Rome, January 7, 2005
To the Visitors of the Congregation of the Mission
Dear Brothers,
May the grace and peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ fill your hearts now and forever!
At an ordinary meeting of the General Council, we made the following decisions with regard to the tsunami catastrophe in the area of the Indian Ocean.
- We will give a donation for concrete projects that have already been presented, with the condition that those receiving the donation will give reports so that we can later inform the donors.
- We at the General Curia are willing to serve as intermediaries, receiving money from donating provinces and then channeling that money to those projects which are already established or will be established.
- At the end of January, at the meeting of the heads of the Vincentian Family, I will ask that this topic be discussed so that we might see how we can work together as a Vincentian Family this year and for the next few years, because this will be a long-range project.
I thank each of you who have written to express your concern for the victims of the earthquake and resulting tsunamis and asking how you might help. I know I can count on your aid for all those who are suffering from the effects of this disaster. We continue to keep them in our prayer.
Your brother in St. Vincent,
G. Gregory Gay, C.M.
Superior General