The National Council of Churches USA has responded to Bush’s address to the nation, in which he apologised for the mistakes made in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, with a call for the US President to match words with actions.
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Bishop Thomas L. Hoyt Jr, President of the NCC USA and Christian Methodist Episcopal Bishop of Louisiana and Mississippi, called the President’s apology ‘commendable’ and welcomed Bush’s pledge to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

The Bishop went on to state, however, that “an apology and promises only go so far” and that “this crisis has only exposed what lies just beneath the surface of prosperity and progress in this country.”

The NCC also spoke out in support of the now widespread view that the response to the Katrina disaster was determined by race and class issues.

“We can now see all too clearly that a person’s race and class can often determine whether or not you are left behind in the Superdome or escorted to safety,” said Bishop Hoyt.

The Church World Service’s Executive Director Rev. John L. McCullough also made similar comments on the Sunday night broadcast of the MSNBC show “countdown” with Keith Olbermann.

The Rev McCullough said there was ‘no doubt’ that race was an important factor in the government’s response but said that class was also ‘critical’.

“It’s absolutely necessary that we as a nation pay attention to the issues of class, of poverty, in how we now turn to the long-term recovery of the Gulf Coast region and Katrina’s survivors.

“The way we assist Katrina’s most vulnerable survivors in rebuilding their lives over the long haul will be a litmus test – and can be a model – of how we must proceed as a nation in closing the gaping divide in this country. The world is watching us,” said McCullough, himself an African American.

The NCC said that a great opportunity had arisen out of Katrina to put into motion a “long-term change in behaviour that recognises and corrects the glaring inequities of American society”.
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The statement read: “Disaster relief and rescue must go beyond the flooded streets of New Orleans and reach into the desperate lives of the millions in poverty across our land – a disproportionate number of whom are African American.

“It is way beyond overdue that America treats all its citizens as full participants in the economic and educational and cultural mainstream.”
President Bush delivered a speech late Thursday in which he promised a drastic safety review for every US city as New Orlean’s death toll reached 792.

In an honest speech, Bush admitted: “The system, at every level of government, was not well coordinated, and was overwhelmed in the first few days.

“Four years after the frightening experience of September 11, Americans have every right to expect a more effective response in a time of emergency.

“When the federal government fails to meet such an obligation, I as president am responsible for the problem, and for the solution,” said Bush.

Bush has vowed to carry out “one of the largest reconstruction efforts the world has ever seen” with the 62 billion dollars allotted by Congress.