NEW YORK – Catholic Near East Welfare Association’s operating agency in the Middle East, the Pontifical Mission, has launched a new web site, www.pontificalmission.org (old/broken link: https://cnewa.org/home-pm.aspx).
In addition to providing a detailed history of the Pontifical Mission – established by Pope Pius XII in 1949 to coordinate worldwide Catholic aid to refugees in the Middle East – the web site delineates the Pontifical Mission’s objectives, lists current projects and assists visitors who want to help.
Founded to provide humanitarian assistance to Palestinian Arabs displaced by the Arab-Israeli war in 1948, the Pontifical Mission today functions as the Holy See’s relief and development agency for the Middle East. Programs include emergency relief, including help to displaced Lebanese, Iraqi and Palestinian families, long-term community redevelopment projects, works programs and pre- and post-natal medical care.