More than 400 people gathered under the vaults of a Manhattan event space, tucked under the Queensboro Bridge, on 18 May, to support the Path to Peace Foundation, established in 1991 to fund the activities and operations of the Mission of the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations.
Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio to the United States, who served previously as the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations, conferred the foundation’s Path to Peace Award to Patrick E. Kelly, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus. The award recognizes Mr. Kelly as a “champion of charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism,” which are the among “the core principles,” of the Catholic fraternal organization.
“Our support [of the foundation] … goes back more than 30 years, to the early 1990s,” he said in accepting the award on behalf of the Knights’ 2.2 million members worldwide.
“We have always been proud to help amplify the Church’s prophetic voice on the world stage and bring the message of Catholic social teaching to inform the many challenges facing the international community. That needed voice has been clear and consistent from the beginning of the mission’s work in 1964.
“In this time of war, the world clearly needs the Church’s peacemaking and peacebuilding work. And our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, has brought his own prophetic witness to bear, in powerful and inspiring ways. … The Holy Father knows that wars are a sad fact of human existence. But he is nonetheless right to call them scandalous, because wars necessarily involve the deliberate taking of life that is made in God’s image. War diminishes our respect for human dignity and every human life. So, it is only right that our Holy Father has courageously called for the restoration of peace, based on real dialogue and diplomatic outreach.
“Pope Leo, like his predecessors, is fulfilling his sacred duty as a prophet of peace. He is faithfully conveying the Gospel’s vision of brotherhood and reconciliation among the entire human family. Unsurprisingly, some have accused him of crossing a line and stepping into politics, as though political judgments have nothing to do with moral truth. But, in reality, politics always involves moral judgments. You need a sense of right and wrong to make the proper decisions about war, the same as you need a moral compass in matters like law, economics and medicine.
“It was Jesus himself who told us, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers,’ and Pope Leo is duty-bound to keep moral principles front and center at a time like this. No doubt, he will continue to be attacked for his witness and message of reconciliation. But the Holy Father is always right to point us, and all of humanity, toward peace.
“And while there will never be such thing as perfect peace in this fallen world, we are all called to do our utmost to pursue it. That’s why we are all so grateful for the work of the Holy See’s mission to the United Nations. You are testifying to the truth, entrusted to us by Jesus Christ. And your work helps pave the way to the peace we all seek.”
In his remarks, which were frequently interrupted by applause, the supreme knight spoke about how “the way of charity is the path to peace.”
“One of the most important parts of peacemaking and peacebuilding is the charity that promotes brotherhood and reconciliation. And that spirit of service is what I’d like to address this evening. I do not speak as a theologian, but rather as one who has seen firsthand the power of charity and the fruits it bears.
“Last year,” he added, “the Knights of Columbus across the globe gave nearly $200 million in charitable donations and 48 million volunteer hours. And we are far from alone in this work. I want to acknowledge and thank those members of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre for their extraordinary charitable work around the world. And another tremendous partner is Catholic Near East Welfare Association — CNEWA — represented here tonight by its president, our dear friend, Msgr. Peter Vaccari.
“When I received Archbishop Caccia’s invitation to be here, I was actually preparing to depart for the Holy Land with Msgr. Vaccari. We were joined by Archbishop William Lori, the supreme chaplain of the Knights of Columbus. And we went to deliver a message of hope and solidarity, while exploring how the Knights could work with CNEWA to bring more charitable support to the people of Gaza.
“The entire trip was deeply moving. At one point, we traveled to the West Bank,” he continued, visiting the Holy Family’s Children’s Home in Bethlehem “for abandoned children, run by the Daughters of Charity. Their mother superior, Sister Denise, gave us a tour, and introduced us to the 50-plus children under their care.
“In the nursery, one of the sisters asked if I would hold a newborn. She was a beautiful baby, only a few weeks old, and she’d been left on the doorstep just a few days after her birth. As I held her in my arms, I found myself wondering about her future. Will she rise above the conflict that defines the land of her birth? Will she find a life of meaning and purpose? Will she have the opportunity to experience the deep love and acceptance that God wants for her?
“I don’t know the answers to these questions. I wish I did. But I do know that her future is brighter because of the Daughters of Charity. It’s brighter because of the work of CNEWA, the Order of Malta, the Order of the Holy Sepulchre and all those who are there on the ground in the Holy Land. They are all pouring their hearts into caring for that baby girl and those like her.
“They are showing her the love of Jesus Christ. In doing so, they remind us all that the way of charity is the path to peace.
“Again, the way of charity is the path to peace.”
In closing, Mr. Kelly urged those present to “redouble our witness to charity. Let us teach this war-torn world what it means to love as Jesus did and called his followers to do. And let us illuminate the path to peace — the path that we are called to walk together, as children of God.”
CNEWA-Pontifical Mission for Palestine has had a long association with both the Path to Peace Foundation and the Mission of the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. Members of CNEWA’s leadership have served as councilors to the diplomatic staff serving at the mission. One in particular, De La Salle Brother Austin David Carroll, special assistant to the president, worked closely with Archbishop Renato Raffaele Martino in erecting the foundation, which has conferred its Path to Peace Award to heads of state and government, such as King Baudouin I of the Belgians; Lech Walesa, the former president of Poland; King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein & Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan; and the grand master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Frá John Dunlap.