Pope Pius XI founded CNEWA in 1926 with a few mandates, including the directive “to teach, to educate, to inform and to inspire Catholics,” said Michael J.L. La Civita on the latest installment of “Connections With Msgr. Peter.”
The agency’s director of communications, who has been with CNEWA since 1989, joined Msgr. Peter I. Vaccari for the livestream, which aired on Wednesday, 28 June, to discuss CNEWA’s messaging and communications efforts, all geared toward this mandate.
The key to this messaging, he says, is the local church.
“Always, we work through the local church. … We don’t parachute in anywhere in the world, we always work through the local community,” said Mr. La Civita. “It’s about people first, more than anything else. People in need, but also the hands of men and women — priests, religious, lay people — who do everything motivated by the Gospel, in love, in service of the common good to their communities.”
Another touchstone point of the agency is the fight against human trafficking, said Mr. La Civita. In preparation for the second annual CNEWA gala that will honor two individuals involved in anti-trafficking work, the September edition of ONE magazine will focus on issues pertaining to trafficking in the regions where CNEWA works.
The agency is concerned with the issue on all levels, says Mr. La Civita: “Not just preventing it, and not just working with those who have been trafficked … but also, too, advocating with governments, with local authorities … so that together, the church and the state and other municipalities and organizations can address this issue, so that we can really begin to see an end to this.”
Also in this installment of “Connections,” Msgr. Vaccari spoke about his recent solidarity visit to Ukraine, from 2 to 8 June, and the plenary session of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, held last week in Rome.
Lastly, Msgr. Vaccari and Mr. La Civita discussed the agency’s award-winning ONE magazine, which won 49 media awards at the Catholic media conference in Baltimore on 9 June.
Tune into the next installment of “Connections With Msgr. Peter” on 19 July.