CNEWA Welcomes New Chair
CNEWA welcomes Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks as the new chair and treasurer, ex officio, of its international board of trustees, a role he assumed when he became archbishop of New York. The archbishop took possession of his see during his installation Mass, 6 February, succeeding Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who served as the archbishop for 17 years.
Msgr. Peter I. Vaccari, CNEWA president, thanked Cardinal Dolan and prayed the Blessed Mother would “bless both men as they continue to witness the Gospel as shepherds of his sheep.”
Archbishop Hicks was born on 4 August 1967, in the Chicago suburb of Harvey and grew up in South Holland, Illinois. After priestly ordination, he served five years in El Salvador as regional director of Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, a network of homes caring for more than 3,400 orphaned and abandoned children in nine Latin American and Caribbean countries.
On 1 January 2015, he was named vicar general of the Archdiocese of Chicago and, three years later, Pope Francis appointed him auxiliary bishop of Chicago, where he served until he assumed the role of shepherd in the Diocese of Joliet in mid-2020.
Ad multos annos!
Prayers for the Middle East
Msgr. Vaccari issued a statement after receiving news of the Israeli-U.S. strikes on Iran on 28 February and Iran’s subsequent strikes throughout the Arab world, praying for “a return to dialogue, diplomacy, justice and peace.”
Msgr. Vaccari spoke to each regional director at CNEWA offices in the Middle East, namely in Beirut, Jerusalem and Amman, to inquire about the situation on the ground and to share his solidarity, prayer and concern for them, their families and the people they serve.
“Highest immediate priority is the safety of our staff and their families,” he said.
Msgr. Vaccari said the “great and heroic work” carried out on the ground by CNEWA’s regional teams, who are “there for everyone,” are “extraordinary testaments, living witness” to the agency’s mission.
“Our teams throughout the region work long hours on behalf of the churches and peoples whom we are committed to serve,” he said. “Their lives and schedules are the living translation of the Gospel question, ‘Who is my neighbor?’ ”
CNEWA Support to Palestine
As CNEWA’s support for the humanitarian and pastoral work of the churches in Palestine and Israel continues, a report issued by the regional director of CNEWA’s Jerusalem office, Joseph Hazboun, indicates that CNEWA distributed $3 million across 93 projects in Palestine and Israel in 2025, a $500,000 increase over 2024.
In 2025, 7 percent of the funds were channeled to projects in Israel, while 93 percent supported work in Gaza and the West Bank. The latter was distributed as food assistance, including fresh vegetables, drinking water, nonfood essentials, psychosocial support and health care in Gaza, and employment, medical and emergency tuition assistance in the West Bank.
Most of these funds were raised from CNEWA’s North American benefactors and donors in Europe and the United Kingdom, all committed to supporting the work of the church in the Holy Land.
Food Insecurity in Ethiopia
Up to 15 percent of Ethiopians are expected to face acute food insecurity at crisis or emergency levels between April and July of this year, according to reports issued by U.N. agencies. Argaw Fantu, who directs CNEWA operations in Ethiopia, reports malnutrition rates are “alarmingly high,” and emergency conditions are emerging in certain areas, including regions still suffering from the 2020-2023 drought.
Ongoing conflict, insecurity, economic decline and shortfalls in international aid are also drivers of the pending crisis, he adds. Nevertheless, CNEWA helps support the church’s response, addressing food insecurity, malnutrition and the educational needs of affected children, reaching nearly 23,000 people last year — a fraction, he admits.
To help the church reach more families in desperate need throughout Ethiopia, visit https://cnewa.org/what-we-do/help-us-rush-help/.
The Rise of Global Fascism
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, archbishop emeritus of Vienna and acting ordinary for Byzantine Catholics in Austria, spoke of the global rise of fascism during a 90-minute meeting with representatives of nine different aid agencies, including CNEWA, on 29 January in Vienna.
The cardinal, who hails from a prominent Central European family long engaged in the region’s cultural, political and socioeconomic affairs, noted how intolerance targeted the church and its leaders, pointing to a painting in his residence vandalized on 6 October 1938 by Nazi youth who intended to murder then-Cardinal Theodor Innitzer of Vienna. The cardinal escaped. However, one month later Nazi leaders coordinated a night of terror throughout Austria, Germany and Sudetenland — what has become known as Kristallnacht — that torched 1,400 synagogues and vandalized countless Jewish businesses and homes.
Msgr. Vaccari, Tresool Singh-Conway, chief financial officer, and Brian McGinley, director of development, were among those present for the reception during a conference on Catholic aid to the churches of Central and Eastern Europe.
CNEWA Marks 100 Years!
CNEWA launched its centennial year on 1 December 2025, with its annual Healing & Hope Gala, raising more than $250,000 in support of CNEWA’s mission.
Michèle Burke Bowe, ambassador of the Sovereign Order of Malta to Palestine and president of Holy Family Hospital of Bethlehem Foundation, which supports maternity care initiatives in the West Bank, received CNEWA’s 2025 Faith & Culture Award. Metropolitan Borys Gudziak, archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, was the guest of honor.
This December, CNEWA’s chair, Archbishop Hicks, will celebrate a centennial Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City on Sunday, 13 December, a reception will follow. Two days later, CNEWA will hold its annual Healing & Hope Gala at the Plaza Hotel. Frà John Dunlap, prince and 81st grand master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, will be the guest of honor. Sister Raffaella Petrini, F.S.E., president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and president of the Governorate of Vatican City State, will receive CNEWA’s Faith & Culture Award.
Stay tuned for more details or visit: https://cnewa.org/events/.
Grant Monies Received
CNEWA received a $50,000 grant toward the Italian Hospital in Jordan from the Raskob Foundation for Catholic Activities. We are grateful to our donors, whose generosity brings the mission of CNEWA to life. To learn more about CNEWA’s grant program, contact Bradley Kerr at bkerr@cnewa.org.