Pro Ecclesia Award to Peg Maron
Peg Maron, former Production Editor of CNEWA WORLD, received the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross from Edward Cardinal Egan, Archbishop of New York and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Catholic Near East Welfare Association. The presentation took place on 18 November in the agency’s Manhattan office at 1011 First Avenue.
At the brief ceremony, Msgr. Robert L. Stern, Secretary General of CNEWA, summed up “the wonderful work Peggy” has done at CNEWA. A highlight, he said, was the oral history she compiled by interviewing retired staff members active in the early days of CNEWA. Her work at the papal agency, Msgr. Stern said, “was the crowning part of a lifetime of service to the church.”
In presenting the award to Mrs. Maron, Cardinal Egan read from the citation accompanying the medal that praised her “…outstanding work and conspicuous dedication to the needs of the church.”
The award, “For the Church and the Pontiff,” was established in 1888 in honor of the golden jubilee of Pope Leo XIII.
The medal bears the images of Sts. Peter and Paul, and Cardinal Egan commented on the coincidence of the award ceremony taking place on the feast of the Dedication of the Basilicas of Sts. Peter and Paul in Rome. “Didn’t we plan it that way, Monsignor?” he said to Msgr. Stern.
Mrs. Maron joined the Communications staff in 1990, was named Copy Editor in 1992 and Production Editor in 1993. She retired in January 2002. She has contributed many articles to the magazine, including a four-part series commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Association in 2001.
Before joining CNEWA, Mrs. Maron was on the staff of the Kennedy Child Study Center in Manhattan, taught at St. Francis of Assisi School in Brooklyn and worked in medical journalism. She worked as a freelance Copy Editor in the religion department of Holt, Rhinehart and Winston and also at Cross Currents, a religious journal.
She was active in American Pax, a Catholic peace movement cofounded by Eileen Egan in the early 1960s and served as secretary-treasurer until 1969. Mrs. Maron also served as a research assistant to Miss Egan on a book about refugees. Mrs. Maron is a member of the Downtown Brooklyn Chapter of Pax Christi.
On learning of her award, Mrs. Maron stated: “I am extremely grateful to be so honored for my small part in the work of the church. But I was never alone; I was always part of a community whose members worked side by side to improve the lives of those who had been entrusted to them. I would hope this award recognizes their contribution no less than mine.”
Mrs. Maron resides in Brooklyn and is a parishioner of St. Boniface. She tutors Chinese students in the English as a second language program at the parish and is a member of the parish Social Justice Committee.
Mrs. Maron was born in Manhattan and is a graduate of Barnard College there. Her husband, James, died in 1990 after 30 years of marriage. They have a son, Joseph, who lives in Rochester, New York.
Founded by Pope Pius XI in 1926, CNEWA is a special agency of the Vatican providing support to the churches and peoples of the Middle East, Northeast Africa, India and Eastern Europe. Projects include needy child, seminarian and novice sponsorship programs; village redevelopment; health care and education; and interfaith dialogue.
Church Alive
The Russian Orthodox Patriarchal Exarch of Belarus, Metropolitan Philaret of Minsk and Slutsk, visited CNEWA’s New York office in October. He thanked the agency for its support of the theology department of Sts. Methodius and Christian Educational Center at the European Humanities University in Minsk, Belarus.
“The church is alive in Belarus,” the Metropolitan said, but “the younger generation does not understand what we went through to ensure the survival of the church under the Communists.”
After the Breakup
Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, Apostolic Nuncio to Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan and former Undersecretary of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, visited CNEWA in October.
He described Armenia and Georgia as undergoing severe economic and social deprivation since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Many educated persons and skilled workers have found jobs in Russia and send money home to enable their families to survive, he said. “Jobs are scarce and the pay is low,” he added.
The good news is that religious vocations are up, he noted, among both the Orthodox and the small Catholic churches. The young men study abroad and return home to minister to their people.
Jordan, Nonstop
A one-week study tour to Jordan in October co-sponsored by CNEWA and the Jordan Tourism Board was a great success, according to Michael J. La Civita, Communications Director. The trip was an opportunity for members of the Catholic Press Association of the U.S. and Canada to encounter the local church and its work, including those supported by CNEWA.
The group also met with members of the Hashemite royal family including Prince Hassan, Prince Ra’d and his wife, Princess Majda.
“Jordan may not be perfect, but it is a beacon of hope in an unsettled region,” La Civita said.
