Church in Taiwan, on the front line after the typhoon: we have seen how God acts

Taiwan replenishes his nightmare. In a few minutes the wind reached a speed of more than 220 km/h that caused the interruption of the electricity supply in more than 580,000 homes and generated at least 2,270 emergency incidents throughout the island. The Catholic Church, a meager presence in a country of Buddhist majority, became a silent comfort for those who have lost everything.

“In these difficult times, we have witnessed how God acts through human goodness, giving fruits of evangelization through charity acts,” said the bishop of the Taiwanese diocese of Hsinchu, John Lee, in statements, “John Lee.

He Typhoon Danas He left at least two dead and more than 500 injured. In addition, floods, landslides and the evacuation of more than 3,400 people, mainly in mountainous areas of the South.

Although it caused serious damage to more than ten parishes – valued in about one million dollars – the dioceses “were proactively coordinated with neighboring parishes to welcome and receive affected parishioners.”

In addition, during the first emergency phase after the disaster, the pastoral advice of “each parish immediately activated their care networks to guarantee the safety of parishioners,” explains the bishop.

Likewise, “mutual aid groups were formed to collaborate in housing repairs.”

On the other hand, the Commission for the Evangelization of the Chinese Regional Conference of the Bishops of Taiwan – known by its acronym CRBC (Regional Chinese Bishops’ Conference) launched a church restoration project after the disaster. And, although it may seem surprising, “many not Catholics, upon receiving the message of the Church, responded generously” and participated “actively” in the work to remove accumulated water and take out the mud.

Thanks to the strong linkage of parishes with their communities, the aid offered by the country’s social welfare system has been effectively channeled. According to the data handled by the Government, preliminary estimates place total damage to about 95 million dollars. It is the first time in the history of Taiwan that a typhoon ravages the area between Chiayi and Tainan.

Elderly and sick, the most vulnerable first

Taiwan faces one of the fastest population aging processes in the world. According to official datamore than 20% of the Taiwanese population has 65 years or more. Many of those elders live alone, which has made their situation difficult, especially in cleaning tasks, so the help of the local church has been fundamental: “They depend on voluntary aid for cleaning and recovery,” says the prelate.

Therefore, the parish priests turned their help first towards them and the “patients with care and intercession sentences, while reporting the situation to the diocese.”

Caritas Taiwan, present in all dioceses of the country, activated its emergency funds to financially assist the victims. To this was added the Taiwan Catholic Mission Foundation, An organization linked to the Catholic Church, which launched a charitable initiative to support reconstruction and promote long -term humanitarian attention. Through these two ecclesial institutions, the concrete aid packages sent by Pope Leo XIV as soon as he learned of the tragedy will also be channeled.

“We are grateful to the Holy Father for always keeping Taiwan in his prayers,” says the bishop.

In Taiwan there is religious freedom, but its independence of the exiled People’s Republic of China since 1949 is only recognized by the Holy See and 15 other countries. Catholics are a minority that does not reach 1% on this island of 23 million inhabitants, a Buddhist majority.

The Church, always “next to those who suffer”

In a mission land, in which the church since it arrived, underlines Mons. Lee, “has always been next to those who suffer.” “This is one of the reasons why the people of Taiwan have remained friendly and open to the Church.”

However, he acknowledges that in terms of pastoral and evangelization, “we still have much to reflect and learn.” That is why he asks the Universal Church “to continue praying for Taiwan, so that, given the various challenges, everyone can live the missionary vocation of God’s people.”