‘Light of Wisdom’
Pope Leo XIV addressed a meeting of representatives of funding agencies supporting the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches (known by its Italian acronym, ROACO) on 26 June, noting that “today, violent conflict seems to be raging in the Christian East with a diabolical intensity previously unknown.”
He thanked the agencies, including the only organization founded to support the Eastern churches, CNEWA, for providing “a breath of oxygen to the Eastern churches” and “sowing seeds of hope in the lands of the Christian East.” He called for the “light of wisdom” of the Eastern churches “to be better known in the Catholic Church.”
CNEWA Out and About
Msgr. Peter I. Vaccari, CNEWA president, addressed ROACO members during their general assembly in Rome 23-26 June. He noted CNEWA’s efforts in the Middle East, Northeast Africa, India and Eastern Europe help to ensure the survival of Eastern Christianity, reminding participants that Pope Francis and Pope Leo have linked the great religious traditions of the East to a call for action. As CNEWA prepares to celebrate its centennial anniversary, that link between the great “traditions of spirituality” and the challenge to be instruments of hope and peace “is omnipresent in the regions where we work.”
Msgr. Vaccari visited several U.S. cities this past summer as well, addressing more than 250 people gathered for the Third North American Metropolitan Byzantine Catholic Assembly in Whiting, Indiana, on 19 July. He also visited parishes and donors in Portland, Maine, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Orlando.
Bethlehem Emergency
In the first six months of 2025, more than 240 individuals in the West Bank’s Bethlehem area benefited from a CNEWA-Pontifical Mission program coordinating some $278,000 from North American and European funders, including Kinderhilfe Bethlehem; Embrace the Middle East; the Catholic Diocese of Stockholm; Vastenactie; and the Swiss Holy Land Foundation.
The project was in response to the “severe economic and humanitarian crisis” in the Palestinian West Bank since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. CNEWA-Pontifical Mission partnered with the municipalities of Beit Sahour and Beit Jala to offer 60 people temporary jobs upgrading the digital presence of the two towns, such as websites, social media and online archives; improving public hygiene with a campaign to clean up solid waste and remove rubbish; and restoring jobs in cultural heritage. The grant also offered medical assistance to people identified by the Arab Orthodox Benevolent Society and tuition assistance to 110 Christian students for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Grants to Assist Children
Over the summer, CNEWA received two grants earmarked for projects in the Middle East and Africa. The Pulte Family Charitable Foundation awarded $70,000 toward CNEWA’s work with Fratelli Association’s psychosocial support for children and mothers at Our Lady of Fatima School in Lebanon. The program began in 2016 to assist Syrian refugees and develop activities for young people and adults. The Loyola Foundation awarded CNEWA $20,000 to install solar panels on Divine Providence Orphanage in Hebo, Eritrea. The orphanage, run by the Vincentian Fathers and the Daughters of Charity, is home to 38 children who lost their mothers at birth.
CNEWA at the Napa Institute
CNEWA’s Communications and Marketing Director Michael J. La Civita participated in a panel discussion on “The Hope American Catholics Are Bringing to the Church International” at the 15th annual summer conference of the Napa Institute in Napa, California, 23-27 July. The Pontifical Mission Societies, U.S.A., and the Papal Foundation were also on the panel. Panelists spoke about their respective activities to advance the Gospel where endemic poverty, strife, persecution and environmental deprivation threaten the common good. Mr. La Civita stressed CNEWA’s commitment to program management and accountability, financial reporting, transparency and safeguarding.
CNEWA Galas
CNEWA is kicking off its centennial year with two galas this autumn. The first will be held in Ottawa on 7 November at St. Elias Banquet Center. The guests of honor are both from Lebanon: Good Shepherd Sister Marie Claude Naddaf and Michel Constantin, CNEWA’s regional director for Lebanon, Egypt and Syria. The event also will celebrate 20 years of CNEWA operating in Canada.
The Fourth Annual “Healing and Hope” Gala Dinner in New York on 1 December will be at a private club on Fifth Avenue. Ukrainian Greek Catholic Archbishop Borys Gudziak of Philadelphia will be the guest of honor. Michèle B. Bowe, ambassador to Palestine for the Sovereign Order of Malta, will receive CNEWA’s Faith & Culture Award.
For tickets and sponsorship opportunities for the gala in New York, go to cnewa.org/events or email gala@cnewa.org. For information on the gala in Canada, go to cnewa.org/ca or email canada@cnewa.org.
CNEWA Wins 53 Awards
Judges for the Catholic Media Association conferred on CNEWA 53 media awards at its annual conference in Phoenix. CNEWA won more than eight “bests,” including firsts for CNEWA’s website and blog, and for ONEmagazine’s reporting and photographs. ONE magazine editor Laura Ieraci and contributing editor Barb Fraze were co-presenters at the conference, held 24-28 June. Find the list of winning entries on the CNEWA blog.
CNEWA Rushes Aid to Gaza
As of press time, CNEWA had rushed more than $1.6 million in aid to Gaza since 2023, providing emergency food, medicines, medical care, psychological counseling and treatment, reaching more than 36,400 people. Responding to this famine, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Military Archdiocese, in a letter to his brother bishops dated 12 August, called for a “special collection to provide humanitarian relief and pastoral support for our affected brothers and sisters in Gaza and surrounding areas in the Middle East and send donated funds to CNEWA and C.R.S.”
“It is with great pastoral concern for the ongoing crisis in Gaza that I write to you today. Our church mourns the terrible suffering of Christians and other innocent victims of violence in Gaza and surrounding areas who are struggling to survive, protect their children, and live with dignity in dire conditions,” he wrote.
“The situation in Gaza and across the Middle East cries out for assistance of the Catholic community of the United States” and he added that parishes “take up this collection and send funds … as soon as possible.”
To read more from Gaza, please see “It Is Famine,” on page 6, and to rush your gift, please visit Support Emergency Relief in the Holy Land.
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