"I am profoundly shocked and concerned to hear about the devastating earthquake in Haiti. As the news comes through, we are learning more about the tragic loss of life, injury suffered and terrible damage to the country. We stand alongside all the people in Haiti affected by this terrible disaster in prayer, thought and action as the situation unfolds. We pray for the rescue of those still trapped and look towards the rebuilding of lives and communities.

I commend the swift action of the UK Government's Department for International Development and the relief agencies and churches in mobilising an emergency response. In this time of catastrophic loss and destruction, I urge the public to hold the people of Haiti in their prayers, and to give generously and urgently to funding appeals set up for relief work."

• For those in the UK who wish to donate to Christian Aid's Haiti Earthquake Appeal, click http://www.christianaid.org.uk/emergencies/

• For those in the United States who wish to donate through Episcopal Relief and Development, click http://www.er-d.org/

• For those in Canada who wish to donate through The Primate's World Relief and Development Fund, click http://www.pwrdf.org/