Following the devastation of post-tropical storm Fiona, Catholics in Sydney Mines, N.S. — with the support of the community — have delivered a case study in what can be accomplished when faith is put into action.

Damage inflicted to church properties throughout the Maritimes by post-tropical storm Fiona has yet to be tabulated, but it seems for the most part Catholic Church property has escaped relatively unscathed after one of the strongest weather systems to ever hit Atlantic Canada. 

It may seem strange that a prolonged power outage has caused me to reflect on truth, goodness and beauty. (And whether my computer battery will die before I hit save. I digress.) Most of us have a stronger emphasis in one direction — either truth, or goodness, or beauty. But we need, if not down to the per cent, a third of each for our society to remain civil.  

MANILA, Philippines -- Super Typhoon Rai has claimed more than 200 lives since making landfall in the Visayas and Mindanao region, Philippine authorities said.

MAYFIELD, Ky. -- Mourning, prayer and a resolve to rebuild shattered lives, homes and businesses in Mayfield followed one of the most powerful twisters in U.S. history that leveled the city of 10,000 in western Kentucky overnight Dec. 10.

NEW ORLEANS -- With most of South Louisiana cut off from electrical power due to the 150-mph winds of Hurricane Ida, the Archdiocese of New Orleans announced Aug. 30 that all schools, along with its main administrative offices, would remain closed until at least Labor Day, Sept. 6.

SASKATOON -- The spring break-up on the Mackenzie and Liard rivers has caused historic and devastating levels of flooding in the Northwest Territories, including several communities in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith.

Errol Belgraves puts a mask on every morning before stepping out of the home he and his wife share in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

CLEVELAND -- Below-zero temperatures, teeth-chattering wind chills and deep snow turned the southern Plains into an Arctic landscape, forcing Catholic Charities agencies to adopt emergency measures to get people to safety.

Pope Francis offered condolences and prayers for the victims of an earthquake that rocked central Croatia.

MANILA, Philippines -- Filipinos appealed for help as a fifth tropical storm or typhoon hit their country in a three-week period. These included the strongest typhoon since 2013 and the biggest floods since 2009.

MEXICO CITY -- Pope Francis offered prayers for the victims of Hurricane Eta, which deluged Central America, claimed at least 50 lives and caused widespread flooding and property damage.

LAKE CHARLES, La. -- Hurricane Laura destroyed six churches in the Diocese of Lake Charles, left a dozen others "highly compromised" and did heavy damage to chancery offices.

CLEVELAND -- Officials reported that at least 12 people had died as Tropical Storm Laura lashed Haiti and the Dominican Republic with strong winds and torrential rains, causing widespread flooding in low-lying communities.

GUWAHATI, India -- Incessant rain and floods have forced hundreds of thousands of people to move to safer places in eastern India's Assam state, adding to the misery brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and a mid-May cyclone.