“Infrastructure has been severely damaged, as have institutions and businesses,” Archbishop Pinder said. Though the official death count was 30 on Sept. 6, “we are assured the death toll is bound to increase.”

There are so many needs that we can easily feel overwhelmed. Where do we begin? How do we begin? How do we sort out our priorities?

During his sojourn in Madagascar on Sept. 8, Pope Francis will drive six miles from the center of Antananarivo, the capital city of this country of 27 million people, to visit the cooperative association Akamasoa.

"We are extremely mindful of the dire need faced by the community in the Bahamas so devastated by this catastrophic storm."

“There is no hope, no future here.”

The country's bishops, along with the rest of Catholic Church and the citizenry of Venezuela, have lived in the unfolding chaos that has driven at least 3 million out of the country.