EarthBeat Weekly: Catholic Relief Services, facing own crisis, aids Myanmar quake victims

Catholic Relief Services, facing own crisis, aids Myanmar quake victims   EarthBeat Weekly Your weekly newsletter about faith and climate change April 4, 2025   Rescue personnel work at the site of a collapsed building in Mandalay, Myanmar, March 29, 2025.  A 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit midday March 28, with an epicenter near Mandalay, bringing down scores of buildings, killing at least 3,000 people and leaving countless others buried in the rubble. (OSV News Reuters) It was just past lunchtime in Yangon, the most populous city in Myanmar, when Cara Bragg began to feel the ground shake. It wasn't the first earthquake the Ohio native had experienced in her year and a half as the lead manager for Catholic Relief Services in the Southeastern Asian country. But this one felt different. "They've always been sort of small, and you feel something but you don't really know is that an earthquake or not until you see it reported," she told me this week. "But this one was definitely — it was strong." The 7.7-magnitude earthquake that rattled Southeastern Asia in fact was the strongest to hit Myanmar in more than a century. And the full toll of the devastation is still coming to light. As of April 3, at least 3,000 people had been confirmed dead from the earthquake. Modeling from the U.S. Geological Survey, which tracks seismic activity, has estimated that the death toll could climb above 10,000 people. Along with lives lost, thousands of buildings have been damaged or destroyed, roads buckled, telecommunications and power were knocked out, and economic losses could surpass Myanmar's annual GDP. The earthquake rattled a country already reeling from a number of crises. Myanmar has been embroiled in civil war since 2021, and there were reports that the military junta governing the country continued bombings after the earthquake. This week it agreed to a temporary 20-day ceasefire — a call made, among others, by Yangon Cardinal Charles Maung Bo.  On top of the conflict, the earthquake raises the risk of diseases spreading in a country facing cholera and malaria outbreaks. Amid these social and political challenges, Catholic Relief Services mobilized quickly minutes after the rumblings subsided to support the earthquake recovery effort. Two teams departed this week from Yangon to the impact zone in the Mandalay-Sagaing region with supplies of food, water and materials for temporary shelters. The CRS team in Myanmar did what the U.S. bishops' overseas development agency does — responding to disasters around the world — while the organization deals with an existential crisis of its own from the loss of substantial federal funding due to the Trump administration's axing of most U.S. foreign assistance. In Myanmar, there isn't time to worry now how the loss of millions in federal dollars might reshape Catholic Relief Services overall for years to come. Their attention is on saving lives and rebuilding communities in a country where catastrophes are compounding. "Our focus right now is really on the immediate assistance," Bragg told me. "The lifesaving assistance that has to go out within the first few weeks — within the first few days, really — of this type of event happening." Read more: Despite civil war and funding crisis, CRS responds quickly to Myanmar quake   What else is new on EarthBeat:   Lenten campaign calls for ecological conversion in Brazil by Eduardo Campos Lima While Brazil's bishops work to spread the message of ecological conversion, traditionalist Catholic groups have called for a boycott of their campaign, saying the bishops want to "substitute the spirit of Lent" with a focus on integral ecology. Read more here »   A Jesuit priest prefers prison over a fine to draw attention to climate change by Kirsten Grieshaber , Associated Press A Jesuit priest says he prefers going to prison than paying a 500-euro ($541) fine for participating in a climate activists' street blockade in the southern German city of Nuremberg. Read more here »   Pope Francis prays for victims of deadly wildfires in South Korea by OSV News Pope Francis offered prayers and expressed deep concern over the deadly wildfires in South Korea, which have claimed at least 28 lives and caused widespread damage. The fire continues to spread uncontrollably across several regions. Read more here »   NCR recipes for Lent: Quesadillas by Helga Leija "These quesadillas are easy to make, but it is one of those meals that makes everything feel a little better," writes Sr. Helga Leija, columns editor for Global Sisters Report. "And it will taste like a Mexican mom made it for you." Read more here » What's happening in other climate news:   How tariffs could upend the transition to cleaner energy —Max Bearak, Brad Plumer and Somini Sengupta for The New York Times Climate crisis on track to destroy capitalism, warns top insurer —Damian Carrington for The Guardian EPA cuts could leave small rural towns choking in smoke —Joshua Partlow and Amudalat Ajasa for the Washington Post HHS fires entire staff of program that helps low-income people afford heat and air conditioning —Rachel Frazin for The Hill Democrats call on DOE IG to probe climate funding cuts —Nico Portuondo for E&E News After outcry, Brazil Supreme Court nixes proposal for mining on Indigenous lands —Karla Mendes for Mongabay Loyola University Chicago names Malini Suchak, PhD, as dean of School of Environmental Sustainability —Loyola University Chicago Final Beat:   In EarthBeat's Small Earth Stories, readers share specific ways they're living simply, resisting throwaway culture or responding to climate change in day-to-day life. These personal essays usually range from 100-1,000 words and include 1-2 photos. With the upcoming 10-year anniversary of Pope Francis' encyclical "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home," we want to hear from readers about some of the "little daily actions" you're taking, which as the pope wrote, hold the potential to "call forth a goodness which, albeit unseen, inevitably tends to spread." Want to share your story? You can submit it anytime to earthbeat@ncronline.org. Thanks for reading EarthBeat.   Brian Roewe Environment Correspondent National Catholic Reporter broewe@ncronline.org     Featured Advertisers   Book Talk:  Come Forth: The Promise of Jesus’s Greatest Miracle Reverend James Martin, S.J. April 16 | 7 p.m. Sacred Heart University   Advertisement