Christian leaders have called for prayer for the bereaved families of those whose loved ones perished in this week’s devastating earthquake in central Italy.
The death toll from the 6.2 magnitude quake, which struck in the early hours of Wednesday morning, has now risen to more than 250 with hundreds more injured.
On Wednesday, Pope Francis led prayers for those affected by the earthquake during his weekly general audience and spoke of his “heartfelt sorrow” at the news. “Having heard the mayor of Amatrice say, ‘The town no longer exists,’ and knowing that there are children among the dead, I am deeply saddened,” Catholic News Service reported him as saying.
Meanwhile, Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, offered “heartfelt condolences to the people who lost family members and friends”.
“We are saddened as the numbers of wounded and dead people among the victims of the earthquake that hit central Italy yesterday night are still rising,” he wrote in a letter to Rev Luca Negro, president of the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy. “This grief is compounded by the images of the devastating destruction of villages and the stories of survivors mourning for loved ones they lost and for others they still hope to be rescued out of the rubble.”
Rev Dr Tveit called on Christians around the world “to pray for the bereaved families of those who are killed and injured and affected with their loss of property due to this devastation” and said the WCC was “ready to accompany” the churches of the federation as they did in the aftermath of a 2009 earthquake which devastated the Italian city of L’Aquila, killing more than 300 people.
The Italian Evangelical Alliance, meanwhile, invited “all evangelical churches and believers to pray that this time of sorrow and tragedy may also be a time of consolation, repentance and conversion”. It added that as has been the case in the past, the alliance was “immediately active in contributing to relief work” and was coordinating its work with “evangelical agencies with experience in dealing with natural disasters, both national and international ones”.
Aftershocks continue to rock the mountainous region when the earthquake struck, about 100 kilometres north-east of Rome, hampering the efforts of rescue workers who have so far reportedly rescued more than 200 people. The worst affected towns include Amatrice, Arquata, Accumoliu and Pescara del Tronto with thousands now facing the prospect of homelessness. The region usually boasts only a small population but this had been significantly boosted when the earthquake by those, including tourists, who had come to the region for the summer.
Earlier this week Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi paid tribute to those who rushed to help after the earthquake and promised that “no family, no city, no hamlet will be left behind”. “Today is a day for tears. Tomorrow we can talk of reconstruction,” he reportedly said.
