Sharing goods not communism but 'pure Christianity,' Pope says
- Apr 11, 2021
When Michael La Civita of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association considers how the agency prioritizes where to send aid, he says the best way to describe it is like a “triage,” given the crises so many countries face.
As Lebanon’s Catholic leaders appealed for help for their country, international and U.S. organizations appealed for donations for Beirut, capital of a country already suffering from a severe economic downturn.
Hospitals in the Lebanese capital are overwhelmed with those suffering injuries from a massive explosion in Beirut’s port, causing widespread damage the city and rocking the tiny Mediterranean nation already devastated by the coronavirus and its worst financial crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.
Msgr. John E. Kozar is retiring as president of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association/Pontifical Mission for Palestine.
In the name of Pope Francis, the Congregation for Eastern Churches said it is sending 10 ventilators to Syria and three to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Jerusalem to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
Poor, elderly Armenians will receive an extra hand in staying warm during the upcoming frigid winter weather under a three-year-old program developed by two Catholic charitable agencies.
Msgr. Peter Vaccari, currently rector of St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie, New York, has been elected to succeed Msgr. John E. Kozar as president of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association/Pontifical Mission for Palestine.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, chairman of the board of Catholic Near East Welfare Association, led a delegation from CNEWA to visit health care facilities across the Lebanese capital April 16.