Emergency Aid Continues

CNEWA continues to rush food, water, bread, bedding and medicines for people displaced by war and natural disasters in regions throughout the world. More than 1 million people — mostly from southern Lebanon — have been displaced in the ongoing war in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah. Many are sheltering in church facilities.

Archbishop Paolo Borgia, apostolic nuncio to Lebanon, has led at least 14 aid convoys to the country’s south since 2 March, in coordination with the U.N.’s Interim Force in Lebanon. The Beirut-based CNEWA-Pontifical Mission team has helped organize the convoys with its partners, including L’Oeuvre d’Orient and Caritas Lebanon.

CNEWA’s regional team in Ethiopia is responding to a growing food crisis. More than 10 million people are facing serious food insecurity after years of tribal conflict, civil unrest and climate-related disasters displaced millions of people in a region still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. The elimination of both European and USAID-funded programs has crippled aid efforts, which depend almost entirely on aid from privately funded charities such as CNEWA. 

CNEWA Hosts Ukraine Event

Three prominent church agencies gathered at CNEWA’s administrative center in New York on 5 May for a livestreamed event on the situation in Ukraine and their work to provide aid to those in need. They included CNEWA, the Knights of Columbus and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on the Church in Central and Eastern Europe.

Metropolitan Archbishop Borys A. Gudziak of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia addressed the gathering, describing Catholic aid to Ukraine as “steadfast.” He said the support provided “has been heart to heart, person to person, community to community” and “church to church.” The archbishop, who has traveled to Ukraine 55 times since the outbreak of hostilities with Russia began in 2014, said Ukrainians tell him to “please thank the people that pray, inform, act and help.”

First Cardinal Dolan Award

CNEWA bestowed its first Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan International Leadership Award to the award’s namesake at a gathering in Rome on 15 April. Cardinal Dolan served as archbishop of New York for nearly 17 years and ex officio as CNEWA’s chairman. Trustees Amanda Caroline Bowman and Marina C. Perna thanked the cardinal, whose leadership opened the way for laypeople to serve on the board, and praised his long-term service to CNEWA. Cardinal Dolan said he first learned about CNEWA when he served at the apostolic nunciature in Washington with Cardinal Pio Laghi, “who loved, loved, loved CNEWA, knowing its work well in the Holy Land.”

Two days later, in Naples, CNEWA hosted donors and friends for events that included a presentation on Caravaggio’s “The Seven Works of Mercy”; a guided private visit to the Museum of the Treasury of St. Januarius, the city’s patron, located in the cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of Mary; and a charity dinner at the Grand Hotel Vesuvio.

Eastern Bishops Meet

Msgr. Peter I. Vaccari, CNEWA president, traveled to St. Louis, 17-19 March, for the annual meeting of the Eastern Catholic bishops in the United States, where he spoke about CNEWA’s mission, the challenges facing the Eastern churches in their homelands, and the work of CNEWA in Eastern Europe, Northeast Africa, India and the Middle East.

Save the Date! CNEWA Gala

CNEWA’s centennial will be highlighted at its annual Healing & Hope Gala at The Plaza Hotel in New York City on 15 December. The guest of honor will be Frá John T. Dunlap, prince and grand master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, who has propelled the order “into a force of compassion, encounter and dialogue, touching the lives of the marginalized and vulnerable across the globe.” 

CNEWA’s Faith & Culture Award will be conferred to Sister Raffaella Petrini, F.S.E., president of both the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and the Governorate of Vatican City State. A noted academic and administrator, Sister Raffaella oversees the operations of Vatican City State, making her the highest-ranking woman in the Vatican.

High School Supports CNEWA

Msgr. Peter I. Vaccari celebrated Mass at St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School in Staten Island for the feast of the Ascension 14 May. After Holy Communion, members of the student government, on behalf of the 1,400 students at the Mass, presented him with a check for $28,211 toward the mission of CNEWA. This donation represented the 2026 Lenten sacrifice of students, faculty, staff, parents and donors.

Msgr. Vaccari commended the students for upholding CNEWA’s mission of supporting the vulnerable and the marginalized. This donation was the latest in a series of efforts by the student body — including a Concert for Peace and a video project — to raise funds and awareness for CNEWA since 2022, when Msgr. Vaccari first visited the school. To date, the school has donated about $115,000.00 to CNEWA.

Grant Funds Received

The Koch Foundation has awarded CNEWA a grant for $450,000. More than half, $250,000, will fund the humanitarian and pastoral work of the church in Gaza; $100,000 will support the formation of novices and seminarians in Ethiopia and Eritrea; and $100,000 will fund Catholic schools in Ethiopia and youth faith formation in Palestine.

“In a spirit of faithful stewardship and service to the Gospel, the Koch Foundation is honored to support the work of CNEWA in Africa and the Holy Land,” said Andrew LoFaro, the foundation’s executive director. “At the heart of our mission is a deep desire to strengthen the church’s evangelical witness and to bring Christ’s message of hope and charity to the farthest reaches of the world. 

“It is a true privilege to continue our longstanding partnership with CNEWA, whose tireless service so beautifully embodies this mission by offering hope, healing and accompaniment to those most in need,” he said.

‘Journalism at its Best!’

Judges for the annual Religion News Association (R.N.A.) contest said ONE’s reporting is “Journalism at its best!” in awarding the magazine second place for reporting for religious audiences and third place for photography. The awards were conferred at the conclusion of the R.N.A.’s annual conference in Atlanta, 25 April.

“These reporters for ONE magazine take readers to where the news we all hear about is happening and offer affecting make-me-see stories,” the judges noted. “Heartbreaking stories, powerful writing.”

“This is a strong and thoughtful documentation of global stories shaped by religious and cultural conflict,” the judges said in their comments about ONE’s photography. “The images don’t just report on events; they show how belief systems and identity influence real-world outcomes.” 

Read this article in our digital print format here.