SYDNEY, Australia (CNS) As Australians respond to help the victims of the deadly bush fires in Victoria state, the archbishop of Melbourne said he rarely has witnessed such a high level of concern for those who suffered. “I know that Catholic parishes across Australia have been praying for the people who died in the bush fires, as well as for those experiencing the grief of losing loved ones, family homes and cherished pets and belongings,” said Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne.
“I also extend heartfelt gratitude to all those volunteers and professionals who have fought these fires and floods so selflessly and tirelessly during these emergencies.”
Archbishop Hart said the Catholic Church would do all it could spiritually and practically to stand in solidarity with those affected. He also encouraged those who can to give blood and respond generously to the appeals and parishioners to pray for the victims of the fires.
In addition to a national Red Cross fund, the archbishop and the St. Vincent de Paul Society launched appeals to assist the victims. Centacare, the national federation of Catholic social service agencies, has mobilized counseling services to work with displaced communities reeling from the trauma of losing friends, property and livelihoods to the infernos.
As of Feb. 17, at least 200 people had died in the fires, with more missing and feared dead. More than 1,800 homes had been destroyed.
One of the worst-affected areas was an outer Melbourne parish that includes the small towns of Marysville and Kinglake, both swept away by the ferocity of the fires Feb. 8.
St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Kinglake was destroyed in the blaze, said the parish priest, Father Grant O’Neill.
“Although many of them have lost their houses and property, luckily none of our parishioners were among the fatalities,” said Father O’Neill.
He said among many tales of “extraordinary and miraculous escapes” were parishioners who had sheltered in dams while the fire front passed and a mother and her children whose car had stalled while trying to outrun the inferno.
“As they were about to abandon the car a passing utility truck stopped and picked them up and carried them out to safety. The car was later seen on the TV news completely burned out on the side of the road,” he said.
Father O’Neill said that Feb. 7, “the hottest day in Victoria’s history,” the intense northerly wind had “shifted through 90 degrees to a southwester,” which propelled the fire front at incredible speed.
“Our church was at the top of the valley and we think the embers caught it,” he said, adding that he had since retrieved the tabernacle from the church’s charred ruins.
In mid-February, Father O’Neill returned to Kinglake to celebrate Mass in the upstairs room of a local restaurant.
“As soon as power is restored to our church site we will move a demountable classroom onto the site to provide a visible focal point and place for worship,” he said.
Father O’Neill said members of the local St. Vincent de Paul Society were assisting survivors.
“They are at the coalface in managing a well-organized response to people’s immediate and long-term needs. They are magnificent,” he said.
