Prayers and support for Indian earthquake victims

Prayers are being said in churches around the world in the aftermath of the earthquake which devastated northwest India and Pakistan on Friday afternoon. Aid is being rushed to Gujarat where at least 30,000 are feared dead and millions are now homeless. Missionary sources in the area reported that the quake which was 7.9 on the Richter scale at the epicentre in Kutch, was felt as far away as New Delhi. Aftershocks were still taking place on Sunday. On Saturday Pope John Paul II sent a message to the Indian government expressing his great sadness for the people of Indian and assuring them of his closeness in prayer. Caritas International, the Catholic aid network which includes CAFOD has launched an emergency appeal to help Caritas India provide aid to earthquake victims.