days of 8 and 9 January 2005, days on which a collection was held in the some 1,500 Dutch parishes in favour of the populations of South-East Asia struck by the tsunami on 26 December. “The Christmas holidays this year have had a tragic aftermath. The natural disaster”, write the bishops, “shocked the whole world. The joy of the days of Christmas and the expectations of the new year were accompanied by grief and compassion for the tens of thousands of victims”. Apart from prayer, “first sign of mercy”, continue the bishops, what’s needed are “concrete gestures of solidarity both by the international community and by each one of us”. The bishops hope that the tragedy may also be the occasion to launch forms of “continuous support” and realize “works of justice and solidarity” on behalf of populations already strongly disadvantaged. “May the natural disaster therefore prompt us not only to make a necessary one-off gift, but also contribute to a radical reflection and rethink of the conditions of international economic structures and our own personal lifestyle.”