Chorbishop Faris Named to Ecumenical Post
Chorbishop John D. Faris, Assistant Secretary General of Catholic Near East Welfare Association, was appointed to the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation, an organization founded in 1965 dedicated to ecumenical dialogue. It is cosponsored by the Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of America.
Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk of Cincinnati is the Catholic chairman; Metropolitan Maximos of Ainou, Presiding Bishop of Pittsburgh, leads the Orthodox delegation. The group meets twice a year and issues reports on national and international dialogues between Catholics and Orthodox. Recent topics dealt with “Baptism and Sacramental Economy,” in 1999 and “Sharing the Ministry of Reconciliation,” 2000.
Chorbishop Faris was ordained for the Maronite Diocese of St. Maron in 1976. He attended St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., and received a bachelor’s degree from Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit in 1972. He earned another B.A, in sacred theology, from the Gregorian University in Rome in 1975 and a doctor’s degree in canon law from the Pontifical Oriental Institute in 1980, also in Rome.
In 1996, Chorbishop Faris was appointed Assistant Secretary General of CNEWA, a papal agency for humanitarian and pastoral support serving the churches and peoples of the Middle East, Northeast Africa, India and Eastern Europe. He was a member of the committee that translated the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, published last year.
Paulist Father Ronald Roberson of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs said Chorbishop Faris’s background in canon law made him an excellent candidate for the post.
Among other positions, Chorbishop Faris served as President and member of the Board of Governors of the Canon Law Society of America, 1994-1995. He was with the National Conference of Catholic Bishops Liaison Committee for Latin and Eastern Church Affairs, 1992 through 1996.
He was named Chaplain to His Holiness in 1988 and Chorbishop in 1991. He is a Knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre and a Knight, iure sanguinis, of the Constantinian Order of St. George, and a noted author and lecturer.
Attention, Knights and Ladies
Continuing CNEWA’s long-term commitment to the formation of members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, Brother David Carroll, F.S.C., Assistant to the Secretary General, spoke before annual meetings of six lieutenancies in September and October. He addressed the issue of peace and justice in the Holy Land and the need for a Christian presence in the birthplace of Christianity. In his presentations, Brother David described the historic role of the Knights in the Holy Land since the founding of the order in 1099 and gave an overview of the present situation there. The Knights have an obligation to preserve the Holy Land as a sacred trust and he urged members to promote peace in the region.
Ad Multos Annos
Father George Chiramel and Annunciata Gallant go back a long way. The two had their most recent reunion last summer in Joliette, Quebec. In the early 1960’s, through CNEWA, Mrs. Gallant began sponsoring the young man from Kerala, India, in his studies for the priesthood. She recalled that India and Canada were once a part of the British Commonwealth and that George, therefore, was not a stranger.
Ordained a priest in 1967, he is pastor of Holy Cross Parish in the Syro-Malabar Archeparchy of Trichur.
Mrs. Gallant, age 103, now resides in the Chateau Jouvence nursing home. She has a strong faith shared by her sister, Jacqueline Thibaudet, who lives nearby. Ms. Thibaudet is a eucharistic minister and brings Mrs. Gallant Communion daily. The two sisters then recite the rosary.
After the reunion, Mrs. Gallant’s parting words to Father Chiramel were: “Come again next year.”
Booklet Outlines Churches in Communion With Rome
Read about the history of the church since its founding to present times in “The One Church and the Communion of Churches.” The booklet gives an outline of the spread of the early church from Jerusalem to Antioch, Alexandria, Rome, Constantinople and other religious centers. Each church developed its own method of celebrating the faith.
Heresies the young church had to overcome and the councils that defined doctrine also are mentioned.
Material covers the development of national Catholic churches in Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa. Liturgical traditions and rites that developed in different countries are summarized.
The pamphlet has a brief summary of the Great Schism of 1054, which culminated in the separation of the Church of Rome from the Church of Constantinople.
The booklet has many four-color illustrations, a timeline and a map. Charts containing a listing of non-Catholic Eastern churches and the populations of Catholic churches elucidate the text; a glossary defines important terms.
The 32-page booklet is published by the Missionaries of Faith Foundation, 1546 East La Palma Ave., Anaheim, Calif. 92805. It costs $6.65, which includes shipping and handling. Discounts are available for multiple orders.
For more information: (949) 224-3131
Email: jbakhos@earthlink.net
Credit card orders: www.catholicexchange.com/booklet