Aid Convoys Reaching Iraqis
CNEWA aid to Iraqis continues despite unstable conditions in the aftermath of the recent war. Weekly convoys of vans leave from Amman, Jordan, with medical supplies and food bound for emergency relief centers in Baghdad and Mosul.
Based on information from colleagues at Al Hayat and St. Raphael hospitals in Baghdad, CNEWA health care professionals in Amman are sending generators and canned food – a priority because of the shortage of cooking gas and electrical power.
At a June meeting of Catholic funding agencies at the Vatican, CNEWA secured additional financial aid from German, Dutch and English organizations for its future programs in Iraq.
Pope John Paul II thanked these agencies for assisting the people of Iraq and the Holy Land. The Pope said the church “should intensify this activity and widen the operating spaces.”
Msgr. Robert L. Stern, Secretary General, attended the meeting sponsored by the Congregation for the Eastern Churches.
“Although the quantity of our aid is modest,” said Msgr. Stern, “by working with a grassroots network of Iraqi bishops, priests and religious sisters, we ensure that aid gets directly to the people most in need.”
New Outlook in Africa
CNEWA is expanding its programs in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Because internal communication is difficult between the two countries, whose relations are cold following a recent border war, CNEWA is establishing separate operations in each country.
Shumdehan Hailemichael, CNEWA’s office administrator in Asmara,Eritrea, has been named Regional Director there. Thomas J. Zimmerman II will replace Brother Vincent Pelletier, F.S.C., as Regional Director for Ethiopia.
Brother Vincent, who has spent some 30 years in Ethiopia, will lead CNEWA’s formation program for priests and religious, working with the Ethiopian Catholic Metropolitan Archbishop of Addis Ababa, Abune Berhaneyesus, and his brother bishops.
Ongoing Dialogue
The Orthodox and Catholic positions on the role of the Holy Spirit and authority in the church were discussed at a meeting of the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation in May at St. Vladimir’s Seminary in Crestwood, New York.
The historic role of the deacon and deaconess in the Catholic and Oriental Orthodox churches was the subject of a June meeting of the United States Oriental Orthodox-Roman Catholic Consultation at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary in New Rochelle, New York.
CNEWA’s Undersecretary General, Chorbishop John D. Faris, participatedas a member of both consultations.
Summer Fun and Games
Some 180 youngsters – many of them Iraqi and Palestinian refugees – attended summer camps in Amman, Jordan, thanks to CNEWA.
Aside from arts and crafts, sports and dance, the children had Bible lessons and received counseling to help them cope with the hardship in their lives.
The two sessions, five days each, were for children ages 7 through 12 and 13 through 17.
Working with volunteers, Franciscan Sister Wardeh Kayrouz, a CNEWA social worker, coordinated the activities.
At the camp, the children were divided into “families,” giving them a sense of companionship with other members in their group, something Sister Wardeh believes they may lack.
A Class Act
The class of 2003 of St. Michael the Archangel School in Baltimore is sponsoring two children enrolled in CNEWA’s needy child program for a period of seven years.
At a ceremony marking the end of the academic year, Patricia R. Kelly, principal, gave Rozanne Landers, CNEWA’s Planned Gifts Officer, a check for $3,357. Previously, the class had sent a check for $355.
Religion teacher Heidi Franklin spearheaded the drive to raise the funds through raffles, bake sales and tag days, on which the children paid $2 to wearcasual dress rather than uniforms.
“It was a learning experience for the students as well as their teachers,” said Mrs. Kelly.
New Faces at CNEWA WORLD
Eileen Reinhard has been appointed Editor of CNEWA WORLD, the agency’s award-winning bimonthly magazine. Ms. Reinhard joined the publication as Assistant Editor in August 2002.
She spent 15 years in London working in print, wire and broadcast journalism. Before returning to the United States, Ms. Reinhard was a senior producer at ITN (Independent Television News).
She earned a bachelor’s degree from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, and attended Fordham University Graduate School in New York.
Daria Erdosy, a native of Allentown, Pennsylvania, has been named Assistant Editor, Graphics.
She is a graduate of Temple University’s Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia and worked as a layout and promotional designer in the advertising department of The Morning Call in Allentown before joining CNEWA WORLD.