Puerto Rico desperately needs rebuilding aid

WASHINGTON DC: As Congress considers recovery and relief packages for hurricane-hit Puerto Rico, the island's Archbishop and national religious groups were set to hold a vigil in a Congressional office building on Wednesday.

"Puerto Rico needs a Congress that is sensitive to the pain of the people of Puerto Rico," noted the Most Reverend Roberto Octavio González Nieves, O.F.M. Archbishop of San Juan de Puerto Rico. Gonzalez was set to be the primary presider at the service. "It needs a Congress that respects Puerto Rico's right to reconstruct with dignity," according to a Jubilee USA Network statement.

The various groups were set to be praying and calling for adequate rebuilding aid, debt relief and financing for healthcare and child benefits at par with what US states receive.

"Puerto Rico desperately needs adequate rebuilding aid so its power grid and infrastructure is strong enough to withstand the next storm," noted Eric LeCompte of the religious development group that was organising the event, Jubilee USA Network.