On 8 May, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected pope, successor of St. Peter. He chose the name Leo XIV. This native son of Chicago is the first successor of St. Peter elected from the United States.

CNEWA-Pontifical Mission gives thanks to God and the movement of the Holy Spirit among the cardinal electors. I urge our readers and supporters to read and to pray with Pope Leo’s address to the participants of the Jubilee of the Eastern Churches on Wednesday, 14 May. In his address he echoes the sentiment of Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday, in holding up the unique traditions of the Eastern churches. In addition, he recognizes the insight that Pope St. John Paul II shares in his encyclical “Orientale Lumen” on the unique historic role of the Eastern churches “ ‘as the original setting where the church was born.’ ”

This issue of ONE pays tribute to Pope Francis and introduces Pope Leo XIV in light of CNEWA’s mission. 

Pope Francis was a strong advocate and shepherd for the Eastern churches. Within the first 10 days of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV demonstrated this same solicitude for the Eastern churches, as well as for the challenges and issues they face in the regions of the world where CNEWA works and where the experience of raw physical thirst is a story all too familiar.

However, beyond physical thirst, so many in our world experience deep and varied forms of thirst. How often do we feel the desert thirst for greater meaning and purpose, the thirst for adequate work to support our families, the thirst for meaningful relationships? The thirst to love and to be loved? The thirst for a life of greater virtue, that is, of prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance? The litany of our thirsts could go on.

In his encyclical on the Sacred Heart (“Dilexit nos”), issued last October, Pope Francis traces the biblical journey of God, who also thirsts. Yes, God thirsts to hold his people in the embrace of his love by promising them lifegiving water that will free them from the desert and cleanse them from their sins. The culmination of that divine thirst comes in the audacity of the mystery of the Incarnation, when God becomes one like us in all things, save sin! The fulfillment of God’s plan comes, as the encyclical states: “From Jesus’ wounded side, the water of the Spirit poured forth … The pierced side of Jesus is the source of the love that God had shown for his people in countless ways.”

The bull of indiction that declares this year’s Jubilee of Hope links the virtue of hope to the Sacred Heart of Jesus: “Hope is born of love and based on the love springing from the pierced heart of Jesus upon the cross.”

In prayerful reflection and meditation on the meaning of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the crucified and risen Jesus gives birth to hope and should then lead us to be willing to give our lives for others. The patristic tradition within the Catholic Church is consistent, clear, compelling and challenging. As expressed in “Dilexit nos,” Christ satisfies our thirst at the deepest level: “Our union with Christ is meant not only to satisfy our own thirst, but also to make us springs of living water for others.”

This edition of ONE highlights the dynamics and consequences of an authentic spirituality rooted in the Sacred Heart of Jesus that never permits us to grow weary of reaching out to those who are most vulnerable and thirsty. Michael J. La Civita, CNEWA’s director of communications and marketing and executive editor of this magazine, develops the messaging of CNEWA’s mission, engaged in an incarnational theology of Catholic social justice irrespective of international geopolitical shifts.

The crises in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza continue to be of grave concern. CNEWA-Pontifical Mission denounces all extremist groups, including Hamas, and prays for a cease-fire and immediate return of all hostages. The right to self-governance and security must be assured to Israel and to Palestine. The article on the West Bank asks: What is the future of the Palestinian people? What incentives can be offered to Palestinians to remain in places like Bethlehem?

The article from Syria reports on how the church remains steadfast in its commitment to assisting children in need. In my visits to Syria, I have witnessed the lived trauma of people of all ages who experienced a 14-year civil war, COVID-19, the fall of the Assad regime, and the ongoing presence of extremist groups who fight to gain control of all aspects of life. Where do they turn for hope?

The situation in Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq is sensitive and tense. The internal geopolitics of these countries have been further impacted by the cuts in U.S. foreign aid. CNEWA does not receive U.S. foreign aid. However, other agencies have been directly impacted by the reduction or elimination of these funds. The impact of these cuts on our partners and the increased demand for assistance that CNEWA has received since then are covered in this edition.

The month of June is dedicated to the cultivation of a stronger personal relationship with Jesus through a healthy devotion to his Sacred Heart. From this relationship emerges the virtue of hope. We are further called to be agents of hope, especially during this jubilee year. This issue of ONE is all about that reality as it is experienced on the ground in CNEWA’s world.

Hope is not about dreams, personal goals and desires. It is about our thirst for the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life. It is about our task to bring that kingdom, here and now, into our world so that the words we pray each day — “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven” — challenge us.

With my gratitude and prayers,

President

Read this article in our digital print format here.