Milestone anniversaries are a time to take stock of all the changes and growth that have occurred over time.
In this centennial year for CNEWA, the papal initiative is telling the story of how its work has taken shape and evolved over the past 100 years in a special series called, “A Century of Healing and Hope,” by Executive Editor Michael J. La Civita.
In the June issue, Mr. La Civita covers a seminal period in the life of CNEWA in which it forged long-term partnerships, established human development works in the Middle East for those most in need and played an instrumental role in the first visit by a pope to the Holy Land.
In compelling detail and storytelling, this series documents how CNEWA evolved from an emergency response organization of the Holy See in the Christian East to a long-term development agency, only to return to providing emergency aid in recent years to some of the world’s most difficult places.
This significant shift back to emergency aid as an important aspect of CNEWA’s work is reflected in the June issue of ONE, where two of our four feature articles are from countries currently receiving CNEWA-funded emergency aid — Lebanon and Ethiopia — in the form of food, medicine, shelter and other basic supplies.
Our report from the West Bank of Palestine does not report on an emergency situation per se. However, the people in Taybeh, the West Bank’s last Christian town, are constantly on high alert. As Father Bashar Fawadleh, the pastor of Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church in Taybeh, said in an on-camera interview, the people are “awake all the time,” on edge as they await the next settler attacks on their land.
Our fourth feature comes from India, where the church, despite the growing affluence in Indian society, continues to care for the most vulnerable. Through its schools and child care programs, the church provides those “left behind” with hope and opportunities for a better future.
In his regular column, Msgr. Peter Vaccari, CNEWA president, reflects on the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, celebrated each year on the second Friday of June. Msgr. Vaccari impresses upon readers that all works of mercy spring from the Sacred Heart of Jesus and that “authentic devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus must be oriented to action!”
“This issue of ONE is filled with stories of the action-oriented direction of CNEWA’s mission over our first one hundred years,” he writes.
Indeed.
May the Sacred Heart of Jesus continue to inspire authentic devotion and missionary action, and may this issue of ONE inspire readers to join CNEWA in forging new paths of healing and hope.
We hope you enjoy the issue.