Msgr. Moynihan Made Bishop
Pope John Paul II has named Msgr. James M. Moynihan, Associate Secretary General of CNEWA, Bishop of Syracuse, N.Y.
Bishop-elect Moynihan joined the staff of CNEWA as Associate Secretary General in March 1991 after 15 years as pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Penfield in the Diocese of Rochester, N.Y.
While at CNEWA, the Bishop-elect served as Chief Operating Officer.
The Diocese of Syracuse, established in 1886, covers 5,749 square miles in upstate New York and includes seven counties. There are 172 parishes and 122 priests. Catholics comprise approximately one-third of the total population. Bishop-elect Moynihan will be ordained there 29 May.
A pastoral priest in every sense of the word, Bishop-elect Moynihan will be missed at CNEWA. We wish him well as he takes up his new office.
Catholicos of All Armenians elected
A good friend of CNEWA, His Holiness Karekin II, the former Catholicos of Cilicia, was elected Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians on 4 April in Etchmiadzin, Armenia.
Reknown for the pastoral care of his flock, his ecumenical outlook and his spirituality and learning, the Catholicos has rendered outstanding service to the church as the Beirut-based Catholicos of Cilicia.
Catholicos Karekin’s election unites the Armenian Apostolic Church, which had suffered tensions between Cilicia and Etchmiadzin.
May God grant him many long and fruitful years in his new office.
CNEWA on Vatican Radio
In a program about Africa broadcast earlier this year, the English language service of Vatican Radio featured “Two Weeks in Sebata” – Sister Isabel Arbide’s account of her stay at an Orthodox monastery for women in Ethiopia that appeared in the September – October issue of Catholic Near East.
Also on Vatican Radio, a three-part interview with Msgr. Stern was broadcast in mid-March as part of a series on interreligious dialogue in the Middle East.
Armenia Update
A letter from Sister J. Arousiag Sajonian of the Armenian Sisters of the Immaculate Conception in Gumri, Armenia, reports that despite the shortage of priests and other difficulties, the church is now well established in the traditionally Catholic areas of historic Armenia.
“Last May,” she reported, “we prepared some 150 of our upper-grade students [for] the Sacraments of initiation and penance, and during July and August we…organized summer camps for some 105 orphans [and] needy children and 48 young girls ages 15-18. The result was so positive that we hope to repeat these camps on a larger scale…
“The most encouraging event of the year was the opening of our juniorate in Gumri. We have already sent two postulants to Rome. We presently have two girls with us and five more are planning to join at the end of the school year.
“God bless you always,” Sister Arousiag concluded, “for the wonderful work you do among the poorest of the poor.”
Christian-Muslim Dialogue
Sixteen years of Christian-Muslim dialogue have been documented in a new book from the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Recognize the Spiritual Bonds Which Unite Us: 16 Years of Christian Muslim Dialogue focuses on modern-day dialogue between Christians and Muslims during the pontificates of Paul VI and John Paul II.
The book, which was financed in part by CNEWA, is intended for members of Christian-Muslim dialogues worldwide.
Requiescant in Pace
We were greatly saddened to learn of the sudden death of Archbishop Abraham Kattumana, Papal Delegate to the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, on 5 April in Rome.This 51-year-old archbishop wholeheartedly committed the last two years of his life to assisting in the development and organization of the newly established archiepiscopal see of Ernakulam-Angamaly.
The church has suffered a tragic loss – the Archbishop will be deeply missed.
One of our major benefactors, Msgr. Hugh J. Nolan, Pastor Emeritus of St. Isaac Jogues Parish in Wayne, Pa., died 1 February at the age of 83. Greatly interested in vocations to the priesthood, Msgr. Nolan sponsored more than 100 seminarians during the last two decades of his life.
May he rest in peace.
Director of Rome Office Promoted
Pope John Paul II has elevated the Director of our Vatican office, Msgr. John F. McCarthy, to the rank of Protonotary Apostolic “supra numerum.” The honor recognizes Msgr. McCarthy’s 30-plus years of service to the church and the Holy See.
The Monsignor, a priest of the Diocese of Helena, Mont., is certainly not a stranger to the Pope. Last autumn, Msgr. McCarthy disclosed that the Pope has a personal interest in the work of CNEWA, having come into our Vatican office unannounced to discuss our work at length.