Is there any charity taking contributions to help these
people and any other Peruvian towns also devastated
by this earthquake? I don't care if they are Catholic or
whatever. They are people and they need help.

^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
Michelle Malkin (Mickey) aa list#1
BAAWA Knight & Bible Thumper Thumper
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
When fascism comes to America, it will be
wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross -
Sinclair Lewis

"_ Prof. Jonez _" <theprof@jonez.net> wrote in message
news:5imhi3F3p6pc7U1@mid.individual.net...

Mourners killed in Peru church collapse

Church collapsed during quake while mourners gathered for a funeral Mass

Nuns gather, await word on two of their sisters

Bodies placed in Pisco's town center as residents try to identify loved
ones

Man holds wake for his mother in the street
By Harris Whitbeck
CNN

Editor's note: In our Behind the Scenes series, CNN correspondents share
their experiences in covering news and analyze the stories behind the
events. Here, CNN's Harris Whitbeck describes the destruction from
Wednesday's earthquake in Peru.

PISCO, Peru (CNN) -- Five elderly nuns huddled early Friday outside the
ruins of a church that had stood for centuries, their dark shawls tightly
wrapped around their shoulders.

The nuns were standing at the edge of the ruins of the San Clemente
church
in downtown Pisco, waiting for word on two of their sisters who were
buried in the rubble.

The parish priest, a robust Spaniard in his 60s, accompanied the nuns.
The
group quietly observed rescue workers dig through mounds of stones and
upturned tiles.

The priest said the church was more than 300 years old. He still couldn't
understand how the entire roof collapsed on hundreds of worshippers who
were attending a funeral Mass when Wednesday's 8.0-magnitude quake
struck.

I couldn't understand how this man and these women of the cloth could
remain so calm, their faith so apparently unshaken while they
contemplated
the ruins of the church and the loss of people so dear to them. I asked
them about that faith.

"It's difficult times like this that it exists," the priest said.

The group spent hours waiting in the dark, cold night and into the
morning
never questioning -- simply accepting what was and never doubting that
their church would some day be rebuilt.

The parish church says there could be 60 people buried under the rubble,
including the entire church choir and 15 members of the immediate family
of the person whose life was being celebrated during the funeral mass.
Watch how the quake ruined lives »

Many are buried amid the rubble at the church's entrance. When the quake
struck, those inside the church rushed to get out. That's when the roof
came smashing down on top of them.

Rescue workers are now digging around the entrance of the church. On
Thursday night, family members stood outside the church, watching and
waiting. Every time a body would be pulled out, they would rush toward it
to see if they could identify the remains.

About 100 bodies -- some from the church, others from elsewhere in the
town -- were taken to the city square and laid there. The bodies were
covered with shrouds. People walked among the bodies trying to identify
loved ones, an eerie feeling amid the destruction.

Throughout the Peru town, people are living in the streets outside the
rubble of what used to be their homes. Many use wood from their destroyed
homes to try to stay warm at night; temperatures are in the 50s at night
here. They're most fearful of aftershocks, and at least two jolted the
region Friday morning.

One man I came across was in mourning outside his home. He lives across
the street from a cemetery and owns a flower stall. He typically sells
flowers to those going into the cemetery to place at gravestones. But not
on this day.

The man wept on a coffin. His house had collapsed during the quake, and
his mother was killed. There in the street, in front of what was left of
his house, he held a wake for his mother. Two little candles were lit. He
didn't have flowers, even for his own mother. He was devastated.

At the foot of the coffin, children slept. They were neighborhood kids,
wrapped in blankets, trying to get some sleep amid the chaos.