The Best Return

One of his investments has definitely paid off for Father Daniel Stack, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Centersville, Ga. In 1995, Father Stack began supporting a seminarian of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church in Kerala, India, through CNEWA’s Seminarian Sponsorship Program. The U.S. priest first visited Varghese Kodithara seven years ago; last December he attended the young priest’s first Mass. The transformation was impressive. “He changed from being a country boy into a serious young man, and a fine priest,” Father Stack told CNEWA WORLD. “I can’t imagine any investment that would have given me a better return.”

Back to the Farm

What CNEWA began as an emergency housing initiative in Beirut 10 years ago has grown into a comprehensive village resettlement and redevelopment effort, revitalizing community self-sufficiency.

Recently the village development program in Lebanon received a major assist when CNEWA was awarded a $2.1 million grant from Mercy Corps, an international relief agency based in the United States. Funds will be used to build olive oil processing plants, sewage treatment plants and roads through farming areas, as well as to develop other agricultural projects in eight villages. The program also has received funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and from Misereor, the aid agency of the German Catholic bishops.

Troubling Exodus

The regional directors of the Pontifical Mission’s offices in Jerusalem, Beirut and Amman were the key presenters at a Vatican meeting in January on the topic of Christian emigration and immigration in the Middle East. The reports and ensuing discussion were the main agenda at the semiannual meeting of Catholic funding agencies, convoked by the Congregation for the Eastern Churches.

The regional directors–Mill Hill Missionary Father Guido Gockel (Palestine and Israel), Issam Bishara (Lebanon and Syria) and Ra’ed Bahou (Jordan and Iraq)–presented in-depth reports on the serious problem of loss of Christian presence in the Middle East and the escalation of Christian emigration in recent years. The troubling exodus of Christians from the birthplace of the faith is prompted by economic, political and social uncertainty, the reports noted, also detailing statistics for the individual nations. Father Gockel also reported on a reverse phenomenon: While many Middle Eastern Christians are leaving the region for a better life in Europe, Australia and the Americas, there is also some new Christian immigration into Israel from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia.

From Ireland, With Love

Msgr. John A. Meaney, former Regional Director of the Pontifical Mission, CNEWA’s operating agency in the Middle East, died on 14 February in the Cayman Islands. He was 86. A native of County Clare, Ireland, Msgr. Meaney directed the agency’s Beirut operations from 1978 through 1984 and also oversaw its operations in Amman and Jerusalem. He arrived in Lebanon at a particularly dangerous time: Israel had invaded the south and Syria had attacked east Beirut, displacing some 60,000 families. Msgr. Meaney organized relief efforts that distributed food, clothing and medical supplies. He was also instrumental in rebuilding schools, hospitals and clinics.

Bethlehem University dedicated its newest building, Millennium Hall, on 23 December 2001. The five-story structure contains 15 classrooms, 18 faculty offices, a lecture hall and computer laboratory with 64 stations. Multipurpose rooms and a staff lounge complete the state-of-the-art building. From 112 students when it opened in 1973, Bethlehem University today has an enrollment of more than 2,000 from throughout the West Bank and Gaza. Msgr. Robert L. Stern, Secretary General of CNEWA, participated in the December celebration in his capacity as chairman of the International Board of Regents of the university.

Millennium Hall Opens

In a report presented at the Vatican in January, the papal nuncio to Ethiopia and Eritrea and the regional director of CNEWA’s office for these African nations described the staggering needs of the Christian community and the countries in general–the third and fourth poorest in the world.

Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, a member of the Scalabrinian congregation, and De La Salle Christian Brother Vincent Pelletier reported on the litany of problems faced by these traditionally Christian nations: Border wars have destroyed the economy and the nations’ infrastructure; homes, farms, churches and entire villages need to be rebuilt. The devastating poverty itself is a risk to Christianity in the region, the Catholic leaders warned, while some Muslim groups with strong financial resources are aggressively expanding Islamic institutions there.

Ethiopia in Peril

In a report presented at the Vatican in January, the papal nuncio to Ethiopia and Eritrea and the regional director of CNEWA’s office for these African nations described the staggering needs of the Christian community and the countries in general–the third and fourth poorest in the world.

Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, a member of the Scalabrinian congregation, and De La Salle Christian Brother Vincent Pelletier reported on the litany of problems faced by these traditionally Christian nations: Border wars have destroyed the economy and the nations’ infrastructure; homes, farms, churches and entire villages need to be rebuilt. The devastating poverty itself is a risk to Christianity in the region, the Catholic leaders warned, while some Muslim groups with strong financial resources are aggressively expanding Islamic institutions there.